Columbus, Ohio

Pink Menno Hymn Sing

Larry Miller and Anna Roeschley at a Pink Menno hymn sing.

Mass Worship Service

Larry Miller and Phil Oswald Christano singing at the mass worship service.

Resolution on following Christ and growing together as communities even in conflict

Adopted by Mennonite Church USA Delegate Assembly, Columbus, Ohio
July 4, 2009

Through the journey of the Christian church, we are aware of historical divisions that have marked the communities of faith. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the church was guided and transformed in the Book of Acts. Many issues have led to vigorous debate and we acknowledge our current discussions regarding issues of human sexuality.

As delegates at Columbus, we are aware of current and ongoing debate over the issue of human sexuality and conference response to congregations in variance. We acknowledge the pain and frustration of this issue for a number of conferences, congregations, families and individuals. We acknowledge the statements by Mennonite Church USA on Human Sexuality, which have been previously passed and are currently in place, while we also acknowledge the presence of dissenting voices within our denomination.

We affirm the church’s commitment to ongoing dialogue and discernment and “agreeing and disagreeing in love.” We confess that we as a church (congregations, conferences, denomination) have rarely found a way to create a healthy, safe environment in which to have this dialogue, one that builds up the Body of Christ, and is respectful and honest about our differences.

We affirm Mennonite Church USA’s Vision Statement of God’s healing and hope flowing through us to the world.

And so we call upon the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA to work with conferences to provide and encourage the use of resources which assist conferences and congregations to engage in this discernment. Our hope is for a broad range of resources that help us live faithfully, extending hospitality to all of God’s people. May the Holy Spirit guide and direct us through this time.

Columbus 2009 in pictures

Click to see full-size photos.

Cindy's remarks from the Pink Menno press conference on July 2, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio

My name is Cynthia Lapp. I am pastor at Hyattsville Mennonite Church, a congregation right outside Washington, D.C., that has been inclusive for over 20 years. We have seen the gifts of the spirit in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and have been enlivened and enriched by the full participation of these sisters and brothers in our congregation. My heart breaks for the children and youth that are growing up in churches where who they are is degraded and devalued by the very institution that preaches God's love. We must create room in our churches and our hearts for all of God's children for I am convinced there is room in God's heart.

As a Mennonite Church, we preach peace and justice, but we have not lived up to our ideals. We have permitted, and sometimes promoted, spiritual violence by negating the bodies and souls of LGBT Christians. Our message of peace and love is a noisy gong and clanging cymbal when we fail to love only some of God's children.

I was astounded when I talked with a mother who said she was grateful that her gay son and his partner left the church. It was too painful to have him stay and be rejected and it was too difficult for her to choose between her son and her congregation. This, my friends, is spiritual violence, when we insist that parents choose between their faithful Christian children and their church community.

As Mennonites we are known worldwide for our work for peace and justice. It is time to take the next step and extend that justice to those in our midst, to all those who follow Jesus' way. My hope and prayer is that all who love God and the church will be received and affirmed by the Mennonite Church. Let us continue to work together, being the church we wish to see.

- end -

After Columbus

I am grateful for the full week at Columbus and commend the youth, sponsors, delegates and others who attended for representing HMC in such a positive way all week long. I have a new appreciation for the sensitive, respectful and honest leadership that I saw in the folks from HMC.

My own week was full of meetings with the Open Letter group in preparing a resolution that was ultimately changed by the resolutions committee. I also had meetings with reps from MennoNeighbors, Pink Menno and MC USA leadership as we worked to make sure that the large pink presence was constructive.

The hospitality room was busy with seminars each day, movie showings and as a place for people to stop by and purchase or decorate pink shirts and accessories.

Pink Menno had planned and impromptu hymn sings through out the week. The Open Letter group planned worship at noon each day and we had between 35-100 people attending, depending on the day. The banner that Doris made alerted people to our gathering place.

I was impressed with the way that Pink Menno was received and the respectful conversations that the Open Letter group was able to have with MC USA leadership. This was a step forward, to be invited to speak with the Executive Board and to have a space for people to gather for conversation and seminars.

I do have some concerns as we move forward. By the end of the week there were some youth that were so dismayed by the strong pink presence that they began their own counter t-shirt campaign with Bible verses from Leviticus and Genesis written on them or phrases like "Pink Menno is wrong, ask me why." Obviously t-shirt wars are not a great way forward. The resolution calls for the Executive Board to help provide resources and they are needed immediately across the church.

As a congregation, we have a lot of experience and grace to offer the larger church. I look forward to seeing you all in the fall and wondering and working together toward the future.

Cindy

Mennonite delegates still split over gays

Resolution passes for further study of church policy

Sunday, July 5, 2009 3:40 AM
By Randy Ludlow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

With defenders of church policy and dissenters divided, Mennonite Church USA will continue to study whether to welcome homosexuals into its pews.

A resolution calling for ongoing study of the church's human sexuality stance was approved yesterday afternoon at the church's national conference at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

The debate pitted two church factions with conflicting resolutions, leading to a compromise to keep exploring the issue.

One group of delegates wanted the church's 21 area conferences to not censure churches that welcome homosexuals "and create a safe environment where all views could be presented," said Kerry Strayer, a church spokeswoman.

Church policy now states that sexually active gays can't be members and that same-sex couples cannot be married. Churches that condone homosexuality can face discipline, up to expulsion.

A theologically conservative wing called for the church to "hold fast to its current faith statement and convictions on marriage and sexuality," Strayer said.

Unable to bridge the gap, delegates easily passed a resolution calling on church leaders to provide resources to facilitate further discussions, she said.

Mennonite Church USA has about 109,000 members, including 12,400 in Ohio. The church shares religious roots with the Amish.

About 7,200 people are attending the church's convention, which ends today.

Columbus not a bad town

A quick note on Columbus as a city. It definitely benefits from being a college town. I was pleasantly surprised at the variety and quality of its restaurants and general atmosphere (minus the drunken townies who rolled in for the July 3rd fireworks). It still remains lesser for main fatal flaw, being home to OSU. Time for bed and roll out in the morning. GO BLUE!!!

Analysis of resolution

Below is the text of a resolution that was passed by the delegate body today. It really says nothing new and breaks no new ground around the welcoming issue. The action language was strengthened on the floor only slightly, meaning that there is still no firm directive from the delegate body to the executive board to address this issue in any comprehensive or constructive way. It does not bind conferences to take any action whatsoever to foster dialogue or to create safe space by ending the disciplining of conferences in variance.

Really, it is a struggle to find much good about this resolution, if there is any. One small positive is that at least we are not in a worse situation than before the assembly. Another is that we got to spend a decent amount of time (45 minutes or so I think) talking about these issues that would not have happened otherwise. But all this resolution does is push off any possibility of safe and thorough discussion of the issue by the denomination until Pittsburgh 2011. Let us pray that some how the spirit moves and there begins to be some movement towards at least being able to talk about the issue.

In addition, I think there was confusion regarding the purpose of the resolution. I think most delegates were voting based on their view of the teaching positions on human sexuality and not on the issue of whether conferences should be allowed to discipline congregations on an issue that has a very significant number of churches who would diametrically opposed views. There is a lack of trust. Whether Pink Menno/Open Letter could have explained it better, I don't know. It was explained on the floor that this was not a vote on the teaching position but on how we foster dialogue. A threat by a Lancaster Conference member, however, that rejecting the resolution could lead the entire conference to leave MCUSA no doubt had a major effect on how people voted. It is these threats and intimidation that must stop if we are to keep the church together and focused on emulating Christ.

We have a long two years ahead of us, and work should start now to begin to build relationships with the vast majority of churches who just want to see the church not split and could support a moratorium on discipline if it is presented and discussed with them well before we head to Pittsburgh.

Hybrid Resolution Passed by Strong Majority of Delegates

A resolution on following Christ and growing together as communities even in conflict.

Preamble: Through the journey of the Christian church, we are aware of historical divisions that have marked the communities of faith. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the church was guided and transformed in the Book of Acts. Many issues have led to vigorous debate and we acknowledge our current discussions regarding issues of human sexuality.

As delegates at Columbus, we are aware of current and ongoing deb ate over the issue of human sexuality and conference response to congregations in variance. We acknowledge the pain and frustration of this issue for a number of conferences, congregations, families and individuals. We acknowledge the statements made by Mennonite Church USA on human sexuality, which have been previously passed and are currently in place, while we also acknowledge dissenting voices on this issue.

We affirm the church's commitment to ongoing dialogue and agreeing and disagreeing in love. We confess that we as a church (congregations, conferences, denomination) have rarely found a way to create a healthy, safe environment in which to have this dialogue, one that builds up the body of Christ, and is respectful and honest about our differences.

We affirm Mennonite Church USA's vision statement of God's healing and hope flowing through us to the world.

Action:
And so we call upon the executive board of Mennonite Church USA to work with conferences to provide and encourage the use of resources which assist conferences and congregations to engage in this discernment. Our hope is for a broad range of resources that help us live faithfully, extending hospitality to all of God's people. May the Holy Spirit guide and direct us through this time.

From Kent Beck

Since we're visiting family & friends in the Midwest (Archbold, Ohio & Goshen, Ind.), I really appreciate keeping up with all the postings/updates. Thank you very much for your attendance, your presence and your work. I'm hopeful that progress is forthcoming. I can only imagine that somewhere over Columbus there's a dove, seen or unseen, soaring through with wings unfurled in (red? perhaps even pink?!) fiery-feathered grace guiding and blessing you all! (adaptation/acknowledgement to Adam Tice's hymn text "The Spirit is a Dove" from Woven Into Harmony.)

Prelude

This morning served as a prelude to this afternoon's session when we will be dealing with a resolution that reaffirms MCUSA position on human sexuality and only mildly asks conferences and congregations to continue dialogue. This falls far short of what folks with the Open Letter and Pink Menno had hoped for in working on a resolution for this delegate assembly.

Without an end to discipline around this issue, honest and open dialogue cannot occur. To say we are in dialogue when one party holds the power to silence you is disingenious at best and hypocritical at worst. The most important part of this process will be the dialogue at tables (how ever little) to continue to lay ground work for action in the future.

Two resolutions passed this morning were nearly unanimously supported. One called on MCUSA to lobby congress to enact legislation ensuring health care for everyone. The second was calling attention to human trafficking and calling on the church to act to alleviate the suffering of those who have been trafficked and take action to promote an end of trade of humans.

Let's see what the afternoon has in store.

Welcome visitors to the HMC web site

With the publicity that an Associated Press story featuring Cindy and Kristen and photos of Cindy and our MYF youth at a Pink Menno press conference, visitors have been flocking to our web site. Web visitors by Friday, the day most of the more than 170 newspapers and TV stations carried the AP story, have more than increased six times from Sunday.

Before the convention began in Columbus, we had 37 visitors on Sunday and 39 on Monday. But as the convention ramped up, so did the number of visitors. Visits increased to 71 on Tuesday, 122 on Wednesday, 123 on Thursday and 246 on Friday. As I write this early Saturday morning, we've already had 31 visitors in less than an hour. Most are checking out this blog.

So to all you visitors, welcome. We are glad you are here.

Leave it to the youth to be creative & fun

This guy used 6 different Pink Mennos bandannas to create a cape.
(Click to see full size.)

Pretty in Pink

Just got out of the hymn sing and my was it pink. Pink Menno congregated into one big section on the floor of Nationwide Arena. Impressive as it was, it was also impressive to see the pink scattered throughout the rest of the crowd as well. It was tough to get a good picture though as it was dark in there.

It was strange walking outside the arena afterward as the area immediately around the arena has been transformed into a beer garden and food court for the fireworks (which are tonight). Revelers are flooding downtown. We went from being surrounded by Mennos to being surrounded by "heathens." It is kind of a neat energy though.

Off to get some food and then boom time!

Delegate Sessions Day 3

Another day of delegate sessions is in the book. Nothing much of substance happened today. But we did get notice that we will be discussing a resolution tomorrow which will look at the controversies surrounding welcoming congregations.

The Open Letter resolution was combined with another resolution (reaffirming the current position of MCUSA) to try and come up with a hybrid resolution. I have a feeling that result will be a resolution that no one will support.

The resolution reaffirms MCUSA stances on sexuality while acknowledging a failure to dialogue constructively on this issue at any level. It calls on the Executive Board to make resources available about dialogue to conferences and congregations who request them.

While the resolution does acknowledge the need for discussion, it does not follow up to fill this need. So practically it does nothing to provide for the safe space that is necessary to move this process forward. A fancy way of not having to deal with it right now, just passing the buck on to a future executive and assembly.

Someone at some point is going to have to get serious about getting the discussion going. If that has to happen quietly behind the scenes, I am fine with that as I think people are really afraid to even engage Pink Mennos and allies on the issue because they don't want to be criticized by their own churches around this issue.

Work needs to be done behind the scenes to build momentum and broad support for a possible resolution at Pittsburgh 2011 rather than waiting until a few months before convention to try and draft something.

Photos seen around the world

Newspapers around the world today, from Anchorage, Alaska, to Washington, D.C., to London, England, have featured photos and quotes from HMC members at the biannual HMC Convention in Columbus, Ohio, about the exclusion of GLBT members from the Mennonite Church. The are even featured on the Forbes magazine web site.

Kristen and Becca were featured in an Associate Press story, along with Cindy. And Cindy, Cecilia, Lee, Hannah and Kurtis were in the Associated Press photos featured with the story that appear below.

AP photos by Kiichiro Sato
Click picture to see full size version.

Cows in the meadow

I'm not sure how many people caught it last night, but at the evening joint worship session Ted Swartz (Ted & Co.) and Trent Wagler did a comedic sketch about how we are like "cows in the meadow." It was incredibly funny and incredibly subversive.

About 3/4 of the way through the sketch I realized that this wasn't just funny nonsense about cows -- it appeared (to me and a few others) to be an allegory for the church. Ted appeared to be "campaigning" for greater openness and inclusiveness.

After what felt like a long and exhausting day in my pink shirt (it really only takes one 40-minute painful conversation to sap all of one's energy), this was just what I needed.

Pink Menno news update

AP story about yesterday's news conference for Pink Menno has now appeared in 173 news outlets, including the Post, according to Google.

So what's up with that?

The joint worship was a fun and interesting experience for a first time Convention attender like me, but what's with exclusive language in all the songs? I'm as perplexed as the one man I met that was surprised that the issue of women in leadership is still very much alive. Sigh...

Live blog failed, backups

Just got in the Nationwide Arena for joint worship. Lot of energy, way more than adults. Some guys at bar next door seemed perplexed by all the people going in.

End of p.m. delegate session. Now time for a nap!!!

Time to vote for the...oh never mind.

Done with the reports on to table discussion.

On the topic of bad editing, typos have been running rampant, just about every other song on the screen.

Point two, point four, point four...we can't even count.

I arrive late again and what is my reward for not just staying in my room and napping? AGENCY REPORTS!!! This is the worst part of the delegate sessions. Absolutely nothing inspiring or even interesting.

What an experience!

I came to a realization that instead of focusing my time and energy in attending as many interesting sessions and seminars as possible, I feel called to be an advocate at this convention. So, the past 2 days I spent most of my time walking around the hallway, wearing pink, and/or sitting at the MennoNeighbors booth. I also recorded interviews using my video camera, asking people of messages they want to tell MCUSA in regard to issues related to LGBTQ.

By doing that, I ended having more conversation with people from all spectrum, listening, and sharing. The experience so far has varied from painful, neutral, to hopeful. There are plenty of people out there that just don't know better and have not had much exposure as well as chance to feel safe to have dialogue. And it's nice to be able to bridge gaps and be a resource for people as they try to process and formulate their thoughts.

I was sad to see a group of youth practically yelling at Lin Garber. And I was also sad hearing about a group of youth in passing calling a group of Pink Menno youth fagots. At the same time I am encouraged to see good discussions happening. I am also encouraged to see so many people, especially young ones, asking for Pink Menno goodies to show their support.

Today I was touched by a junior youth who goes to a local unwelcoming church here in Columbus. He walked over from his church's booth, which is just a kitty corner from the MennoNeighbors booth. He told us that he wanted Pink Menno goodies. We made sure that he understand what it means to wear those goodies and we asked him if he thinks it's OK with his church. He told us that didn't care because he has friends who are gay and are not allowed to go to his church. And one of them even committed suicide. These are kids folks! They're not even asking to be a church member, a conference delegate, or to be ordained.

Time and time again, I concluded that many people are operating under fear. There are people in high position who are afraid of losing funding from big donor. There are people in church leadership who are afraid of losing their position. There are pastors who fear consequences, such as church splitting, members leaving, being kicked out from their conference, etc. What we need as a start is a safe space for everyone -- to be who they are and to freely express their thoughts without fear, without being judged.

For the Bible Tells Me So

Last night we watched the documentary "For the Bible Tells Me So." It was a documentary following 5 families and their stories as their children came out to them that they were gay or lesbian.

All of the families were raised in the conservative church and told that being homosexual was a sin and an abomination. It was a very powerful movie as we watched as some families learned to accept lesbian and gay people and help to fight for their rights.

Other families still loved their child, but couldn't accept the fact that they were gay. The most tragic story was of a mother who told her daughter that she would always love her, but would never accept the fact that she was lesbian and would always see it as a sin. Her daughter was very upset with this and said she would never forgive her mother. A few months later she committed suicide. This motivated her mother to research the topic and change her mind on the issue, and to this day she fights for gay rights.

After watching this movie I was even more motivated to fight for acceptance and understanding of gays in the Mennonite church and throughout all of America.

When we went to the Pink Menno press conference, I was very excited and motivated to show my support for LGBTQ rights and acceptance in America. The event was exciting and I felt we really made an impact. I was even interviewed by someone from the press!

Columbus so far has been a very exciting experience and I am having a ton of fun

-kurtis

Pink Mennos draw local, national press

Published: July 2, 2009 Author: Chase Snyder (Goshen College)
MPress

The Pink Menno campaign encouraged conventiongoers to wear pink this week in support of gay and lesbian church members. But it was a press conference held on Thursday that may be most effective in publicizing the group’s agenda.

Reporters from The Associated Press, Fox News and The Columbus Dispatch were all present as a group of nearly 100 pink-bedecked conventiongoers sang and prayed together. After a short opening worship, three speakers described the Pink Menno movement.

One of the leaders, Luke Yoder, said: “I will continue to raise my voice when members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities are silenced. I will continue to do everything I can to encourage the church to acknowledge the gifts, talents and passion of all its members.”

As an initial response to the Pink Menno presence in Columbus, the Executive Board issued a short press release, highlighting the Mennonite Church’s official position on homosexuality. That position is expressed in what is colloquially known as “The Purdue Statement,” a series of standards adopted in 1995.

The pivotal statement, officially Article 19 of “The Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective,” reads: “We believe that God intends marriage to be a covenant between one man and one woman for life.”

The Pink Menno campaign does not have a booth on the convention floor. Instead, they share hospitality space in the adjoining Hyatt with another group, which several months ago submitted an open letter to the denominational body, Mennonite Church USA, urging the church to reopen a conversation about its stance on homosexuality.

Until the press conference, Pink Menno’s primary presence had been as a scattering of people wearing pink T-shirts throughout the convention hall, ready to engage in conversations.

The Pink Menno campaign spread virally in advance of the convention, when Yoder created a social network on the Web service Ning. As of this writing, www.pinkmenno.org has 711 members from 35 states and 11 countries. The site has been visited from 47 states and 30 countries.

Before that though, the campaign started as a family conversation. Luke Yoder and his sister, Jen, who identifies as queer, were discussing homosexuality in the church last Christmas, and decided that they would take action. They made a Web site and called congregations and friends, urging them to join. After members of several churches held events where they took pictures holding pink signs saying “One Love” or “One Hope,” word began to spread, and the online membership skyrocketed.

“We’re hoping to engage a lot in personal individual conversation,” Luke Yoder said. “Our goal is that by the end of convention, everyone will have talked to a Pink Menno, or gotten to know a Pink Menno.”

Pink Menno has used around $4,000 of donated money to make pink paraphernalia, following the approach of many official exhibitors, who give out T-shirts and other freebies. Pink Menno accessories include T-shirts (“Inclusive and Mennonite, Ask Me How”), LiveStrong-style pink bracelets, buttons, stickers and bandannas with the Pink Menno logo, a circular dove icon that riffs off of the Mennonite Church USA logo.

Other than the press release, the church has issued no public response to the Pink Menno presence.

“We initiated contact,” said Jim Schrag, the executive director of MC USA. “We gave them assurances that we want the convention to be a good time for everyone…they are a part of us…they have a right to be here.”

One Voice

Can you find the HMCers at the Pink Menno press conference?

Click the photo to see it full size.