Today a child from the Children’s Gathering program walked up and gave this beautiful (and delicious) note to Arthur Kauffman, an awesome Pink Menno who has been volunteering with Pink Menno this week and also contributing posts and photos.
Amen.
Wednesday Workshops: Accompaniment & Coming Out Strong
- Ironic close-up of a beautiful mural in the MCUSA exhibit hall, where PinkMenno was denied booth space.
I will skip to the main point: Allies Matter. Allies Matter A Lot. This was one of the main conclusions of both workshops hosted by PinkMenno and Brethren Mennonite Council yesterday (by the awesome Kirsten Freed). The first, Accompaniment: A Journey for Youth Sponsors, focused on those of us who work with youth and consisted primarily of a conversation around how we can walk alongside youth who are LGBT and encourage allies in our Churches and Youth Groups.
A question that was particularly important was asked by a pastor to the LGBT participants: What could I, or other pastors, do to make your process easier? What did (do) you need from your pastor on this journey? The answers and conversation ranged from the oft-called for hope for more conversation around all of healthy human sexuality (especially at this conference, thanks to some powerful workshops led by Keith Graber Miller), inclusive language, clear messages to youth and youth groups that pastors and others are safe people, and bringing up conversation when possible about LGBT rights and advocacy. Read more ›
Late night Reflection
The following is a reflection shared with me by Derek Yoder. We met in the Hospitality Room on Tuesday and was then beginning to formulate a response to Shane Hipps’ message in the opening worship session Monday night. Thanks Derek for your thoughtful writing and for sharing this with us.
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“From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (II Corinthians 5.16-20)
It’s late Wednesday evening at the Mennonite convention in Pittsburgh. I’m typing in my hotel lobby, so as not to wake the sleepers in my room. I had intended to do some reflecting Monday… or Tuesday… or even this morning. But sometimes the days don’t quite go as expected at convention. Read more ›
Safe Spaces on Mennonite College Campuses
An exciting aspect of the convention exhibit hall for many is the college booths. Not only is this a great place to receive free shirts, college paraphernalia and play Just Dance, but it is also a place to think about one’s upcoming future and independence. For many youth and young adults visiting these booths is influential in making their undergraduate decisions.
However, for LGBTQ youth, another important factor for deciding on a college besides which has the coolest t-shirt is how safe the campus feels. Pink Menno hosted a College Student Panel Discussion where representatives from the different Mennonite colleges spoke on their own safe space programs and events. Representing the colleges were: Christine Amstutz and Kerry Bush from Bluffton University, Pax Ressler from Goshen College, and Darian Harnish and Lisle Bertsche from Eastern Mennonite University. Luke Yoder and Annabeth Roeschley facilitated questions for the student panel before allowing for open questions from those who attended.
College Student Panel Discussion
Looking at the current atmosphere of the colleges, all expressed that there is a diversity of perspectives on LGBTQ inclusion. However, what differed between them was the amount of support and the majority of opinion. Darian and Lisle reported having a divided feel on campus, yet there are many safe places that are present. Christine and Kerry described how though they are still an unofficial group, many of the faculty and staff are very supportive. The group in general on campus has been becoming more visible. Goshen College mentioned that the more vocal voice on campus is in support of LGBTQ issues. Pax reported how it is just “not cool” to be anti-gay on campus. Read more ›
Momentum
As every day passes, one can feel the almost palpable momentum as more people find the Hospitality Room on the third floor of the Marriott Courtyard, more people wear pink, and more people show up to events and hymn sings.
The space in front of the doors of the adult worship room is hardly a hundred feet deep — perfect for repurposing as a place for some good hymn singing. Pink Mennos congregated in dozens today, joined by bystanders, allies in tamer colors, and those who just wanted to sing who filled the space and were impossible to miss by those entering.
The hymn sing included classic worship hymns like “It is Well With My Soul,” resounding anthems like “We Will Not Be Silent,” and concluded with the plea, “Rain Down”. The voices of those that were singing carried well into the packed auditorium where many people were awaiting “Adult Worship,” seemingly ambivalent to the fact that many adults were indeed already worshipping in the adjacent space.
Mid-Week Update
So much has happened here in Pittsburgh already. I find myself overwhelmed with the task of trying to document and share it with those who aren’t here! Here a few highlights and items that will give you a taste of much more to come:
Photos! Hopefully you’ve noticed the slideshow on the right. We add new pictures throughout the day, so keep checking back.
Videos! You’ll be happy to know that a number of us are trying to capture significant events on video. It takes a bit of time to edit and upload, so that will come slowly. But you can look forward to lots more! John Mark just shared this video he shot last night at our inclusive worship service. Read more ›
The Conversation Room
One of my professors at KU describes ethnographic fieldwork as “attentive hanging out.” This is the phrase I repeated to myself periodically today when the convention threatened to overwhelm my senses. It’s a comforting phrase. It helps me focus when I’m staring blankly at the conference schedule without processing any of the words on the page–which, I should add, is something that has already happened to me today approximately 387 times.
My goal this morning was to make it through the first “Conversation Room” session, entitled “The Church and Human Sexuality.” (Aside: One of my larger goals is trying to understand the motivations behind this new “Conversation Room” structure–I’ve already heard some pretty interesting theories, and I plan to delve further.) The moderators were clearly not expecting the crowd that they got; they mentioned that they anticipated maybe twenty-five people, and if I had to guess the number that actually came I’d say it was at least one hundred. At the door to the seminar room every attendee was immediately given a group number and sent straight to their assigned circle of fellow participants. Most of these circles had around five people. We seated ourselves and waited for further instruction.
(Take a moment, please, and imagine the mass scale of the social awkwardness.)
Bridges to (the) Cross
Bridges to (the) Cross.
The theme for this week can be interpreted in various ways. Many have taken the literal route removing the post-modern parentheses. Bridges to the Cross. This way gives one meaning. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was God reconciling us to Godself. In Jesus Christ, God was both revealing who God is and also what it means to be human. The Cross has been used to symbolize that reconciliation. However, including the artistic use of parentheses, one can read the theme differently. Bridges to Cross.
Bridges to Cross and Reconciliation have been so interconnected this week. Reconciliation is what our Christian faith is based on. Reconciliation with God and reconciliation with each other.
The Church faces many challenges today, including the increased awareness and presence of LGBTQ people and issues. As a Church we can no longer remain on this side of the bridge. Like the Israelites who crossed the Jordan, we are called to cross the river of human sexuality. For so long we have tried to cross this bridge using other methods. Silence. Exclusion. Probation. Discipline. Read more ›
Justice can be Reconciling
I’m not sure I could possibly overstate it: The convention worship space is HUGE. Massive. And absolutely very loud. I don’t mind the loudness so much and enjoy a break from Sing the Story/Journey to indulge some contemporary tunes. I must confess, though, that the opening joint worship session of the Pittsburg Convention left something to be desired and, as someone who works for Justice and Reconciliation, I was saddened at a message that seemed to discount our (Pink Menno’s and my own) Justice work and named us as “angry”.
I can appreciate the heart behind Shane Hipps message. I understand the division in the church and I lament it. I truly believe that we don’t have to fully AGREE about divisive issues like sexuality, gender, immigration and anti-racism in order to be a unified church. Yet, the notion that we can simply “make a bridge” by putting our arms around each other and erasing our difference (“there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, [gay nor straight]”) doesn’t sit well with me. Difference is innate, we ARE different from each other and I fully believe this is the Divine plan.
What I felt Hipps ignored or swept under the rug was the reality of privilege. As a white, heterosexual, married man in a powerful position in a nationally recognized megachurch, I sat in my seat last night saddened that he could say in front of a huge portion of our denomination that those who work for justice do so out of anger and need to focus on reconciliation instead. I believe he said that because he COULD say that: because of his social position and privilege he doesn’t HAVE to work for justice. But we are not all in that position.
Convention, Day One
Whew! It’s been a LONG day working for PinkMenno at the Pittsburgh MCUSA convention, but a lot of progress has been made. We’ve been equipped with bracelets, scarves, stickers, and roughly 400 folded shirts bearing four fabulous designs. The hospitality room – located on the third floor of the Mariott Courtyard – is currently set up, so anyone is welcome to stop by at any time. We had some representatives from EMU Safe Spaces come in and help fold shirts and generally put things together, and we’ve had a huge variety of other volunteers as well. Tonight we had a hymn sing before the joint worship session, which I was unable to attend but heard went just swimmingly. There was also a rehearsal for the “Choir for Inclusion,” which again, I didn’t attend but was told went marvelously. Tomorrow we have planned an early morning meditation, two open worships, and three hymn sings. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers!
– Kerry Bush, PMPress
