Those of you who read my blog post in May will recall that
I was excited about an anthology edited by Dora Dueck, entitled
On Holy Ground, which the Mennonite Brethren Historical Commission had invited her to put together. Dora's book grew out of a wish to write about the "lived experience of women in leadership ministry among Mennonite Brethren." I was one of 15 women asked to contribute to the anthology. Five of the fifteen writers were from Manitoba and four of them participated in a book launch at CommonWord on June 26.
I have been to many book launches as a reader, but never as a writer, which is quite a different experience!
l to r: Laura Kalmar, Laura's daughter (there to support her mom!),
Mary Reimer, Elfrieda Schroeder, Mary Anne Isaak
Mary Reimer, Elfrieda Schroeder, Mary Anne Isaak
(The fifth Manitoba contributor, Lorraine Matties, was unable to attend.)
I enjoyed the book signing. It was fun to chat with people. I met someone I last saw in Congo approximately fifty years ago. I did not recognize him, even after he told me his name. We met only once before and it was an intense experience.
He had come to Congo sponsored by his church to do Christian service work, but as soon as he arrived he felt that it was not for him. He sat in the rocking chair in our living room and told me how he felt. It was hard for him to admit this, when his home congregation had affirmed and sent him.
I encouraged him to follow his gut feelings and go back home.
At the book signing he thanked me and told me he had been a teacher and a principal in a Christian private school and was now in retirement after enjoying a fulfilling career.
At the book signing he thanked me and told me he had been a teacher and a principal in a Christian private school and was now in retirement after enjoying a fulfilling career.
Another surprise was not as pleasant. As we were signing, and there were different books on the table, someone told me to hang onto my advance copy because it was not the same as the ones being sold.
I then learned that Mary Anne Isaak, one of the contributors, had been told, by conference leaders (members of the Boards of the U.S. and Canadian Mennonite Brethren conferences who were sponsoring the book), to remove three pages from her chapter. In these pages, in contrast to what she had been taught by her church conference, she explains her gradual conviction that people in the LGBTQ+ community are as worthy as anyone else to be fully accepted in a faith community.
I then learned that Mary Anne Isaak, one of the contributors, had been told, by conference leaders (members of the Boards of the U.S. and Canadian Mennonite Brethren conferences who were sponsoring the book), to remove three pages from her chapter. In these pages, in contrast to what she had been taught by her church conference, she explains her gradual conviction that people in the LGBTQ+ community are as worthy as anyone else to be fully accepted in a faith community.
Three hundred copies of the book had already been printed and thirty advance copies distributed by the time the message was conveyed to the director of the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies. The board insisted on destroying the remaining 270 books and reprinting them without the offending pages. There was no explanation given as to why they had to be removed.
This decision baffles me and reminds me of book burnings done eons ago. I don't always agree with everything I read but it makes me ask questions and it makes me think. I don't tear the pages out or destroy the book because I don't agree with what the author writes.
My conviction as to who belongs in God's kingdom is stated here:
