Have you left your church? Has your church left a conference? What would you say, in 100 words, to those who remain?
We’ll print a selection (without names) in the “Exit Interviews” issue of CM (August). Be constructive if you can.
Send your letter to submit@canadianmennonite.org by August 5.
Comments
Is this the best way to encourage the church to be the "mother of unity"? This feels more like tabloid journalism, encouraging one-sided, anonymous comments. I am for open dialogue and transparency and I hope these letters are truly constructive. It almost seems like you are trying to stir up conflict and controversy. Is this the best way to engage the Canadian Mennonite community?
Fair question.
A lot of peole and congregations have left Mennonite Church Canada in the last number of years. Surely we can learn something from those who have left.
Elders and teachers in my life have taught me to listen to people on the edges and those beyond the edges.
There is plenty of latent conflict out there. We're not creating it. At best, we'd like to provide little opportunities to acknowledge the conflict and perhaps take tiny steps toward healing. In some sense, we are trying to stir up conflict, that is, we're wanting to listen to people who may feel hurt.
We also being very intentional about making sure the tone of the upcoming issue is healthy (without precluding any expressions of hurt or anger).
perhaps a factual set of parameters might help? when you say "alot of churches have left" can you help your readers by giving a count, or a percentage. We know that MC USA has declined about 50% since amalgamation. What about MC Canada? In the Canadian context how has MCCanada fared in comparison to other denominations? Facts may help us put feelings and observations in an appropriate context.
I think this is a good initiative because I've never known Mennonites to be very interested in why people leave churches, but I think we should be. Some quitters may have good insights and some may have legitimate grievances.
I think anonymity is good in this case because it might encourage shy persons to come forward. And because some people may hold a grudge if someone says something negative about their church.
There will be opposing viewpoints, for sure, but that's a necessary risk. We can reduce conflict by checking any of our tendencies to be too emotional, defensive or polarized. I liked what was said in the March 28, 2024 article, "Doing church conflict well: Q & A with Janet Schmidt".
As for churches quitting conferences, I think the reasons are usually well-known, but probably often not discussed enough. Maybe we need mediators to help people who are thinking of leaving churches and churches thinking of leaving conferences.
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