#ChurchToo conference addresses sexual misconduct
In the midst of the #MeToo movement, in which those in positions of power are being called to account for sexual abuse, a conference hosted by four Manitoba Mennonite organizations acknowledged that it happens in the church, too. From May 31 to June 1, about 100 church leaders and lay people gathered at Canadian Mennonite…
MC Eastern Canada apologizes for causing pain to abuse survivors
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada recently offered a public apology acknowledging missteps in how it handled a case of reported sexual misconduct that dates back more than 30 years. In the mid-1990s, the regional church began investigating complaints against Dalton Jantzi, an ordained minister, concerning allegations of misconduct dating back to 1981. The complaints were investigated…
‘This is about us’
How do churches prevent sexual harassment and abuse in their midst? How do they respond when abuse happens? How do they shift the culture in their ranks so that victims feel safer to share their stories? These questions were all addressed during a recent seminar on the practical and spiritual dimensions of #ChurchToo—a spinoff movement…
Modern ghosts of a horse-drawn scandal, Part 3
Eight men went to prison, the media gaze moved on, and colony life resumed. But the saga of mass rape in the Bolivian corner of our family of faith is far from over. When word of a serial rape crisis on the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia emerged in 2005, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) faced pressure…
Broken boundaries
The allegation of sexual abuse at a church camp (on page 13) reminds us of the sad reality that sexual abuse touches the church community in profound ways. The example of Christ and our peace theology compel us to recognize and to address the violence that happens in our midst. In the past, Canadian Mennonite…
Decades-old sexual abuse comes to light
Ruth-Ann Klassen Shantz has a long history with Silver Lake Mennonite Camp in Sauble Beach, Ont., and a story she has kept long hidden. But earlier this year she shared with the camp’s board of directors her allegations of long-term sexual abuse by a former camp director. Describing herself as a “camp kid” in her…
#ChurchToo conference tackles painful subject
Many troubling issues and questions arise when a Christian leader engages in professional sexual misconduct. At the #ChurchToo conference at Columbia Bible College over two days in late May 2018, pastors, church leaders, abuse survivors and other interested individuals came together to learn how to deal with sin and forgiveness while confronting offenders and promoting…
Influential writer also a flawed earthen vessel
For his funeral text, Urie Bender chose the passage from II Corinthians 4:7: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (KJV). In his meditation at the funeral, Scott Brubaker-Zehr, pastor of Rockway Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont., said that Bender understood himself to be an “earthen vessel,” imperfect and susceptible to cracking. But in spite…
JoinMen for a better world
In recent months there has been unprecedented exposure of sexually predatory men in high places, as well as unprecedented violence perpetrated by solitary men with little or no regard for human life. Whether acting out of a sense of entitlement to use women, children or other men as objects for self-gratification and demonstration of power,…
A hedge of protection
Forty Mennonite Church Manitoba clergy attended the area church’s biennial “Healthy boundaries” seminar, held this year at Carman Mennonite Church. Led this spring by clinical psychologist Lois Edmund, the conference is mandatory once every four years for all credentialled MC Manitoba pastors. Topics covered at the seminars include “Boundaries defined and their importance in ministry,”…
