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Canadian Peace Foundation: Alphabet Soup
MWC. MEDA. MCC. MDS. A Mennonite alphabet soup. MMI. MHS. EMU. MBMS.
MMA. MBM. AIMM. MBDO. Hasn’t this soup got too many “M’s”? Are there acronyms
without an “M”? What about CFGB, VORP, LCC, CPT? At least the stranglehold
of the “M’s” has been broken. TAP. CPI. MAMA. AJPR. CPF. M2W2. More scrabbled
letters to pick out of the alphabet soup.
This alphabet soup, and the organizations these acronyms represent,
was almost 500 years in the making. To make sense of it, we must understand
the historical development of the Mennonite peoplehood.
For the longest part of Mennonite history, persecution meant the
full flavour of the soup could not develop, and the full genius of the
Mennonite peoplehood could not find full expression. Since the end of the
First World War, freedom from persecution and relative economic stability
provided the opportunity in North America for the soup to mature and for
the sweet smell of kingdom theology to find expression in the collective
activities of the Mennonite peoplehood.
A word about the “genius of the Mennonite peoplehood.” This genius
resides not in a charismatic leader or leaders, but it is firmly rooted
in the understandings and beliefs of the mass of the Mennonite people.
This is not to say that there have not been outstanding and visionary leaders.
There have been, and there continue to be. It is noteworthy, however, that
most of these leaders have not been clergymen. They include business people,
scholars, professionals, farmers, musicians and artists. And a few preachers.
The point is that the leaders who have made a real difference have come
from within the peoplehood: the Mennonite view of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
interpreted by a people who have a profound understanding for the priesthood
of all believers, applies to everyone in the pews.
These developments have two important theological roots. The first
is the primacy of the ethical teachings of Jesus, most importantly as presented
in the Sermon on the Mount. The second is the Mennonite view of the church
as Christian counterculture – as God’s new community.
Mennonite contributions to the development of western thought
are significant. The emergence of the Mennonite church in 1525 in Switzerland
and in the 1530s in the Netherlands led to an immediate confrontation with
the established churches of the day, with the host society in which these
Anabaptists lived, and with the governments which ruled these societies.
Mennonites refused to bend to the dictates of civil and ecclesiastical
rulers, preferring to die rather than to recant their beliefs.
However, the severe persecution and repression of the Mennonites
encouraged invisibility in most parts of Europe. They became “die Stillen
im Lande” (the quiet in the land) out of fear that their persecutors would
appear. When the pressure subsided, however, the vision of justice and
service rooted in the ethos and theology of the Sermon of the Mount asserted
itself. In 1688, Mennonites in Germantown, Pennsylvania signed the first
protest against slavery in America. As economic conditions in the Mennonite
colonies of southern Russia improved in the 1800s, all manner of service
institutions came into being – schools, hospitals, orphanages, mental institutions,
schools for the deaf and dumb, post-secondary schools and “die Armenkasse”
(the fund for the impoverished). This evolution of service as an incarnation
of theology was ended by the Communist Revolution in 1917, but the impetus
it had developed carried over into North America, Paraguay and Brazil as
the 20th century progressed. The impetus of the Dutch/ German/
The other half of the ingredients came from the Swiss and south German
Mennonites who began settling in North America in 1683. Having suffered
longer and more sustained persecution than their northern confreres, the
Swiss Mennonites were, if anything, even more inclined to be “die Stillen
im Lande.” Nevertheless, when the terrible depredations of the Communist
Revolution and subsequent civil war ravaged Russia, it was primarily the
Swiss Mennonites who mixed the first major letters for the modern pot of
alphabet soup – MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) – to bring relief to
the starving of Southern Russia.
From the vantage of 2003 (when this article was written) it is
possible to discern a pattern of the master chef in preparing and mixing
the soup. The ingredients were people from within the larger Mennonite
community getting together to discuss an issue that needed to be addressed.
Most of these people had drunk deeply from the New Testament. Many had
gone to Bible school, Bible college or university. A good number had been
influenced by writings like The Anabaptist Vision by Harold S. Bender,
and The Recovery of the Anabaptist Vision, edited by G.F. Hershberger.
Many were in business, others were farmers, some were professionals and
there were a goodly number of scholars among them. A few were preachers.
Many had served an apprenticeship of Christian service with MCC. As they
discussed it became clear that “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to
us...” that something should be done.
The formation of MEDA in 1953 is a case in point. Mennonite businessmen
felt challenged to give expression to their faith, and this led to the
formation of MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) to help address
the conditions of dire poverty in the Mennonite colonies of Paraguay. While
this was evolving, CIBA (Church Industry and Business Associates) was developing
in the American Midwest and MBA (Mennonite Business Associates) was developing
in the eastern United States. CIBA and MBA merged to form MIBA in 1976,
and in 1981 MIBA and MEDA coalesced under the MEDA banner.
Another example of modeling is the Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB).
Originally started among the Mennonites of southern Manitoba, and sponsored
by MCC, it quickly gained acceptance by eleven other denominations as a
superior approach to addressing hunger in the world. Today, just two decades
after its inception, CFGB has become one of the most highly respected international
NGOs addressing world hunger. Not only that, CFGB is becoming increasingly
involved in discussing food security and food justice policies at the most
senior levels of international governance.
A third example of modeling is Ten Thousand Villages. Starting out as
an effort to help third world artisans market their crafts, it has grown
into a sturdy organization supporting many, many artisans. It was also
the inspiration for the formation of Tradecraft, an alternative marketing
organization for third world goods in the UK.
MDS (Mennonite Disaster Service) is another organization that
arose spontaneously from within the Mennonite peoplehood. It started at
a picnic in Kansas in 1950 when picnickers wondered what they could do
to promote wholeness and shalom for people who had been victimized by natural
disaster. Mennonites, and by now, many others who know about MDS, spontaneously
volunteer to rebuild and restore homes, lives and communities disturbed
by natural disaster.
Mustard seeds that grow into the largest of the herbs are yet another
manifestation of healing emanating from a New Testament concept of the
church as counterculture. The Church, God’s new community, models shalom
so powerful that it invites the principalities and powers to conversion.
One mustard seed that grew is the curbside recycling program that
has spread to almost all of North America. In 1978, Dave Worth, later the
Executive Director of MCC Ontario, began small recycling drives with a
few volunteers on a parking lot in Kitchener. This group thought it wrong
that valuable materials be consigned to the dump. Their leadership was
rewarded. Soon these recycling drives were generating so many materials
that the volunteers had difficulty keeping up. Today the mustard seed planted
by the small band of volunteers has grown into a mighty tree with literally
tens of millions of leaves. These leaves are the blue boxes and blue bags
that are picked up on a weekly basis from the curbsides of North American
cities and elsewhere.
Another mustard seed is growing and has the potential of making
just as significant a contribution as the blue box program. This is the
mustard seed of restorative justice. The restorative justice approach to
criminality is gaining significant momentum and has within it the potential
of completely reforming the criminal justice system in Canada. This movement
started as VORP, the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program of MCC and
grew out of the experience of several people in MCC Ontario in the 1970s.
The VORP program has two foci. One of these works at humanizing the prisons
of Canada through a program of inmate visitation and support for inmate
families. The other mediates between victims and those who have offended
against them. It is this latter program that has within it the potential
of bringing healing and restoration to both victims and victimizers.
Yet another mustard seed is waiting to sprout. Mennonites have
worked closely enough with Muslims to realize that Muslims are “people
of the book,” and that, like Christians, they also have a peace tradition.
Muslims are enjoined by the Qur’an and Sharia law to respect other “people
of the book.” At a time when Islam perceives itself to be under siege,
should Mennonites not be seeking ways of building bridges to the Muslim
world, both in North America and elsewhere?
Other initiatives – IDE (International Development Enterprises);
LCC (Lithuania
Christian College); CPT (Christian Peacemaker Teams); CPF (Canadian
Peace Foundation); ERS (Edmonton Recycling Society); AJPR (Action for Justice,
Peace and Reconciliation – part of the Congolese Mennonite Brethren Church);
CPI (Christian Peacemakers International); MMI (Mennonite Mutual Insurance);
ICF (Indian Creek Foundation); MHS (Mennonite Health Services); EMU (Eastern
Mennonite University); MMA (Mennonite Mutual Aid); MBDO (Mennonite Brethren
Development Organization – part of the Mennonite Brethren Church in India);
and a bushel of other alphabet soup letters, far too numerous to mention
here, have also arisen from within the Mennonite peoplehood.
It is noteworthy, however, that the 20th century has seen many
defections from the Mennonite community. Many Mennonites seem to be ashamed
of the heritage that has made such significant contributions to the evolution
of western society and thought. Many of these seem to prefer a pottage
of fundamentalist evangelicalism that will provide comfort with current
cultural norms while enabling them to assimilate into the blandness of
contemporary civil religion. Others, more aware of this spiritual heritage
have stayed the course and have been joined by people from other faith
traditions who have seen in this heritage an authentic manifestation of
the Gospel of Christ.
The most pressing problem facing the human family is the problem of
war and the motivations that generate war. Nevertheless, Mennonite peacebuilding
is, for the most part, poorly focused, piecemeal and uncoordinated. Generally,
this peacemaking does not challenge the governing structures and the personnel
who manage these structures. These personnel and structures are often the
instigators or supporters of military action. Despite the fact that Mennonites
have developed the ability to suggest sound alternatives to military action,
there appears to be a reluctance to do so. Instead of recommending life-giving
alternatives to war rooted in the Gospel of Christ, Mennonites have generally
acquiesced to war and reverted to the role of the “die Stillen im Lande”
when the drums of war start beating.
This begs a question. The initiatives cited above grew without
an overarching structure. They grew like yeast leavening a lump of dough.
Would it be best to let this process work with peacemaking, or would it
be better to deliberately plan and structure an organization to assemble
resources, develop strategies and take action to promote alternatives to
the prevailing government and military structures? Could another organization
firmly rooted in the Mennonite peoplehood, thoroughly committed to the
ethos of the Sermon on the Mount, and with a proven track record of global
innovation, take on an initiative to advance the global peace agenda? Could
that organization be MEDA? Or is another addition to the alphabet soup
needed?
Abridged by Robert Martens
“True evangelical faith cannot lie dormant. It clothes the naked, it
feeds the hungry, it comforts the sorrowful, it shelters the destitute,
it serves those that harm it, it binds up that which is wounded, it has
become all things to all people.”
Menno Simons
In the Steps of Menno
Several years ago, a group of Dutch Mennonites envisioned a
Mennonite center in Witmarsum, Menno Simons’ birth place.
According to Anne S. de Jong, president of the Algemene
Doopsgezind Societeit (the Dutch Mennonite Conference) and member of the
planning group, the centre “should become a place of meeting, contemplation,
inspiration and study. In this centre the Mennonites will demonstrate their
vision for faith in practice. It should be a place for us and for those
who come after us.”
The original plan would have called for donations of several millions
of dollars. Lack of funding has changed the focus of the group, but
the vision remains. The “Revised Perspective of May 2007” lists
a number of lower-cost, exciting initiatives. Instead of building
a separate centre, “the hub of the activities will be in Witmarsum and
the hidden church at Pingjum. The fulcrum of the development has
been moved to spiritual/theological content and cultural/historical projects
and tourism.” The first exhibit will be “Passing the Comfort,” a quilt
collection that recently toured a number of North American cities.
Tourists will be able to follow a clearly marked bicycle or car
route, starting at the church in Witmarsum and ending in Berlikum, or follow
the ‘Mennopad’ a 14-18 kilometre walk along the dikes, in the footsteps
of Menno Simons. Along the way, visitors can take a sidetrack to
visit villages and churches. Some sections of the dike pathway are
asphalt, but most is still an ‘earthly paradise.’
The International Menno Simons Center (IMSC) also has plans for
a digital documents center. Currently, their Dutch website <mennosimonscentrum.nl>
features a photo exhibition entitled Women in the Picture. Catalogue
title: Myth and Reality of Anabaptist/Mennonite Women, ca 1512-1900.
Photo descriptions are in both Dutch and English.
Also being planned are a Menno Simon essay contest and the composition
of an international hosting team comprised of volunteers from North America.
More details will follow in the spring issue of our newsletter.
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