Recent articles and discussion in Mennonite media have drawn new attention to sexualized violence and abuse of power within the Mennonite community.  At the center of the conversation is the article by historian Rachel Waltner Goossen, “Defanging the Beast”: Mennonite Responses to John Howard Yoder’s Sexual Abuse, in the January 2015 issue of Mennonite Quarterly Review.  In her article Rachel describes her research into the history of Yoder’s actions and the response of the church, including the devastation suffered by victims and the failure of church institutions to provide transparency for the truth, support for victims, and adequate accountability for Yoder.   For an excerpt of the article, see https://themennonite.org/feature/failure-bind-loose-responses-john-howard-yoders-sexual-abuse/ .

On April 12, Rachel Waltner Goossen will be a guest speaker at BCMC in an adult Sunday school elective at 10:50 a.m. in the sanctuary.  All are invited to come hear Rachel speak about her research and the article.

As the wider church continues to process the impact of Yoder’s actions and the larger realities of sexualized violence and abuse in the church and its institutions, this is an important time to review how BCMC seeks to prevent sexual abuse in the local congregational setting.  Here are policies and practices at BCMC:

• As credentialed ministers within Western District Conference, BCMC’s pastors are required to take training for prevention of clergy sexual misconduct, and to sign a code of sexual ethics. WDC also requires pastors to provide annual accountability plans that identify ways in which pastors maintain healthy supervision, boundaries and self-care, as well as guidance found through peer groups, coaching or spiritual direction.  BCMC affirms Mennonite Church USA’s Ministerial Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedure.
• BCMC’s Guidelines for the Safety of Children and Youth were approved in 2006 by the Church Board. The introduction to these guidelines state that “BCMC should be a safe haven for all who enter here.  All staff and volunteers representing BCMC shall conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the high standards of Christian ethics.  They shall at all times be responsible for their actions when representing the trust and authority given to them by the congregation.  Personal boundary invasions or misuse of power, including sexual abuse or harassment, will not be tolerated.”   To read the guidelines in their entirety, see  Guidelines for Safety of Children and Youth.   Since it has been nearly 10 years since the guidelines were approved, the Church Board is planning to facilitate revision of these guidelines in the near future.
• Circles of Grace is a Christian safe environment curriculum designed to educate children and youth about positive relationships with God and others, and to help them identify and maintain appropriate boundaries. The Faith Formation Commission of BCMC is responsible to implement this curriculum in annual sessions for children and youth of all ages.  For more information see http://www.dovesnest.net/circleofgrace
• As part of BCMC’s new Care for People policy, the Deacon Commission has been asked to gather information and recommend guidelines to the Church Board regarding response to persons who have committed sexual offenses. A helpful resource for this is the document “Protection and Inclusion: Guide for Congregations on Safely Including Persons Who Have Committed Sexual Offenses” available from Dove’s Nest at http://www.dovesnest.net/sites/default/files/Protection_and_Inclusion.pdf.

For more general information and resources, see http://dovesnest.net/.  Dove’s Nest’s mission is to empower and equip faith communities to keep children and youth safe in their homes, churches, and communities).

Of course, having policies and procedures in place is just a beginning.  There is always more we can do as a community of faith seeking to care for the vulnerable, provide accountability for those in power, and live out God’s transforming shalom.  We must continue to seek out opportunities to support survivors of abuse and trauma, become more educated about the realities of abuse in homes and congregations, name institutional and personal abuses of power, and commit ourselves to healthy relationships and appropriate use of power.

May God grant us wisdom and strength in the ongoing journey toward greater wholeness and justice in the church and its organizations, our homes and communities.

– Heidi Regier Kreider

To read previous Pastor’s Posts, click on “Pastor’s Post” below.

February and March have been a busy time for BCMC’s engagement with young adults.

On February 25, the Education Service Scholarship Committee (ESSC) held a fundraiser in tandem with the Wednesday night supper and received a wildly generous donation of $3,496. Through the work of ESSC, this donation will allow the congregation to double our scholarship contribution for current and future Bethel College (BC) students. BC students will now receive $2,000 toward their education per year.

During the fundraiser supper, current BC/BCMC students Ben Kreider, Eric Preheim, Emily Harder, and Alex Van Nguyen shared stories about their college journeys and thanked the congregation for support.

Alex Van Nguyen, a student from Vietnam, shared a particularly heartfelt reflection on his time at BC and BCMC, including this powerful statement: “I am not an US citizen, I did not grow up in a democratic society, and I am not even Mennonite. However, you all have welcomed me in your congregation with open arms as a member of your church, your family. Your actions have reinforced my belief that the grace of God and the love of humanity have reached beyond national identity, political conviction, and religious belief.  Bethel College is such a rewarding experience for me.”

In addition to the fundraiser, BCMC’s engagement with young adults has led to the launch of a new Sunday school space. Young adults, including college students, are now meeting in Room 28 for coffee, snacks, and conversation. As this new class begins forming, it hopes to focus on topics specifically related to contemporary young adult life, while also engaging changes in culture and the church.

Jerrell Williams, BC intern for youth ministry

Amidst these other engagements with young adults, BCMC had the privilege of hearing a sermon delivered by Jerrell Williams on March 1. Jerrell, our current Bethel College intern in the area of youth ministry, reflected on the church’s mission in the context of wider society. Jerrell encourages the congregation to “make time for what matters” by becoming more involved in the work of serving our neighbors, especially populations who are pushed to the margins. Jerrell’s sermon reminds us that young adults often are more oriented toward service and mission and less interested in consuming church programs.

This flurry of engagement with young adults again shows that BCMC is a community that cares for its relationships with young people and that their voices are valued and received with true sincerity. In the coming months and years, what are other ways that BCMC can engage young adults?  Feel free to post your ideas on our Facebook page!

– John Tyson

We are in the season of Lent, a time of spiritual renewal leading to Easter.  Lent is a period of 40 days, not including Sundays (since Sunday is considered a “little Easter,” the first day of the week on which Jesus arose from the dead). This season recalls Jesus’ 40 days of fasting and prayer in the wilderness, before he began his ministry. For Christians today, it is a time to re-turn to God and re-focus our lives more intentionally through actions and attitudes of repentance and renewal.  Since ancient times, people have chosen various kinds of spiritual practices to observe Lent.

One form of spiritual practice is abstinence – to let go of something – such as fasting from food, drink or other things that capture our attention and distract us from God.  Some people choose to fast from electronic media, soft drinks, cigarettes, meat or candy for a period of time, in order to focus more clearly on God’s provision and presence in their lives. Others may fast from certain meals and use that time to pray.  Some choose to give up an attitude or activity such as worry, complaining, gossip or over-work, in order to renew gratitude, trust, compassion, and joy in their lives.

Another form of spiritual practice is to intentionally take on an act of service or commitment. This might be volunteering at the homeless shelter, collecting food for the food pantry, writing to legislators, or working on a project of reform or justice in the community.  Or, it could be offering a listening ear to a family member or friend, walking or riding bicycle to enjoy God’s creation and reduce fuel consumption, caring for a neighbor’s children, or spending 30 minutes each day in prayer and scripture reading.

Either way – whether we abstain from something, or add on a commitment  – it is important to remember that spiritual practices are not for the purpose of earning God’s favor, impressing other people, or simply improving ourselves.  In Matthew 6, Jesus warns against ulterior motives for religious practices, when he says to his disciples:

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven…  ³But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.   ⁵“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. ….⁶But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you….  ¹⁶“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you….²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁸And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³²For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

On Sunday, January 25 the BCMC Senior High youth hosted a soup luncheon for the congregation, as a fundraiser for upcoming activities.

Led by youth sponsor Ben Lichti, Senior High youth served both a tomato vegetable and sausage rice soup.

BCMC Senior High youth are raising funds primarily for two upcoming events. The first event is a trip to Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp for Snow Camp which will take place February 13-15. The second event is a trip to MCUSA Convention 2015 in July.

The approximate cost for a student or sponsor to attend Snow Camp is $170, while the approximate cost for a student or sponsor to attend MCUSA Convention is $550. About 15-20 total youth and sponsors plan to attend each event. We estimate that $9,000 will be needed to fund these events.

As a relationally-focused youth group, both events will provide opportunities to grow in our relationships with one another and God. Senior High youth are eager to participate in energetic worship opportunities and local service projects at these events.

As the Senior High youth begins to enter a season with multiple big events, plans are in process for additional fundraisers in the coming months. Senior High youth deeply appreciate all of the support and love from the congregation!

– John Tyson, associate pastor for faith formation

To read previous posts, click on “Pastor’s Post” below, and scroll down.

On Sunday, Dec. 14, BCMC folks were invited to wear black to worship, in solidarity with the message that “Black Lives Matter” and as a witness for racial justice in our country, in light of recent deaths of black men and youth at the hands of police. This request came from the ecumenical association Christian Churches Together, forwarded to us from our own denomination, Mennonite Church USA, which is a member of CCT.   (For more information, see http://www.mennoniteusa.org/christian-churches-together-not-a-time-to-be-silent/ and http://christianchurchestogether.org/ )  That Sunday morning, I was moved when I looked out across the gathered congregation and saw a sea of (mostly) black.   I also want to assure those who chose not to wear black, or who were simply not aware of the invitation to do so, that their presence was also valued! Likewise, I value the variety of responses, questions and perspectives that this experience raised. One person told me that she was grateful for this simple yet significant opportunity to respond to current events in our nation. Some choir members raised the question of whether to replace their robes with “concert black,” pointing toward the fact that there can be a variety of reasons people may dress in black, and context matters. Someone else raised concern that public actions such as this can be reactive or simplistic, vulnerable to misinterpretation, or ignorant of other perspectives. If we say that “Black Lives Matter,” don’t all lives matter? Yes, of course. All lives matter. All life is sacred. All persons are children of God. Yet our society historically has not treated all lives with equal dignity, respect, and opportunity. Systemic oppression, racism, prejudice and profiling has devalued the lives of people of color, and privileged the lives of people with white skin. So, to say that “Black Lives Matter” is to protest these disparate realities and to stand with those who have suffered as a result. To say that “Black Lives Matter” is essentially to say that “All Lives Matter.” To wear black on Sunday was to follow the lead of the Black church community in this matter, rather than to presume that the definition of reality from the perspective of white people is the most valid definition. I hope that the experience of wearing black raises awareness, questions, conversation, deeper understanding, and ongoing efforts to seek God’s shalom for all people.

– Heidi Regier Kreider

To read previous posts, click on “Pastor’s Post” below, and scroll down.

I remember when I first encountered Facebook. I was a freshman at Eastern Mennonite University. I had just uttered goodbyes to all my friends from high school only to be reunited with them a few weeks later as my very first set of Facebook “friends.”

I did not imagine that creating my Facebook account would be something that I still live with a decade later.

No one imagined that Facebook would have 1.23 billion users worldwide a mere decade later either.[1]

But here we are: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and who-knows-what’s-next are with us to stay. Each of these social media platforms are a living entity, continually innovating themselves as they respond to the desires of users and a rapidly evolving online world culture. They offer unique services, but ultimately each is in service of connecting people. They provide a virtual space to share conversation, information, and images.

The rise of social media leads many to believe that increased communication and connection will result in a more empathetic and peaceful world. I am skeptical of this narrative, although Twitter has been immensely helpful in allowing youth to organize in protest of injustice in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Wall Street, and Ferguson, for example.

Some rejoice that social media platforms and increasingly user-friendly devices offer us an unprecedented opportunity to enter into deeper relationships with more people across greater distances. Others find it hard enough to just keep up with the people we see on a daily basis.

Overall, it’s probably wise to resist “salvific” narratives that suggest social media platforms will dramatically improve the world. It’s also equally wise to recognize the powerful gifts and opportunities that social media offer us as a vibrant community of faith.

Perhaps, we might think of social media as tools.

Tools are handy. They make achieving difficult tasks easier. They help talented carpenters to construct beautiful buildings. And when we admire those buildings, we don’t stand around in awe of saws, hammers, and screws.

I think of Facebook as a tool for inclusion and hospitality, a useful tool among others for helping congregations connect with one another to encounter the movement of God in our communities. That’s what’s truly beautiful.

Leaders working at the intersection of new technologies and Christian community engage with social media purely as a means, not an end.

One of those leaders is Kyle Matthew Oliver, who is employed as a “digital missioner” at a large Protestant seminary. Oliver puts forward the idea that social media and other web-based tools, like podcasts of worship services, can help congregations reach folks that are typically under-served in our communities.[2] For Oliver these include:

✧ People who work anything but a 9-5 workday Monday through Friday,

✧ people who can’t always provide or afford childcare or transportation,

✧ people with physical disabilities or special learning needs not well accommodated by aging church buildings or noisy groups,

✧ people who are new to the faith and not ready to prioritize faith learning, and

✧ people whose lives are over-structured as it is, and who have the courage to recognize that attending one more meeting or class right now will create more spiritual chaos than the meeting or class has any hope of redeeming at present.

Engaging with social media as a congregation enhances our ability to provide hospitality and connection to more people, especially those who are not served by the traditional Sunday morning gathering time – like those doing service at a long distance, or those in our wider fellowship who are no longer able to attend on Sundays, but long to connect to this place that they have grown to love.

In his work Understanding Media Marshall McLuhan famously introduced the phrase “the medium is the message.” McLuhan understood that the message produced by a particular medium is solely an effect of the medium. New mediums generate the possibility for new effects, new messages. Put differently, the best way to communicate a new message is to find a new medium.

As a congregation, we are not seeking to put forward a brand new message, but might we be interested in tools – mediums – that allow us to express an old message in a new way?

At the center of our mission statement is our calling to: “Unite in the worship and praise of God; stimulate Christian growth and discipleship; provide opportunities for fellowship, sharing and support among members; engage in service and outreach; practice hospitality; and invite others to faith.”

These are the longstanding values that have formed the mission and message of the congregation from the beginning. As new technologies emerge, we are faced with the challenge of translating our longstanding mission and message into contexts increasing awash in digital culture. Amidst this reality, we ought to continually discern what use these mediums might be as tools in our work to spread this message and pursue this mission.

Facebook is easy to navigate and helpful as a tool to explore how social media platforms might allow us to communicate our mission and message in a new way and, potentially, to new people.

But the first value stated is that we “unite in the worship and praise of God” and this is something holy that occurs in the visible, enfleshed presence of one another and God. This is beautiful and it can’t happen online, but we should probably share about it on Facebook.

[1] http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2014/01/29/facebook-passes-1-23-billion-monthly-active-users-945-million-mobile-users-757-million-daily-users/

[2] http://www.faithformationlearningexchange.net/uploads/5/2/4/6/5246709/the_virtues_of_online_learning.pdf, page 2.

– John Tyson

To read previous columns, click on “Pastor’s Post” below and then scroll down:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Campus ministries at Bethel College recently sponsored a 24 Hour Prayer vigil, inviting members of the college community to sign up to pray for blocks of time beginning 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, and ending 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. The prayer vigil took place at the Agape Center in the Richert House, just across the street from BCMC.

In advance of 24 Hour Prayer, student chaplain Ben Kreider offered some reflections about prayer in a chapel service. “By intentionally praying around the clock as a community for a full day we hope to discover the ways in which we can pray ceaselessly at all times,” he said. “When the word prayer is mentioned, a lot of thoughts or feelings may surface. We may feel awkward or uncomfortable with prayer. We may feel guilty about how little we pray. We may not know what prayer is. We may experience prayer as stagnant, as simply a conversation in our head. I don’t have a nice definition of prayer all worked out but some possibilities of what it can be. Prayer can be taking off our shoes and declaring the ground under our feet to be holy. Prayer can be crying in pain and lament to God. Prayer can be sitting in silence and waiting for God. Prayer can be an explosion of holy creativity manifest in art and song. Prayer can be the words of familiar Psalms and hymns when we have no words of our own. Prayer can be free-form, spontaneous, and spirit-filled. Prayer can be a simple posture of gratitude and hope.” Ben concluded with his hopes for the 24 Hour Prayer vigil: “I hope that we come to know prayer as something life-giving, a way to connect with our Creator. I hope that prayer can begin where we honestly are, with all our worries and foibles and questions, and find its end in the peace and the love of God who is always listening and present.”

I participated in 24 Hour Prayer early Sunday morning. Student chaplains had set up different forms of prayer for participants to engage in: Lighting candles along with prayer requests written by students at the chapel service earlier in the week, scripture, written prayer guides, music, devotional images to meditate on in silence, and visual art. 

I was grateful for this time and space in which to slow down, become mindful of God, and to join the flow of prayer and the community of pray-ers who came and went during that 24 hours. As I arrived for my hour of prayer and entered the Agape Center, I noticed that the person who I was replacing had left their shoes by the door: A sign of holy ground. I too removed my shoes, just as Moses had removed his sandals before the presence of God in the burning bush. Any place is holy ground when we recognize that God is there, and open ourselves to be present to God.

I began my prayers that morning by reading from the classic devotional book, A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie, with prayers for morning and evening of each day of the month. Here is a portion of the morning prayer for the 9th day of the month, which wonderfully expresses both the mystery and mandate of prayer:

Here I am, O God, of little power and of mean estate, yet lifting up heart and voice to Thee before whom all created things are as dust and a vapour. Thou art hidden behind the curtain of sense, incomprehensible in Thy greatness, mysterious in Thine almighty power; yet here I speak with Thee familiarly as child to parent, as friend to friend. If I could not thus speak to Thee, then were I indeed with out hope in the world… Dear Father, take this day’s life into Thine own keeping. Control all my thoughts and feelings. Direct all my energies. Instruct my mind. Sustain my will. Take my hands and make them skilful to serve Thee.   Take my feet and make them swift to do Thy bidding. Take my eyes and keep them fixed upon Thine everlasting beauty. Take my mouth and make it eloquent in testimony to Thy love. Make this day a day of obedience, a day of spiritual joy and peace. Make this day’s work a little part of the work of the Kingdom of my Lord Christ, in whose name these my prayers are said. Amen.

May it be so – on this day, tomorrow, and every 24 hours…

– Heidi Regier Kreider

To read previous columns, click on “Pastor’s Post” below and then scroll down:

In her book Almost Christian: What the Faith of our Teenagers is Telling the American Church, my seminary professor Kenda Creasy Dean argues that the largest predictor for the quality of faith in a teenager and young adult depends on the quality of faith of the significant adults in their lives.

Dean also suggests that the most important thing about these relationships is that they last well into the years that immediately follow graduation from high school.

At BCMC, we seek to provide students from grades 7 to 12 with a mentor that will help them navigate their emerging Christian faith, values, and goals in the context of our pluralistic culture. In these relationships, youth have an opportunity to develop a significant adult relationship that serves to compliment their existing relationships with parents.

The mentoring program is one of the foremost ways that BCMC practices being a truly intergenerational community. Mentors often spend time helping youth learn how to drive, bake, or play music. Mentor pairs rotate in taking care of children in the nursery during worship services. Mentors often can be spotted at sporting events or concerts supporting their mentees.

The mentoring program is also one of the foremost ways that we practice stewardship. By being stewards for the lives of youth – being with them through years that can be profoundly disorienting – we are caring for and valuing the most important gifts that God has graciously given us.

BCMC youth are all young people currently developing skills for leadership in the diverse activities that they engage in on a weekly basis. Someday soon, they will be sent out and scattered into the world as agents of God’s love. For now, as our mentors know, the mentoring program is one way that BCMC sends God’s love to them.

– John Tyson

To read previous columns, click on “Pastor’s Post” below and then scroll down: