Hopewit

The Eigenheim Mennonite Church used to have a large cross facing the congregants from the pulpit area. On it were the words, “Prepare to Meet Thy God.”  The dominant image facing us now was created by member-artist, Wes Ens, and it’s a large wooden, walking-away figure of the sower, spreading seed. Position-wise, the congregation is following the sower. The dove/cross candle-holder was created by member craftsman Vic Janzen.  I hesitate to use the words logo or branding to speak of the symbolism represented in the two images; that would follow the advertising worldview. But just as leadership once decided that the large cross was the appropriate symbol in their time, the decision to replace it recently with the sower was made thoughtfully. Perhaps Kiran Desai’s central character in The Inheritance of Loss (p.29) senses a clue to the purpose of the cross and “the bleeding Christ” under which the sensibilities of the nuns—in the convent to which h...

Most church and conference meetings where questions of great import are to be decided seem to have a worrisome aspect in common : nobody comes away satisfied. Perhaps some manner of making decisions that leaves everyone contented—if not elated—will someday be found, but we are not there at present, obviously. An article in the US The Mennonite periodical (July 13, 2017) addresses the issue of sound decision making while reflecting on the experience of the Orlando National Assembly in 2017. The writer (Gerald Mast, author of Go to Church-Change the World) asserts that we conflate consensus decision making and the parliamentary procedures outlined in Robert’s Rules of Order, the result being a feeling for many that what was decided didn’t necessarily reflect best—or even good—practice. “When we approach the application of either a consensus or parliamentary procedure as a matter for Christian ethics, we will highlight what both methods share in common: seeking a collective ...