Homosexuality in the Mennonite Church: The Pittsburgh Experiment

Every two years, Mennonite Church USA holds a biannual convention to bring together Mennonites from all over the country. It is an opportunity to reunite with old friends, to worship God, and to celebrate a religious heritage that goes that goes all the way back to the Reformation in Europe. 

This convention also gives Mennonite Church USA’s delegate body—composed of representatives from member conferences and affiliated organizations—a chance to decide the direction that the broader denomination will take. And where I was always more concerned with the other aspects of the convention, it is the workings of the delegate body that I now find interesting.

And it is specifically the issue of inclusion of homosexuality that I particularly direct most of my attention.

This issue came to the forefront at the National Conventionin Columbus, OH in the summer of 2009. But the MC USA national convention in Pittsburgh, PA in the summer of 2011 was a much different experience than the one two years before in Columbus. For me, this was different for a few reasons:

1) I was a delegate representing my home conference—Central Plains Mennonite Conference—and therefore I attended all of the delegate sessions; whereas two years before I was a substitute youth sponsor helping to watch over our church’s youth as they ran around taking part in the many different activities the convention usually provides. This time around, I was important: I had a voice.

2) I was also, for the first time in a major Mennonite gathering, open about my sexuality. I did not hide who I was/am from people—whether I previously knew them or not. 

Pink Menno logo

3) I was actively involved in the Pink Menno community at convention; and I not only represented Pink Menno, but I along with many of my friends represented EMU Safe Space—the LGBT inclusive student organization at the university I recently graduated from. This time around, I spent much more of my free-time working to expand awareness about what we were striving for as a minority community in our denomination.

So what was the difference as I saw it in this convention compared to the last one?

Well, for starters, Pittsburgh ’11 had a lower overall attendance than Columbus ’09; and although there is no way to prove it, few deny that it was probably the Pink Menno movement at Columbus that was responsible. It was also different because there was no Blue Menno presence whatsoever—thankfully!

And of course, who could forget the “Pittsburgh Experiment.” Officially, the Pittsburgh Experiment was a motion to suspend all spontaneous motions from the delegate body until the next biannual convention. In other words, whatever was not on our preset agenda (the issue of homosexuality in the church was NOT on the agenda) could not be proposed for discussion during this convention. Amply named, the Pittsburgh Experiment was intended to provide an opportunity for people to work their questions and issues out peacefully—pacifistically (as true Mennonites), if you will.

But the huge difference was in the way Pink Menno conducted itself. In Columbus, members were all over the place, drawing attention to themselves and their cause; while in Pittsburgh, we did not really force anyone into conversations, we simply let our pink t-shirts express who we were and invited anyone into conversations about homosexuality with whoever wanted to be a part of them.

And in those Pink shirts, we simply walked around—spreading visibility—and participated in regular convention activities…and of course, engaged in those conversations whenever we were approached about it. But we did not force it on anyone; they came to us on their own terms. And I think that is the key difference between the two conventions.

hymn-singing

Where Columbus was all about making our presence known in whatever way possible, Pittsburgh was about showing others what we really were about: community.

communion

Coffee house panel discussion on Safe Space
communities on Mennonite college campuses

We had inclusive hymn-sings (a favorite Mennonite tradition for many) before each worship session, we had our own creative communions at noon everyday throughout the week, we held our own themed seminars in the evenings and even had our own inclusive worship service in a nearby church, and we hung out and played games in our hospitality room (which was unfortunately pushed into a nearby hotel OUTSIDE of the convention center this time around)….

In fact, many people commented that the one group being more quintessentially “Mennonite” than any other at Pittsburgh ‘11 was Pink Menno.

And really, could we ask for anything more? Take it from me, Pink Menno does not want to segregate itself from the rest of the denomination. We do not want to separate. We are just like every other Mennonite walking around, and just as diverse. We simply want to be included equally.

I actually think other Mennonites at Pittsburgh ’11 were caught off-guard by the way we conducted ourselves. In Columbus we were naïvely flamboyant, and gave ourselves a bad image; but in Pittsburgh, we were average rational adults—or youth/teenagers, depending on whom we are talking about—asking politely to be involved.

In Pittsburgh we regained some of our dignity, and I think some borderline Mennonites were impressed with us. But it was not our rather casual approach that altered people’s impressions, it was our stories.

Unlike Columbus, the Executive Committee and Convention Planning Committee organized time and space for individuals to talk specifically about this issue during the convention. They organized two directly-related discussions concerning homosexuality and one other that was broadly based on sexuality in general.

Pink Menno made sure that we were going to use each of these opportunities as best we could, so we packed the rooms as much as possible. And in these spaces, we made ourselves vulnerable; we put our hearts and souls on the table for all to see.

Debriefing in the Pink Menno Hospitality Room
"Equality is not a threat
EXTEND LOVE"

By the end of the week, almost every one of us had broken down in tears from some conversation or act of kindness and inclusiveness. It was difficult, but it was important.

See, there are a lot of people in the Mennonite church who would consider themselves in the middle on this issue—neither fully inclusive nor exclusive—simply because they do not consider themselves adequately informed. I think these are the people who were most affected by Pittsburgh ’11.

What the neutral-observer saw in these conversations was: oppressive people preaching specific bible verses at us, while we responded with love and complete sincerity. I know for a fact that several people started to warm up to Pink Menno simply because of the witness that we presented.

Only time will tell what the Pittsburgh Experiment accomplished for the inclusion of homosexuality in the Mennonite church. Needless to say, I cannot wait till Phoenix 2013!