MCH 301: The Origins of Mennonite Church USA

This blog is supposed to be about how being gay relates to being Mennonite today, but it has occurred to me that I have not had a post about Mennonite history in quite awhile.

Now I know I have previously said:

"I promise that any future history will only be discussed in this blog when it is necessary."

But I feel that in order to understand some things I am going to write about in the future, it would be good to know a little bit more about how we, as a denomination, have become what we are today.

MCH 101: So... Menno-what?

At this point, I recognize that most people do not have a clue about who Mennonites are. For most people, the first images that come to mind are closed communities with dress codes, horse and buggies, no electricity, and family farming—basically, the Amish. While not entirely off base, such images would be considered quite naïve by most Mennonites today. 

After all, I fall into none of those categories. If I walked down the street of your town or city, you probably would not even know I was Mennonite. Now, I do live in a small rural town in the Midwest, but my family not only has electricity but also television and computers and cell phones—mine is a smart phone to be exact—and neither my parents nor any of my aunts and uncles farm (my grandparents did…a long time ago). And I have a college degree, currently pursuing a Master’s (and dare I say, a Doctorate?)—which is something most Amish would never consider trying to obtain. 

But yet I am Mennonite. 

Preaching To The Choir...Almost...

I am always surprised when I come home how much opposition I DON’T get for being gay. If you read my previous post, “Land I Cannot Love,” you may have gotten the impression that this is an awful place to live as an openly gay man. But the truth is, it is not as bad as you or I would assume.

Now maybe I am just special because I actually do  try to juggle my faith with my sexual orientation. Is it possible that my continued interest in religion—more than most I might add—in an area of the country that is highly religious gives me some leeway that I would not have been given otherwise? It seems odd for that to be the case, because most of the opposition gay people get comes from religious people…and it is not like this is a religiously liberal area of the country either.