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News archive
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| Mennonite
Church USA accepts Lutheran apology |
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By June Krehbiel
NEWTON, Kan. (Mennonite Church USA) - Mennonite Church USA
has accepted with appreciation a recent apology of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). In late April, on behalf
of the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA, Executive
Director Jim Schrag sent a letter to Mark S. Hanson, ELCA
presiding bishop, thanking the ELCA for adopting a declaration
that expresses regret for the persecution of Anabaptists.
Offering "deep appreciation" for the adoption
of this declaration, the letter said, "We are especially
moved by the expression of 'deep and abiding sorrow and
regret' for past persecution of Anabaptists. We receive
this apology with gratitude for its honesty, courage and
humility and accept it in a spirit of forgiveness. ... We
pray that God will use this gesture to release both Lutherans
and Mennonites from a past that may have bound us in ways
we did not even know."
Relations between the two denominational groups began moving
toward this point five years ago when the ELCA initiated
interchurch conversations. From 2002 to 2004 a liaison committee
with four individuals from each denomination met five times,
charged in part with the task of seeking ways to heal the
memories of 16th century conflict. Results of their conversations
were reported in "Right Remembering in Anabaptist-Lutheran
Relations."
Last fall the ELCA Conference of Bishops and the ELCA Church
Council adopted a "Declaration of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America on the Condemnation of Anabaptists."
The declaration expresses regret for Anabaptist persecutions.
It repudiates the use of governmental authorities to punish
individuals or groups with whom it disagrees theologically.
It also states that many of the condemnations in the Augsburg
Confession did not apply to Mennonites - either the forbears
of Mennonite Church USA or its members today.
"As we receive this apology and internalize it, how
might it change us?" asks André Gingerich Stoner,
director of Interchurch Relations for Mennonite Church USA
Executive Leadership. "To what extent have Mennonites
been shaped by thinking of ourselves as victims of persecution?
Has that contributed to our being 'the quiet in the land?'
Might an apology like this invite us to rethink our identity
and our posture in the world?"
Stoner sees this declaration from the Lutheran body as
a significant step of reconciliation between the two groups.
"The fact that the ELCA critically assessed their
founding documents, including the Augsburg Confession, shows
a lot of honesty and courage and generosity of spirit,"
Stoner says.
In his letter Jim Schrag calls for congregations and church
institutions to see the ELCA action as "an encouraging
sign of healing within the body of Christ" and one
that "opens doors of new understanding and mutuality
between our churches."
Parallel dialogues between Mennonites and Lutherans have
also taken place in France and Germany. The Lutheran World
Federation has begun conversations with Mennonite World
Conference.
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| Session
to focus on early childhood education at San José
2007 |
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Mennonite Early Childhood Network (MECN) will offer a half-day
session at the Mennonite Church USA convention in San José,
Calif. The workshop will challenge pastors, parents, teachers
and friends of young children as they guide and interact with
the young and also support their families.
The meeting will be from 1:30 to 5 p.m., Wednesday, July
4, in Convention Center Room J2. Keynote speaker Sharon
Davisson will describe how for more than 20 years she nurtured
a culture of peace among children at Stepping Stones Preschool,
Nevada City, Calif. Davisson has worked with young children
for more than 30 years. She has served as adjunct faculty
at Pacific Oaks College since 2003.
The mission of MECN is to provide information and support
for parents and early educators of children, birth through
kindergarten. The network's goal is to assist in developing
the whole child spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially
and cognitively within a framework that reflects an Anabaptist
interpretation of the Christian faith. MECN operates under
the auspices of Mennonite Education Agency (MEA), the education
agency of Mennonite Church USA.
Three presentations will follow the keynote address.
Kathleen Roth, director of Diamond Street Early Childhood
Center, Akron, Pa., will discuss "Providing Quality
Care in Faith Based Programs."
JoEllyn Peterson will speak on "Engaging the Multiple
Intelligences of Children." She teaches courses in
early childhood education at Bluffton (Ohio) University
and has trained Head Start teachers and paraprofessionals
in early intervention programs.
Leonor Kennell, bilingual special educator in Fort Collins,
Colo., will present "Helping Children Live Counter
Culturally." She teaches kindergarten through grade
2 at a school attended by Mexican immigrants.
Maria Crockett, co-pastor of House of Power, a Mennonite
Church USA congregation in Elkhart, Ind., and director of
two child care centers will lead a devotional.
MECN began at Charlotte 2005. The network now includes
ministries that Mennonite Church USA congregations offer
young children and parents, the MEA schools, which include
kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students, and interested
individuals.
Through funds designated for early childhood education
that Goshen (Ind.) College received from the estate of Dr.
Evelyn Rouner, this MECN gathering is available to participants
at no cost. It is open to all convention registrants.
To join the MECN network and receive e-mail alerts, see
www.MennoniteEducation.org/EARLY. For more information,
contact Kathryn Aschliman, MECN coordinator, at kathrynaa@goshen.edu
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