Posts tagged ‘Joanna Shenk’
Connections at the Margins
By Joanna Shenk
Last November at the Simple Way, a Christian community in Philadelphia, I sang from a Mennonite hymnal with Simple Way leader Shane Claiborne and others.
For a weekend, I spent time learning about the New Monastic communities — Christians who seek to embody principles of economic justice, peacemaking and contemplative spirituality, among other virtues — in Philadelphia and Camden, N.J.
I attended a School for Conversion, a five-session course with hands-on activity that introduces various aspects of intentional community life.
The Mennonite hymns, chosen by music leader Tim Heatwole-Shenk, were new to all of the other participants at the School for Conversion. Tim and his wife, Cheryl, organized the weekend. They are graduates of Eastern Mennonite University and now live at a New Monastic house in Camden. Yet the vast majority of those drawn to the New Monastic tradition have never heard of Mennonites, let alone sung our hymns.
In my travels, I’ve found that these discipleship groups often live out the gospel in more radical ways than an average Mennonite congregation. This is an important reminder that our relationship with this emerging movement can be one of learning as well as sharing.
At a Mennonite Church USA Interchurch Relations consultation in 2008, Ched Myers and Elaine Enns helped us think about how and why we connect with these groups. Out of these conversations, Interchurch Relations helped extend the invitation to Shane Claiborne to speak at MC USA’s 2009 convention in Columbus, Ohio.
Their words were also the basis for my joining the work of Interchurch Relations last fall with a focus on building relationships with discipleship communities and networks.
Since then I have visited a number of communities and have brainstormed about continued connections with MC USA. Conversations have happened at the Open Door Community in Atlanta, Jubilee Partners in Comer, Ga., Reba Place Fellowship in Evanston, Ill., Circle of Hope in Philadelphia and Missio Dei in Minneapolis.
I also attended an Emergent Church conference in Minneapolis, a Jesus Radicals gathering in Memphis, Tenn., and have spent time with authors and speakers Brian McLaren and Tom Sine.
Given our history and institutional stability, MC USA can provide roots for these newer groups that need support and encouragement. At the same time, we can grow in wisdom as these groups speak prophetically to us.
While I have deep respect for the groundbreaking work of Claiborne and others connected to New Monasticism, I have recognized it is easy to be drawn to certain well-known figures. Is this because they look to us for guidance or give us a pat on the back for our radical history?
In keeping with Anabaptist tradition, I have found some of the most interesting and life-giving work happening at the margins, in communities that have received little media attention.
What could it look like to also seek guidance from racial-ethnic Mennonites and other communities of color who have a long history of struggling for justice as minority groups?
Our own racial-ethnic members, as well as groups outside MC USA, such as The Beloved Community Center in Greensboro, N.C., must continue to be part of the conversation.
As this work continues, I look forward to what Mennonites have to give and gain. May we be transformed as we engage these marginal and dynamic groups.
Joanna Shenk, of Elkhart, Ind., is associate for Interchurch Relations and Communications with Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership.
This article appeared in the May 3, 2010 issue of the Mennonite Weekly Review. You can find the original at http://www.mennoweekly.org/2010/5/3/connections-margins/?page=2.
