March 5, 2012 issue
Being Anabaptist at a seminary that’s not
Students discuss faith, misconceptions
By Sheldon C. Good Mennonite Weekly ReviewFrom sixth grade through college, Krista Showalter Ehst attended Mennonite schools, which partly led to her decision to attend a non-Mennonite seminary.
A six-month experience working in an ecumenical setting with the U.K. Anabaptist Network also influenced her application to Atlanta’s Emory University, which is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
“In the U.K., it was so helpful for me to talk about Anabaptist and Mennonite identity with folks who had such little exposure to the Mennonite church,” she said. “I learned a lot from observing the ways Anabaptist values were being put into practice in a non-Mennonite context.
“I was also surprised to realize that the questions people had for me about my Anabaptist-Mennonite faith, experience and convictions actually deepened those commitments.”
Ehst is now experiencing a similar phenomenon at Emory’s Candler School of Theology, where she will graduate in May with a master of divinity degree.
“There are times that professors ask me to speak from a Mennonite perspective, which is a bit daunting,” she said.
The most common response Ehst gets when people learn she’s Mennonite: “Oh, you’re Mennonite? I love Mennonites.”
Students and professors sometimes romanticize Anabaptism, she said, but they also have a genuine desire to learn about it.
“Many are interested in the ways that distinctive communities have formed around the Anabaptist tradition,” she said.
People at Candler are drawn to Mennonites’ peace witness, Mennonite resources on conflict mediation and reconciliation, and practices such as adult baptism, communion and lived discipleship, she said.
Comments
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Having also attending a non-Mennonite seminary (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) , I found people open and engaging. I, too, was often asked to speak on behalf of a Mennonite perspective. The most fruitful conversations occurred in the church history department with Dr. Woodbridge.
I'm currently working on a D.Min at Northern Seminary under Dr. David Fitch, who is an anabaptist. There are many fresh voices that follow Jesus in an anabaptist way in institutions outside of the Mennonite tradition. I'm a big supporter of Mennonite schools. Sometimes, however, it's simply impractical for folks to get to where they are. In those instances, rest assured that there are other places where you can get more education that can support and build up your anabaptist/Mennonite faith - even if those terms are not in the name of the university/seminary.
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I have two seminary degrees after studying at Mennonite, Church of the Brethren and United Methodist schools. I identify with those in the article who come from other denominations in to the Mennonite Church. I am from the Reformed Church in America, have worked in The Episcopal Church, been a Presbyterian, a United Methodist and have attended house churches that were ecumenical. While I am a member of a Mennonite Church congregation, I believe that I am truly part of the larger Body of Christ. I hope someday that Mennonites will stop calling brothers and sisters in Christ who are of different traditions, "Non-Mennonites." It implies that Mennonites are somehow the reference point for all other believers. When I was a member of other denominational congregations, we didn't call different groups, "Non-Methodists" or "Non-Reformed." We used their proper names or said something like, "Christians of other traditions."
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A resource that may be of interest. Currently FREE through Sunday, 11 Mar. Christian Pacifism: Fruit of the Narrow Way (orig pub. by Friends United Press) Free for Kindle OR for Your Computer http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Pacifism-Fruit-Narrow-ebook/dp/B005RIKH62/ref=zg_bs_158327011_13
also on amazon UK
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Nice story, Sheldon; thanks! This can go the other way, too. I'm Brethren but have been at Eastern Mennonite University for the past four years for grad school, having moved from the Midwest. I like to say that I fell in love with the Mennonites and the Anabaptist tradition here at EMU, went through a bit of a "Brethren identity crisis," but decided to stick with the Church of the Brethren as a minister, trying to re-inject some of the genius of the Anabaptist tradition that Mennonites are so vigorously and constantly re-interpreting and wrestling with.
So I commend the Mennonites in this story who have ventured out, because my own "Brethrenness" has been enriched by encounter with Mennos...
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Gary,
Thank you for your comment about calling our Christian sisters and brothers "non-Mennonite." I think this a very needed commentary and I will certainly work within my own language to change how I refer to people who don't identify themselves as Mennonite.
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I am a Mennonite who not only has a bachelor's degree in a Quaker University (George Fox University), but I also attended the seminary for one year, and I am involved with Wycliffe Bible Translators, a non-denominational missionary organization. I chose the Christian university for two main reasons: 1) It was in Oregon, my home state; I didn't want to move so far to go to a Mennonite University, and 2) I wanted more space to engage with Christians of other traditions and give my own Mennonite perspective as a needed alternative opinion.
I echo the other stories in this article of people who have felt the need to be a part of the wider Body of Christ, because I think that 'outisders' do give valuable opinions and perspectives about what is healthy or unhealthy practice, doctrine, and theology (etc.) inside the Mennonite church. Part of being welcoming to other Christians and not so closed off from outsiders is to just be open to more opportunities of discussion with them. Great post!
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Michael, Gary, Brian and Cara: Thanks for sharing honestly and openly about your experiences — if only I could've included all of you in the story too! It would be interesting to juxtapose this article with testimonies of undergraduate students. Also, it's interesting that none of the seminary students mentioned tuition costs as a reason for their seminary choice.
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