Reader's Write

Tell us what you think

Here are some of the letters we have received from our readers. If you'd like to comment about our publication via the web, you can do so easily by sending email to mennonot@keybridgeltd.com .

Issue #1: Why I am (not) a Mennonot

For the inaugural issue of Mennonot, future readers were asked to respond to the question: "Am I a Mennonot? Why or why not?" What follows are some choice excerpts from those respondents:

Whether I am a Mennonot or not or not is not something that keeps me up at night. Whether I live on the margins or not is not something going through my mind as I swear at the bum for disturbing my peaceful walk to work. Hell, I've never written in the margins, let alone lived in them. ~ Kevin Driedger, San Francisco, CA

I've also found people like me [in Berkeley]. Mennonite folks who vicariously seek to resurrect the wildcats by coming to the place where they've been seen once upon a time. Looking for some remnant of that natural, creative, instinctual spark that has been lost, glossed over or just fearfully shunned in the communities we come from. Hoping to tread on those theological, political and social topographies that have been carefully marked off in many Mennonite circles so as not to wander too far into those wild, dangerous virgin lands. It is good to have company in these often untrailed hinterlands -- makes the trip more fun. And I suspect that, like me, these Mennonot travelers also ask the question, "What am I doing here?" from time to time. Far from our agrarian, cloistered lifestyles on the farm, I hope we see a wildcat. ~ Anita Amstutz, Berkeley, CA

The now defunct Quayle Quarterly had a regular columnist who wrote a lot of right-wing blather, ostensibly to offer a sense of balance to the newsletter. While I hesitate to identify myself with a right-wing blatherer, I note that joining the Mennonite church represented an escape from "the margins" for me. The denomination in which I grew up -- Churches of God, General Conference -- offered little more than a steady trickle of conservative pop theology trends (imagine a combination of Hal Lindsay's Late Great Planet Earth and Chinese water toture). Even as a small child, my interests lay in addressing the situation in Biafra, Vietnam and Cambodia. I felt strongly that truly loving one's neighbor precluded killing him or her. And I wanted to learn more about the Bible -- not what Hal Lindsay, Charles Swindoll, et al. thought the Bible said. The members of my church treated me with the uneasy tolerance one might have a for a mental deficient, giving me the spiritual equivalent of a pat on the head and relegating me to the lunatic fringe.

When I joined the Mennonite Church (I've already merged the MCs and GCs mentally. Sue me. I'm precocious.) I felt a sense of having come home. My interest in peace and social justice issues placed me within the norm. I felt a sense of community that I have never experienced before and an encouragement to seek and question spiritually.

I suppose that living in Rochester, NY, puts me somewhat out on the margins, although the Rochester Area Mennonite Fellowship comes as close to my ideal church as anything I've yet encountered. I also have no ethnic Mennonite ancestors, but neither does three-quarters of my church, so I continue to be part of the norm in my church community.

So all you disaffected, dissolute, wallowing in ennui ex-Mennonite types out there: Snap out of it!

I look forward to hearing from outre Mennonites in subsequent issues of this magazine. When I read your tales of Mennonite outsider angst, know that I will be smirking tolerantly. ~ Kathleen Kern Webster, NY

We're not too humble to print fan mail. . .

I recently received an issue of Mennonot as a gift… Your publication is truly a breath of fresh air. Although I do not consider myself religiously Mennonite, I do hold on to a lot of the values and cultural aspects of the Mennonite tradition. It is wonderful to see that there is a strong and vocal Mennonite "fringe" at work both within and outside of the church… Thank you for following in the radical tradition of our Anabaptist ancestors and not riding the coat tails of our conservative mainstream.

Anita Susanne Fast, Vancouver, British Columbia

A 'Post-Christian' Mennonite

You are doing a great job of producing a magazine that is creative, humorous and provocative for those of us who feel like we are hanging on to the Mennonite church by a perpetually unraveling fringe. Mennonot has revived my hope that there are others like myself who are interested in asking the difficult questions, pushing the theological boundaries, and who are also not ready to completely let go of their Mennonite identity. During my two years of theological study (concentrating on feminist theology) at a United Methodist seminary, I have been challenged to identify my relationship to the Mennonite church and to Christianity in general. When asked by other seminarians to identify my denomination, I have taken to calling myself a post-Christian Mennonite. I'm curious if other Mennonot readers find this to be a helpful name, or if they have come up with their own equally paradoxical self-identifications.

Deborah R. Weaver, Denver, Colorado

God's graceful ways

Although I am deeply immersed in and thriving in the little Mennonite world of Chicago (at Lombard Mennonite), I am also intrigued by the critical edge of the outskirts, and in some paradoxical way gain energy and deepen my Mennonite roots from the mere term "Mennonot."

I am 40-something by now and have had time to process some of the discordant notes of my background and have found a haven of the best of Anabaptist practice (mixed with the foibles of being human and Mennonite) in my congregation. God's grace especially saves and has mercy upon those who grew up with a perverse notion of it. I am convinced that She offers that to us all.

Phil Kliewer, Chicago, Illinois

Words of Wisdom? and Acceptance?

I find it ironic that Holmes County, Ohio, has the distinction of producing the two chief Mennonots in the country. I have always believed that we may be the intellectual mecca of all Mennonite communities, but to produce two great? thinkers in one generation is quite a feat. A bit of advice: Don't feel paranoid, guilty or shame when you come home. Most of us do not read enough to know what you are all about. Continue to emphasize your family roots, as those of us who know your respected families know nothing too bad could come from such roots. Don't blame us for limiting or boxing in your mind-expansion ideas. Oh, and when you have "made your circle" and decide to return to Holmes County to cultivate your gardens, you will find that we will love you and accept you because of your roots and in spite of your detour in life.

P.S. Enclosed is $10 for payment of subscription.

Daniel J. Miller, Walnut Creek, Ohio

[Publishers' note: Yeah, we both grew up in Holmes County, Ohio (a beautiful community), and this guy really does know our families (and one of us is even related to him, sort of). Since one of us actually is contemplating a move back to that community, this letter naturally comes as quite a comfort. It's good to be loved on the basis of raw blood lines...]

Mennonot: For innies or outies?

Mennonot always gives us cause for thought and humor! As with any venture, Mennonot seems to be growing and finding its niche. That’s to be expected. At its inception, Mennonot seemed to be a publication that offered a forum for the grass-roots “radicals” to speak out freely – sort of a democratic forum for the fringed masses to speak out and have open dialogue.

While I’m not suggesting that this isn’t still happening, it is a bit unclear as to “who” is speaking or being represented. Is there a lack of grass-roots material or are you wishing to take the publication in a specific direction? I raise these issues because the journal seems overly populated with the materials of one or two people. It might be helpful to give your guidelines for what gets printed and what doesn’t. People that are already feeling on the fringe might start feeling more on the fringe if Mennonot becomes “in-group vs. out-group.”

Again, I’m not questioning the authenticity of the Mennonot mission, and I think the material hits the mark. And I don’t how know much material you have received so maybe you don’t have a lot to choose from. It’s just that so few individuals seem to be covered in the publication, that when I think about sending something now, my palms get a little sweaty thinking that it might be a big competitive to “get in” to Mennonot.

Anyway, keep up the good work.

~ Melissa Huber Yoder, Lansing, Michigan

Editrix replies:

Melissa’s right on the mark when she identifies Mennonot’s mission as being a “forum for grass-roots radicals to speak out freely.” The problem, as she guessed correctly, is that only a few of those radicals are actually taking the opportunity to speak out.

That said, it’s of course true that I don’t publish every piece of writing I receive. My main “guideline” is that the piece excite me in some way and be consistent with what Mennonot’s about. Highly subjective, in other words.

The upshot? Dry your palms and submit to Mennonot. If you’d like to discuss article ideas first, I’d be happy to do so and would actually prefer that. With letters to the editrix, I’ll publish anything I receive, although I reserve the right to edit. (I had originally imagined Mennonot as having a huge “reader’s write” section that included mad jottings and scribblings from dozens of Mennonots, but that has not happened yet. Only you can make my dream come true.)

~ Sheri Hostetler

How about the fringe on the right?

Keep up the good work!

(Pardon the use of the labels "left and right," but it saved me from being wordy, and I trust you understand. . .)

I would like to present you with a challenge. Your publication represents quite well the fringe on the left. We need to be aware that there is also a fringe on the right. They also need to be heard. I am aware that the "regular" Mennonite publications provide a forum for their views. Even so, these people feel quite left out.

My challenge to you is to stage a dialogue between representatives of the two groups. I am not in a position to suggest names, but I have confidence that you could find such people and do a good job with it. The goal obviously is not to polarize, but to work towards a common understanding of the Gospel. Just a thought! Ted Zerger, Salina, Kansas

Editor's note: While we are skeptical about the left and right fringes coming to a common understanding of the Gospel, we're game for attempting such a dialogue. If any readers know of two fringies from opposite ends of the spectrum that might make a good interview/article, please contact Sheri Hostetler.

Thus spake butthead

[Eds. note: What follows are some "brief" excerpts from a very lengthy letter. There is much that we haven't printed here that is well worth the read...]

I think church is a great institution. But as George Bernard Shaw said of marriage, "Who wants to live in an institution?

Many moons ago, I spent a year at Yoder Dame, home of the Fighting Amish. Then there was some nonsense called "Standards of Living" and some guy who enforced the Norms. Whose Norms? He thought we should "touch base." No way! Hands off my base! This isn't a Catholic school! (Ha!) So it was off to a BA and now an MA at Public State U. Along the way, I learned to tend bar and throw a mean game of darts. I did fraternity rituals and accumulated extensive knowledge of Pub-lore. I played paintball wargames in Hoosier National Forest, and I played guitar in a punk band that did a grungy ass-kicking version of "Kum-bah-ya." There were women. MennoBabes? Get real. Being around mennos—male, female, or politically corrected—is like time travelling with the proletarian ghosts of the 19th century...

Personally, I think of mennonots as the pre-Grunge set, back before "GRUNGE AS A WORLD PHILOSOPHY": flannel, Army parka, going west. Radicals. Some mennos even shirk national military service. Apparently, some mennos believe their life to be the battleground of some great moral duel between the forces of good and evil. Apparently, they think Satan gives a rat's ass about their soul. Ha! You gotta getta soul first, white boy. It seems to me that people ascribing to this so-called "peace and justice" ethic are making a silent confession of some sort. Especially if they claim it as "personal" article of faith. Personal? What a shameless bunch of repeaters you all are! I mean, that's what Martin Luther King said! And that's what Jesus said! Socrates too! And look what happened to them. That peace and justice nonsense is 2500 years old! And it still doesn't work! Personal, my ass. Look at it from a historical perspective—try shirking national military service in ancient Greece, Rome or Persia! (Imperial bullies in their own historical heydays.) Somewhere right now—call it heaven, call it hell—Genghis Khan is laughing at you peaceniks.

The future is not about mennonite things: flesh and bones, doilies, barn-raising, self-effacement, a pancreas. Look around yourself, what around you right now most closely resembles your pancreas? Look around yourself, is there any order in society? What was that order? When did it change and why? Is there any right idea? What is the right idea? Look around yourself, is there any idea AT ALL? Yeah, that's it, THERE'S NO IDEA AT ALL! It's the "I'm okay, you're okay" individualistic monoculture of popular narcissism, with its illusive depths of image. Welcome to American the Banal! Want some popcorn?...

And this is where you are. Planet Mennonot—the place where the information superhighway meets the family farm. I don't care if you believe me; this isn't therapy or church. I don't care if you feel better about yourself. I'm not selling anything—new basketball shoes, eternal salvation. It would seem that your choice is between the menno-repeaters among us, with their godtricks and jesus voodoo, or a bunch of crazy people screaming existential angst at nature. Beavis and Butthead Yoder

Three cheers for Mennonite chutzpah

In the spirit of the mid-eighties middle-class solidarity with Nicaragua movement, I wanted to send you a heartfelt "Adelante!" for your first issue of Mennonot. I will not be surprised if, since your first issue, feathers have gotten ruffled, feelings hurt, rage activated, aspersions cast or denunciations made to the FBI or CIA for your daring to raise unsettling questions about culture, tradition, modernity, faith, the heretical imperative (Peter Berger), the precarious nature of identity, the struggle to be faithful, insistence on maintaining the tension between roots and wanderlust, etc. No doubt you will have both eggers-on like me as well as the naysayers and detractors who will chide you for hanging up dirty laundry, announcing secrets, breaking molds, and telling accurate but unpalatable truths. M.Y. Salzman, Berkeley, CA

Breaking out of the God box

Last issue's article, "Why I am (not) a Mennonot" caused me to step back and wonder just where I am and where I'm going in this Mennonite/not world. Though I came up with no concrete answers, I did come up with a few theses I'd like to nail to the Mennonot door.

God is infinite. Much bigger than we mere mortals can ever comprehend. Because of this, we the people, in our attempt to grasp the ungraspable, put the infinite, God, into terms we can understand and deal with. We put God into a finite box — religion.

This box, in many ways, is a good idea. It lets us take the best and truest things we know and label them as God. This helps us explain and make sense out of the World. It gives us answers to children's questions, rules to live by and traditions to steady us.

This is all well and good. Well and good, that is, until ideas and issues arise that push the edges (or even jump out) of the box. When this happens, the box changes. For some people, it stops being a structure of support and begins to be a structure of confinement. And for those who are still comfortable within its limits, this previously strong box begins to look fragile — capable of being crumbled within a few years by a rebellious, non-believing generation.

What results is high tension on both sides. One group throwing the box out completely, the other condemning those who even question the limits of the box. Both sides forget that the finite structure they're arguing about isn't the end-all Truth. Both sides forget that the finite walls are the box's, not God's.

This is the problem with religion today, Mennonites obviously being no exception. New facts, issues and situations arise that demand more room than the box will allow. And yet it's hard to let go of the box and throw yourself out into uncertainty, especially when people you love and respect refuse to leave the old box — refuse to even consider the fact that God may exist outside their box.

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