One Big Family

pastoral letter by Carrie Eikler
as published to the Wiles Hill Witness

Brethren and Mennonites love to talk about ourselves as a big “family.” I have certainly used that metaphor in worship, particularly when inviting the congregation to voice their joys and concerns. Maybe we like to see ourselves as sitting around a big table, rolling up our sleeves, saying a prayer, and digging into the food provided from God’s kitchen. It’s especially easy for Brethren and Mennonites to use this imagery because, let’s face it, we are pretty small. National gatherings feel like family reunions. We embrace, we catch up, we celebrate. Oh, yeah…and people know each other’s “dirt” as well. Squabbles can last years and grudges even longer. The late Presbyterian theologian Jack Stotts pointed out, upon hearing this family metaphor, that families in the Bible tend to be dysfunction—they would lie, cheat, steal, abandon one another, even kill one another. Stotts warns us—don’t be too sentimental about the church as a family.

We have just finished our 9-week heritage series where we explored the genesis of our Brethren and Mennonite traditions, and the practices that bind us together. “Heritage” can be a sentimental word like “family.” When given limited time to introduce a “heritage” to a congregation (given that we all are at varying degrees acquainting ourselves with this tradition), it is easy to spend time and energy speaking of the shiny, glowing moments. Like with family, we want to look nostalgically at the black-and-white family photos of happy Christmases or summer vacations, and gloss over any of the bruises or bumps that have come along the way. But the reality is that the Church has left a lot of bumps and bruises over the years. Even our denominations, who seek to live the word of Jesus, “peacefully, simply, together” have hurt and alienated its family members.

So no, we are not going to spend another nine weeks looking at the dark side of our denominations! Christ reminds us that we all have brokenness. He didn’t gloss over the imperfections and try to put everything in a rosy light. He invited people into healing so they could move into new life. The same goes for our tradition. If we spend too much time looking at the past, we miss how God may be nudging us to live now, and into new life. But the path to healing and justice involves confession of the brokenness and the acceptance of redemption. Most importantly, it involves looking at who we are with open eyes, and yearning hearts. In my Pentecost sermon I quoted the words of Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, and they are words that have been guiding me the past few months. They bear repeating, I think: “Remember that we are not only descendants of our traditions. We are also ancestors.”

May we find the wisdom of God as we begin a New Day in the life of Christ.
Pastor Carrie