Naming the Pain, Seeking the Light:
The Mennonite Church’s Response to Sexual Abuse
LINDA GEHMAN PEACHEY*
Abstract: This article provides an overview of how Mennonites have addressed
sexual violence in our homes and communities since the l970’s. It describes work
done through Mennonite Central Committee’s Women Concerns Program, as well
as efforts by denominational media and staff to report on this issue and develop
policies and procedures to deal with ministerial misconduct. It also references more
recent initiatives to respond to sexual violence and highlights ongoing challenges
that require continued work, especially to address ways in which sexualized
violence maintains systems of domination across gender, race, and class.
One amazing aspect of the Bible is its profound honesty about sin,
including sexualized violence. The rape of Tamar by her half-brother
Amnon (2 Samuel 13) is one of the most poignant and disturbing
examples. Another is David’s violation of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11),
which is often presented as a story about adultery; the reality is that
David misused his power as king to take what he wanted from
Bathsheba and then tried to cover it up by having her husband killed.(1)
Although distressing, these stories help us acknowledge that
sexualized violence is not new but has long been part of the human
story. These stories can also help us recognize and own the sexualized
violence that exists in Mennonite and Brethren in Christ homes and
churches. According to the 2006 Church Member Profile, 21 percent of
women and 5.6 percent of men in Mennonite Church USA (MC USA)
reported having experienced “sexual abuse or violation."(2) Among
___________
*Linda Gehman Peachey is a writer and Doctor of Ministry student at Lancaster
Theological Seminary, Lancaster, Pa.
1. 2 Samuel 11.
2. "Analysis of Sexual Abuse among Mennonites,” june 16, 2009, Table 2. This study
was conducted by the Young Center for the Study of Anabaptist and Pietist Groups at
Elizabethitown College (Pa.) and included responses from a representative sample of 2,216
Mennonite Church USA members, 319 MC USA credentialed ministers, and 685 Brethren
in Christ members. The study included one question on sexual violation as part of a much
larger questionnaire. The analysis of this data was done by Conrad L. Kanagy and paid for
by the M.C.C. U.S. Women’s Advocacy Program. A smaller study was conducted in 1991
by Isaac Block, then a professor at Mennonite Brethren Bible College, Winnipeg, Man.
Using a random sample of 187 adults from Winnipeg Mennonite church directories, he
found that 25 percent of females and 7 percent of males reported experiences of sexual
abuse.-- "Winnipeg Mennos experience domestic abuse, study says," Wu' Mennonite, june
11, 1991, 253.
111
112 The Mennonite Quarterly Review
Brethren in Christ (BIC) members, the results were even higher--29.2
percent for women and 10 percent for men.(3) Most of the abuse or
violations occurred when the individuals were children or teenagers but
in MC USA 4.2 percent of women and 13 percent of female pastors
experienced sexualized violence as an adult.(4)
One woman described her experience this way:
I was groomed to accept verbal, physical and sexual abuse over a
long period of time. So when the rape happened at age 12 by my
brother it was just a slight alteration from the normal pattern ....
Over the course of my young life I learned to accept inappropriate
sexual touching from my grandfather, father and brothers .... (5)
Another wrote:
I was victimized by a man of God an ordained minister and
college professor I will call him Cam Cam called me friend his
special friend the one had searched for all his life I was
unspeakably flattered to be his chosen At his suggestion we
made a life long "friendship covenant."
Very quickly too quickly he became my mentor counselor,
literary agent and in his words supporting cast And I? Cain said
I was his "grace giver," "wounded healer," "true friend" and
"Christ."
Cam said he hoped he wasn't crowding me He also said he
couldn't live without me and that once in there was no way out of
the friendship After the sexual violations no not only after --before
and during too he often alluded to suicide Suicide threats should
be taken seriously especially if the person has a plan I read that in
the library one hot Saturday afternoon the day after Cain
threatened to use a knife in my kitchen when I refused his advances.
Yes Cam was specific the bridge the rafters in his bedroom, a
knife. . .
For a long time after terminating with Cain I felt cursed . . . He
forecast what disclosure would bring gloom silence, marriage
breakdown friendlessness His grip tortured Sharing my story
is a way of disempowering the curses Only a few remain.(6)
____________
3. Ibid
4. Ibid
5. Excerpted from "Surviving my childhood Katherine's Story," posted March 2008 on
the former Mennonite Central Committee website on abuse response and prevention.
6. Excerpted from ’Recovering from Soul Rape." MCC Women's Concerns Report, No.
112. "Pastoral and professional misconduct," Jan.-Feb., 1994, 3-4.
Naming the Pain, Seeking the Light 113
It has taken many years for the church to hear these stories and
understand the depth of pain represented by these numbers. How did
this begin? What gave these people the courage to finally tell of their
experience and to ask for help in seeking the light? And what have we
learned over the past few decades?
BEGINNING EFFORTS TO ADDRESS SEXUAL ABUSE
One of the first steps on this journey to address sexual abuse in the
church took place in 1971 when the Mennonite Central Committee
(M.C.C.) Peace Section added several women representatives to its
board.(7) Two years later, these women urged the Peace Section to include
women’s interests as part of its peace agenda. According to its March
1973 minutes, the Peace Section accepted this challenge and appointed “a
subcommittee of the women members of the Section along with Luann
Habegger and with Ted Koontz as staff persons to pursue the suggested
goals.(8) One of the first projects was a task force newsletter to provide
new opportunities and tools for organizing, networking, education, and
advocacy.(9) Slowly, Mennonite and Brethren in Christ women began to
speak more frankly and strongly about their experiences of sexual abuse
at home and in their congregations and communities. In the spring of
1976, the M.C.C. Women's Concerns Report newsletter included an article
on rape, and in September 1977 it devoted an entire issue to this reality.
In 1978 and 1979, two issues of the newsletter focused on family
violence.(10)
___________________
7. The Peace Section of the Mennonite Central Committee was established in 1942. It
was composed of delegated representatives of the peace committees of the constituent
conferences and served as an agency for counseling on conscription and the draft,
representation to government, study and writing on the peace position, and peace
education in constituent congregations.-Harold S. Bender and Urbane Peachey,
“Mennonite Central Committee Peace Section," Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia
oldld=121236.
8.. M.C.C. Peace Section Minutes, March 1973.
9. This newsletter became the M.C.C. Women's Concerns Report. Initially issued every
few months, it became a bi-monthly publication in 1980, with a total of 176 issues
published by the end of 2004, when M.C.C. discontinued the publication.-"Women's
Concerns Report issues,” Women’s Concerns Report, No. 176, "Celebrating Report," Nov.-
Dec., 2004, 20-22.
10. The March-April 1976 issue of Women's Concerns Report addressed the "total
woman" phenomenon, women’s experiences in the working world, and the politics of rape.
The Dec. 1978 and Inn. 1979 issues were entitled "Family Violence, Part 1" and "Family
Violence, Part 2," respectively.
114 The Mennonite Quarterly Review
The 1980's prompted further examination of these topics, with the
Women's Concerns Report publishing an issue on "Women, pornography
and violence” (]an.-Feb. 1986), an issue on "Wife Abuse” (Sept.-Oct.
1987), one on “Incest” (March-April 1989), and one on “Sex Tourism and
Prostitution” (Sept.-Oct. 1989).
As Muriel Thiessen Stackley, then coordinator of the Newton (Kan)
Area Peace Center and previous editor of Women's Concerns Report and
The Mennonite, reflected in 1993, these newsletters:
brought a regular dose of medicine to the blind spots, often well
intentioned of our patriarchal society It has offered a forum for and
about women It has l believe been a catalyst in Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ circles It has broadened our awareness helped
define our theology educated us offered practical information
described relationships evoked tears of empathy enlivened our
language defined our careers and affirmed the leadership of
women all this by telling women's stories.(11)
M.C.C. staff went on to compile and publish the Purple Packet: Wife
Abuse in 1987 the Broken Boundaries Child Sexual Abuse packet in 1989
and the Crossing the Boundary Sexual Abuse by Professionals packet in
1991. These packets included stories, definitions and analysis of abuse,
biblical and theological reflections suggestions for response and
prevention and additional resources. Thousands of these packets went
to individuals and congregations across the church (12)
Another significant development was a series of public meetings
organized by M.C.C. and local partners that began to openly name and
address violence against women For example on November 2-3, 1990,
the West Coast M.C.C., the M.C.C. Domestic Violence Task Force, and
the M.C.C. Committee on Women s Concerns sponsored a conference
called "Shedding Light on Darkness A Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ response to violence and sexual abuse in the family." Held in
Upland California the gathering drew about 200 participants from
nineteen states and five Canadian provinces. (13)
__________________
11. The Report Helping Us Rethink Women's Concerns Report No 109 CWC
20," July-Aug., 1993, 10.
12 MCC had printed 9,500 copies of the Purple Packet, 7,000 copies of Broken
Boundaries, and 6,000 copies of the Crossing the Boundary packet to date. --CWC turns 20"
Woman's Concerns Report No 109, July-Aug., 1993, 7-8.
I3 Kathy Henrlchs West MLC News Service article Nov I6 1990, 1, in M.C.C. files
Also reported by Don Ratzlaff (editor of the Christina Leader) In an article for
Meetinghouse.--"Domestic Violence in our Midst," The Mennonite, Dec. 25, 1990, 555-557.
Naming the Pain, Seeking the Light 115
One important outgrowth of the conference was the formation of a
confidential Network of Adult Survivors of Abuse.(14) Facilitated initially
by the M.C.C. Domestic Violence Task Force, the network provided
mailings, information, and opportunities for survivors to connect with
others in their region. Those who had suffered sexual violence deeply
appreciated the mutual support provided by the network; indeed, for
some, it became their only connection to the church. (15)
On October 4-5, 1991, the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary
(A.M.B.S.)1@ hosted another powerful conference, called "Peace Theology
and Violence against Women." Sponsored by the A.M.B.S. Women's
Advisory Committee, in cooperation with the Institute of Mennonite
Studies (l.M.S.) and the Peace Studies Program, the conference included
presentations on a range of topics related to violence against women.(17)
Importantly, several women who had been victimized by John Howard
Yoder found one another at the conference, shared their stories, and
decided they would organize and ask church leaders to intervene to stop
the abuse.(18)
At least five additional church conferences took place in 1992 and
1994, followed by two in Spanish in 2001 and 2002.19 The 1992
conference, "Facing Family Abuse: From Darkness to Light," held in
Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, generated so much interest that organizers
had to cap registration seven weeks before the event at 250 participants.
While the conference focused primarily on lament and the search for
___________________
14. Wiest, M.C.C. News Service article, Nov. 16, 1990, 2 and Ratzlaff, "Domestic
Violence," 557.
15. From correspondence of the author with members of this network, during her work
in Women’s Advocacy director, 2004-2011.
16. Now renamed "Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary."
17. Papers and responses from this consultation were printed as Peace Theology and
Violence against Women, ed. Elizabeth G. Yoder (Elkhart, Ind.: Institute of Mennonite
Studies, 1992). The presentations included: Mary H. Schertz, "Creating Justice in the Space
Around Us"; Gayle Gerber Koontz, "Redemptive Resistance to Violation of Women"; Ruth
E. Krall, "Christian Ideology, Rape and Women's Postrape journeys to Healing”; Carol
Penner, "Content to Suffer: An Exploration of Mennonite Theology from the Context of
Violence Against Women”; and a case study on "Domestic Abuse" by Isaac I. Block.
18. From author’s private conversation with one of these victims.
19. Other conferences included: "A Time for Healing" in Winnipeg, Man., March 13-14,
1992; "Breaking Silence, Bringing Hope," Kidron, Ohio, March 20-21, 1992; "Shedding
Light on Darkness,” 1992, Bakerview Mennonite Brethren Church, B.C.; "Hope for the
Journey," Hillsboro, Kan., April 22-23, 1994; and a symposium in Harleysville, Pa., Oct. 14-
16, 1994. The one in Spanish addressed family violence, and was held May 2001 in Akron,
Pa., followed by one in 2002 in San Antonio, Texas, Carolyn Holderread Heggen and Ruth
Krall were often the featured speakers at these events.
116 The Mennonite Quarterly Review
healing, "some anger did appear on the 'wailing wall' where participants
wrote out their frustration and pain and named names.”(20)
GROWING AWARENESS IN THE MENNONITE MEDIA
During the 1990s more mainstream Mennonite media began
addressing these issues as well. The index to The Mennonite, for example,
has no "abuse" heading in 1990 but by 1992 lists fourteen articles under
this heading, nineteen in 1993, eight in 1994, eleven in 1995, and one in
1996. In fact, The Mennonite devoted its April 27, 1993, issue to this
theme, under the title "Healing the Wounds of Abuse/'21 Two years later
the editors offered the issue ”The Church, a Place for Healing," which
included many suggestions for support, prevention, and additional
resources.”
One of the first articles on the subject of sexual abuse in the Gospel
Herald was Martha Smith Good's "The Rape of Tamar,” (May 15, 1990).
Eighteen months later, I. Lorne Peachey reported in his Sept. 29, 1992,
editorial, "Seven Months of Tough Lessons," that Gospel Herald had
printed sixty pages of “news stories, features and many letters" dealing
with sexual abuse and misconduct since the end of February that year.
Sadly, many of these news stories disclosed information about church
leaders who had committed sexual violations.
One of the first reports came in February 1992 when conference
leaders in Ontario, Canada, suspended the credentials of Urie A. Bender
Perceiving the conference announcement as inadequate, a group of
concerned women wrote their own statement, which was titled "Women
charge Mennonite leader with sexual misconduct." 23 A few weeks later, a
Mennonite Weekly Review headline reported that ”Bethel Withdraws
Invitation for Theologian to Speak, Sexual Misconduct Alleged”; the
theologian was John Howard Yoder.” In the months and years that
________________
20. Margaret Loewen Reimer (for Meetinghouse), "Church lgnores Abuse, Survivors
say at Meeting," Gospel Herald, Feb. 18, 1992, 9.
21. Articles included "Healing the Wounds of Abuse" by anonymous; ”What is incrst
What is sexual abuse?” and “Bad theology leads to bad behavior" by Aiden Schlichting
Enns (acting western regional editor for Mennonite Reporter); "Psalm of Lament” by Ruth
Lapp Guengerich; and "Men who abuse often victims themselves."
22. Articles in the May 9, 1995, issue included ”To be a place of healing” and "We need
more than therapy" by Gordon Houser (editor of The Mennonite); "Healing the sin in our
midst" by anonymous; “Don't forgive and forget” by Isaac Block (professor at Mennonite
Brethren Bible College, Winnipeg, Man.); and "Suggestions for showing support," "How
the church can help prevent abuse," and "Renourcu for moving toward healing from
sexual abuse." '
23. The Memmonite, Feb. 25, 1992, 84-86. This ran alongside the "Statement of Mennonite
Church Eastern Canada (M.C.E.C.) Leadership Committee regarding Urie Bender."
24. Paul Schrag, Mennonite Weekly Review, March 12, 1992, 3. The July 16, 1992, M.W.R.
issue carried the story, "Credentials of Theologian Suspended for Misconduct," based on
Naming the Pain, Seeking the Light 117
followed, additional reports surfaced, including accusations against
Conrad Wetzel (pastor in Central District and Illinois Conference),25
james L. Dunn (Western District Conference moderator and pastor),26
john Sommer (missionary in ]apan),27 Peter Ediger (pastor of Arvada
Mennonite Church),2*‘ Henry Reimer (pastor in Saskatchewan),29 and
Hubert Brown (pastor and dean of students at Hesston College).30 This is
not a complete list but illustrative of reports in the church press during
those years.
Several articles explained why the church press felt it necessary to
publish this information, and the guidelines they were using in
determining whether and how to do so. Already in April 1991, a
consortium of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ editors (Meetinghouse)
commissioned an article by James Coggins, then the associate editor of
Mennonite Brethren Herald, titled ”Should we report scandal in the
Mennonite press?"3‘ He gave ten reasons why these reports were
necessary: they warn potential victims; discourage charlatans; make it
easier to offer compensation and assistance; enhance the credibility of the
church press and the church; demonstrate our commitment to the truth;
help us remember who we are; offer the opportunity to publicize
redemption; and help us offer salvation to sinners. Also, he said, public
sin should be dealt with publicly and doing so would help remove the
excessive stigma attached to subjects treated as unsuitable for public
discussion.
_____________________
information from Prairie St. Mennonite Church, a news release from Indiana-Michigan
conference, and The Elkhart Truth.
25. "Central District, Illinois conferences suspend minister's credentials,” The Mennonite,
June 23, 1992, 282.
26. Carla Reimer, "WDC moderator, pastor resigns, admits misconduct,” The Mennonite,
Oct. 13, 1992, 448-449. Dunn’s credentials were restored about a year later, as reported in
"Western District reinstates pastor after suspension,” The Mennonite, Oct. 26, 1993, 15.
27. "Mission worker recalled for misconduct,” The Mennonite, Jan. 12, 1993, 14.
28. "Minister's license pulled, church still in recovery,” The Mennonite, _lune 22, 1993, 14.
An earlier article had referenced the congregation’s struggle.-Hugo Hildebrand, “Seeking
healing as a congregation,” Gospel Herald, July 9, 1991, 300. The 1993 article reported that
Ediger had resigned in 1987 as a result of "sexual abuse and abuse of power toward people
in the congregation" and been placed on “indefinite leave of absence from ministry” but it
appears his credentials were not withdrawn until 1993.
29. Ron Rempel, "Saskatchewan minister loses his credentials," The Mennonite, Oct. 25,
1994, 16-17.
30. Larry Penner, "Credentials of former minister revoked," The Mennonite, Dec. 12,
1995, 14-15. One of the victim subsequently asked for more accountability.-Alden
Schlichting Enns, "Abuse victim speaks out," The Mennonite, April 23, 1996.
31. Gospel Herald, April 30, 1991, 6-7.
118 The Mennonite Quarterly Review
In July 1992, Gospel Herald published a three-column article
"Guidelines for reporting sexual misconduct and other sensitive news
stories,” and invited feedback.” These guidelines repeated the case for
carrying such news: accountability; integrity; truth and accuracy;
deterrence; and legitimation of the stories of those who have been
violated. Nearly two years later, J. Lorne Peachey wrote “Why we
persist,” an editorial reiterating similar themes. “Perhaps," he concluded,
”. . . we’ll look back on the 1990's as the time when we embraced the
truth rather than the darkness of coverup and denia1.”(33)
The Mennonite press also engaged in self-examination. In 1993, The
Mennonite published an article by Larry Cornies, “Reporting Abuse
Stories: An Evaluation." From his reading of “228 clippings from four
Mennonite news periodicals”-The Mennonite, Gospel Herald, Mennonite
Reporter, and Mennonite Weekly Review-Cornies noted successes in the
areas of balance, adherence to accepted journalistic principles, self-
criticism, and reader access. Yet, several challenges remained, he
concluded, specifically in seeking a deeper understanding of the context
and the motivations surrounding these violations; advocacy and a
"Jubilee” for women; and follow-up reporting when healing and
restoration had occurred.(34) In an adjacent article, “Part of the
Accountability Process," Joyce Smith, then a student at the Graduate
School of Journalism, University of Ontario, generally affirmed how
Mennonite periodicals had handled abuse stories, but called for more
care in weeding out “hateful letters to the editor,” and more feature
articles on responding to abuse, “steps to reconciliation,” and “the
problems with systemic sexism and power structures."(35)
CHURCHWIDE INITIATIVES
Some men also became active allies. In February 1992 about three
dozen men from the Mennonite Church and General Conference
Mennonite Church participated in a consultation in Colorado to address
male violence against women. As they reported, "The experiences and
learnings of that weekend had a profound impact resulting in
confession, repentance and renewal .... ”(36) They concluded their
gathering with a covenant to break the silence around abuse.”
_________
32. Gospel Herald, July 7, 1992, 4-5.
33. Gospel Herald, March 15, 1994, 16.
34. The Mennonite, April 27, 1993, 8-9.
35. Ibid., 10.
36. From the "Background" information in the 1993 "Resolution on Male Violence
against Women." -http://home.mennonitechurch.ca/1993-maleviolence.
37. “A covenant to break the silence,” The Mennonite, March 10, 1992, 101.
Naming the Pain, Seeking the Light 119
Almost immediately, three of the men wrote a letter to the Bethel
College president, john Zehr, about John Howard Yoder’s upcoming
appearance there as a keynote speaker. Having learned of Yoder’s abuse
of women, these men noted that “Many of these women first met him at
conferences like this one .... We do not want more women abused by
him.”(38) When Bethel College subsequently withdrew Yoder’s invitation
to speak, the denominational press reported Yoder’s abusive behavior
publicly for the first time.”(39)
Another expression of this commitment to break the silence was “A
Resolution on Male Violence against Women,” adopted' by the
Mennonite Church in 1993. The General Conference Mennonite Church
considered a similar statement in 1992 but made a number of changes,
approving it with the title "A Resolution against Interpersonal Abuse.”
The Mennonite reported that John Braun (one of the signers of the
covenant) argued that these changes departed from the resolution’s
original intent. The resolution had come from "a group of men who were
confronted with their own violence and the complicity of violence
against women. [These changes] give women equal responsibility with
men. I'm ashamed that most of the change had come from men, not
women.”(40)
Church leaders also started addressing the need for increased
understanding and education about sexual transgression by church
leaders. In 1992, ]ames Lapp, then general secretary of the Mennonite
Church General Board, wrote a lead article for the Gospel Herald, “How
can church leaders avoid moral failure?”(41) He noted that church leaders
should be aware of their own areas of vulnerability and are responsible
not to misuse the power given to them as pastors. He urged appropriate
accountability structures and the need for church leaders to practice
spiritual disciplines, tend their marriages well, and take practical
precautions when making pastoral visits.
Also that year, Meetinghouse commissioned Nancy Heisey, then
associate executive secretary for M.C.C., to write “How do we confront
sexual misconduct by church leaders?”(42) She addressed how Matthew
________________
38. James C. Juhnke, “The decision to disinvite John Howard Yoder to speak,” The
Mennonite, June 2014, 45.
39. Ibid., 46.
40. The Mennonite, Aug. 11, 1992, 349-350. Also Paul Schrag, Mennonite Weekly Review,
July 30, 1992, 2.
41. Gospel Herald, March 10, 1992, 1-4.
42. Gospel Herald, Aug. 11, 1992, 1-3, 8.
120 The Mennonite Quarterly Review
18:15-20 applies in these situations and why those who have been
violated may need to ask for assistance in confronting the offender. In
addition, she shared a story highlighting why it is important for the
wider church to know when a church leader has offended sexually. She
had recommended that a friend contact a Mennonite pastor for
assistance, only to learn later that he had violated several women.
Another vital resource was Carolyn Holderread Heggen’s book Sexual
Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches, published by Herald Press in
1993.(43) Heggen provided definitions, information about perpetrators and
the effects of abuse on victims, and suggestions for prevention. What has
made this book especially valuable is that Heggen courageously
identified religious beliefs that contribute to abuse and addressed how
repentance, restitution, forgiveness, and reconciliation should not be
misused in these situations, but rather should lead toward true healing
for those who have been victimized. She also urged congregations to
foster healthy sexuality and provided worship resources that are
sensitive to survivors. Those resources remain relevant still today.
Meanwhile, the congregational and ministerial leadership offices of
the Mennonite Church, General Conference Mennonite Church, and the
Conference of Mennonites in Canada worked on guidelines for area
conferences to use when issues of misconduct came to their attention. In
April 1992 they adopted an initial set of "Guidelines for Discipline in
Ministerial Credentialing."(44) These included instructions about who is
responsible for disciplinary action, what types of charges are covered,
basic guidelines and procedures to follow, actions that may be taken
regarding ~ministerial credentials, and the process for appealing the
decision (whether that appeal is mounted by the accused or by the
complainant). About a year later, the offices issued a second edition of
these guidelines that included more information about sexual abuse and
harassment and spelled out the pastor’s responsibility to maintain
proper boundaries. These guidelines also included a sexual code of
ethics for all ministers to sign, the proper steps for release of information
in any case of misconduct, expanded victim support, an expected leave
of absence for pastors accused of sexual misconduct, and an
accountability group for pastors during their suspension.”
In 1994, Mennonite Conciliation Services, M.C.C. Women’s Concerns
Program, Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries, and the
_____________
43. This book was translated into Spanish as Abaso Sexual: En los hogares Christianos y la
Iglesia, and published in 2002 in Colombia with M.C.C. support.
44. Mennonite Church USA archives. XIII-03-03, Mennonite Board of Congregational
Ministries Executive Secretary’s Subject Files, c. 1971-2001, Box 4, file 1/45.
Carla Reimer, “What the new guidelines say,” The Mennonite, July 13, 1993, 13.
Naming the Pain, Seeking the Light 121
General Conference Ministerial Leadership Office co-sponsored a
training event in Elkhart, Indiana, on “Responding to Sexual Misconduct
by Church Leaders.” Led by David Brubaker, a church conflict
consultant, and Chilton Knudsen, an Episcopal priest of Chicago, the
training encouraged church officials to start by providing support to the
vulnerable party, and then to obtain an independent professional
assessment of the accused and to give attention to the affected
congregation, using outside resources when possible.(46)
Participants at this event, including Brubaker and Knudsen, Tina
Mast-Burnett (M.C.C. Women’s Concerns staff), Anne Stuckey
(Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries), and John Esau
(Ministerial Leadership Services, General Conference Mennonite
Church) went on to create additional documents on a number of issues.
These included: Guidelines for Accountability Groups; Pastoral Care of
Accused Clergy; Response Groups in Dealing with Accusations of Sexual
Abuse; Congregational Steps to Health Following Trauma; Stages in a
Congregation’s Healing Process; and Ways to Prevent Pastoral Sexual
Misconduct. These 1996 documents are still available, some with
updates, on the MC USA website. (47)
In 1998 the denominations began revising their policies amid concerns
that the earlier guidelines did not adequately safeguard those who were
accused.48 For example, those guidelines stressed the need to act quickly
and did not clearly separate the investigative tasks from providing
support to the victim. Some feared that if the procedures were not
perceived as fair, the process could backfire and lose credibility.
With significant input and writing from several Mennonite lawyers, a
completely new document, “Ministerial Sexual Misconduct Policy and
Procedure,” was then adopted in 2000.(49) This procedure provided much
______________
46. "Conference provides guidance on how to address clergy sexual abuse,” Gospel
Herald, May 10, 1994, 10. See also “After abuse: steps of healing the church,” The Mennonite,
May 24, 1994, 13.
47. See "Leadership Development: Congregation and Pastor Relationship Packets”:
packets/sexual-misconduct/.
48. See for example, a letter from Central District Conference Minister Lloyd Miller,
May 7, 1998, to John Esau (GC Ministerial Leadership Office) and Anne Stuckey (MC
Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministry), found in MC USA Archives, MBCM
Ministerial Leadership, Box 1 Records 1991-2000, “Guidelines for Discipline," 1998-2000
folder.
49. From memos exchanged between Elvin Kraybill and Anne Stuckey from June and
October, 1998.-"Guidelines for Discipline, 1998-2000,” MBCM Ministerial Leadership, Box
1, Records 1991-2000, Archives of the MC USA-Goshen.
122 The Mennonite Quarterly Review
more detail about how to "make factual determinations about
complaints of Ministerial Sexual Misconduct and to impose Sanctions
when warranted."(50) It is a clear step-by-step guide for conducting an
investigation but by its own admission does not fully address the needs
for "healing, recompense, repentance and forgiveness .... "(51) The contact
information has been updated, but this procedure is still in place and
available on the MC USA website.”
Two years later, in December 2002, MC USA added a companion
piece, entitled ”Justice Making: The Church Responds to Clergy
Misconduct.” As noted in its introduction, the earlier document from
2000 "focused solely on a procedure for determining guilt or acquittal.”
The companion piece addressed "support, accountability, discipline . . .
and other issues not addressed fully in the Misconduct Procedure."(53) For
instance, it gave more detail about providing support to both the
complainant and the accused and their families, how to proceed when a
finding was made, how to communicate with all concerned, and how to
provide accountability and work at prevention.
Meanwhile, M.C.C.’s Women's Concerns staff continued to provide
resources to the church, including:
- The 1995 handbook, Expanding the Circle of Caring: Ministering to
the Family Members of Survivors and Perpetrators of Sexual Abuse,
compiled by Esther Epp-Tiessen.
- An Advocacy Training Manual: Advocating for Survivors of Sexual
Abuse by a Church Leader or Caregiver, by Heather Block, 1996. In
2003, this was condensed into a booklet, Understanding Sexual
Abuse by a Church Leader or Caregiver, revised and reprinted in
2011.
- A series of “Women Doing Theology" conferences, held every two
or three years from 1992 to 2007, at Conrad Grebel College,
Bluffton College, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, Bethel
College, and Eastern Mennonite University. The final one at
A.M.B.S. was a gathering of Anabaptist Latinas, Asian women,
and women of African descent in the U.S. and Canada.
_________________
50. Ministerial Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedure, part 1, page 2, at
packets/sexual-misconduct/.
51. Ibid.
52. Ibid. See http://resources.mennoniteusa_org/resource-center/resources/leadership-
development-packets/sexual-misconduct/. The Mennonite Church Canada version is
available at: http1//resources.mennonitechurch_ca/ResourceView/43/16285.
53. See Justice Making: The Church Responds to Clergy Misconduct - Part II, at the MC
USA website.
Naming the Pain, Seeking the Light 123
- A website, "Abuse: Response and Prevention,” initiated in 2003,
which included stories, worship resources, definitions, and
educational resources.(54)
- A packet, "Making Your Sanctuary Safe: Resources for Developing
Abuse Prevention Policies,” introduced in 2003 and updated in
2007.
- A packet, "Pornography: the Secret Sin,” 2004, followed in 2013 by
the booklet Pornography: Lies, Truth and Hope.(55)
- "Home Shouldn’t be a Place that Hurts" brochures, developed in
2005 and reprinted several times over the past decade, with
many thousands of copies distributed throughout Canada and
the United States. These were also published in Spanish, French,
German, and Chinese.
Another resource, initiated in 2009 and fostered especially by Jeanette
Harder, professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha's Grace Abbott
School of Social Work, was the formation of a group called "Dove’s
Nest” that focused on keeping “children and youth safe in their homes,
churches, and communities.”(56) Harder’s book, Let the Children Come:
Preparing Faith Communities to End Child Abuse anal Neglect, explains types
of child abuse and neglect, Biblical teachings, risk and protective factors
for abuse, and steps for prevention. ”Dove's Nest” also promotes and
distributes the Circle of Grace safe environment curriculum, which is
available free to all MC USA congregations.” In 2013, they proposed the
statement “Protecting and Nurturing Our Children and Youth,” which
was adopted by the MC USA general assembly that summer.(58)
Another important program has been the MC USA Women in
Leadership Project. Initiated in 2009 by Mennonite Women USA to
understand and address declining numbers of women in leadership in
Mennonite Church USA, this project seeks to “name and transform
sexism in Mennonite Church USA."(59) Now operating under the MC USA
Executive Board, the project's diverse steering committee provides
________________
54. M.C.C. discontinued this site as an educational resource in 2014.
55. Some of these resources can be found on the M.C.C. website:
56. See http://`DovesNest.net.
57. See http://DovesNest.net/circleofgrace.
58. See 2013 Resolutions, http1//conventionmennoniteusa.org/delegate/.
men-in-leadership-project/.
124 The Mennonite Quarterly Review
guidance to the project and intentionally attends to the ways in which
race and class intersect with sexism in oppressing women. In February
2014 the Women in Leadership Project hosted a conference, “All You
Need is Love: Honoring the Diversity of Women’s Voices in Theology,”
in Leesburg, Va. With nearly 200 women in attendance, the conference
addressed the difficult realities of women's lives, as well as the hope and
nurture they find in Cod and their relationships with one another.”(40)
Finally, Mennonite Women USA has done important work through
their Sister Care program to help women find healing and the resources
needed to reach out to others more effectively. Created by Rhoda Keener,
Carolyn Holderread Heggen, and Ruth Lapp Guengerich, the Sister Care
manual has been translated into Spanish, Kekchi and Portuguese. Their
seminars have reached thousands of women throughout the United
States as well as Canada, Central and South America, India, and Nepal.(61)
PROPOSALS FOR FURTHER WORK
In what I have written thus far, I have sought primarily to give an
historically accurate account of where our Mennonite journey regarding
abuse has taken us. In what follows, I share several proposals for further
work that grow out of my twenty-five years of working on this issue.
Certainly, much has been done over these years to deal with abuse
and sexualized violence. We are now able to talk about this violence
more forthrightly and many more resources are available to
congregational members and church leaders to protect and empower
those who are vulnerable. There has been a substantial shift from a
default assumption that accusations of abuse, especially against church
leaders, are likely to be false and in any case should be kept quiet, to an
assumption that they should be taken seriously and investigated
carefully, and that disciplinary action should be taken if the accusations
prove to be true. Nevertheless, it is still difficult to find these concerns
included alongside the church’s more traditional understanding of peace
theology.
In 2010, for example, Mennonites helped plan a major ecumenical
conference at A.M.B.S. called "Peace Among the Peoples." Initially, the
program did not include attention to violence against women, although
_______________
60. For videos, worship resources, reflections, and papers from the conference, see
http://www.mennoniteusa.org/what-we-do/transformative~peacemal<ing/women-in-lead-
ership-project/all-you-need-is-love-conference-resources/.
61. See https://www.mennonitewomenusa_org/resources/sister-care-seminars/. While
these seminars do not focus on sexual violence, women often share about these experiences
and their search for healing.
Naming the Pain, Seeking the Light 125
this was added later.62 A group of younger women insisted that these
themes be included in the church’s peace agenda, and created a zine,
Breath of Hope: Addressing Sexual Violence in the Peace Movement arid the
World, to distribute at the conference.” A collection of heart~wrenching
stories, reflections, definitions, and questions, it specifically addressed
the fact that those of us who work for peace among people on the
international level do not acknowledge and take into account the
ways women’s voices (and bodies) have been subjugated and
silenced in peace work because of sexual violence in the movement.
This silencing leaves out half the population and takes movements
in an unsustainable direction, making it impossible to obtain peace
among the peoples of this world.(64)
These women also organized a special meeting during the conference, a
meeting that drew so many people they completely overwhelmed the
size of the room.
More recent efforts have continued to challenge the church to
acknowledge its past failures, and to do more to protect those members
who are vulnerable to sexualized violence. In 2012, Rachel Halder, a 2010
Goshen College graduate currently living in Lama, New Mexico,
launched a website called “Our Stories Untold,” intending it to be a “safe
and open space to discuss sexualized violence .... "(65) Hilary Jerome
Scarsella and Barbra Graber joined her in 2013 , and in July that year they
issued a “Call to Prayer for Sexual Healing in the Mennonite Church,”
encouraging people to pray this prayer each week.(66)
In addition, Graber wrote “What’s to be done about John Howard
Yoder?" an article that generated significant discussion in several
forums.” These developments, along with work that A.M.B.S. had
________________
62. The planners explained initially that they wanted to focus on war and militarism,
since there was more ecumenical disagreement in those areas. Shortly before the
conference, however, I was asked to give a presentation on peace theology and violence
against women.
63. As reported in its introduction, "This zine is one of the outcomes of the 'becoming
undone’ gathering,” an Anabaptist theological accompaniment to the US Social Forum,
held June 22-27, 2010, in Detroit. It is available as a .pdf document.
64. Breath of Hope, 1.
65. See wwwourstoriesuntold.com.
-in-the-mennonite-church-every-thursday-at-three~even-if-you-stopped-praying-long-ago-
2/.
67. This was first published by Our Stories Untold, July 17, 2013,
126 The Mennonite Quarterly Review
already undertaken, led MC USA and A.M.B.S. to form a discernment
group to deal more forthrightly with Yoder’s legacy of sexual violence.
As Ervin Stutzman, executive director of MC USA, wrote in a August 12,
2013, column in The Mennonite, he and Sara Wenger Shenk, A.M.B.S.
president, “are shaping a discernment process that will enable the
church to move toward deeper reconciliation and healing for victims of
sexual abuse by John Howard Yoder. We hope to build on the healing
work that has been done in the past, informed by current
understandings regarding the dynamics of sexual abuse."(68)
Although often difficult, these new efforts have brought renewed
energy to the work of addressing and decreasing the levels of sexualized
violence in Mennonite families, churches, and communities. Clearly, we
are not yet finished. Each generation needs to continue the work,
hopefully building on what was done before.
One area that has been disappointing is that men have not been more
visible and active in this work. While some have spoken to these issues,
there is not the same level of urgency or priority given to sexualized
violence as to other peace and justice issues. In addition, little
denominational or M.C.C. staff time is given to these efforts, and women
continue to do much of the work as volunteers, or by raising their own
funds.(69)
There is also much work to be done in understanding power
dynamics, and how they serve to privilege those who are white, male,
heterosexual, and educated. Perhaps because of our historic Anabaptist
emphasis on servanthood, men still find it difficult to acknowledge this
power and recognize how easily they overlook, interrupt, or minimize
women’s voices. This is especially true if women need to share difficult
truths about their lives and experiences in the church. It is just as difficult today--and perhaps even more so--for women to openly name sexism
and the effects of patriarchy on their lives. And it is still difficult for
survivors of sexualized violence to find adequate support and the
resources they need for healing.
__________________
It was then published as a guest post on Ted Grimsrud’s blog, Thinking Pacfsm on ]uly 31,
2013, http://thinkingpacifism.net/2013/07/); and in the Mennonite World Review, Sept. 2,
2013, 10.
68. http2//www.mennoniteusa_org/acknowledging-difficult-stories-of-sexual-abuse-from
-the-past-2/_ More information about the work of the Discernment Group is available at:
69. The MC USA Women in Leadership Project, for example, relies on volunteers and
staff time that is now less than 25 percent FTE. The project also raised several thousand
dollars to pay former staff. M.C.C. US discontinued the women’s advocacy position in
2011.
Naming the Pain, Seeking the Light 127
A third area of work is to continue examining our theology and
worship practices. We need to understand how our hymns, sermons, and
educational materials speak to those who have been sexually violated.
Do survivors hear good news when we speak of suffering, the cross,
obedience, forgiveness, and reconciliation? Can they find hope and
healing in our worship? Do we offer liberation and justice as well as
peace?
Further, we need to give much more attention to the structural nature
of sexualized violence. These sins are not only personal and individual,
but also part of larger systems designed to maintain male power and
deny full and equal personhood to women. Despite some progress
toward equality, men continue to be portrayed in advertising, language,
media, entertainment and religious images as the standard human being
and women as secondary. This is exacerbated by an increasingly violent
and pervasive use of pornography that encourages all to see women as
objects for men to use for their own needs and pleasure, and for women
to accept this lot as their due.”(70)
Finally, we need to acknowledge how sexualized violence has been
used in the conquest of other nations and peoples. This indeed is one of
the chief blind spots of the work of the Mennonite church over these past
decades, as most work has focused on the experiences of white women.
We have given little attention to understanding how sexual violence has
intersected with race and class to subjugate people of color. In her book
Conquest, Sexual Violence and the American Indian Genocide, Andrea Smith
argues that “The project of colonial sexual violence establishes the
ideology that Native bodies are inherently violable--and, by extension,
that Native lands are inherently violable."(71) This also applied to women
of African descent. As she says,
African American women were also viewed as inherently rapable.
Yet where colonizers used sexual violence to eliminate Native
populations, slave owners used rape to reproduce an exploitable
labor force .... And because Black women were seen as the
______________
70. Gail Dines and Robert Jensen, "Pornography is a left issue," Dec. 6, 2005, Znet,
zcomm_org/znetarticle/pornography-is-a-left issue-by-gail-dines. See also Gail Dines,
Pornlandr How Porn has Hijacked our Sexuality (Boston: Beacon Press, 2010).
71. Andrea Smith, Conquest (Cambridge, Mass.: South End Press, 2005), 12. See also
Traci West, Disruptive Christian Ethics: When Racism and Women's Lives Matter (Louisville,
Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006).
128 The Mennonite Quarterly Review
property of their slave owners, their rape at the hands of these men
did not "count."(72)
As the church moves forward therefore, We need to learn how
sexualized violence intersects with other layers of domination and
exploitation. Smith proposes, in fact, that we should center women of
color in the analysis, for when we do this
it becomes clear that we must develop approaches that address
interpersonal, state (e.g. colonization, police brutality, prisons) and
structural (e.g. racism, poverty) violence simultaneously. In
addition, . . . we may actually build a movement that more
effectively ends violence not just for women of color but for all
people.”(73)
As people committed to peace, this indeed is what we seek, a world of
light and hope for all people, Where no one lives in fear and pain. May
We continue to seek God’s wisdom and courage on this journey.
________________
72. Ibid, 16.
73. Ibid, 160,
