According to the Mennonites religion, these teachings are already settled and in most cases, debate is not allowed. However, with the changing society, some religious leaders of the denomination claim that it is high time to accept these sexual minorities, since the main practices of the religion are based on promoting justice and fairness for all. This has resulted in other leaders exiting the religious groups whereas other demand that the church goes back to sticking to its olden rules. Despite the small size of the denomination, the Mennonites is not shielded from controversy matters such as the gay issue.
Kraybill (11) states that despite their initial stance of what is right and wrong, there are still Mennonites who are supporting the practice of gay marriages and LGBT in the community. For example, Ben Wideman, who is the campus minister for University Mennonite Church in State College, argues that since the church operates on the principle of justice for all, it is only fair to allow all individuals to enjoy justice despite their sexual orientations. Leaders such as Wideman feel that the world is changing, meaning the society is becoming more diverse; hence, it is only fair to accept them into joining the religion.
In the year 2015, the church led by Widerman voted to accept the gay community and transgender into the community and to allow gay marriages (Reddy 3). According to the members, this would ensure the ideal of justice applied to all. However, other religious leaders within the same denomination do not support the practice of homosexuality. According to these leaders, gayism and lesbianism are practices that go against the indigenous values that were established for this religion. For instance, Steve Olivieri, who is the pastor at Cornerstone Fellowship, clearly states that the Bible outlines the requirements of a Christian hence we have to follow the rules outlined even though we do not want to.
According to the pastor, this means that despite the fact that most people feel it is their right, the Bible says that homosexuals will not be allowed in heaven, meaning that the practice is not allowed. According to Marv Friesen, the church is happy that most members have complied with the indigenous beliefs by avoiding homosexuality. Additionally, it is evident that that the practice of gay marriage and homosexuality will become common amongst the Mennonites, since several other churches have also allowed it in general (Reddy 5).
For example, about 10 years ago, there is a church located in the Washington DC that started allowing lesbians and gays to become members of the church (Reddy 7). As a result, the regional conference of the church removed it from the Mennonites group. However, after some few years the church was taken back and this caused some complains from other churches such as the one led by Olivieri's. Precisely, the church threatened to pull out of the conference, because it seemed the religion was allowing the practice of homosexuality.
From the above occurrences, it is evident that the issue of homosexuality ahs caused war and division amongst different churches. This is because whiles others feel that everyone has a right to their choice of religion, despite their sexual orientation, others tend to feel that homosexuality is morally and ethically wrong. With the way things seem to appear, it might happen such that the Mennonites will have to bend rules. In order to avoid continuous conflict, the religion must come up with a solid stand.
Ben Wideman, who is the leader of the Mennonites church, argues that the religion will have to bend some rules by allowing the sexual minorities to gain membership. According to the article by Kelvin Williams, it is evident that the Mennonites are continuously fighting over the issue of same-sex marriage (4). In this article, Williams first narrates about the personal story of Hunsberger, about how he first converted to being a Mennonite while still young. Hunsberger settled in Virginia, which is known as the home to the largest group of Mennonites in the United States.
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