Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The First Seven

I want to thank YMR's first seven participants for sharing their voices. Each voice was unique and interesting in their own right, and I thoroughly enjoyed publishing and reading each post.
Thanks for being brave in taking a chance on a new blog! I really appreciate all you have done for YMR, for without participants, there would be no blog!
So thank you Andrew, Kim, Michelle, Salman, Char, Angel and Monica.

We have more exciting posts over the next month, but we are always in need of more! So if you would like to participate, please email me @ ymr@bell.net. Each journey is unique, and everyone has something different to share, so I hope you will consider. Thanks!

We'll see Saturday!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Hey there
You'll want to tune in next Saturday, YMR will have a new post! In fact over the next month there'll be some very exciting posts you won't want to miss!
I'd also like to give a huge thanks to Kris 'Mrs. B' Bradley for all her wonderful help with my blog. I really can't thank her enough! And I'd like to welcome all my amazing new followers too! Thank You All!
See you next week!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Monica

Hello Everyone and Welcome to YMR!

It's hard to believe this is our 7th post! And this next one is very exciting because this is the first time the participant is neither a friend or a friend of a friend, which means that YMR is getting more readers! Very cool!
But before I introduce our next participant, I want to thank Angel for her very interesting post last week!

And, now for this week, please welcome Monica.
Monica is a Mennonite and I think you will enjoy her post!

Here is Monica's Introduction:


I'm Monica, a Christian-Mennonite who enjoys cooking, sewing, gardening, reading and homemaking. I am married, and also work outside the home as a librarian.

1) What religion do you practice?
I am a member of a theologically conservative Mennonite church.

2) Did you convert or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what did you need to do to convert? And what did you practice prior to converting?
Well, my mother was Lutheran and my father was the one with the Anabaptist background, so to answer your question, it was a little of both. Sometimes we visited my grandmother's Lutheran church where I participated in Sunday School, sometimes we were members of a Mennonite church. We moved around a bit, which made for a varied (and somewhat unstable) church life. I was brought up in a Christian home that was also very Mennonite culturally possibly due to my parents both having a German background. Most Mennonites make a decision to join the church somewhere after the age of 12, whether they are "born into" the religion or not. Joining the church means taking an instruction class and being baptized in what we call believer's baptism. That means we do not baptize babies, but we baptize accountable young adults or adults upon confession of faith. Upon baptism, you would then become a church member and practicing Mennonite. By doing so, you agree to uphold a church's standards, participate in church life, and communion. You become more accountable to the church for your actions. I made the decision to join the church, though looking back on it, I was not ready and there was a lot of pressure from my family. Later on, in college, I did step back and explore other religions, with no lasting satisfaction in what I found. During my final years of college, I became a church member again and experienced what I feel was a true rebirth as I entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. My husband grew up in an Independent Baptist church, and converted to Mennonite after his church suffered a split.


3) Would you consider yourself a moderate, conservative or other.
How about a moderate conservative? Even within conservative Mennonite churches, there are varying degrees of what could be termed "conservative." In some churches, members are not allowed radio, internet, and their vehicle must be painted black. These are what would be called "ultra conservatives". I believe radio, computers, and my silver car do not detract from my Christian life. Yet, I do believe that divorce and remarriage is sin, that women experience blessings by observing the practice of headcovering described in 1 Corinthians 11, and that much popular media (television, many movies) is a time thief that detracts from family life. We do not have television. I also believe in modest dress- skirts or dresses for women, uncut hair, and we are not to wear jewelry (1 Peter 3:3, 1 Timothy 2:9). I could go on and on, but these are some of my beliefs.

4) In your opinion, what makes you moderate/conservative/other?
My commitment to historical Anabaptist beliefs, values, and practices that have fallen away for many other people who no longer practice them.

5) In your opinion, what makes someone conservative? What makes someone moderate?
Again, my previous statement would apply, and to what degree you practice the historically agreed on tenets of Mennonite faith would give you the label of Conservative, moderate, etc. For instance, there are Old Order Mennonites who drive horses and buggies, and have changed much less over the past hundred years than other churches. This lack of change would make them the most conservative of the Mennonites.

6) What's your heaven/paradise like?
This is a hard question for a number of reasons. I only have the Bible to go by, which describes bits and pieces of heaven. And yet, I also believe that heaven is somewhat incomprehensible in my small, human mind. There will be things in heaven that I cannot understand or fathom in my body here on earth because "For now we see through a glass, darkly," (1 Corinthians 13:12). I do know that there will be streets of gold and gates of pearl, and that we will be singing God's praises there.

7) In your opinion, does everyone make it into heaven/paradise? If they do not, why?
The Bible is clear that some do not. Luke 16-19:31 shows us one case of a man who was given much in life and yet could not share it. In hell, he asks for a drink of water, and I believe that man is still thirsty today. In John 14:6 Jesus says He is the way and the truth, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. Yet, I also believe that everyone will have the chance to accept Jesus and enter into an everlasting relationship with God. Still, even then the Bible is clear that some will reject God.

8) What makes your religion a good fit for you?
The emphasis on Jesus as the center of our faith, and having a personal relationship with Him. There are some traditions within the church that I value highly, because I find them to be beautiful and God-glorifying. Finally, I value the brotherhood of believers. In a functional church, the brotherhood is like having an extended family.

9) What are your holy days and what do you do to celebrate them?
We do celebrate traditional Christian holy days such as Christmas and Easter. There is usually a church service, and then a day spent with family. Also, a meal, and at Christmas, gifts. Around Christmas our church will also go caroling to some older people in the community, and one year on Christmas eve we had a song service where we sang carols. We also have a special service on Good Friday. Twice a year our church observes communion, in the Fall and Spring. These are special church services and could be classified as holy days.

10) Do you consider people of other faiths to be your friends?
Oh, definitely. Every one's walk with the Lord is unique and personalized. I am not here to judge anyone because they are different from me!

11) Would you ever join people of another faith to celebrate one of their holy days? Please explain why?
I would be more likely to do this if it was a holy day on the Christian calender, or if I was on the mission field.

12) What are your thoughts on the burka, and Shariah Law?
This is not an issue in the United States where I reside.

13) What are your thoughts on women not being allowed to become priests?
Do women have to do everything? We're expected to keep house, have and raise children, sometimes homeschool, often have jobs outside the home, and care for our aging parents. And now they want us to lead the church? Sorry, I'm over extended as it is. I am thankful that God assigns different roles to men and women, and that I do not feel the need to take over church leadership.

14) Does your place of worship segregate? If yes, how does this make you feel?
Not sure I understand this question. There are many churches that segregate seating of men and women, with men on one side of the church and women on the other. My church does not do this, for which I am very glad. I love worshiping next to my husband. In churches I attended in the past that had segregated seating, I was always distracted by the back and forth passing of children across the aisles, and parents constantly getting up and leaving the sanctuary to meet outside to discuss something.

15) How much does your religion affect your daily life and how much thought do you give it when making a decision? Does it affect in any way your decision on abortion, gay marriage, etc?
My relationship with Jesus Christ affects every area of my life, from how I spend my time, how I use my resources, how I react or don't react, and what I think about during the day. It is with great joy that I seek and accept God's guidance in many areas of my life. While my views on abortion and homosexuality are based on the Bible, I admit that they probably would not be much different than if I did not look to the Bible as a guide. Politically, I am somewhat of a natural conservative on certain issues.

16) How would you react/feel if your child wished to marry outside your religion?
This is difficult to say as I do not have children. I hope that I would be more concerned about my child marrying another Christian rather than someone specifically Mennonite. Yet, I know myself well enough to suspect that I might be sorrowful if my child chose to reject Mennonite beliefs altogether, and was unable to see the beauty of what we have to offer.

17) In your opinion, if someone is not of your faith, will they go to hell?
It will NOT be just Mennonites in heaven!

18) Who do you think is not a practicing ----- in your religion and why? ie who in the public domain claims to speak for your religion? Do you agree with them or not?
It is dangerous to make assumptions on what is in another person's heart and make accusations of false belief. Although I am hard pressed to think of anyone off the top of my head who "speaks for my religion" (there may not be anyone as we are generally quiet and keep to ourselves) I do know that there are issues of sin in our churches which remain hidden, as we are churches made up of imperfect people.

19) Have you ever been the target of a hate crime? Please explain.
No.


20) Do you ever feel like your religion devalues you?
The only time I feel like that is when I have a God-directed burden for something that no one else feels is important. For instance, I have always had a strong pull for environmental stewardship, which is not a priority to most Mennonites. It is seen as a liberal agenda issue. It sometimes feels like Mennonites limit their creation care strictly to the mission field, and that is important, too. But God created so much more than that, and asks us to look after it.

21) Does your religion give you peace of mind?
At its best moments. But all Christians struggle. What it does is give me a living hope of an eternity spent with a loving Heavenly Father.

22) Do you believe in reincarnation? Why or why not?
I do not. The Bible says "It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27) and there is nothing more I can add to that

.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Be sure to tune in next week as YMR will have a new post!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Angel

Hello Everyone and Happy March!

First up, I wish to thank Char for sharing her unique and thought-provoking perspective with us. I very much enjoyed her post and if you haven't done so yet, I urge you to check it out!
YMR has a new post this week, so please welcome Angel.

Angel is a Mennonite and I think you will enjoy her journey as well!

Here is Angel's Introduction:

I'm Angel, I have four adult sons, and I'm a fibre artist who makes stuff from junk. It just doesn't get more exciting than that!
oddballangel.wordpress.com

1) What religion do you practice?
I'm called a Christian, but I have a hard time saying I "practice" a religion. It's more like a relationship with God.

2) Did you convert or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what did you need to do to convert? And what did you practice prior to converting?
I was raised Christian, no particular denomination. I was sent off to church when I was two with my sister who was a year older than I. (This was back in the early sixties.) We went mostly Brethren in Christ churches, which is Christian Anabaptist. When my family recently moved to a new town, we found this Mennonite church suited us well, so we go there now.

3) Would you consider yourself a moderate, conservative or other.
Not conservative, but beyond that it depends on the day. My views change as I mature. I don't believe now what I believed when I was 20. I've learned something since then. Therefore, it's difficult to use one label or the other.

4) In your opinion, what makes you moderate/conservative/other?
See above.


5) In your opinion, what makes someone conservative? What makes someone moderate?
I defer to the dictionary definitions.

6) What's your heaven/paradise like?
Who knows? I can speculate, but all I know is it's a good place.

7) In your opinion, does everyone make it into heaven/paradise? If they do not, why?
No, some do not go to heaven because they don't want to. No one is forced to go; therefore there has to be another option.

8) What makes your religion a good fit for you?
Being a Christian is a good fit for me because I follow Jesus. However, I don't view myself as belonging to a religion as much as to a particular church. If there had been another church of another religion or denomination that met our needs, particularly our need to serve, we would go there. For me, it's more about the community of the church than the label it carries. Our church holds many values that I cherish. We are peace loving, we are environmentally aware, men and women are equal, we discern collectively as a community as opposed to taking our direction from one person or a few people, we are not fundamentalist or literalist, and much more. You are welcome to come to our church no matter whom you are. Perhaps we're an anomaly in the modern Mennonite denomination, but I'm not the only one who sees we are not judgmental or preachy. Also, I like how Mennonites are practical and active. A timely example, we have been in Haiti for over 50 years, and brought critical help within hours after the earthquake, and also have a multifaceted, multimillion dollar plan to help Haiti. We were one of the first to have structural engineers on the ground there.

9) What are your holy days and what do you do to celebrate them?
Our church follows the usual Christian calendar with some variations from year to year. I do whatever our church suggests if I can, and whatever else I feel like doing at the time. I'm not particularly faithful to holy days. I suppose I'm more practical than faithful. I don't feel bad if I miss anything. I completely missed Advent and Christmas this year at our church, and I felt sad because I always enjoy that, but I didn't feel guilty or like I have to make it up somehow.

10) Do you consider people of other faiths to be your friends?
Absolutely.

11) Would you ever join people of another faith to celebrate one of their holy days? Please explain why?
Of course, and I have. There are many reasons why. It's kind, loving, peaceable, respectful, and I enjoy learning about why people believe what they believe. If I were ever asked to participate in something I felt was offensive, then I would kindly decline, but that has never happened, and I would still be interested in learning about it.

12) What are your thoughts on the burka, and Shariah Law?
I wish I could say I was an expert, but I don't know enough about it to comment.

13) What are your thoughts on women not being allowed to become priests?
Are you referring to the Roman Catholic church? That's up to them. Our lead pastor is a woman. Women and men are equal to us and involved in positions of the church according to their gifts, not gender.

14) Does your place of worship segregate? If yes, how does this make you feel?
No.

15) How much does your religion affect your daily life and how much thought do you give it when making a decision? Does it affect in any way your decision on abortion, gay marriage, etc?
Not a whole lot since I don't really consider myself religious per se. My decisions are based on love, reason, principles, life experience, the experience and discernment of others, the Bible, and convictions of the Holy Spirit. When something is right, it's right for lots of reasons, not just because I read it in the Bible, or because an old guy in a robe said so.

16) How would you react/feel if your child wished to marry outside your religion?As long as he's happy.

17) In your opinion, if someone is not of your faith, will they go to hell?
That's between God and the person.

18) Who do you think is not a practicing ----- in your religion and why? ie who in the public domain claims to speak for your religion? Do you agree with them or not?
As a Christian, tons. The Pope would be a good example of a Christian who I completely disagree with on some points, but completely agree with on others, but how many Christians completely agree with the Pope? And don't all religions have people like that?


19) Have you ever been the target of a hate crime? Please explain.
No, thankfully, but I've been the object of prejudice from people who have misconceptions or preconceived ideas, often based on the stereotypical Christian described earlier, and sometimes from other Christians whose beliefs differ greatly from mine, particularly fundamentalists. As with any prejudice, it is usually fueled by ignorance. I often get stereotyped when I say I'm Mennonite or a Christian. I must do everything my husband tells me, and wear dresses all the time, and do everything the Bible says to the letter, and, most disturbing, I must be totally irrational and a bit stupid if not gullible, but I'm not like that at all, and neither are most people at my church. I'm well grounded and well read, ridiculously logical and rational, and I'm open minded and welcome other viewpoints. Sadly, I understand where that stereotype comes from, and thankfully, I've found a church where that is rare.

20) Do you ever feel like your religion devalues you?
In some cases, yes, in some cases, the opposite is true. Our church certainly does not. We value all humans equally, and offer hope and help to all.

21) Does your religion give you peace of mind?
No, the Holy Spirit does.


22) Do you believe in reincarnation? Why or why not?
No. It doesn't make any sense, and I've never been presented with anything to convince me otherwise. Even my near death experience did not present any evidence to the contrary, but only confirmed my convictions that there is no such thing.