So, what does Mennonite mean?...   This is a common question!

 

Mennonites draw water from a stream Christian faithfulness that has its historical roots in the 16th century Anabaptist movements in Europe.  Through the centuries, we have brought forward certain gifts - values and practices - from that stream and developed new ones.  These have consistently been:

 

• An emphasis on communal (as opposed to merely individual) discipleship to Jesus’ way of living and his teachings.  At our best, we work to build a life together that is marked by mutual aid, equity, and justice.

• Church as a voluntary association of disciples whom the Spirit draws together in worship and a commitment to loving each other, learning together, and pursuing the way of Jesus together in our own fellowship and in relation to our community and the world.

• A commitment to peacemaking and non-violent engagement in a conflicted world.

 

Here are some resources that you may find useful to increase your sense of what it can mean to be Mennonite:

• The Third Way website, which offers theological and practical resources regarding Mennonite faithfulness

• This booklet by Palmer Becker, “What is an Anabaptist Christian?”

• An Article on Peacebuilding in an “Enemy Context by Peter Dula about the work of the  Mennonite Central Committee (a Mennonite relief and outreach organization) in Iraq.

• An article on the complicated question of “Mennonite Identity” by Isaac Villegas