tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224755503800226218.post4464111933907944574..comments2024-03-28T02:47:52.518-07:00Comments on The Receptionist: How to spot a MennoniteAndreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651635869291708721noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224755503800226218.post-31996395116611425022016-07-19T07:44:21.579-07:002016-07-19T07:44:21.579-07:00Kindly Mr. Niccolls, as you intelligently point ou...Kindly Mr. Niccolls, as you intelligently point out, we are not alone. I think we should be praying for the ethnic Mennonites; they are also hurting the name of Christ, making Church impossible for those who can't sit quietly in the pew and accept this nonsense. We know LOTS of people here in the Valley who will never, ever, ever set foot in a Church again because of Mennonite ethnocentrism. Likewise, as it's not my first day in these parts, closed, insular communities often hurt their own. When you are an outsider to a community, kind of like that move Spotlight, you see things, you hear things, and you are told things insiders are not told. I feel sad for Mennonites; when culture and faith get confused I think you are robbed of the fullness of Christ. lol, We keep hoping that as more and more people move out this way due to the housing situation that "city folk" will help put pressure on the Churches and help improve the situation. Thank you for your kindness. Blessings. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224755503800226218.post-71951636653663658312016-07-18T18:17:55.070-07:002016-07-18T18:17:55.070-07:00Yes Anonymous, it's my real name. It's Sco...Yes Anonymous, it's my real name. It's Scottish in origin, and my lineage hails from the McNichol Clan on the Isle of Skye, in Scotland. I totally agree with Andrea. It's a DISGRACE that you were not welcomed because you didn't fit a certain genealogical demographic, or ethnicity. That Canada has a 50's mentality concerning people in the Fraser Valley, is quite troublesome, and VERY sad. I hope that you can come to a place of forgiveness and restoration, with those whom have hurt you. You aren't alone, either. I have had people tell me things similar to that in my congregation, also. Mennonites pride themselves on being non-violent, but sometimes, by just being broken vessels, our attitudes and actions can be even more destructive than any AK-47 can unleash. Thank you for being candid with your experience. I'll be praying for you. <br />Blessings, Anonymous.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06242952663814783368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224755503800226218.post-24340733275483753642016-07-18T10:11:44.591-07:002016-07-18T10:11:44.591-07:00Thank you Andrea. We cannot help our ethnic ident...Thank you Andrea. We cannot help our ethnic identity, nor would I ever want anyone to feel ashamed of their roots. However, having an ethnic identity in Canada is also a privilege as our Indigenous friends were deprived of that right. It is sad that a Mennonite worldview has come to be so pervasive in many Christian denominations throughout Vancouver and its Lower Mainland--we need many worldviews to come together and bring a holistic flavour to the Gospel of Christ. No worldview or culture should be eclipsing or dominating or holding the power over another in Church. Thank you for being open to my feedback. There are many of us begging ethnic Mennonites to do better. Thank you again. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224755503800226218.post-71153259242982864552016-07-18T09:28:55.531-07:002016-07-18T09:28:55.531-07:00Anonymous - I am so sorry to hear about your exper...Anonymous - I am so sorry to hear about your experience. It's really just wrong. I put a note at the top of my post to try to clarify that I in NO WAY am trying to promote ethnic Mennonites as "more Mennonite" than others. <br /><br />I see being Mennonite as a two-headed coin: some are Mennonite because they were born into a Mennonite family and share the cultural and ethnic heritage I describe (distinct from the German, Dutch, and Russian roots that individual Mennonites may have started from), and others are Mennonite by belief. It's a both/and situation to me.<br /><br />I cannot deny my Mennonite ethnic heritage, as it's all I have, but I would never tell someone else they are not Mennonite or welcome in a Mennonite church - that is simply wrong.Andreahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07651635869291708721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224755503800226218.post-73732032239946407602016-07-18T09:22:26.153-07:002016-07-18T09:22:26.153-07:00Mr. Niccolls, is that your actual last name that s...Mr. Niccolls, is that your actual last name that sounds rather Mennonite? Perhaps you are related to the Nikkels. Certain people are warmly welcomed, others aren't. I actually hate it when people tell me they've been warmly welcomed, as if there's something strange about me. If bloodlines are becoming outmoded (but how scary they ever were a thing to begin with) than take a look at allllllllllllllll the lead ethnic Menno pastors in Lower Mainland Churches, even at non-Menno denoms. Why? I phoned the seminaries and they said they graduate people from every walk of life. Now, how does one ethnic group get to dominate at so many Churches in the Lower Mainland? hmmmmm. . .but yes, if we had met more people like you at Church than I wouldn't be writing this comment, I hate that I have to write this. Church in the Fraser Valley doesn't even feel like Canada. It's like 1950, where we're teaching people about human rights from scratch.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224755503800226218.post-87481289043100438692016-07-18T08:18:30.010-07:002016-07-18T08:18:30.010-07:00I'm sorry you've had that experience, Anon...I'm sorry you've had that experience, Anonymous. I was never a bloodline Mennonite Brethren, and I had no bloodlines into the Mennonites, but I was warmly welcomed into the Mennonite Brethren Community. There are some that still hold to bloodlines, but due in part to history, that's becoming passe`. No one should ever be excluded because of their non-affiliation to Mennonite heritage. We're supposed to be bound to each other by the Grace Of God, & The Blood of Christ, not by the sinful, tainted blood of history, or genealogy.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06242952663814783368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224755503800226218.post-44328685065783908562016-07-18T07:49:23.231-07:002016-07-18T07:49:23.231-07:00In the Fraser Valley there's no problem recogn...In the Fraser Valley there's no problem recognizing Mennonites because they never let you forget for one moment that they are Mennonite. They have taken over all of our Churches, even non-Mennonite ones. Mennonite worldview is everywhere. Walking into any Church in the Valley is like walking into someone else's family reunion. Being Mennonite was supposed to mean being a Christian, and how the Mennonites have complicated blood line with the beautiful grace of Christ is simply wrong. It is very, very, very hard to attend Church if you are a non-Mennonite in the Valley. We have flat out been told that we are simply not welcome and that Mennos will always favour one another. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224755503800226218.post-14781699623762879952016-07-17T21:36:28.847-07:002016-07-17T21:36:28.847-07:00Here's another Mennonite joke:
Q: What do yo...Here's another Mennonite joke: <br /><br />Q: What do you get, when you relocate a Mennonite church to Montana?<br /><br />A: Wiebe Friesen Fast! :DAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06242952663814783368noreply@blogger.com