NEWS RELEASE
Mennonite World Conference
For Immediate Release
June 14, 2005
Fernando Enns lectures in Canada address
‘A peace church in conversation’
Waterloo, Ont. (Canada) — “Our insights do not only belong to ourselves,
but are our gifts to the whole church.” This was Dr. Fernando Enns’
challenge to Anabaptist/Mennonites in his March 16 address at Conrad Grebel
University College here. The evening lecture, entitled “The Peace Church:
Dialogue and Diversity in the Ecumenical Movement,” was part of the fifth
annual Bechtel Lectures in Anabaptist/Mennonite Studies.
Dr. Enns is professor of systematic theology and ecumenical studies at
Heidelberg University, a pastor in the German Mennonite Church, and
Vice-Chair of the Association of Mennonite Churches in Germany. As a
delegate to the World Council of Churches (WCC) and a member of its Central
Committee, he has been called “The voice of peace in the ecumenical
movement.”
Dr. Enns played a key role in the WCC’s initiative to establish 2001-2010 as
the “Decade to Overcome Violence.” He is the author of several books and
numerous articles on ecumenism, ecclesiology, peace theology and ethics and
he was a speaker at the 2003 MWC assembly in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. [A review Enns’ recent book on peace church involvement in the ecumenical movement is available at http://www.goshen.edu/mqr/pastissues/apr05harder.html.]
Mennonites have been both “active shapers and sceptical observers” in the
ecumenical movement, explained Dr. Enns. Following World War II, German
Mennonites were instrumental in the WCC’s earliest efforts to promote
alternatives to violence, and they continue to be a valuable resource in
this regard. At the same time, they have also expressed concern that
ecumenical cooperation could pressure Mennonites to follow another group’s
agenda or lead to a loss of historical identity.
Dr. Enns argued that genuine dialogue has the effect of affirming
participants in their own identities but also leads to mutual
transformation. Valuable theological writing has emerged out of ecumenical
encounters that have challenged Mennonites to articulate shared ethical and
theological views. In these instances, dialogue served not to dilute core
beliefs and values, but to sharpen them.
His second evening lecture was entitled “The Peace Church: Identity and
Tolerance in a Pluralist Society.” In his markedly hospitable way, Dr. Enns
proposed that real tolerance, as opposed to indifference, affirms both one’s
own and the other’s identity. This sort of tolerance helps to sustain
non-violent co-existence within pluralist societies as it is often when a
group’s identity is threatened that violence erupts.
He identified two ways in which Christian faith justifies genuine tolerance.
First, faith is given by God through the Holy Spirit. While Christians must
fulfill their call to witness, they must continue to tolerate and love
others who choose not to adopt their beliefs. Second, Christians believe
that every person is made in the image of God and that through salvation God
is perfecting the whole of creation. Tolerance acknowledges the inherent
dignity of every human being and our utter reliance on God.
This belief does not mean that Christians are to tolerate all actions and
behaviours; intolerance is required at times. However, as Dr. Enns pointed
out, the Bible insists that both Christian tolerance and intolerance be
rooted in faith and a love that never allows the other to be reduced to his
or her actions.
Through his historical, biblical, theological and personal reflections, Dr.
Fernando Enns challenged all Christians, but especially the Historic Peace
Churches, to join ecumenical efforts toward the strengthening of identity
and genuine tolerance as elements of non-violent coexistence.
The Bechtel Lectures in Anabaptist/Mennonite Studies were established in
2000 through the generosity of Lester Bechtel in honour of his late wife
Alma. They provide a forum to communicate core meaning and values of the
Anabaptist/Mennonite faith and heritage to a diverse audience in a rapidly
changing world. All Bechtel Lectures are published in the Conrad Grebel
Review. Back issues are available by contacting the office at:
cgreview@uwaterloo.ca.
– Mennonite World Conference release from a report by Michelle Cameron,
Master of Theological Studies student at Conrad Grebel University College.
Photo available.
Cut line:
Fernando Enns delivered the Bechtel lectures on March 16 and 17 to more than
120 people at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario
(Canada).