How an Open Letter By a 98-Year-Old Mennonite on Gay Marriage Went Viral

Last week my husband and I went on a 2000-mile road trip covering parts of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Although the Yellowstone National Park was the highlight of the trip, listening to some incredible podcasts and an audiobook was an epiphany of our long trip. Not only did it introduce us to some brilliant minds and their lives but there wasn't a single moment of monotony and time went by pretty fast.

One of the podcasts that struck a chord with my heart was - Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History - Generous Orthodoxy.

In this episode, Gladwell personally interviewed a 98-year-old Mennonite, Chester Wenger who wrote an open letter to his beloved Church over the subject of gay marriage, teaching us all an important lesson of striking a balance between strong belief in religion yet being open to change - termed "generous orthodoxy"; I'll discuss this in the latter part of the article.

The letter was shared and read more than 230,000 times over the Mennonite website and went viral even when Wenger was unsure about the meaning of "getting viral".

Who was Chester Wenger?

Chester Wenger was an ex-pastor in the Mennonite Church of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A man who dedicated his complete life to being an Anabaptist Christian (one of the oldest Protestant denominations who moved to parts of Canada, the United States, Ethiopia, and South America after they were persecuted from Russia).

A lifelong student of the Bible who did a Bachelor of Theology after completing his Bachelor of Arts to have a profound knowledge of the holy scripture.

In the open letter, he testified his integrity towards the church and his deep-rooted faith in Jesus -

• Baptized into a Virginia Conference Mennonite Church as a young boy, youngest son of a Mennonite evangelist and second president of Eastern Mennonite Seminary (now EMU), AD Wenger.

• Mothered by a diligent student and teacher of the Scriptures, the oldest daughter of a Lancaster Mennonite Conference bishop and faithful to her Church in every way.

• At the request of Lancaster Mennonite Conference ordained in 1949, by Virginia Mennonite Conference for mission work in Ethiopia.

• Appointed by Eastern Mennonite Mission Board of Lancaster Conference as the Educational Director for the Mennonite Mission in Ethiopia.

• Founded and taught Bible in the Bible Academy of Nazareth Ethiopia which was established to train potential leaders for the budding Meserete Kristos Church.

• First elected chairman of Ethiopia's Meserete Kristos Church, now the largest Mennonite church in the world.

• Happily turned the MKC chairmanship over to an Ethiopian who later was chosen and served as president of the Mennonite World Conference.

• Began and taught in various educational programs in Lancaster Conference that were centered on Bible teaching (e.g. Keystone Bible Institutes, Paul Timothy Program).

• Former director of Home Missions of Eastern Mennonite Missions.

• Former pastor and still a member in good standing of Blossom Hill Mennonite Church, a thriving congregation of many young adults and young families.

• Lifelong student of the Bible and when it comes to quoting scripture passages I would be ready to compete with anyone.

• Father of 8 children (one deceased) all of whom love the Lord and serve his Kingdom.

• Pleaded for patience when my congregation decided to leave Lancaster Conference over the women's leadership issue to join Atlantic Coast Mennonite Conference.

• When it comes to my desire to be faithful to the laws of God and to walk uprightly with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my children and many, many Ethiopian and US witnesses will vouch for my integrity.

What is generous orthodoxy?

Chester Wenger's introduction clearly throws light on his rational and progressive mindset. Even while his congregation was conservative, he stood for women's rights in the Church and patiently propagated the same to other members.

Clearly, he believed in the "sacred" core values of Anabaptist Christians as described by theologian Palmer Becker-

• Jesus is the center of our faith.

• Community is the center of our lives.

• Reconciliation is the center of our work.

But he never had blind faith towards his religion and was open to change.

Generous orthodoxy is a term coined by an American theologian Hans Wilhelm Frei. Yes, it is an oxymoron - as orthodoxy means committed to a tradition and generous means open to change. But orthodoxy without generosity leads to blindness and generosity without orthodoxy is apparently shallow.

Wenger's open letter to his beloved church

When Wenger's adult son, Philip Wenger, approached his parents to discuss his homosexual relationship, Wenger and his wife Sara Jane, patiently tried to understand and embrace the new term in their wordbook- homosexuality.

Even when Philip's sexuality was condemned by the Mennonite Church authorities and he was excommunicated, his father, and mother supported him - and constantly gave him hope to not lose faith in Jesus.

In 2014, when Pennsylvania legally recognized same-sex marriage, Philip and his partner tied the knot in an Episcopal Church, and Wenger and his wife legally solemnized their marriage.

This resulted in the termination of Wenger's ministerial position in the Mennonite Conference in Lancaster and led him to write an open letter to the Church.

Last thoughts

Wenger's letter did not change Church's decision over his expulsion and neither accepted his son's marriage but somewhere it created a conscious space among the people to bring progressive change.

I feel Wenger's faith in the religious body and holy scriptures was unwavering but at the same time, he tried to connect a balance between his conscience and religious beliefs which is easier said than done.

Malcolm in his podcast episode - Generous Orthodoxy - applauded Wenger's approach to protest in a calm and peaceful manner. Malcolm believes, "respect the system we are trying to heal."

Although the complete letter is profound and meaningful, these two lines had a lasting impact on me and amplified my respect for Wenger, his family, and his beliefs.

• When my wife and I read the Bible with today's fractured, anxious church in mind, we ask, what is Jesus calling us to do with those sons and daughters who are among the most despised people in the world - in all races and communities?

• What would Jesus do with our sons and daughters who are bullied, homeless, sexually abused, and driven to suicide at far higher rates than our heterosexual children?

References-

1. An open letter to my beloved church

2. Generous Orthodoxy

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