Including Children in the Life of the Congregation: A contemporary Mennonite Exploration

Abstract

The Mennonite faith tradition, which originated with sixteenth century Anabaptism, practices believers baptism which assumes a voluntary and adolescent or adult decision to join the church as a member. Children are excluded from church membership by virtue of their age. This study explores how, in fight of the Anabaptist faith heritage, a Mennonite congregation in the twenty-first century might be more inclusive of its children.

From a liberative stance informed by a feminist perspective, the author reflected on the writings of one Anabaptist theologian, Pilgram Marpeck, the confessional statements of the Mennonite Church, and key biblical texts regarding the nature and nurture of children in order to articulate a theology of children for contemporary Mennonite ecclesiology.

The author's action in ministry project involved exploring this theology further with real children and adults from one Mennonite congregation in Waterloo, Ontario. Eight children were interviewed about their relationships with God and the church. in addition, the author facilitated a five session series of meetings with a group of ten adults in the hope of encouraging the congregation to examine and transform its ecclesial practices with children. The methodology used to gather data and facilitate the learning process was the shared praxis approach to religious education developed and articulated by Catholic religious educator, Thomas Groome.

The author concluded that, in order for Mennonite congregations to be more inclusive theologically of their children, church membership must be based in community rather than believers baptism, and initiation of the child into the church community happens through a child consecration ceremony. Both a careful process of theological reflection and a new fresh metaphor for church are needed to help congregations practice more age-inclusivity. The author introduces one such metaphor of church as children in God's playground, in which children are moved from the margins of congregational life to the centre.