Anabaptists and Catholics: Members
of the Choir of God's Polypholy
Alan Kreider, Elkhart, Indiana, USA, addressed the third Mennonite?Catholic conversations. In that presentation he said the following:
"In the post-Christendom world, I believe that the early Christians, especially those of the early centuries, can offer us models for common life and evangelization which are extraordinary, and which can be extraordinarily relevant. I believe that early Christian history can help accentuate this relevance; for we Mennonites, on the basis of our unique history, have sensitivities and questions that enable us to see things in the early materials that may elude others. But we dare not sing on our own.
We, Anabaptists as well as Catholics, are members of the choir of God's polyphony. God has given us all parts to sing, each of which is necessary if the music is to cohere and the harmony is to resonate. We get in trouble, indeed we mar the choir and dishonor its Director, if we attempt to ignore or silence each other; and this is the tragedy of Christendom as well as of much Mennonite history.
But God's church is built on strong foundations, and God is always reforming it. My hope is that our Catholic siblings will learn that they can sing their part in the polyphony better as they rethink the history of Christendom and re-examine their approach to the structural inversions to which I have pointed here.
My hope is also that we Mennonites can be healed by learning from those whose predecessors persecuted us and by repenting of our pride. And my belief is that, by God's grace, the resultant polyphony can have great missionary potency in the post-Christendom world that God loves so much."
