Mennonite Weekly Review

Lavonne van der Zwaag and her 16-year-old daughter, Anna, wore pink last July at the Mennonite Church USA convention.

They discovered just how complicated disagreeing in love can be.

The mother wore a pink headband, and her daughter a pink T-shirt, to show solidarity with Pink Menno, a group advocating full acceptance of gay and lesbian people in MC USA. Pink Menno’s presence caused controversy at the convention in Columbus, Ohio.

Van der Zwaag and her husband, members at Columbus (Ohio) Mennonite Church, raised their two daughters to live out their faith by discerning discipleship issues carefully and fairly.

“One day my daughter asked if she could get a pink T-shirt to wear at the convention,” van der Zwaag said. “We wanted to show support in silent, but visual, ways that signaled we wanted to dialogue if people asked questions.”

During the week, many people respectfully shared their differing biblical convictions and beliefs about MC USA’s stance. But some negative reactions to Pink Menno caused pain. It was a lesson in how following Christ does not always mean you agree with those walking with you.

“On the way back from the fireworks, a fellow teenager asked my daughter what she was saying by wearing the pink shirt,” van der Zwaag said. “Anna told him she wanted to help promote the idea of all people being welcomed into the church, whether gay or straight. He then became verbally mean.”

After the convention, the family discussed what it means to be part of a church of members with different convictions.

“Since God is much bigger than anything we can understand in our minds, I believe we need to be open to sharing God’s love with one another even when we don’t find human consensus about God’s ways,” van der Zwaag said.

Finding consensus has not been easy for Mennonites, and they have often parted ways over differing convictions. In recent years those convictions have centered on issues such as sexuality, the military and immigration, as well as music, worship and leadership styles.