Mennonite Weekly Review

Dutch Mennonites are expressing their views against war in a variety of ways, including by opposing an extension of Dutch participation in the war in Afghanistan.

“The board of ADS (Algemene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit) is convinced that it is the task of the church to witness about the peace of Christ and not to give the government arguments to prolong involvement in any war,” said Henk Stenvers, Mennonite World Conference General Council delegate from The Netherlands.

Stenvers was part of a delegation of the Dutch Council of Churches that spoke with government representatives in 2007 when the government was contemplating prolonging the Dutch troop presence in Afghanistan. The government did decide to prolong its mission, but only until 2010.

In 2009 the government faced pressure to extend the mission further. Before the delegation could plan how to challenge the government to keep its promise to end the mission in 2010, the government fell and an interim government was put in place.

The Dutch Mennonite Church board also suspended its membership in IKV Pax Christi (Church Peace Council) after its director published an article in support of prolonging Dutch involvement in the war in Afghanistan. The board felt the article implied the organization agreed with the concept of “just war.”

“We Mennonites are convinced that war never brings peace,” Stenvers said. Before proposing the conference end its membership in IKV, the ADS board will meet with the IKV board.

Leaders of the Dutch Mennonite Church also sent a letter to Mennonite Church USA in December expressing concern about President Obama’s call for the U.S. military’s escalation of troops in Afghanistan.

“The [U.S.] decision felt so contrary to President Obama’s stance during the election campaign… . The letter was meant as a sign of solidarity with the search for peace of the MC USA,” Stenvers said.

“We send you this letter to share with you our deep and sincere concern about this decision,” the Dutch leaders wrote. “We feel convinced that many of you deplore the useless and dangerous continuation as much as we do and believe that Christ shows different ways of ending conflict.”

Ed Diller, MC USA moderator, responded with a letter of appreciation, saying, “Along with you, Mennonite Church USA is deeply concerned about military build-up in Afghanistan.” Diller included resources MC USA made available to conferences and congregations as well as a copy of an advertisement churches could place in newspapers.

Stenvers thinks Dutch Mennonites could follow the example of MC USA in encouraging congregations to speak out and be more active in expressing the opinion of church leaders to the government.

Dutch Mennonites have also started a Christian Peacemaker Teams support group. Marius van Hoogstraten, a Dutch Mennonite, joined CPT in October. He has been to Palestine, and he will travel to Iraq in a few months.

Stenvers wonders if Mennonites in different countries could cooperate more on speaking out to governments on peace issues. He suggests this be a task for the MWC General Council Peace Commission.