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WINNIPEG, MB – Ex-Mennonite/ Near Mennonite: Liturgical, Non-denominational, Secular, an academic and community education conference will be held from October 3 – 4, 2014 in Convocation Hall, Wesley (515 Portage Avenue). The conference is hosted by The University of Winnipeg Chair in Mennonite Studies and is free and open to the public.
“This conference considers the process by which Mennonites have become non-Mennonites, either as individuals or as church groups,” said Dr. Royden Loewen, Chair of Mennonite Studies. “We will address the fact that church boundaries and religious identities are never static, but evolve, sometimes flourishing in unexpected ways but at other times giving way to other faith or cultural expressions, sometimes in syncretic form with competing identities.”
The conference also considers how those leaving the Mennonite fold may cultivate a ‘near-Mennonite’ identity, for example, embracing a theology or cosmology that respects so-called Anabaptist values – nonviolence, community, humility and service.
“The conference is not a lament, nor is it focused on the ‘fate’ of the Mennonite community,” expressed Loewen. “Rather it facilitates the analysis of a social and cultural phenomenon. As such it seeks neither to endorse nor critique changing religious affiliation but to be frank and honest in its historical analysis of the changing cultural landscape among Mennonites.”
For more information and the complete conference brochure please visit Ex-Mennonite Near Mennonite: Liturgical, Non-denominational, Secular Conference.
This conference is sponsored by the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada (DVCM Committee) in partnership with UWinnipeg.
