On September 25 I found myself sporting a little pink at Westin Hotel in downtown Kansas City. Why? I, together with Joanna Harader, Stephanie Krehbiel, and Sarah Klaassen (pictured here) presented several documents to Mennonite Church Executive Board.

Here is the first document that we handed out: Handout for MCUSA.  It describes various movements and groups that are working for the full inclusion of LGBTQ individuals in the Mennonite Church. (This includes a description of Pink Menno. Reading this document or going to the Pink Menno website might help explain why we wore pink.)

The second document we shared was a graph showing the steady growth in the Supportive Communities Network of Brethren Mennonite Council. Rainbow Mennonite Church has been a long-standing member of SCN, a network of Mennonite and Church of the Brethren communities who are publically affirming of gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual members.

The third and final document that we shared can be found here: Hopes for Mennonite Church USA

There was time for each of us to share what it is like to work in congregations working toward greater inclusion for LGBTQ individuals. There was also time for Board members to ask questions. I’m happy to visit with you individually if you want to hear more about our time together. Or you can click here to read a Mennonite press release about our conversation on Friday night.

In closing I’ll take this opportunity to put in a plug for the bi-annual MCUSA convention June 30-July 5, 2015. We don’t know yet what action the delegate body will be invited to take, but I imagine part of the agenda will include discussing the future of MCUSA and whether we as a denomination will continue to exclude LGBTQ individuals. We will want a full delegate slate in other words! And perhaps some of you might want to start adding pink to your wardrobe.

Top right photo credit: Anna Groff