Sarah Thompson's story

Words sped from the mouths of the Uruguayan young men across the room towards another group. One Chilean woman began to cry. A Canadian protested the usage of a word. A Bolivian was waving his hand wildly to be acknowledged. I stood in the midst of them, whiteboard marker in hand, trying to make sense of the discussion and synthesize it into notes for the larger assembly.

Where are these dramatically different perspectives coming from?!? I wondered. Another young Mennonite World Conference colleague and I were trying to facilitate a cross-cultural discussion of the challenges that young people faced around the world and how our faith could guide us in responding to the world’s most pressing needs. People were passionate in their answers, but were in deep disagreement with one another on approaches and the theological assumptions that informed them. By the end of that meeting, I was totally exhausted, disillusioned about the church (in its local, national, and international manifestations) and confused.

In order to be healthy, I knew that either I was going to have to stop doing cross-continental communication work, or I was going to have to go to seminary to learn about the different theological streams that have informed Mennonite theology through the years and around the world. Having fond memories of frolicking on AMBS’s campus as a young child, and excited about the ongoing community organizing work in South Central Elkhart, I decided to apply.

Already in this first year at seminary, I’ve felt renewed energy to continue the global conversations that are crucial to the future life of the church. This has come from classes like “Reading the Bible” where I learned that the Bible preserves multiple voices on many issues and where there is evidence of a people’s innovation over time; and in “Foundations of Worship and Preaching” class where we spent hours discussing diverse communication styles to nurture spiritual development and how our beliefs influence worship spaces, songs and prayers. Energy has also come from the seminary community’s support of events like Elkhart Community Solidarity Day, and the Jubilee House (the Mennonite Voluntary Service unit where I live with others in intentional community and solidarity with the neighborhood around us). I am glad to be here and look forward to more creative, healing and hopeful conversations throughout the years of scholar-activism here.

Sarah Thompson is a student in the Master of Divinity program from Elkhart, Ind.