Goshen will play National Anthem at some events

Inside Higher Ed has a “Quick Take” on Goshen College’s decision to play an instrumental version of the National Anthem at some events at the Mennonite institution. At issue was whether playing the Anthem suggests a commitment to nation above God or to specific policies of the United States government that some Mennonites see as inconsistent with their faith. Here is the College’s statement on the change.

"Resistance: Taking a stand against war, 1960s to today"—A conference at Goshen College

A conference at Goshen College, IN, on 13 and 14 November brought together a group of Mennonite draft resisters and their supporters to tell their story and answer questions from the audience, a third of which were students. Here’s the setup:

In a historic gathering of the biennial Mennonite General Conference delegate session at Turner, Ore., in August 1969, a small group of college students called on the delegate body to recognize draft resistance – in addition to the historic peace position of nonresistance – as a valid and faithful peace witness. And they did, somewhat to the students’ surprise.

The group of resisters who brought that concern to the conference was led by three Goshen College students – Doug Baker of Goshen, J.D. Leu of Brunswick, Md., and Jon Lind of Manassas, Va. The delegates were initially suspicious of the students because of their appearance, but the group – mostly long-haired, scruffy college students who had been staying in an improvised tent colony on the edge of the conference grounds – engaged in serious conversation with church leaders and shared how they connected their actions with being followers of Jesus.

"We thought there would be a lot of opposition," said Leu. "As things unfolded, … it was interesting that the primary concern was that we could show this position was consistent with biblical teaching and with tradition. This made it much easier to come to common ground and a decision there. … It really felt like the Spirit was leading, the way things meshed despite our differences."

Baker, Leu, and Lind were at the conference to tell their stories and to hear the accounts of other Mennonites who resisted the draft or supported those who did.

The article does a fine job summarizing the highlights and offering short, individual vignettes of resistance.  The article could be fruitfully used to illustrate the central role of story and history in maintaining and transmitting Mennonite identity.