Defining a Mennonite Musical Identity

The Mennonite Church is in a group identity crisis. Declining member numbers, aging congregations and an increase in regional diversity are contributing to a less focused clarity about what it means to be Mennonite.[1] The difficult 2002 merger of the two major Mennonite denominations into the newly formed Mennonite Church USA opened Mennonite eyes to significant current tensions in their theological and socio-cultural identity.

Because of their historic sixteenth century status as a persecuted minority Mennonites have perhaps always been disposed toward extensive reflection upon their cultural and group identity. Distinctive clothing, speech, economic practices have served as symbolic markers of a church-world distinction that Mennonite theology has understood as foundational to their cultural and theological identity. These cultural practices preserve, reinforce, and transmit a coherent group identity.[2]

Music as one element of the Mennonite worship tradition has been valued as a central part of group identity formation and expression. Music has been viewed as the most important element of Mennonite worship and congregational singing as the most significant focus of that music. The emphasis upon congregational singing of hymns in four-part harmony has for many Mennonites become an essential musical practice that “communicates the valuing of the individual within community through hymnody.”[3]

It should be no surprise that when the sociological presuppositions of a previously coherent religious group are shaken the rattling will be heard in that group’s music. Mennonites in North America are changing and so is the sound of their congregational worship. The formation of the Mennonite Church USA followed upon the creation of a new Mennonite hymnal in 1992.[4] This hymnal incorporated more variety in its musical style, drawing upon more world music and deemphasizing its traditional devotion to selections from the Western European tradition. Mennonite denominational leaders were recognizing the need to embrace more diversity in congregational worship in order to welcome and guide an increasingly diverse population.

The Mennonite National Assembly in San Jose, California in July 2007 was a symbolic marker of this tectonic shift. Moving the bi-annual gathering to the Pacific coast and away from the sanctified territories of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Kansas was itself a statement about the demographic changes taking place within the denomination as a whole. West coast Mennonite churches are few in number but growing quickly and from the southwest to the northwest they united to provide hospitality to the thousands of Mennonites who traveled across the country.

The San Jose organizers wanted to design a corporate worship experience that would express this increasing Mennonite diversity while maintaining the core musical practices that traditional Mennonites could identify as authentically their own. Finding worship leaders who could exemplify and bridge this desired diversity was a challenge. The Mennonite reach exceeded its grasp. Few Mennonite congregations could provide the experienced worship and musical leadership that the denominational leaders wanted to express.

A worship leadership team was formed with representatives from an immigrant west coast African congregation[5], a traditional Kansas Mennonite congregation, and perhaps the closest thing the Mennonites had to a “bridge congregation”, Reba Place Church in Evanston, Illinois. Reba Place was celebrating it fiftieth year and had a unique profile as an established diverse urban Mennonite congregation with a distinctive musical tradition. Emerging out of a post-World War II neo-anabaptist renewal movement led by John Howard Yoder and others, Reba Place took its Anabaptist identity seriously, while demonstrating more openness to innovation and change than most Mennonites.[6]

Defining Music at Reba Place Church (1957-1991)

Reba Place Fellowship began in 1957 with a self-conscious desire to live out a life of radical Christian discipleship like that in the Gospels and the books of Acts. In the early years (1957-1971) the small, close-knit community met on Sundays as a house church for a very low-key and undemonstrative worship time. An emphasis upon discipleship and sanctifying daily life was an expression of their inherited Mennonite tradition. The practice of communal living and the complete sharing of material possessions for which Reba Place became most well known were unusual for Mennonites, but consistent with other Anabaptist traditions (e.g. the Hutterites).

Sunday worship in these early years was primarily an opportunity for personal sharing and thanksgiving from the week and learning from the Scriptures for the week ahead. The practice of “open worship” developed with a minimum of planned structure and each member making contributions as they felt led. Congregational singing was initiated spontaneously and without preplanning using already familiar hymns, choruses, and contemporary folk songs. A tradition of weekly Bible dramas developed as a way of enlivening scripture for the children. Preaching and centralized leadership were deemphasized.

A significant charismatic renewal came to Reba Place in 1972 drawing upon similar renewals in Catholic and Episcopal circles.[7] This movement brought a new freedom and expressivity during Sunday morning worship. Open worship now began to include charismatic practices such as speaking in tongues and words of prophecy.

As the congregation grew in numbers and the Sunday service expanded beyond the original house church, there was a developing variety in the music.[8] A choir was developed to sing anthems. A music group was formed to lead congregational singing and to draw music from other traditions. Charismatic renewal choruses were significant, especially those composed by Betty Pulkingham of Redeemer’s Church in Houston, Texas[9] and the Iona Community in Scotland.[10]

The music group was encouraged to compose new hymns and choruses for congregational use in worship, dance, and daily celebrations. This group was fluid in membership and inclusive of whatever musical gifts were available in the expanding congregation. This mirrored the broader practice of open worship in the service as a whole. A few traditional African-American spirituals were part of this eclectic mix, even though there were few African-Americans in the congregation. Much of the worship music of this era was compiled in the Hosanna Book of 1974, which continued to be a primary musical resource at Reba Place into the 1990s.

In 1979 Reba Place Fellowship decided to form a more traditional church congregation that would not require communal membership. The emergence of Reba Place Church initiated another period of numerical growth and opened the community to a more ethnic and theological diversity.

With the creation of Reba Place Church worship music was consolidated under more centralized leadership. Jim Croegaert[11] became the official leader of the music group. Jim’s original music composed from 1975-1995 became the heartbeat of Reba’s experience as a worshipping congregation. Because the Sunday morning worship music was increasing in complexity a more cohesive and selective group of musicians was formed. The concept of open worship was still considered operative and congregants were still free to interject words or suggest songs; but there was now much more planning and even rehearsing in preparation for Sunday morning worship.

From a cultural perspective the various elements of Reba’s worship had always reflected the preferences of the leaders of each ministry and the congregation as a whole. The styles drew from folk, folk-rock, country, pop, and featuring acoustic and guitar driven accompaniments. This reflected the white, college educated, counter cultural movements in the broader American society in the 1960s and 1970s. Hymnody diminished in centrality as a generation disaffected with traditional Christian worship reached maturity.

An important aspect of worship at Reba was the emphasis on originality and the development of congregationally indigenous music. This created a worship repertoire that was unique to this congregation and was felt by many to be an attractive alternative to traditional church worship music.[12] Ironically this alternative repertoire became institutionalized over time and for newcomers was heard and felt to be “traditional Reba.”

Redefining Music at Reba Place Church (1991-2008)

In 1991 Reba Place Church began to attend to the discrepancy between their almost all white congregation and the racially integrated neighborhood of which they were a part.[13] An intentional congregational process began to examine the racial barriers that made inclusion of African-Americans difficult to achieve. Members were encouraged to attend anti-racism training sessions.[14] Sunday morning worship was closely examined in order to identity which practices might hinder or exclude African-American worshippers.

African American leadership was brought on to the pastoral staff, and an African American musician was hired as a second keyboard player on Sunday mornings. Worship elements from the African-American tradition were introduced into Sunday morning worship. African-American preaching brought a much more evangelistic style to the pulpit which included longer sermons, louder sermons, and more emotional expression. A gospel choir was formed and the dance group began to explore more African flavored dance styles.

Initially it was felt that the best way to introduce white congregants to African American worship elements was to have one Sunday a month that was entirely planned and led by African Americans. “Third Sundays” featured a “praise team” lead by a substantially African American music group, and featured the worship leading and preaching of African American pastoral staff. Jim Croegaert and the traditional music group continued to lead worship on the other Sundays. The leadership’s goal was to find a blend these two groups and their different styles into one cohesive congregational group.

In 1997 Jim Croegaert resigned as music leader and a new team of black-white leaders was formed. The main goal now was to unify the Sunday worship so that every week would feature a blend of African American and traditional (white) Reba worship elements. This transition was difficult and costly.[15] Many members felt too much of Reba’s identity was being lost in the shifts in worship repertoire. Whites and blacks found it difficult to enter into genuine worship when the service was in a musical language that they were unaccustomed to.

As a result of this and other developments within the congregation in 1997 a team was appointed to write new statement of congregational identity entitled “Who We Are”. [16] The statement became foundational to developing worship goals and objectives for the road ahead. The short summary statement reads:

Reba Place Church is a congregation centered on Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God, rooted in an Anabaptist tradition, catholic in spirit, evangelical in conviction, charismatic in practice, and antiracist in calling.

In 1999 the Worship Committee began to formulate a worship planning document based upon this statement. They felt that worship should reflect the distinctive elements of their identity as a congregation. It was hoped that clearly stated guidelines could provide more continuity and coherence to the developing worship style.

This worship action paper entitled “Come Let Us Worship”[17] expressed Reba Place’s current theology of worship and provided guidance to worship planners in regard to developing principles and practices. A fifteen-page document contained both a short and extended statement. The most substantial part of the document was the “Recommendations for the present shape of worship at Reba Place Church” in which each identity element in “Who We Are” was expanded into a Worship Goal and some Worship Objectives (see chart below for four of the five elements delineated there):

Identity Element	Rooted in an Anabaptist tradition	Catholic in spirit	Evangelical in conviction	Charismatic in practice
Worship Goal	We believe God wants our worship to reflect our identity as an Anabaptist congregation	We believe our worship should reflect our membership in the worldwide church	We believe that our worship should be Christ-centered in a way which proclaims the good news of the gospel and demonstrates our identity as followers of Jesus	We believe that God wants our worship to release gifts and empowering of the Spirit to effectively promote fellowship with God, healing the wounded, and the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry.
Worship Objective	When we come together, we value worship expressions that celebrate our relationship to God not only as individuals but also as a corporate body	We will use worship elements (music, dance, visual arts, etc) that draw from many cultures and traditions as God brings us people who can bless us with these gifts. We will cultivate an open spirit which appreciates a wide variety of styles (from Bach to plain chant to African drumming)	The contents of the various elements of worship should be consistent with, support, and frequently proclaim the gospel message overtly. For instance: we should avoid songs in worship whose lyrics are “inspirational” but not consistent with the gospel message; we should be aware of issues of social justice, but always relate that awareness to a Christ-centered proclamation of the Kingdom of God.	We will give uninterrupted worship times and open prayer times enough space so that Holy Spirit directed communion with God is cultivated. We understand that at times this may call for worship elements (such as music) which may be simple, repetitive and noncognitive, or for us to wait in silence for the Spirit’s direction. We will always be open to spontaneous developments – sometimes invited, at other times unexpected. This requires a good provision for testing these spontaneous words and developments.

The most prominent aim of these efforts was the development of worship practices that would be in continuity with Reba Place’s history and would promote an increasing inclusion of African-American perspectives. Therefore the longest portion of the worship planning document expanded on the element of Reba Place as “anti-racist in calling”. The worship goal was stated as a “desire to be an anti-racist congregation, standing against the demonic power of racism, and to visibly express God’s kingdom unity and justice in our Sunday morning services.” Specific objectives included both internal and external practices. “Internal attitude objectives” were addressed as “white racist attitudes” and the subtle assumption that “white cultural expressions are better”. There was the recognition that the assumptions and preferences of the dominant white group would function as the default in worship planning and decision-making unless the views of people of color were made an integral and significant part of the planning process. As the document stated “this may mean giving greater weight to these views than might be expected by simple proportional representation.”

Recognizing that expanding the palette of worship elements in a predominately white congregation must include not only African American but other cultural expressions and traditions as well. However, Reba Place was prioritizing the inclusion of African-American elements as a specific response to their contextually based missional goal in reconciling a neighborhood of primarily white and African American residents.[18]

The paper continued “Therefore, we will give African-American songs and worship elements a deliberate and prominent place on Sunday morning. Indeed, we will not hesitate at times to give African American elements the most prominent place.”

“Come Let Us Worship” made a substantial contribution to clarifying the extent of Reba’s commitment to racial reconciliation in its Sunday morning worship. Congregational affirmation released the musical leadership to experiment with new blended music sets and to find a “balance” of elements and a style that would be as inclusive as possible without being bland.

The gospel quintet Reba Praise[19] was formed in 1997 under the leadership of keyboardist Scott Oliver and gospel choir director Helen Hudgens. Reba Praise fully embraced the musical heritage that Reba had developed over the previous decades including the music of Jim Croegaert, but expressed it in a new contemporary gospel sound with tight vocal harmonies and more sophisticated arrangements.

The order of service at Reba Place developed into the following pattern:

Scripture Reading
Opening Hymn
Pastoral Prayer
Welcome and Announcements
Passing of the Peace
Reading of the Gospel
Praise and Worship Time
Offering (and dismissal for children’s church)
Sermon
Sharing Time
Benediction and Closing Song

This is a fairly standard order of worship quite different from that being used at Reba Place in prior decades.[20] The longest individual portions of the service are the Praise and Worship Time, the Sermon, and the Sharing Time.[21]

A traditional hymn from the Mennonite hymnal is sung each Sunday usually at the beginning of the service. A small ensemble sometimes leads the congregation in this. During the Praise and Worship Time hymns might also be included, but are sung in a gospel or contemporary Christian style[22]. Four-part singing had not often been a standard at Reba Place as it is has also diminished within the Mennonite denomination as a whole.

Redefining a Mennonite Musical Identity

As Reba Praise completed the first plenary worship service at the San Jose 2007 Mennonite National Assembly a traditional Pennsylvania Mennonite approached one of the lead singers and asked “What was Mennonite about any of that music?” The startled young African-American talked about their commitment to the Mennonite values of discipleship, community, and peacemaking. “How would you define Mennonite music?” he then asked his elder in response. The lifelong Mennonite replied, “Mennonite music comes out of the blue hymnal.”

Mennonite historian Mark Metzler Sawin writes, “Mennonite identity at the beginning of the twenty first century is ambiguous”.[23] Many of the identity defining traits that have distinguished Mennonites in the past are now in flux. For example, modern Mennonites are moving in several different theological directions: conservative, charismatic, and liberal. As Mennonites have migrated from homogeneous rural communities to pluralistic urban centers their beliefs and values have taken on an evolving shape and meaning. Being Mennonite today means different things to different people.[24] In regards to worship styles and music what one groups understands as “Mennonite” may be quite different from another equally authentic Mennonite group.

Catherine Albanese notes that religious groups mark their boundaries by establishing distinct beliefs and behaviors that allow them to distinguish who they are and who they are not.[25] A religious group’s cohesion and vitality largely depend upon their ability to maintain a clearly defined identity. As identity-defining barriers become fluid and ambiguous, cultural assimilation becomes a pressing reality that threatens a religious group’s ability to maintain continuity with its history. Mark Sawin asks “what is it that keeps modern Mennonites feeling Mennonite now that many of their identity-defining barriers have been removed?”[26]

Congregational singing has long been seen as central to Mennonite religious practice. Mennonite worship is plain and lacking in ritual and therefore the singing may provide the most affective moments of the service. In a recent survey of Mennonite views on worship, Kropf and Nafziger found that “scores of interviews show again and again that singing is the Mennonite sacrament. In the absence of a weekly eucharistic tradition, the experience of singing together is the place of convergence where the human and divine meet, community is bound together, and worshipers are renewed to live as God’s people in the world.”[27]

By “congregational singing” what many Mennonites really mean is four-part hymn singing. Many Mennonite worship leaders assert that four-part congregational singing is both central to Mennonite worship practice, and simultaneously is under threat from evangelical and charismatic influences within Mennonite congregations. There are theological and even pastoral concerns that enter into these tensions such as the perceived emphasis upon subjective experience in many contemporary praise choruses.[28] But at its core these disputes are really about identity and the anxiety that the decline in the practice of four-part congregational singing is eroding the foundations of Mennonite worship and spirituality.

In light of these worship wars (appropriately nonviolent thought they may be!) it is ironic to reflect upon the history of four-part hymn singing in Mennonite worship. Although Anabaptist history originates in the sixteenth century,[29] four-part congregational singing is a “modern” innovation. The tradition developed in the nineteenth century in the singing schools of Swiss and South German Mennonite communities. Joseph Funk’s 1832 shape note book (which eventually became Harmonia Sacra) expanded this practice and the teaching of these methods contributed to the singing traditions documented in the twentieth century Mennonite hymnals.[30] In the past half century the practice has declined among Mennonites for many of the same reasons that other group identity markers have also grown ambiguous.

Mary Oyer, the matriarch of twentieth-century Mennonite hymnody, writes that: “Unfortunately, during the past forty or so years, we have neglected teaching part singing, and the practice is weakening. Eliminating … single-line hymns or adding harmonies to them . . . will not save part singing for Mennonites. Congregations will need to work intentionally to perpetuate and maintain four-part singing.”[31]

If Mennonite worship music cannot remain static, then how is its continuing evolution to be directed and embraced? Are there any authentic principles to guide the development of Mennonite worship music today? Are there any guidelines that are in continuity with Mennonite history, can be affirmed by a majority of diverse Mennonites, and yet still allow for a variety of styles and practices in Mennonite congregational worship?

John Rempel has found the core of Mennonite worship in three main traits: it is improvisational, local, and “seamless”. Mennonite worship has historically been improvisational in trying to maintain a balance between form and freedom. Avoiding the “dead ritualism” perceived in Protestant and Catholic worship, welcoming the spontaneity of the Spirit’s guidance through the gathered community, and trying to balance the whole in “good order”. It has been local in expressing regional variations and not having a uniform or normative form. It has been “seamless” in that it has it has “sought to make worship and obedience inseparable: the gathered and the scattered church are to be a seamless garment.”[32]

Rempel’s observations about Mennonite worship in historical perspective can, with revisions, serve as the foundation for contemporary developments that build upon historic Mennonite practices. Mennonites form a global church embracing six continents. Music is one of the keys to understanding and expressing this diversity, appreciating and blessing the richness of its cultural contributions to Mennonite worship. Mennonites still seek to shape a worship identity that is coherent and clear without being static.

The experience of Reba Place Church and the developments of its own musical heritage illustrate the same three traits noted by Rempel in historic Mennonite worship.

Reba Place’s worship was improvisational in continually trying to balance form and freedom. The practice of “open worship” remained vital to worship practice while taking shape in different forms in different eras. Samuel Wells has noted that improvisation is “a practice through which actors seek to develop trust in themselves and one another in order that they may conduct unscripted dramas without fear.”[33] The development of trust is also the key to the changes in worship and music that Reba Place pursued throughout the 1990s. As Frank Burch Brown notes the development of interpersonal trust is one of the keys to (1) translating and transmitting our own songs in order to teach them to others; and (2) translating and importing the songs of others in order to learn and enjoy them for ourselves.[34]

Reba’s worship was clearly local and contextual in that it was shaped by the participation and contributions of those who became part of the community. Originally it reflected the heritage Mennonite backgrounds of its original founders. As the church grew in numbers it also grew in diversity and the music reflected that diversity. The practice of open worship and the ever evolving music groups that provided shape and direction to Sunday worship reflected the gifts, interests, and preferences of those who were leading those groups. Thus, congregational worship reflected a combination of Reba Place’s Anabaptist heritage and the reality of its own composition as a congregation.

As Reba Place became intentional about including African-Americans from its own neighborhood, the African-Americans who became part of the congregation became the authorities and leaders on how those changes were implemented.

Finally, the motivation behind Reba Place’s continuing expansion as a worshipping community was driven by its concern for racial reconciliation grounded in its daily life as a missional congregation in a racially diverse neighborhood. It was the perceived discrepancy between the complexion of Sunday morning worship and weekly life on the streets that provoked the ethical conscience of the congregation. A collective decision was made that Reba Place’s rich and highly valued musical traditions would need to adapt and even sacrifice in order to maintain a relevant witness in its own community. Many of the sacrosanct Mennonite worship traditions could be seen as white, exclusionary, and even racist from an African-American perspective. One way in which the principle of “seamlessness” might be more fully stated is to say that worship and ethics must be reflected in liturgy.

John Rempel concludes, “In the early twenty-first century many churches seek to combine tradition, charisma, and mission. It is more in their attempts to hold these three together than in their creation of profound forms of worship that Mennonites have an ecumenical contribution to make.”[35]

Conclusion

At Reba Place Church’s fiftieth anniversary celebration in August 2007, more than five hundred former members gathered in Evanston for three days of worship, singing, dancing, and reflection. Those who were part of Reba Place in the 1960s had different experiences and were parts of different traditions than those who attended in the 1990s. Yet over the long weekend process of conversation and celebration the realization grew that the continuity in Reba Place’s history was not so much from the particular practices of any one era but from the consistent desire to be the people of God in a local community responding to the call of God as that call could be discerned. Concerns for Mennonite identity blur and boundaries open as God’s people recognize and embrace this eschatological identity.

(First draft, June 9, 2009)

Bibliography

Albanese, Catherine. American Religions and Religion. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1992.

Burch Brown, Frank. Inclusive Yet Discerning: Navigating Worship Artfully. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009.

Finger, Thomas. “Are Mennonites Sacramental? The Answer May Surprise You”. The Mennonite, September 21, 2004.

Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia

Hiebert, Paul. Anthropological Insights for Missionaries. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1985.

Hymnal: A Worship Book. Brethren Press, Faith and Life Press, Mennonite Publishing House, 2002.

Jackson, David, and Jackson, Neta. Glimpses of Glory: The Story of Reba Place Fellowship. Elgin, IL: Brethren Press, 1988.

Kanagy, Conrad L. Road Signs for the Journey: A Profile of the Mennonite Church USA. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2007.

Kauffman, J Howard, and Driedger, Leo. The Mennonite Mosaic: Identity and Modernization. Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1991.

Krehbiel, Stephanie. “A Few Ways To Be A Mennonite: Contemporary Christian Music in a Community of Hymns”. Sound in the Land, Marlene Epp and Carol Ann Weaver, eds. Kitchener, Ontario: Pandora Press, 2005.

Kropf, Marlene, and Nafziger, Kenneth. Singing: A Mennonite Voice. Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001.

Oyer, Mary. “Global Music for the Churches”, Music in Worship: Mennonite Perspectives, Bernie Neufeld, ed. Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press, 1998.

Rempel, John. “Mennonites”. The Oxford History of Christian Worship, Geoffrey Wainwright and Karen Beth Westerfield, eds. Oxford University Press, 545-559.

Robinson, Laurel Oswald. “Amid Worship Changes, Mennonite Still Love Their Hymnals”. Mennonite Weekly Review, June 23, 2008, pages 14-15.

Sawin, Mark Metzler. “Moving Toward the Kingdom of God: Mennonite Identity in the Twenty First Century”. Mennonite Quarterly Review. Volume 74 number 1, January 2001, pages 89-98.

Wells, Samuel. Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2004.

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[1] The most valuable study of current sociological trends in North American Mennonite churches is Road Signs for the Journey: A Profile of the Mennonite Church USA, by Conrad L Kanagy (Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press, 2007).

[2] Mark Metzler Sawin, “Moving Stubbornly Toward the Kingdom of God: Mennonite Identity in the Twenty First Century”, Mennonite Quarterly Review, 75 no 1 Jan 2001, 89-98.

[3] Ken Nafziger, professor of music at Eastern Mennonite University notes that Mennonite’s have emphasized, “having their voices be heard in congregational singing without instruments and supplying their own worship resources.” Nafziger stated, “In hearing our voices, we have learned to know the value of who we are within the community.” Quoted by Laurie Oswald Robinson, “Amid worship changes, Mennonites still love their hymnals”, Mennonite Weekly Review, June 23, 2008, pp 14-15.

[4] Hymnal: A Worship Book (Prepared by Churches in the Believers Church Tradition), Brethren Press/Faith and Life Press/Mennonite Publishing House, 2002.

[5] The continent of African now contains the largest population of Mennonite affiliated congregations in the world.

[6] The first thirty years of Reba Place’s history are told in Glimpses of Glory: The Story of Reba Place Fellowship, by David and Neta Jackson (Elgin, IL: Brethren Press, 1988)

[7] See the article “Charismatic Movement” in the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online, http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/C4602ME.html

[8] This renewal also sparked a great deal of artistic creativity in song, dance, and visual arts (painting, banners, etc). Congregational dances led by a dance leadership group became a regular part of Sunday worship. Dramas continued to be featured each week, usually accompanying and illustrating the teaching.

[9] Redeemer’s Church and the teaching of Rev. Graham Pulkingham were instrumental not only in the Reba Place becoming a charismatic congregation, but in the development of communal households (multiple families sharing a common living space) which became a distinctive mark of Reba Place life in public awareness. See Glimpses of Glory for more of that story.

[10] http://www.ionabooks.com/vmchk/Song-Audio.html

[11] Jim Croegaert’s autobiography and samples of his music can be found on his website at http://www.roughstonesmusic.com

[12] This music combined with Reba’s communal living arrangements and distinctive cultural practices to create a tribal mentality, or what anthropologist Paul Hiebert (himself a Mennonite) has referred to as a “bounded set” with clear insiders and outsiders. See Paul Hiebert, Anthropological Insights for Missionaries, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1985).

[13] Evanston, Illinois has been a racially diverse community since the mid-nineteenth century. Throughout the 1980s and 90s the African American community represented 25-30% of the total population, with concentrations in the northwest neighborhoods, and on Evanston’s southern border with Chicago where Reba Place is located.

[14] The antiracism training sessions were led by the staff of Crossroads (http://www.crossroadsantiracism.org/). Crossroads defined racism as the “systemic enforcement of radical prejudice” and provided intensive workshops to teach congregations how to identify systemic racism. The weekend training sessions were expected of all Reba Place members.

[15] Between 1997 and 2001 Reba Place Church lost 67% of its Sunday morning attendance, reducing from 350 in 1997 to 120 in 2001. Current Sunday attendance in 2009 is approximately 200.

[16] The complete statement can be found online at http://www.rebaplacechurch.org/who-we-are

[17] “Come Let Us Worship”, Reba Place Church, unpublished, 1999.

[18] When a significant number of Spanish speakers began to attend Sunday morning in 2004, Reba Place began to occasionally add Spanish language songs to worship.

[19] Read more about this group and hear samples of their music at http://www.rebaplacechurch.org/rebapraise

[20] Not all the worship changes were motivated by concerns for racial reconciliation. For example, in order to express Reba Place’s identity as “catholic in spirit” the worship planning document recommended the regular use of the communion liturgy from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.

[21] The “sharing time” is traditional in Mennonite congregations and can be traced back as far as Balthasar Huebmaier (1480-1528). It is a time, usually after the sermon, in which members of the congregation may respond to the teaching or offer words of encouragement or exhortation. In the African American tradition this might be considered a testimony time. It is a highly valued portion of the service for many, although it is open to misuse and abuse and must be gently policed by the worship leaders lest it become self-indulgent or disruptive.

[22] “O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus” by the group Selah is representative of this. Listen to it online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hzYKovRsJ8

[23] Sawin, 89

[24] The increasing diversity among Mennonites is documented in J Howard Kauffman and Leo Driedger, The Mennonite Mosaic: Identity and Modernization (Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1991).

[25] Catherine Albanese, American Religions and Religion, (Belmont CA: Wadsworth, 1992), 5.

[26] Sawin, p 90

[27] Marlene Kropf and Kenneth Nafziger, Singing: A Mennonite Voice. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001. There seems to be little or no published research on the topic of “singing as sacrament” either among Mennonites or other traditions. This thesis may also find substantiation within the musical tradition of African-American churches. For more on the Anabaptist view of sacraments see Thomas Finger, “Are Mennonites Sacramental? The answer may surprise you”, The Mennonite, September 21, 2004.

[28] Stephanie Krehbiel, “A Few Ways to be a Mennonite: Contemporary Christian Music in a Community of Hymns,” in Maureen Epp and Carol Ann Weaver, eds, Sound in the Land, (Kitchener: Pandora Press, 2005), 201-209.

[29] If one must pick a date then January 21, 1525 is the best candidate, marking the first adult believer’s baptism in Switzerland.

[30] “Harmonia Sacra” in the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online, http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/H375.html/?searchterm=harmonia%20sacra

[31] Mary Oyer, “Global Music for Churches,” Music in Worship: Mennonite Perspectives, Bernie Neufeld, ed. (Herald Press, 1999), 75

[32] John Rempel, “Mennonites”, The Oxford History of Christian Worship, by Geoffrey Wainwright and Karen Beth Westerfield, eds. Oxford University Press, p 557

[33] Samuel Wells, Improvisation: the Drama of Christian Ethics, (Brazos Press, 2004).

[34] Frank Burch Brown, Inclusive Yet Discerning: Navigating Worship Artfully, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009), 58.

[35] Rempel, page 557