Stories We Live By: Convergences in Community Narratives of Mennonites and Pentecostals

Abstract

This essay employs the art of narrative inquiry to explore points of convergence and divergence between Mennonites and Pentecostals. I recount three interrelated storylines constructed from my mennocostal experience: from memories of services and activities in my childhood Pentecostal church; from stories told by Mennonite family; and from writing and reflections of authors who share my Russian Mennonite heritage. These storylines are: (1) Pentecostal exuberance and Mennonite quiet; (2) Pentecostal soldiers and Mennonite peacemakers; and (3) Pentecostals and Mennonites as God’s chosen people. I assess how these stories blend together to create larger narratives that impact behaviours such as worship, separation from the world, and evangelism.