Congo stories

I am an editor. The kind of editing I do goes way beyond cleaning up grammar and punctuation. I think of it as making other people’s ideas and stories shine and, insofar as possible, keeping them out of trouble. I smooth out the bumps in their writing, make it flow. If they present facts, the facts must be accurate. If they present opinions, the opinions must be well supported. If they say something that may be controversial, I want to make sure they do this deliberately, keeping in mind their audience, and that the controversy is an appropriate one to raise in the given forum.

I am usually pretty good at walking this fine line. I can immodestly say that I am an excellent editor, among the best in this very peculiar business. It is because, although I have my own strong opinions, I am capable of keeping these in the background when I am editing. Sometimes, however, that presents a challenge.

I am in the middle of a big editing project right now, which I offered to do as a volunteer simply because it interested me. It is a collection of stories of Mennonites in Congo. This year marks the centennial of Mennonites in Congo. Yes! In 1912 the first Mennonite missionaries penetrated the Dark Continent and made their way to King Leopold’s colony. Now the Mennonite Church in Congo has more members than any other country except the USA.

The stories have been gathered and told by a team of Congolese writers as well as one longtime missionary. The book will not be a history of the church per se. Instead, these are the stories of individuals whom people know or remember as cherished or influential or remarkable characters in this saga, of formative events and incidents. It is a memory book with many short chapters and vignettes. Whatever overall story might be told of the Mennonite Church in Congo must be inferred from these snippets. Readers can draw their own conclusions as they read them.

I do have a lot of questions about the overall story. I am ambivalent about the whole missionary enterprise, especially as it was conducted during the first half of the 20^th century. But I took on this assignment because I wanted to learn more about the Congolese Mennonite community. I have begun to reestablish ties with Congo and am meeting Congolese Mennonites for the first time. I will visit some of them in May when I go to Kinshasa with two friends from the Congo Cloth Connection (see here and here). And yes, I am learning a lot as I read and untangle these stories! Although they are often couched in pious terms, they are surprisingly revealing.

There is also the question of the intended audience. The French version, which I am not editing, will be for the Congolese church. I am working on the English version, intended for Mennonites in the USA. I still feel on the fringe of that group. I don’t want to censor these stories to suit what I perceive may be American Mennonite sensibilities. At the same time, I am aware of the taint of racism and paternalism in some of the stories, attitudes that may still linger. I want neither to conceal nor encourage such attitudes. I hope the book will stir discussion on both continents.

Are you intrigued? You should be! The book will come out this fall.