I was privileged to listen in on a press conference yesterday with Mennonite Central Committee staff and MCC partners working in Lebanon and Syria. I was invited by virtue of being a MennoNerds blogger, and I decided to join the conference call because I’m still kind of sick and basically sitting around the house all…
A friend of mine recently posed this question on Facebook: Junior high girls braiding each other’s hair in church: appropriate or not? Considering this friend has never been a Jr. High girl nor parented a Jr. High girl, the question seemed sincere and did not bother me. What did bother me, however, was the frequency…
I am going to die some day. That day is probably not tomorrow. Reading takes more energy than watching Netflix. I can almost forget I am sick if I am talking to someone. (Or: Just in case you were wondering, yes, I am an extrovert.) I know Renee Zellweger has lots of issues. And I…
The following is an excerpt from a sermon I preached on Matthew 17:24-27. This was the last sermon in our summer series: Who is Jesus?. I’ve always loved this quirky story, but I only recently realized how many assumptions I have made about it. Like the assumption that Jesus actually did pay the temple tax.…
Here is our call to worship for the final Sunday in our “Who is Jesus?” series: We come together this morning to worship. We come as seekers, Wondering who this Jesus is. We come as students, Full of questions about Jesus’ unconventional teachings. We come as skeptics, Unsure of Jesus’ unexplainable miracles and outlandish claims.…
Below is an excerpt from the sermon I preached last Sunday on the “I am” sayings in the Gospel of John. You can read the full text here. – – – – – – One of the most popular and–at least for some of us–uncomfortable “I am” sayings is from John 14:6: “I am the…
Our biannual national Mennonite Church USA convention begins on Tuesday, and there are two resolutions coming before the delegates that highlight disagreements about how our denomination should include LGBTQ people. The resolutions are fairly new, but the disagreements themselves are not. Many Mennonites, myself included, have spent a lot of time hashing out the details…
By Mark Rupp “[Jesus] has called us to find our blessing in making peace and seeking justice.” The Mennonite Church’s peace stance is likely the first thing people think of when trying to articulate what makes Mennonite faith distinct from other Christian denominations. In fact, the Mennonite emphasis on peace and justice are what initially…
Or How to Survive the Kansas City Convention: Attend the “Bound Together, Together Free” worship service: Tuesday, June 30, at 5 p.m. Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral. (Next to the Convention Center.) Offer prayers of thanksgiving that there will (finally) be a (convention-authorized) booth for Brethren Mennonite Council in the main convention hall. Go to…
by Lisa Ann Pierce I may be the only person you know who, as a young adult, snuck out of her parent’s home to go to church. It’s not that my parents had anything against church; I was raised by an inveterate Sunday School teacher, after all. But I wasn’t sneaking out to go to…
Spacious Faith 