Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Amidst the violence of this world, we desire God’s peace. In the shadow of deep hatred, we long to live out the love of Christ. In a society still devastated by racial prejudice and injustice, we seek a way to live faithfully, bravely. In this week that has seen…
Confession of Faith in a Queer Perspective: Article 4. Scripture Reflections by Frank Trnka Like so much of what we have seen coming from the merged MCUSA, the language of the fourth article of the Confession of Faith seems to serve primarily as reassurance to Mennonites of an evangelical, fundamentalist bent that MCUSA is holding…
The following is an excerpt from my sermon this past Sunday. Just to show that I am on board with some of MC USA’s priorities. You can also read other sermons from our “Enough for All” series: Proverbs 30:7-9; 1 Kings 17:1-16. – – – – How do we not worry? Seek first God’s kingdom…
–This is part of a sermon I preached on 1 Kings 17:1-16. The full text is available here. – – – – – I try to be a person of faith. As a pastor, having faith is part of my job description, I suppose. But I tell you what, Elijah has me beat. There is…
Believe it or not, I have been eagerly awaiting the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board resolution–for weeks. Weeks! And it is finally here. Unfortunately. For those of you who just want the Readers’ Digest condensed version: the resolution from the MC USA Executive Board, “On the Status of the Membership Guidelines,” is a train wreck…
Most of you have seen the news about Evana—the new “non-denomination.” And depending on how strong your stomach is, you may have even looked through the entire web site and noticed the way that the “Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective” is being used as code for that one line in Article 19: “We…
There’s a little Facebook game going around right now where you add “with a Chainsaw” to the title of whatever book you are reading. I joined in the fun and posted: There’s a Woman in the Pulpit with a Chainsaw. (Not to brag, but that comment got the most likes in a very long thread.)…
The chapel sermon on our final night of Jr. High camp was always the same: a passionate re-telling of Jesus’ violent death on the cross, with the assurance that, “Every time you sin, you pound the nails deeper and deeper into Jesus’ flesh.” And there we sat, dozens of awkward barely-teenagers, with tears streaming down…
Good Friday, April 3, 2015 Peace Mennonite Church Welcome and Introduction Hymn: Abide with me Call to Worship We are Jesus’ disciples, following him even as he moves toward the cross. Even as he wraps a towel around his waist. Even as he kneels to wash the filth from the feet of his friends. We…
Imagine the scene of a family meal. Perhaps Thanksgiving or Christmas. There’s a big table with all the leaves put in, and Aunt Betty’s tablecloth doesn’t quite reach the ends. Chairs are crowded around the table—six nice wooden ones, a few wobbly chairs brought up from the basement, a couple of metal folding chairs, and,…
Spacious Faith 