Originally posted on Spacious Faith:
? OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA A few years ago I audited a class at St. Paul seminary on “Preaching and the Short Story.” There was a story on the syllabus with “Easter” in the title, and I kept thinking I should read that before I wrote my Easter sermon. So this…
As we move from Palm Sunday to Good Friday, a lot of people wonder how the “Hosanna” of Palm Sunday gave way to the “Crucify him!”of Good Friday. How did the crowd go from praising Jesus to condemning him, all in a matter of days? Well, it didn’t. Because we are talking about two different…
God, Death is all around us. Of course death is not new, but we feel it in new and difficult ways right now. Breathe the breath of your Spirit Into the dry places of our lives, Into the wastelands of our hearts. Breathe and fill us With your love, Your grace, Your purpose, Your Life.…
Here is our opening prayer for Peace Mennonite’s home-based worship this week. You can find the full worship service on the church web site. (Note that, while we are using the Lectionary, we are somehow on the wrong week.) Holy One, We cannot gather in person this morning, but we are gathered in spirit. We…
Updated March 22, 2020 Since many of us are spending more time at home and less time gathered in community than usual, I want to again invite you to join me for morning prayer at 8:30 (Central Time) each Tuesday and Thursday morning. You can find more information, a link to the Zoom meeting, and…
Welcome from Pastor Joanna Hello, everyone. I would like to extend a warm and contagion-free welcome to you all. For those of you who are regular Peace Mennonite participants, I am sorry to not be seeing you in person this morning. For those of you who are Peace Mennonite friends from afar, I’m grateful for…
In some Puritan churches a man would walk around the worship space with a long pole. On one end of the pole was a feather, to tickle the chins of anyone who fell asleep during the sermon. On the other end of the pole was a hard wooden knob to bop children who were giggling…
Call to Worship based on Isaiah 58:1-9 God is at work in the world To bring justice to the oppressed, To share food with the hungry, To provide shelter for the homeless, To set all people free. We come this morning To be reminded of God’s justice, To be nourished by God’s presence, To find…
Here is a paired call to worship and blessing drawn from Isaiah 42: We gather as beloved children of God. We are each chosen. We are each delightful. We are all servants upheld by God and filled with God’s Spirit to bring forth justice. We each receive our breath from the same God who stretched…
My best-laid plans for posting in Advent were thwarted by a nasty sinus infection. But I’m healthy again and starting the new year with a resolution to publish something new on the blog at least once a week. Star Words I handed out “star words” during worship yesterday. These are words that can serve as…
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