In preparing for Ash Wednesday and this weekend’s Lenten retreat I haven’t found a lot of time to blog. Thought I would share the offertory prayer we will be using for Lent this year. God of the Cross, in losing our lives we find them in you. In sharing our money and time, we receive…
This article is part of a MennoNerds Synchro-Blog on Missional Spirituality. With this event, MennoNerds is exploring Spirituality through an Anabaptist lens and what such spirituality means concerning participation in the mission of God. – – – – “Missional Prayer.” That’s my topic for today. And it seemed like a good topic weeks and weeks…
On February 17, 2014, the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA released a statement entitled “Moving Forward.” (I’m pretty sure the irony is unintentional.)This statement is a response to the recent licensing of Theda Good by Mountain States Mennonite Conference. I grieved when I read this statement and realized that once again LGBTQ people are…
Last Friday was the first Valentine’s Day since my dad died. My brother and I don’t know what Dad usually did for the big day, so we got Mom some flowers. They are pink, not red. And the card simply says, “Happy Valentine’s Day;” it does not have one of those cheesy romantic Hallmark verses…
[Revised and re-posted from 2011] I’ve never been much into Valentine’s day. Post-Valentine’s Day chocolates on sale, yes; the holiday itself, not so much. I never had a boyfriend in Jr. High or High School, so it was just a day to get nothing–which was humiliating–or to get sympathy flowers from my parents–which was more…
I recently helped write a letter to leaders of my denomination, Mennonite Church USA. This letter asks that the denomination make space for congregations and pastors who welcome and bless LGBTQ people. Over 150 credentialed (and formerly credentialed) Mennonite pastors have signed it. I shouldn’t be surprised that there have been letters in response to…
This prayer is based on Jesus’ words from Matthew 6:25-34: Holy God of Abundance, As we sow and reap and gather into barns; As we work and earn and calculate our net worth, Let us consider the birds of the air; Let us consider the lilies of the field. Let us notice and look and…
The following is an excerpt from this past Sunday’s sermon. You can read the whole sermon here. – – – – – Our history as a Church is a history of God’s people as agents of holy change and maintainers of the status quo. During the Holocaust, many Christians supported the Nazi party and others…
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., I thought I would re-post his Rule of Life. It was a Rule for himself and a Rule that those who wished to join him in his efforts toward justice were expected to adopt as well. You can find it published in the book Soul Feast by Marjorie…
In one of my Mennonite Facebook groups the other day, someone asked who would be the first to blog about the “elephant in the room.” That elephant would be the recent licensing toward ordination of my friend and colleague Theda Good. Theda is called by God and gifted by the Spirit to serve a church…
Spacious Faith 