Throughout scripture, God sends people the message: “Do not be afraid.” To Abram, to Hagar, to Moses, to Joshua, to Daniel, to Mary, to Joseph, to the disciples. “Do not be afraid.” Sometimes, in the midst of my worries and anxiety, I bask in these words that come from the lips of angels, from the…
Yes, I know it is Thursday. It’s been one of those weeks. Our worship on Sunday will be a service of remembrance and lament for the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and for our nation’s violent response to those attacks. You are welcome to use any of this liturgical material in your own worship context. Call…
One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Recommendation: I recommend this book highly. It has spiritual and emotional depth, yet somehow also a lightness. I found it to be a quick read—well worth my time. Reflections: I will admit it: I am prone to choosing books based on titles. In this particular case, I…
Here is the call to worship we will use this week to go along with Matthew 18:15-20. Call to Worship (from: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Mark 6:7; Matthew 18:20; Acts 2:46; Hebrews 10: 24-25) As we gather together to worship, let us remember the words of Scripture: Two are better than one, because they have a good…
Here are some worship pieces I wrote for this coming Sunday. As always, you are welcome to use them as written or in an adapted form for your own worshiping community. Call to Worship (based on Psalm 22, Matthew 16:21-28) We come to worship this morning from different places. O God, do not be far…
This is the little table in the prayer corner at my house. I was inspired to create this space several months ago after I came home from a retreat. If you’d like to see a picture of the family member who spends the most time here, click on over to my guest blog at the…
This is a prayer I wrote several years ago. It ties in nicely with the Romans (12: 1-8) reading for this week. Prayer of Thanksgiving Dear God, giver of life, for each and every part of this church body We give you thanks. For those who teach and those who learn. For those who speak…
To go along with the prayer of confession below, here is my confession to you: Sometimes I am lazy in planning ahead for worship. I will say to the Worship Committee, “Oh, I’ll just preach lectionary that week. Let’s go with the Gospel reading.” So a Gospel reading, say Matthew 15: 21-28, gets put on…
This Sunday at Peace Mennonite I will be reflecting on our recent denominational conference where the theme was: “Make no Excuses, Simply Come to the Banquet.” Our focus scripture is Jesus’ parable of the banquet found in Luke 14: 15-24. Call to Worship The table of God’s love is set before us. Let us come…
To summarize many stressful months as succinctly as possible: I officiated a same-sex wedding; the Leadership Commission of Western District Conference (Mennonite Church USA) found my ordination credentials in order; some people are not happy about this. So, to those who are deeply troubled by my action and by the Commission’s decision: I understand that…
Spacious Faith 