From Abbie in Guatemala
Abbie is currently in Guatemala, representing CMC on a 10 day learning tour with other members of Central District Conference congregations. Below is a reflection from her. I’m thankful for the opportunity to return to Guatemala. Our time here this summer was so fun for our family and I loved…
Saint Oscar
“Each one of you has to be God’s microphone. Each one of you has to be a messenger, a prophet. The church will always exist as long as there is someone who has been baptized…Where is your baptism? You are baptized in your professions, in the fields of workers, in the…
One year in: A Sanctuary reflection
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Edith in Sanctuary in our church building. The press continues to tell her story sympathetically, like THIS article in The Guardian, and THIS one in The Dispatch. Edith actually first entered Sanctuary last Labor Day, but was able to briefly return home before…
Jewish prayers
Our Jewish friends are fasting today. They are praying for themselves and the world, for us. They are confessing shortcomings, and remembering the Mercy that holds us all. Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, a high point of the Jewish calendar. As they have in past years, the…
Other languages
This past Sunday was Pentecost. It marks the transition of the liturgical year into Ordinary Time, which lasts all the way up to Advent. Pentecost marks the birth of the church, with the key story found in Acts 2. It’s the one where they were all together in one…
Justice Menno-style
Monday was a great BREAD Nehemiah Action, with green-shirt-clad CMCers joining 2,500+ folks from 40+ congregations around Franklin County, mixing some critical yeast with critical mass. There are many good things in motion, including the newest issue: safe, affordable housing for the 54,000 households in Franklin County who currently…
Conflict and curiosity
The church subscribes to a quarterly publication called Leader. We distribute copies to various folks in leadership positions. The theme of the most recent edition is Conflict. One of the essays is by Richard Blackburn, long time director of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center. He notes that conflict is…
Adult selves
Recently I’ve been reading from a book by Cynthia Lindner titled Varieties of Gifts: Multiplicity and the Well-Lived Pastoral Life. She teaches at the University of Chicago Divinity School. It’s a book about pastoral ministry, but much of it applies to anyone attempting adulthood. One of the ideas I’ve…
Spiritual direction
I didn’t hear about spiritual direction until I went to seminary. There I heard about this unique kind of relationship one can form with a spiritual director, and what is meant by “direct.” Rather than being a therapeutic relationship or counseling, spiritual directors are trained at directing another’s attention toward…
50 years
“The one thing that would be dishonorable for us is to bring all this attention to the assassination of Dr. King and not have a resurrection of the efforts and the unfinished business dealing with systemic racism, systemic poverty.” Rev. Dr. William Barber II Fifty years ago today Martin Luther…
