Thoughts on a Washington, DC delegation
I was in Washington, DC Monday through Wednesday of this week, part of a faith leaders delegation through Mennonite Central Committee. We were there to learn about and lobby for just immigration policies, specifically a clean Dream Act. We were a group of mostly pastors, mostly non-white, from around…
Sabbatical year
Leviticus 25 declares a Sabbatical year for Israel, one every seven. It was to be a year of rest and renewal for the people (including hired laborers and slaves), the land (including agricultural fields), and animals. Mennonite Church USA has its own Sabbatical guidelines. It suggests pastors be granted…
Not-violence
“The first clue, lesson number one from human history on the subject of nonviolence, is that there is no word for it.” This is how Mark Kurlansky begins his book Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea. He goes on to note that every language has a word for…
Big Sanctuary day
Yesterday was a big Sanctuary day, with two major events. Mayor Ginther and several of his staff brought lunch for Edith and ate with her. Two of her children and I joined. We had a little over an hour for Edith to tell her story, Brandow and Stephanie to…
The twelve months of CMC
In previous years I’ve written a January blog to recap the past year. It’s basically a long list of happenings, with lots of commas. It’s a little overwhelming (to write and probably to read), and I inevitably leave out something important. This time I’d like to pare it down…
Real place, real people
As we approach Christmas, we remember that Bethlehem is a real place with real people whose struggles are not dissimilar from Roman occupied Palestine in the first century. We also remember that the nativity story, and the subsequent response of Herod, is a story of sanctuary, forced migration, and…
You just got an award
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Last evening four of us from CMC attended the annual Faith in Public Life celebration, downtown. …
Advent 2017
Advent begins this Sunday. It’s a season of watchfulness, becoming like Mary, making space for Christ not only around us, but within us. As a congregation we hear familiar texts and sing songs of the season that invite us deeper into the story. Here are three things to know…
Thanksgiving
The trees are mostly bare, but there is excess in these late-autumn days; of food, of memory, of longing. Time, in its fullness, spills backward and forward, and with it thoughts of all we have ever loved or hoped to love. Gathered into one, it is a feast of too…
5 Things We Want Our Boys to Become
To be able to enjoy girls and women without having to control or possess them. To have meaningful and vulnerable relationships with other males. To have a lively internal life of reflection, meditation, and imagination. To respect elders and to become an elder worthy of respect. To channel passion and…
