State killing, Christian witnessing
In 1993 Ron Phillips committed a horrendous crime. He beat, raped, and murdered a three year old child. Her name was Sheila Marie Evans. Phillips confessed his guilt and was given the death penalty. He is scheduled to be executed by the state of Ohio – that’s you and…
Holy Indifference
It’s church conference/convention season. Last weekend was the Central District Conference annual meeting in Bluffton, Ohio. Next week is the biennial Mennonite Church USA convention, held this year in Orlando, Florida….conveniently close to Harry Potter World, which will be a Christmas in July for our girls. I was so…
“ …to work amongst…”
“Try not to think in terms of superimposing our own tastes and objectives on the lives of others but rather to make our energies and talents available to those who would want us to work amongst them.” — Judith Tokel, meeting notes from the American Addition Neighborhood Council, December…
Homework
2016 was a big year for news, dominated by the US Presidential campaign. So guess what the top read New York Times article was for the whole year? It was an essay by Alain de Botton titled “Why you will marry the wrong person.” The title, and article, is…
3 films
In the last week and a half our family has enjoyed three excellent and thought provoking films, all based on real life events. Hidden Figures Perhaps the most remarkable and scandalous aspect of this story is that it hasn’t been widely told until now. Who knew that the US…
Busy signals
A week and a half ago I went on a weekend retreat with three pastor friends. We met up in Sylva, North Carolina at the second home of a member of the Atlanta Mennonite congregation. We got in a couple long hikes, sampled some excellent and just OK craft…
Membership Commitment(s)
“We believe Christians are called to a committed fellowship of believers.” This is the first of five “We believe…” statements from the CMC Membership Commitment. This coming Sunday we’ll read that statement collectively as we welcome 19 new members into the congregation. The new members will participate in leading the…
Message construction
Today CMC hosted a training for how Columbus faith communities can be in solidarity with immigrants. The event was put on by Faith in Public Life, Central Ohio Worker Center, Church World Service, and Columbus People’s Partnership. There were 40-50 people present, four of us from CMC. One of…
The original Inward Outward
Back in 1968 Elizabeth O’Connor wrote a book called Journey Inward Journey Outward. That language was already an important part of her congregation, Church of the Saviour, in Washington, DC. The book helped popularize this simple but profound notion of both journeys happening simultaneously. Living in Washington, DC in 1968…
Playing in the labyrinth
Inspired by the CMC children playing in the labyrinth in the fellowship hall on Sunday. One way to walk a labyrinth is to go slow, in quiet solitude. Savor each step. Mind the turns, the twists. They, like your life, fit a greater pattern not easily perceived. Go…
