A story about where we (CDC) come from
Tomorrow folks from Central District Conference congregations will be coming to Columbus as the Annual Meeting begins. Here’s a story that has helped me better understand CDC: Joseph Stuckey was born in Berne, Switzerland in 1826 and migrated to the US with his parents when he was five. Joseph…
In the arms of Ali
“My conscious won’t let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, or some poor hungry people in the mud for big powerful America. And shoot them for what? They never called me nigger, they never lynched me, they didn’t put no dogs on me, they didn’t rob…
Three Anabaptist flavored gift ideas
OK, so the Christmas season is about a whole lot more than getting and receiving gifts, but most of us likely participate in gift exchanges to one degree or another. Keeping it in the category of old-school print media, with a progressive Anabaptist flavor, below are three items our…
Gratitude as resistance
There was a stretch of years in my 20’s when I struggled with whether or not one could be authentically grateful in a world with so much injustice. The more aware I became, the more tainted were the ‘blessings’ I enjoyed. Gratitude, it seemed, involved temporarily closing one’s eyes…
Hospitality as mission
Yesterday our church building was open from early morning until evening, filled with poll workers volunteering their time to help with the elections, and neighbors taking a break in their day to vote. I did not have to technically leave work in order to vote. One more advantage of living…
Living stones
The last two weeks we have pondered the New Jerusalem at the end of Revelation, and now my thoughts are turning toward present day Jerusalem. In a week and a half – on Monday, Nov 9, I’ll be flying out to Tel Aviv with a group of 15 other Mennonite…
Picturing the world of Revelation
A book I have found quite helpful for this Revelation series is Apocalypse and Allegiance: Worship, Politics, and Devotion in the Book of Revelation. It’s written by J. Nelson Kraybill who is the former President of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, where I attended, and is the current President of Mennonite…
The gods must be…angry?
Now that we’re in the middle of Revelation…One of the most difficult aspects of Revelation is the violence and suffering it describes –much of it appearing to be from God. There are two Greek words that get translated as “wrath” throughout Revelation and they are used a total of 16…
Revelation in October
Last summer we selected twelve scriptures that guide our understanding of the Bible and the life of faith. The scriptures were the basis of our summer worship series and continue to be colorfully displayed in the church foyer and on our website. But since the Bible isn’t all love and…
A teaching congregation
Last week I attended a pastor peer meeting in the Bluffton area. It was the first time Renee Kanagy, the new pastor of Cincinnati Mennonite Fellowship, where I pastored before Columbus, was a part of this group. Over the course of conversation Renee mentioned that she lived in Columbus from…
