Time to Expand?
Earlier this year Leadership Team (LT) began discussing the possibility of creating a new part time pastoral position. Several intersecting factors have prompted this discussion. A primary one is a desire to be proactive. LT sees a healthy and active congregational culture and has wondered if now is the time…
Marking Transitions
Last evening 11 of us sat in a circle of chairs at the front of the dimmed sanctuary. The Transitions group has met for the last two months and this was the closing ritual. Each person brought items that symbolize what is ending in their life and what is emerging. …
Mennonites and Organizing
Right after Sunday school I jumped into the car and headed down to Harrisonburg, Virginia, home of Eastern Mennonite Seminary. I made it just in time for the beginning of the conference “The Promise and Possibility of Anabaptist Organizing.” I was part of a panel of “Pastor Organizers” on Monday,…
Resistance and Rest
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the relationship between resistance and rest. Put another way, how does actively and openly confronting our cultural pathologies of greed, violence, and racism relate with things that restore our souls, things we enjoy for their own sake – time with friends, eating good…
Rental Registry Rising
BREAD…Rises. Last evening 11 of us from Columbus Mennonite joined a full house at City Hall for a hearing on a proposed rental registry, headed by Council Member Nick Bankston. The overwhelming majority of folks in attendance were from BREAD congregations, our interfaith organization that does advocacy for local justice…
We Rise
Two and a half weeks ago, Central District Conference (CDC) leaders held our annual visioning retreat in our church building. As part of the opening meditation, Conference Minister Doug Luginbill played the song “We Rise” by Batya Levine. The soulful lyrics wove their way into our process of creating the…
500 and Counting
Mennonites are part of a movement known as Anabaptism that erupted in central Europe 500 years ago. “Anabaptist” (meaning Re-Baptizer) was not a chosen name. Critics created it to highlight the key act that set these folks apart. At a time when the universal baptism of infants issued one not…
Sabbatical Observations
Hello again, Yesterday was my first day back with the church after a restorative Sabbatical. Here are some non-comprehensive observations from these three months: Time goes slower out of routine. Not sure on the physics, but my brain says it’s true. After a week of touring Rome, Anabaptist beginnings in…
Farewell to a Friend
This is what a branch of the ginkgo tree outside our church looks like as of this afternoon. A closer look reveals the unique fan-shaped leaves already there, in miniature form, ready to push out and expand. On the Tree of Life, ginkgos occupy their own branch, the sole survivor…
A Public Good Friday
The first Good Friday was a public event. By design, crucifixions took place in highly visible places. At a crossroads, on a hill, wherever the state executions could be noticed. This strategy served as a deterrent to whoever witnessed it. Whatever that person did, DON’T DO IT, or that could…