Coming Out, Inviting In
This Friday, October 11, is National Coming Out Day. The idea of “coming out” has an interesting history that has shifted over time. The more prevalent understanding for today is built around the idea of “coming out of the closet” where the closet represents a hidden, secretive place from which…
What is Formation?
A few months back, the Christian Education Commission and I organized a workshop that was meant to help clarify the purposes of Christian Formation and set some goals to help move us toward our vision for Christian formation with children and youth. The congregation as a whole has been doing…
#BringThePeace
Last week I, along with a number of other people from CMC, attended the biennial Mennonite Church USA Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. These conventions are always packed full of good conversations with friends, meaningful worship services, challenging and thought-provoking seminars, and lots and lots of walking (my step counter…
Rainbow Christ
Let me start by offering our yearly reminder that the original Pride Parade was not a parade but a march to commemorate the riots that broke out in response to police brutality against the queer community. This year will be the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. As we wave…
Hospitality
[This week’s midweek blog comes from our new pastoral intern, Scott Litwiller.] Providing hospitality is one of my favorite spiritual disciplines. Cooking and preparing a meal allows me the opportunity to pause and meditate on, or pray for, those who are coming for dinner. Once they have arrived, I…
Teaching and Learning
Over the past few years, our congregation has enjoyed having various pastoral interns work among us. When we are approached by people seeking to intern with us, it is often with the expressed hope that our congregation has something to teach them as they test out their gifts in ministry. …
Priesthood, Vulnerability, and Sacred Space
“A priest is someone who stands in a place of remarkable vulnerability, and by doing so, invites other people to enter the sacred.” I am currently reading the book Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity by Rev. Elizabeth M. Edman,…
Practicing Awareness: An Ash Wednesday Reflection
Our theme for Lent this year is “Practicing Awareness,” and we will begin to explore what this means during our Ash Wednesday service this evening at 7p in the sanctuary. This will be a short service that will include not only the usual scripture reading, prayer, and singing but also…
Affirmation and Accountability
If you were at the congregational meeting in November (or if you read the minutes, which I’m sure everyone does), you will remember hearing that I have decided to move forward with pursuing ordination. Many within the congregation either assume that I am already ordained, or they don’t have a…
The Gauntlet of Blessings
The new year is in full swing, which means all those things that have been holding off until “after the holidays” are also beginning to gain momentum. January is an especially full time in the life of our congregation, and if you are here for the next few Sundays, you…
