Freedom Center Reflections
Last Saturday, nearly 20 members of Columbus Mennonite got the opportunity to partner with around 20 members of Cincinnati Mennonite to tour the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in downtown Cincinnati and discuss the ways our respective congregations are working toward racial justice. The day was rich with good discussion,…
Jesus for President?
In the High School Sunday School class, we are spending part of the fall semester talking about the relationship between faith and politics. The hope is that we could create a space for the high school youth (and the teachers) to process and think critically about the politically charged atmosphere…
Babies and Grandmas
The other day I read this quote that got me thinking about our racial justice work: “If there aren’t babies and grandmas, it’s not my revolution.” I have heard from a couple of parents in the congregation that their children are beginning to pick up on the conversations we are…
Moving Toward Conflict
Greetings from Chicago! (Ok, I’m in Lombard, but that is close enough to me.) This week I am attending the Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders put on by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center. That’s a really long title, but in a nutshell it is a full week of…
We Are Orlando
“You better be careful; we don’t want to get shot.” These are the words I said to Jeremy last Saturday evening when his hand reached for mine while walking into a restaurant in an unfamiliar town. These are the words that were uttered mostly as a joke, but which now…
Summer Brain Drain
My sister-in-law posted a picture the other day of my niece enjoying her first week of summer vacation from elementary school. In the picture, my niece was stretched out in the sun on a beach chair with her nose buried deep inside a book. In the caption and comments, my…
On Repeat
The other day I was upstairs digging through Columbus Mennonite’s archives, which I found to be delightfully fascinating and full of history that I have never heard. (Sometime I’d love to hear more about “Paul’s Porch” from someone.) I hope we can do some work in the next couple years…
Prophetic Ministry
On Monday, I had the opportunity to attend a one-day conference at The Methodist Theological Seminary in Ohio that was focused on how people of faith can engage in prophetic ministry through organizing and preaching for social justice. This broad topic was explored in many different and helpful ways throughout…
Doing Our Own Work
Here at Columbus Mennonite, we will be talking about and working on issues of race through the next year. This is a commitment we have made in an effort to be the Church in this particular moment in history. It is also worth considering, however, the ways in which we…
And a Child Shall Lead Them
On February 7th, there will be a Children and Youth led Sunday service. When the idea first got proposed, I was extremely curious as to how something like this would turn out. Truth be told, it has been awesome to work with the kids on this! When I brought the…
