A Hen in the Foxhouse
Mark Schloneger
I was talking with a friend a while ago. He was telling me how it feels to have an empty nest after nearly twenty years raising two children, both sons. And he told me of the ache he feels to see his oldest son make choices that go against what he’d been taught, how he’d […]
Saving God
Mark Schloneger
I remember exactly where this book was located on our family bookshelf while I was growing up. It was the bottom shelf, because this book was too big and too thick for the other shelves. As a child, I would often use this book for non-reading purposes. As a hard backing to draw on. As […]
A Whole and Holy Mind
Joanne Gallardo
I almost called this sermon “yet another mental health sermon” because I feel that either I preach on this subject often or I hear others doing so. And these sermons vary. I’ve heard sermons that would have people “delivered” from the “demon” of mental illness, I’ve heard sermons that promote the power of positive thinking. […]
A Noble and Generous Spirit
Dan Schrock
What is the nastiest thing that ever happened to you? What events in your life caused you the most suffering, the most pain, the most misery? What grand injustice came to you, stirring up enormous frustration and intense anger inside you?
For This Reason
Mark Schloneger
For this reason. Those are the first three words of our scripture text this morning. For this reason, Paul writes, he prays to God for the church in Ephesus. Tomorrow, I’ll be traveling to Laurelville Mennonite Church Center in Pennsylvania for a meeting of the Values-Based Leadership Program. This has been helpful for me to […]
In Deep
Mark Schloneger
To all who are loved by God and called to be saints, there is grace and peace for you – in abundance — through our Lord Jesus Christ. Discombobulated. Befuddled. Flabbergasted. Flummoxed. If there are ever words that sound like their meaning, it’s those. And that’s kind of how I’ve been feeling lately, in dire […]
Becoming a Safer Church
Joanne Gallardo
Ideally, many of us would like to think church is one of the safest places one can be. We all know each other, consider one another decent people, and nothing untoward may have happened to us recently, or maybe even ever in a church setting. We’re like a family. We’ve trusted each other with some […]
Ten Thousand Ways
Mag Richer Smith
Orpha was an older woman in our congregation. Her occupation in life had been “cleaning lady,” and Orpha’s life vocation was “servant of God.” She would collect the towels in the church kitchen and the blankets in the nursery and bring them back each week all refreshed. She quilted for the MCC sale and let […]
Becoming Aware and Giving Our Consent
Dan Schrock
On a cold Sunday morning in February 1971, I was baptized at a small mission church. Since our church was so tiny, I was the only one baptized that day. When the time came, I knelt at the front of the sanctuary; the pastor poured water on my head; pronounced the words of baptism; then […]
The Wall will Happen?
Mag Richer Smith
The WALL WILL happen. The Wall won’t happen.. And the debate about a Wall on the southern border of our nation keeps us stuck behind walls of hostility & resistance. We know we need appropriate boundaries to keep us safe and none of us wants to live in a house without walls, especially in the […]
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