Singleness and the Church
Denise Risser
If you’re on Facebook you know how it works – you find something interesting – an article, a picture, whatever -‐ and you share it on your wall for your friends to see. A little over a year ago I read a blog post by Christena Cleveland entitled “Singled Out: How Churches Can Embrace Unmarried […]
Praying that We May be One
Dan Schrock
Today we are observing Mennonite World Conference Sunday. The worldwide movement of Mennonites is extremely diverse, with 243 national groups of churches around the globe. This diversity of Mennonites also holds true in Canada and the U.S. where there are a total of 42 distinct Mennonite groups. The Mennonite Church USA to which we belong […]
Location, Location, Location
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
Location, location, location. If you are in the market for a place to live, that is the song of the realtors. That has certainly been a factor for us both times we’ve bought a house. Thinking about work and school, and the proximity of those to where we lived was, and is, really important. Of […]
The Refugee
Dan Schrock
I’d like you to meet Rose Kingston. Rose Kingston lives in New York City, but that’s not where she was born. In fact, Rose was not born anywhere in the United States. She was born in Monrovia, Liberia, where she and her family once lived comfortably and safely. Rose’s mother worked as a secretary in […]
The Threat
Dan Schrock
Who would have thought that Mary would pose a threat to Herod? King Herod was one of the great men of the world. His father was Antipater, a man who had lots of wealth and influence. His mother was a Nabataean princess. He was born in 73 BCE and died in March or April in […]
Theologian of the Possible
Dan Schrock
Mary’s words in this passage of scripture are hard for us to hear. This short passage has been set to music and sung more often than maybe any other passage of scripture in Christian history. If you pick up a book of morning and evening prayers, this passage is often featured prominently in the daily […]
Friends
Dan Schrock
If something really wonderful happened to you, who is the first person you would want to share the news with? Suppose you were offered a new job in a better organization for more pay. Who would you call up first and tell the news to? Or suppose you won a lottery to have solar panels […]
Mary, Breaker of Codes and Conventions
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
One of my favorite novels is The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, set in South Carolina in 1964. In it a white teenager, Lily, struggling to make sense of her hazy memories from the afternoon her mother was killed, and living with a father who is abusive, runs away from home with […]
Perplexed
Dan Schrock
If there’s anything we Americans want in our leaders, it’s confidence. From the mayor to the governor to the president, we want to hear our leaders exude confidence. Even if our leaders stretch the truth a little, we still want them to sound confident. Historians sometimes say that one reason Franklin Roosevelt was popular as […]
A Reluctant Prophet and a Persistent God
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
I debated preaching this sermon from the doorway, just as Jeremiah preached his temple sermon in the gate of the temple. What difference does it make where one stands to speak? Does it sound different if spoken in the doorway, rather than from the pulpit? It’s an interesting welcoming strategy as well, to speak this […]
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