Either/or binaries help us make sense of life. Wheat & weeds. Good seeds and bad seeds. A landowner and his enemy. A barn where the wheat will be gathered into… and a fire, where the weeds will be burned. The Kingdom of God and the fiery furnace. Jesus, the Human One – and the Devil, […]
Jesus uses earthy images in pithy, pointed, sometimes confusing parables that both illuminate and obscure what the kingdom of God is like. Just in Matthew’s 13th chapter he speaks of soil and seeds and weeds and yeast and pearls and fish and fire. And with these punchy, Tik-Tok length storylines, Jesus’ hooks our fleeting attention-spans. […]
Ben spent last week at Camp Friedenswald in Michigan, a Mennonite camp supported by our conference, where he was the camp pastor for the pre-junior week. Ben draws on his camp experience to reflect on what it means to follow Jesus by walking in wonder. [Photo: Friedenswald campers & counselors circled up for a closing […]
Resting, refraining, ceasing to do work on the Sabbath – helps the community delight in the gift of God’s goodness that might otherwise be missed in the frenzy of constant, anxious activity. But as Jesus demonstrates – when there is a need in front of us, we honor the holiness of time by doing good, […]
We are spending four-week in our worship services using on the theme “Rise Up! Take Courage,” which is also the biennial theme for our conference – Central District Conference. Congregations…
Next Sunday, we will be remembering loved ones who have died – and we will be using alternate texts from the lectionary for All Saints Day. And so today –…
There was a certain woman in a church I was once a part of. Every single Sunday, during every prayer and sharing time, when the microphone was passed around this woman…
It would be enough if all we take from our gospel text today is a recognition of the goodness of gratitude. It would be enough if the only moment that…
The lectionary this fall has given us the gift or misfortune of spending some time with the prophet Jeremiah of 8th century ancient Judah. Jeremiah is not an easy prophet to…
In our worship service on Sunday, September 14 – through song, prayer, and word – we made space to commit ourselves to being a church that practices beloved community, following Jesus who…
