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Seven questions with…Andrew Michaels
Name: Andrew Michaels Congregation: Dayspring Christian Fellowship Occupation: Camp Director at Camp Luz in Orrville, Ohio 1. What is your favorite memory of church from childhood? My initial response is that I didn’t particularly enjoy going to church as a kid. There were certainly things I did like about it, but of the things I […]
Five reasons we get out of bed in the morning: Eric and Kelly Frey Martin
Kelly and Eric live in Goshen, Indiana. Eric spends most of his time as the youth pastor at Silverwood Mennonite Church and as a student at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Kelly is a nurse on the labor and delivery floor at Goshen Hospital. They will serve with Mennonite Mission Network in Colombia. 1. We […]
Reinventing conferences
Elwood Yoder has taught high school history and social studies courses for 34 years, since 1988 at Eastern Mennonite High School. Elwood has written seven books, including congregational histories and historical novels. Elwood is Editor of Shenandoah Mennonite Historian, and he is also Editor of Today, a publication of Eastern Mennonite School. Conferences need to reinvent […]
Our missional story: Love your community day
Linda Ewert has served as associate pastor for Pastoral Care and Christian Formation at Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church, Goessel, Kansas, since 2007. She is a graduate of Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Harrisonburg, Virginia. This post originally appeared on Mennonite Church USA’s Menno Snapshots blog. How does a church build relationships, make new friends and share God’s […]
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love
Sarah Chase is convention planning registrar for Mennonite Church USA. This post originally appeared on the Menno Snapshots blog. Growing up in the Mennonite Church, I have always been excited for what convention has in store. In January, I began my role as registrar for Convention Planning for Mennonite Church USA. I feel so grateful […]
Five observations from visiting congregations
Hannah Heinzekehr is Executive Director of The Mennonite, Inc. This summer, my family moved to Goshen, Indiana. Along with the many other transitions we were facing, we found ourselves needing to begin a search for a new church home. At some points in my life, I have lived in places where there was only one local […]
New hymnals and the politics of Mennonite music
Jason Kauffman is director of Archives and Records Management for Mennonite Church USA. This post originally appeared on Mennonite Church USA’s Menno Snapshots blog. “P.S. Change is not always a sign of growth but could also be a sign of shriveling, death, and decay.” This is how one chorister from Ohio ended his six-page letter […]
Friday round-up: Five things worth paying attention to this week
Gordon Houser is editor of The Mennonite magazine. 1. Elena Ferrante: Ferrante is an author who has risen in prominence in the past few years in literary circles. She is an Italian novelist and author of a tetralogy, The Neapolitan Novels. The author, however, is largely unknown. Elena Ferrante is likely not her name, though it […]
The cross: Hope and challenge
Byron Pellecer is associate conference minister for Western District Conference. It is in the midst of the turbulent times that we live in, filled with violence, darkness and sentiments of racism and racial profiling, just to name a few, that I found the cross to be not just a symbol of Christian faith. Rather I […]
Walking the Camino
Terry Shue is director of Leadership Development for Mennonite Church USA. This post originally ran on Mennonite Church USA’s Menno Snapshots blog. This summer I was given the gift of a six-week sabbatical through Mennonite Church USA. The older we get (I turned 59 this summer), the more we realize how precious the gift of […]
Friday round-up: Five things worth paying attention to this week
Every Friday, we’ll have an author that highlights five things to read, watch or check out online. This week’s post comes from David and Leann Augsburger, two semi-retired people who co-lead a home base church (Peace Mennonite Church, Claremont, California) and volunteer to welcome, care, and connect people in the San Gabriel valley. 1. All Under […]
Piecing together God’s plan
Katie Gillmore is a Kansas native currently serving with Mennonite Voluntary Service’s unit near Aibonito, Puerto Rico. She works for Academia Menonita Betania, a bilingual school founded in 1947 by two Mennonite missionary teachers. Katie spends her time at Academia Menonita Betania helping communicate the school’s unique value and aspirations. She enjoys glimpsing God’s goodness […]
Examining the management of our precious gifts
Glen Guyton is Chief Operating Office for Mennonite Church USA. This post originally ran on the Menno Snapshots blog. The church has been a poor steward of the resources we have been given. The bulk of our time is devoted to worship services and insider “fellowship” events that only seek to indoctrinate the individual to […]
Why is it so hard to work together?
Ben Wideman is the Campus Pastor for 3rd Way Collective, a ministry of University Mennonite Church at Penn State. He blogs regularly for The Mennonite online. Why is it so hard to work together? During my candidating process with University Mennonite Church, I was shown a venn diagram that had three circles. The three were labeled with […]
Seven questions with…Caitlin Tice
Name: Caitlin Tice Occupation: Director of administrative and volunteer services at New Creation Virginia Congregation: Eastside Church Location: Harrisonburg, Virginia 1. What are the things that have kept you connected to the church? I would definitely say the people. There have been a few people throughout my life that have encouraged and challenged and uplifted me. […]
Learning to listen
Sarah Jacoby is currently a Master of Divinity student at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina, where she recently finished a summer chaplaincy program at Duke Hospital. Originally from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, she hails most recently from western New York, where her experience attending Sojourners Mennonite Fellowship in Belfast, New York brought her into the Mennonite […]
Rose Mtoka: Five reasons I get up in the morning
Rose Mtoka works with Mennonite Mission Network in the Human Resources department. Mtoka is originally from Musoma, Tanzania. This post originally appeared on Mennonite Mission Network’s Beyond blog. 1. My adoration of an early, glorious morning sunrise. My words cannot capture a full picture of the effect of “good morning sunshine” on me. The stealth, exquisiteness […]
Our missional story: Ben Risser and Ridgeway Mennonite Church
Photo: The attendees at a Wednesday Kids Club event at Ridgeway Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia. On this day, members of the Eastern Mennonite High School varsity soccer team volunteered at the church instead of their usual practice. Photo by Andrew Gascho. This is my second career and Ridgeway is my first pastorate. I’ve been here […]
Confession of Faith roundtable: Sin
The Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective was developed in 1995, and is the most recent systematic statement of belief for Mennonite Church USA. Over the course of the next several months, we will be releasing “roundtable posts”, featuring two to three members of Mennonite Church USA congregations reflecting on an article from the Confession of Faith and […]
Seeking a king: An election year reflection on 1 Samuel 8
Amy Bowers attends Milwaukee Mennonite Church. When we look to the Bible for guidance on how to view voting, we run into a problem: the scriptures are populated with people who have little or no say in how they are governed. Jesus and his disciples lived under Roman occupation. For the centuries proceeding, Israel had […]
The side of the road
Mark Rupp is Pastor of Christian Formation at Columbus (Ohio) Mennonite Church. This piece was first preached as a sermon. Part 1: Four hours Michael Brown’s body lay in the street Barely covered up; a thin white sheet- -Of solace too late and too small to hide the feat From the gathering crowd; already beat- -Down […]
Running for Anti-Christ: On presidential candidates and Revelation 13
J. Denny Weaver is a member of Madison (Wisconsin) Mennonite Church and an emeritus professor of religion at Bluffton (Ohio) University. The clerk who rang up my wife’s purchase was visibly disturbed and apologized profusely when the sale registered $6.66 but was greatly relieved when she discovered an error that changed the final bill. Meanwhile, […]
Snack shop was a gathering place for hungry EMU students for generations
Photo: This photo, probably taken in the mid-1950s, shows the second snack shop serving Eastern Mennonite School students from a building located on Mount Clinton Pike. The first snack shop, owned by EMS business manager Henry D. Weaver and run by his family, opened just one building west. (EMU archives) “Would you like to hear about […]
Philemon and forgiveness
Ted Lewis lives in Duluth, Minnesota, and is a restorative justice trainer, mediator, writer, and consultant. He also gives workshops to church groups on Bible Conflictology and Communication. For some people, forgiving another person for hurtful actions in the past can be one of the hardest things to do. With every good intention to reach […]
Ain’t I a Mennonite?
Kelly Bates Oglesby lives in Indianapolis and provides supply preaching and teaching service as called. In the midst of advocating for social justice, Sojourner Truth inquired publicly in an 1851 speech, “Ain’t I a woman?” Her womanly worth seemed diminished because she was black. Today, I ask Mennonite Church USA, “Ain’t I a Mennonite?” I came to MC USA through a […]
We need each other
Photo: KyongJung Kim with Bethel Mennonite (house) Church members, in Sapporo, Japan. KyongJung Kim is the Northeast Asia Regional Representative for Mennonite World Conference. It was a great privilege to visit national member churches in Northeast Asia as Mennonite World Conference (MWC) regional representative. As I planned to visit Japan, I prayed that it would […]
But I’ve seen him do so much good
Sara Wenger Shenk is president of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart. Please note: This reflection references an incident of sexual abuse. “But I’ve seen him do so much good.” It was heartbreaking when I came across this line in an account about a woman who had been abused by a charismatic educational leader. After […]
How a handful of Mennonite voters may have altered world history
Harvey Yoder is an ordained pastor and member of Family of Hope, a small Virginia Mennonite Conference house church congregation. He blogs at Harvspot. Stay tuned for more reflections on faith, politics and an election year in the November issue of The Mennonite magazine. The outcome of the 2000 presidential race was extremely close, and was […]
Colombian Anabaptist perspectives on the peace accords
Photo: Colombians march in memory of victims of armed conflict. Photo by Anna Vogt. Wednesday, August 24, was an historic day in Colombia: the national government and FARC guerrilla group announced that they had reached an agreement after nearly four year of negotiations, effectively ending the longest-running armed conflict in the Western hemisphere. While several key […]
The Everyday Missionary
Jenifer Eriksen Morales is Minister of Transitional Ministries for Franconia Mennonite Conference. This piece first appeared in the September 1 edition of the Intersectings e-newsletter. Photo: Jess McQuade with her husband, John, and children, Katie (15), Aiden (13) and Kieran (11). Photo provided. Jess McQuade, an “everyday missionary,” is a member of Souderton (Pennsylvania) Mennonite Church, Vice […]
