Blog

Riding With the Wind (Pilgrimage Reflection)

After I graduated from Bluffton University, I decided to sign up for Mennonite Voluntary Service with a placement in Hutchinson, Kansas. In many ways, this whole endeavor was a pilgrimage because part of the reason I went to the “wilderness” of Kansas was to try to figure out what life beyond college looked like for me.

While I was on this wider pilgrimage that eventually expanded into three years, I also took what I would consider a much more specific, shorter-term pilgrimage. I had built a relationship with Camp Mennoscah, a Mennonite camp near Hutchinson, and the director...

Midweek Blog: Lent = Pilgrimage

What’s the difference between a tourist and a pilgrim?

I think I first asked myself this question while studying in Cairo, Egypt during my senior year of college (half a lifetime ago, oh my). The semester included trips to many common destinations – the pyramids, a boat trip on the Nile, old mosques and churches. Amidst the tourists, I noticed what felt like another genre of visitor – those who approached these sites with a certain level of reverence, curiosity, and wonder. Those who came as learners, even worshipers, as if ready to be changed by the place and the stories it...

Some good news

We got some good news a couple days ago worth celebrating.

The city of Columbus budgeting process involves the mayor sending a proposed budget to City Council toward the end of the calendar year, with Council having the ability to make its own adjustments. On Monday, Council President Shannon Hardin announced an additional $1.2 million allocation to the 2023 budget for the creation of a nonpolice emergency response pilot program (at the 6:10 mark in this video).

Columbus already has several “Alternative Response”...

Times are A-Changin' Us All

With the Coming of Age Celebration this Sunday, I’ve been thinking a lot about the topic of transitions and change. One of the things that has been bouncing around my brain is an NPR article that came out late last year about how the pandemic may have shifted our personalities on a population-wide scale. I don’t think this is surprising to anyone. We’ve all been through a lot.

But it was interesting to have some data to back up the anecdotes and general feelings that...

Snow day, surprise Sabbath

It’s a snow day for Columbus City Schools and, as far as I can tell, just about every K-12 school around Central Ohio. This is not particularly convenient for parents and guardians who suddenly need to account for their children throughout the day, and do their regular job.

And yet…Maybe I’m alone in this, but I still feel a distinct thrill on snow days. It could be nostalgia for childhood, but I wonder if it’s something more.

Snow days are a reminder, amidst our over-programmed lives, that we can, if we deem it necessary, simply stop. We can cancel activity for the day...

Blog

Pages