OK, so here’s a fresh internet meme to pass along, posted today on HuffPost.  It’s a five minute time-lapse video simulation of a young girl aging into an old woman, showing just her face.  It’s pretty remarkable. A few thoughts after watching it: + the face has its own beauty in all stages of life + there’s also something hauntingly sad and fragile here + accepting and embracing mortality is part of the spiritual life + this is a lovely image of what the church declares every Ash Wednesday, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.” + on this anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and our recognition of the wars and other victims who have followed, we remember that the unfolding of a full life is not something everyone has the privilege of experiencing. Live long and prosper.

In the last couple months there have been some significant and substantive conversations going on regarding the most prominent Mennonite theologian of the last half century – John Howard Yoder.  There are strong calls being made for the church and its institutions to more publicly come to terms with the fact that Yoder habitually sexually harassed women.  The first essay I saw addressing this was written on July 17 by Barbara Graber, “What’s to be done about John Howard Yoder?”  It’s powerful, and goes into more detail than I will here. The blog it appears on, “Our Stories Untold,” is dedicated to being “a safe and open space to discuss sexualized violence within Christianity (and specifically, the Mennonite Church). Blog entries are a mix of personal experience, reflection, discussion, sex positivity, theology, and current events in our world dealing with sexual abuse, all aimed at opening up dialogue about this important topic”

Today – today! – is the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.  Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech symbolizes the sentiment and power of that historic event.  Hopefully you’ve had opportunity to tune in to any of the number of commemorations going on today and this past week.  I have to admit I’ve had some hesitations leading up to today.  My fear has been that this would turn into a national exercise in hero worship, narrowing the significance of King’s prophetic message to the words of a larger-than-life individual who is now safely dead.  But in the few essays and radio programs I’ve caught this week focused on the anniversary, I’ve been pleasantly encouraged.  Overall I am hearing a collective sense of a struggle that continues, of this being not about a single person, but about a legacy that we are all responsible for continuing.  The

To follow up from last week… What does the church need to talk about? What is the church afraid to talk about? What has the church talked about too much? These were the key questions that guided the discussion last Friday and Saturday at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS).  The time wasn’t quite what I expected.  It was much more contemplative than brainstormy, using a circle process that included passing around a talking object (only the one holding the object can talk) and practicing speaking into the center of the circle rather than to any individuals in the circle.  The time was also fairly non-conclusive in narrowing things down to five conversations the church needs to have over the next decade.  The goal of the conveners was to get ideas out on the table, not make any final decisions.  Over the next decade the seminary will be hosting five major

This Friday I’ll be heading up to Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana to meet with a small group of folks to discuss a compelling question: What are the five most important conversations the church needs to have in the next decade? This conversation about these conversations was initiated by the Institute of Mennonite Studies, the research and publishing department of AMBS.  It’s an exciting event to be a part of and is encouraging to see the wider church asking this kind of big and long term question of itself, of us.  It’s a chance to shape church-talk for years to come.    I have some ideas about what I’d like to bring to the Friday discussion, which I’ll mention briefly, but also welcome input from any of you.  In your mind, What are the most important conversations the church needs to have in the next decade? Some initial