To open a Christian Education Commission meeting a few weeks ago, I shared a passage from a book I’m currently reading called The Hopeful Family: Raising Resilient Children in Uncertain Times by Amelia Richardson Dress. Throughout the book, Dress looks at various spiritual practices and offers caregivers ideas about what it might mean to reimagine them through a lens of “hopeful parenting.” Rather than trying to “get it right” the goal is to offer children the tools they need to navigate life, practices that anchor them when life is hard, and a love of exploring and questioning...
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Yesterday I attended the monthly Interfaith Justice Table that brings Central Ohio clergy and nonprofit and community leaders together around pertinent issues and excellent breakfast casserole. I’ve written about this gathering before. It’s usually an eclectic agenda and this was no exception.
Rev. Dan Clark discussed the One Person One Vote campaign against Issue 1, and Rev. Dr. Susan Smith invited everyone to register to serve as an Election Peacekeeper, which includes training in de-escalation...
Churches and clergy aren’t allowed to endorse political candidates but we can advocate for issues. Last week the CMC Leadership Team affirmed Columbus Mennonite Church joining a sign-on campaign of organizations opposed to Issue 1.
Ohio is terribly gerrymandered, giving the slight majority of Republicans across the state a supermajority in the House and Senate. One of the important powers Ohio voters have held since 1912 is the ability to propose constitutional amendments that become law if supported by the majority. It’s not a great way to make laws, and it’...
The MCUSA Convention last week was full of lots of different experiences: worship services, keynote speakers, reunions, seminars, panels, group discussion and yes, some good barbecue and fellowship. There was too much to give a full account here, though we invite you to join us in worship on August 13 where multiple participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their experiences.
For this blog, I wanted to focus on one of the keynote speakers that most grabbed my attention. The final full day of the convention included a Youth and Young Adult Climate Summit, which aimed to...
It’s church conference season.
This past weekend six of us headed up to Goshen, Indiana to represent CMC at the Central District Conference Annual Meeting. This coming Monday five adults and five youth will head out to Kansas City for the biennial Mennonite Church USA Convention (during which delegates will be voting on whether to meet every three years rather than two).
One of the threads connecting denominational, conference, and congregational priorities these days has to do with accessibility. Last summer national delegates unanimously passed a resolution calling for...