Texts: Exodus 22:6; Matthew 5:1-6

Speaker: Joel Miller

When fire breaks out | and catches in thorns | so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed | the one who started the fire | shall make full restitution.

These words appear in Exodus 22 in a section my Bible labels as “Laws of Restitution.”  These laws detail how to respond to theft and property damage within the community.  Some of them get pretty specific. 

For example, if you steal an ox or a sheep, and you slaughter it, or sell it, and, of course, you get caught, you owe the owner five oxen or four sheep.  But if you still have possession of it, you have to give it back plus two of your own oxen or sheep.  And if you can’t afford this, if you don’t have a couple animals to spare, you have to sell off your foundational asset, your body, your labor, to make full restitution.  All that packed into one verse, Exodus 22:1

Other laws deal with livestock grazing over a boundary line, who owes what if a borrowed work animal is injured or dies, how to respond if someone digs a pit, doesn’t cover it, and a donkey or oxen falls in and gets hurt.

The cultural setting for the one about fire breaking out is this:  It was common practice then, and even now, to have a row of thorn bushes around fields.  A hedgerow.  These were low cost, low maintenance, multipurpose fences.  They marked boundary lines and kept wild and domestic animals out of the field.  If you’ve ever heard the biblical phrase “a hedge of protection” (Job 1:10), it comes from this practice.  It was also common practice to burn a field after the harvest.  It cleared the stubble, and the ashes…

Texts: Numbers 11:24-30; Acts 2:1-8; 14-18

Speaker: Joel Miller

There’s a story in the Torah, the book of Numbers, chapter 11.  The Israelites have just left Mt. Sinai.  Moses has communed with God and given them the Ten Commandments.  But he’s getting frustrated – with the people.  They’re complaining.  They’re hard to lead.  None of this was Moses’ idea anyways.  He’s overwhelmed.  Something has to change, and the Lord has an idea. 

Moses is instructed to a select group of elders – 70 of them.  Yahweh says, “I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself.”  Moses is skeptical, but also kind of desperate.  He goes with it.  He calls these elders together.  He takes them outside the encampment and has them circle up around the tent of meeting, which was the place Moses would go to meet with the Lord.  Kind of a mobile mini temple.  A temple for nomads.  They circle up around this tent of meeting, and sure enough, Yahweh comes down in a cloud and takes some of the spirit that was on or in Moses and distributes it to the 70 elders.   The spirit rests on them, comes alive within them.  They begin prophesying.  They are spirit possessed, in a good way.      

There is a bit of a hitch.  Someone forgot to do a head count.  Two of the 70 either hadn’t checked their messages or were lagging behind.  They’re still back in the camp, with the people, not gathered at that special tent of meeting with Moses, the others, and the Lord.  But when the spirit rests on all the elders out there, it still comes on…

Scripture | Philippians 2:1-15

Meditations by Malakai Troyer, Mario Lehman, Gabe Coble

Mario Lehman:

“How do we shine like stars in the world? Kind friend help follow Jesus.”

Gabe Coble:

I have had a lot on my mind recently. Athletics, finishing high school, preparing for college; it feels as if a heavy weight has been placed onto my shoulders. It plagued my thoughts, and pushed me beyond what I believed my mental state could endure. And I was right. I could not endure it, and not even a moment went by that I could take my mind off of how much I had yet to do.

The gun went off and I ran, dazed by the stark contrast between my mind and my environment. Thrown off by this sudden change, I was fatally ill-prepared for the race I had ahead of me, and unwilling to truly see it till the end. So I gave up. I let the tide carry me along, and allowed it to flow over me. By the time I was ready to race, the finish was a mere foot in front of me. By then, the frustration of regret, of disappointment, of doubt clouded my mind. I had broken a principle, betrayed who I wanted to be because I was so busy thinking about how much the world wronged me.

I thought of this part of my life while reflecting over Paul’s words in Philippians 2: 14-15.

“Do everything without grumbling and arguing so that you may be blameless and pure, innocent children of God surrounded by people who are crooked and corrupt. Among these people you shine like stars in the world”.

This passage reminds me that I must steel myself, and keep fighting to stay engaged. If I were to grumble and complain, I would lose the drive necessary for me to achieve…

Speaker: Kristin Thomas Sancken

Text: Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; John 10:1-10

Good morning. I’m Kristin Thomas Sancken, the new Coordinator for Church Safety at Central District Conference. I learned of this role from my sister‑in‑law, Joni Sancken, a CDC‑credentialed seminary professor who grew up at First Mennonite (Champaign‑Urbana). My background is in social work and nonprofit work on child‑abuse prevention and treatment, and I completed a Doctorate of Ministry in 2024 studying the faith journeys of women who survived sexual abuse. This role at CDC fits my training and calling—what Frederick Buechner called the place “where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.” I’m committed to helping the church be a true sanctuary for vulnerable people.

Mennonite Church USA created my position after adopting the “Prevention and Accountability” resource last summer. The nearly 90‑page document has two halves; the first focuses on prevention. My role is to help congregations build practical preventative policies—Safe Church rules, clear job descriptions, transparent finances, press and social‑media guidelines—that imagine how the church will respond when crisis comes. Crises are unavoidable, so written policies give concrete steps to follow when emotions run high and help pastors, boards, and congregants share expectations and prevent larger harm.

The second half of the resource covers accountability. It created a Church Safety Liaison system: each of MC USA’s 15 conferences hired a Liaison, of which I am one. When a misconduct claim arises the Director of Church Vitality convenes four Liaisons from different conferences to investigate under MC USA policy. This cross‑conference approach reduces conflicts of interest that occurred when cases were handled inside a single, often small, conference. Since early 2026, five cases have been processed under this system.

Now is when you may be thinking, “Thanks for the document summary, but how does this apply to us at Columbus Mennonite?” When…

Text: John 20:19-23

Speaker: Joel Miller

When I say Christ is Risen, you say Christ is Risen Indeed.

Christ is Risen….

When I say Peace be with you, you say And also with you.

Peace be with you…

A month ago, on a Saturday in mid-March, Leadership Team met for our annual retreat.  This includes a good meal and personal check ins, with a primary goal of coming up with a Vision for Ministry for the coming year.  Our commissions and staff are encouraged to keep this vision in front of them to guide their work.  Past Visions for Ministry have focused on sanctuary, practicing beloved community, accessibility, and, most recently, exploring our Anabaptist histories. 

Arriving at a new Vision for Ministry is a mix of listening over time to the life of the church, and following the flow of what emerges on that particular day.    

Depending on your disposition, this might sound like an intriguing process to be part of, or the absolute last thing you’d want to be doing on a Saturday in early spring.  Fortunately, everyone who was supposed to be there showed up.

And after four hours we settled on seven words as our new Vision for Ministry. 

Are you ready for it?  Here it is:

We will cultivate a courageous peace witness.

Maybe it’s the war in Iran.  Or the ongoing devastation of Gaza and Sudan.  Or the loudness of White Christian Nationalism.  Maybe it’s a natural follow-up from Anabaptist history to Anabaptism present tense.  Maybe it’s a recognition that there are countless things to be anxious about so how do we cultivate an inner peace that enables us to live well in this world.

It was these and more that made cultivating a courageous peace witness feel like an important theme for the year to come.  Stay tuned, and if you have ideas for what this…