OK, so the Christmas season is about a whole lot more than getting and receiving gifts, but most of us likely participate in gift exchanges to one degree or another.  Keeping it in the category of old-school print media, with a progressive Anabaptist flavor, below are three items our family has especially enjoyed which might be fitting gifts for people in your life. Children of God Storybook Bible, by Desmond Tutu | ages 3-6 This is a lovely way to introduce 50+ key Bible stories to young children.  The text is written by Desmond Tutu, the Anglican Archbishop of South Africa so active in helping his country heal from the Apartheid era.  He highlights themes of love, justice, and inclusion without avoiding some of the more difficult themes scripture also presents.  Each story ends with a brief prayer.  A real highlight is the artwork.  Leading artists around the world

Below is the text  of an Advent devotional I wrote for The Mennonite website blog.  Each day during Advent, The Mennonite will be posting a reflection written by different members from across the MCUSA family.  The reflection below was written for day two of Advent, but all the other daily reflections can be found HERE.     2 Peter 3:1-18 Every year, the Christmas season seems to slip earlier and earlier into November (and perhaps even October).  No longer do we have to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to hear our favorite Christmas songs on the radio.  No longer do we even have to wait until Thanksgiving is completely over in order to get all those great deals on all the stuff we probably do not even need.  No longer do we have a clear sense that the Advent season is about waiting, patience, and hope.  In general, our

  There was a stretch of years in my 20’s when I struggled with whether or not one could be authentically grateful in a world with so much injustice.  The more aware I became, the more tainted were the ‘blessings’ I enjoyed.  Gratitude, it seemed, involved temporarily closing one’s eyes to the bad stuff and giving thanks that, despite it all, me and the people I most love have got it pretty good.  It didn’t help that our national holiday of Thanksgiving could also be told as a story of disaster and loss for American Indians. But I no longer think this way. Specifically, I no longer think that gratitude is a betrayal of solidarity with suffering.  At least it doesn’t have to be. The people who have taught me most about this are, predictably, those whose lives are way harder than mine.  Through their witness it has become clear

This coming Sunday, we will be welcoming nearly 40 members of the Illuminati choir who will be sharing special music with us during the service.  The choir is the sacred ensemble associated with the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus.  Approximately once a month, Illuminati shares music at various religious institutions and events around the greater Columbus area in the hopes of building bridges between the LGBTQ and religious communities.  Illuminati has a special place in my heart because I was a member of the choir for the season immediately before I was hired at Columbus Mennonite.  Not only this, but it was also one of the first ongoing activities that I participated in together with the person who has now become my fiance.  I know from personal experience that the group provides an important ministry not only for religious institutions around Columbus but also for the members who make up the

Yesterday our church building was open from early morning until evening, filled with poll workers volunteering their time to help with the elections, and neighbors taking a break in their day to vote.  I did not have to technically leave work in order to vote.  One more advantage of living close to church. At a couple points in the day I walked outside the office area to watch the flow of people and strike up a few conversations.  I spoke briefly with a woman outside handing out voting guides.  She was the mother of Council member Shannon Hardin, who had been here briefly before moving on.  She mentioned that Senator Sherrod Brown had been at the church earlier in the morning, rallying the troops and no doubt doing any promotion he could do for his daughter Elizabeth, who also won a Council seat.  She mentioned how much she enjoyed looking