A Christmas prayer
For each of the four births Abbie and I experienced together, including our stillborn daughter Belle, everything else faded into the background for a precious and brief time. During those hours and days, it was unquestionably clear what mattered most. We had a vital role to play, but we were…
Harmony for the win
These last couple months our family has been tracking NBC’s show The Voice. I know quite a few of you have as well. The draw has been Girl Named Tom, a sibling trio in their 20s that grew up in Zion Mennonite Church in Northwest Ohio. Over the course of…
Implementing peace
The second candle on the Advent wreath we light this week is the candle of peace. One of the most hopeful peace endeavors I’m involved with these days is called the Columbus Safety Collective. This group of folks is committed to the creation of a non-police crisis response unit in…
Midweek Blog: RICE for the Soul
I have long enjoyed running as one of the ways I stay physically active, but for the last few years my average miles per run has hovered much lower than it once did. Only recently have I been able to overcome some of the mental and physical blocks that kept…
Advent essentials
The season of Advent begins this coming Sunday. Our theme for this year is Essentials: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, Immanuel, Epiphany. The first four on that list are the traditional themes of the four Sundays of Advent. We and other Mennonite churches often add the Sunday after Christmas (Immanuel) and…
