What time is it? It’s Ordinary Time. In the liturgical calendar, the seven weeks of the Easter season culminate in Pentecost Sunday.  Since Advent we have been following the trajectory of Jesus’ life, from expectant pregnancy and birth, to baptism and ministry, to crucifixion and resurrection. At Pentecost the Spirit is unleashed and comes in wind and flame and ecstatic language.  Jesus is no longer bodily present with his disciples, and so the Holy Spirit is on the lookout for bodies – bodies that will allow themselves to be animated by the same consciousness and energy that filled and moved Jesus of Nazareth.  No single body can do this alone, but together a new community forms, the body of Christ, the church. We celebrated Pentecost last Sunday – so what’s next?  According to the liturgical cycle, we are entering Ordinary Time, and will remain here until Advent comes around again. 

  “…we pledge ourselves to the other members of this church to share openly our problems and concerns, to care for the spiritual and physical needs of each other, and to make this fellowship a vital part of our life.”  — Excerpt from the Columbus Mennonite Church Membership Commitment This coming Sunday we’ll be welcoming new members into the congregation.  They’ll be leading parts of the service, sharing a window into their faith journeys, and serving Communion.  When Mark and I met with this group a few weeks ago, I was impressed with the thoughtfulness with which each of them is entering this commitment, and grateful for the rest of you who have made this congregation a place that welcomes new folks with open arms. Membership Sunday is also a time of renewing the commitments we make to one another.  Our baptismal identity calls on us to reject the evils

The other day I was upstairs digging through Columbus Mennonite’s archives, which I found to be delightfully fascinating and full of history that I have never heard.  (Sometime I’d love to hear more about “Paul’s Porch” from someone.)  I hope we can do some work in the next couple years to tell more of these stories, especially as so many new people join the congregation.  In my digging, however, there was one document that caught my attention and felt like it was speaking across history into our present moment.  It is a single sheet of paper with the words “Resolutions passed by Central District Conference on April 25, 1964” written across the top.  I think this was included in our archives because the first resolution listed seems to be affirming CMC’s dual-membership in Central District Conference and Eastern Mennonite Conference.  Three of the other five resolutions caught my attention because

Today I attended a lunch conversation at the Columbus Metropolitan Club.  CMCer Jane Scott is President and CEO and was a gracious host at her CMC.  Among other things, Columbus Metropolitan Club hosts weekly Wednesday lunches which are community conversations across a range of topics.  Today’s topic: Bicycle Power: On the Path to Bikes. The three presenters were Kerstin Carr of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC); Jennifer L. Gallagher, Department of Public Service Director; and Catherine Girves, Executive Director of Yay Bikes!  Here are some things I learned, and hopefully wrote down correctly: About ¼ of the footprint of downtown Columbus is for car parking, and a recent study showed that one parking space costs about $20,000 to build and maintain.  Biking and alternatives to cars are growing in popularity with folks in their 20’s and 30’s, but there are many folks interested in biking more who don’t fit

This past Sunday was part of a week of spring vacation.  For obvious reasons, I don’t often get to experience worship at other congregations.  Our family spent Sunday afternoon and evening in the cathedral of the southern Ohio forest looking for wildflowers, but in the morning I took Eve and Ila to worship at First Unitarian Universalist Church, just up High Street.  Here are some observations after being a guest at another church: As soon as we parked I found myself looking around, seeing who else was walking toward the church entrance.  What kind of people would I be spending the next hour with?  The front door led into a hallway, and we needed to walk through the hall before getting to a foyer area.  I noticed not being greeted by anyone as soon as we walked in the door.  When we got to the foyer I spotted one of