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The arts, rising

Last Friday and Saturday our family headed down to Cincinnati for the biennial Mennonite Arts Weekend. It was of course special to see friends from our seven years of living and pastoring in the city. And it is always special to be a part of that weekend gathering which welcomes Mennonite artists from around the continent to share their work.

The weekend started in the early 90’s as an outgrowth of a conversation in which people lamented the lack of support and space for expression given artists in the Mennonite church. ...

The Wisdom Jesus

This week I’ve started reading The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind – a New Perspective on Christ and His Message by Cynthia Bourgeault. It was a book recommended last week at AMBS Pastor’s Week.

I’m always a bit skeptical when books claim to have a “new perspective” on Christ given the fact that this is a conversation that’s been going on for two thousand years. After reading the first third of the book it appears that the author is both working on a recovery of a very old perspective on Jesus, as well as some new insights into the meaning of his life.

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Learning to see

Greetings from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana. It’s ccccold with lots of snow on the ground, but a surprising number of people have shown up for this year’s Pastor’s Week.

There’s been a lot of change here even since I graduated in 2006. Aside from some new and upgraded buildings, and a new President, Sara Wenger Shenk, there is a whole generational turnover happening on faculty. The baby boomers are retiring and the gen Xers are coming into leadership. There are some really strong new professors here, and five of them are the featured speakers this...

Coming of Age

How do you know when you’re no longer a child and have grown into a new stage of life?

Cultures throughout time have had various rites of passage that have marked this transition, and at Columbus Mennonite we are beginning a Coming of Age practice of our own, to be celebrated during worship on Sunday, February 16^th. This year we honor six jr. youth: Quinn B, Steven A, Micah N, Jack Z, Phoebe Y-T, and Maddy R-W. The jr. youth will be preparing for this time by helping shape and lead part of the worship service: choosing a scripture, hymns, and words that reflect their...

Gay update

Nothing like starting off the new year with one of the most contentious issues facing the wider church.

There are a number of happenings right now having to do with how the Mennonite Church relates with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and self-identified queer persons (LGBTQ). Mountain States Conference (one of 21 area conferences in Mennonite Church USA) announced in November that it intends to credential Theda Good for pastoral ministry at First...

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