It is so good to have Joel back, and I want to thank all of you who helped me make a summer of being the solo pastor for CMC go so smoothly.  In the last few days before Joel left for his sabbatical, he started sending me detailed lists of things to remember while he was gone, which included ministerial minutiae like making sure to blow out the Peace Candle after worship each Sunday.  It was at this point that myself and the rest of the office staff assured him, “We got this,” and shooed him out the door to relax.  I’m not going to claim that the last three months were perfect, but the building didn’t burn down, so there’s at least that.  Throughout the summer, people would regularly ask how I was handling Joel being gone, but the different ways these questions were phrased gave me pause.  A

It is good to be back with the Columbus Mennonite community after my seven week sabbatical.  I know I’ve said it before, but it is truly an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to serve within a community that recognizes the value of setting aside intentional time for rest and renewal.  I spent a bit of my time during sabbatical thinking, reading, and talking with others about youth ministry, but one thing that has stuck with me is something that is not restricted to the realm of youth ministry.  In the book Contemplative Youth Ministry, Mark Yaconelli asserts that so many of the ministries within congregations (not just in the youth room) are built around anxiety and control rather than allowing people to be present to the realities around them.  Instead, Yaconelli attempts to call people back to a more contemplative space of doing ministry that slows things

  This past Sunday was Pentecost.  It marks the transition of the liturgical year into Ordinary Time, which lasts all the way up to Advent. Pentecost marks the birth of the church, with the key story found in Acts 2.  It’s the one where they were all together in one room “and suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”  What sounded like wind looked like tongues of fire, with each person getting a piece of the flame.  Then a different sound: they all started to speak in other languages. From its origins, the church is multi-lingual.  Rather than having an official language, love, justice, and mercy get translated into every imaginable expression.  This is the work of the Spirit.  This is the gift of Pentecost. What happened “suddenly” at the first Pentecost is

  Monday was a great BREAD Nehemiah Action, with green-shirt-clad CMCers joining 2,500+ folks from 40+ congregations around Franklin County, mixing some critical yeast with critical mass.  There are many good things in motion, including the newest issue: safe, affordable housing for the 54,000 households in Franklin County who currently pay over 50% of their income toward rent or mortgage.  The city of Columbus is beginning to outline a 10 year plan to address the problem, and BREAD will be at the table. At the Action I was asked to speak about justice from a Mennonite perspective, and to give an interfaith prayer.  Several people have asked for the manuscript of those words.  Here they are: ———————– When Mennonites talk about justice we often combine it with another word – peace.  Peace and Justice.  We say it enough that it sounds like one long compound word: PeaceNJustice. The peace part

  The church subscribes to a quarterly publication called Leader.  We distribute copies to various folks in leadership positions.  The theme of the most recent edition is Conflict. One of the essays is by Richard Blackburn, long time director of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center.  He notes that conflict is inherently emotionally charged.  A healthy response includes recognizing those emotions and, rather than distancing oneself from their source, to remain relationally connected with the other and approach them with curiosity.  His phrase for this is “moving toward the other with interest.” He writes: “Staying connected in the midst of disagreement requires one to move toward the other with interest.  It involves being respectfully curious about the other’s perspective while communicating a genuine desire to listen and understand.” This approach is most appropriate when conflicted parties have a similar amount of power. These are challenging days to be a peacemaker, especially