The Christian faith is filled with a number of creative tensions that never get fully resolved. It’s a little like walking. If I stand on my left foot for a long time I get shaky and unstable. But if I keep walking and shifting my weight from one foot to the other, I remain stable and keep moving forward. These tensions are not meant to be resolved. They are creative. They generate forward movement. One such tension is the one between urgency and patience …
Five years ago I wrote an article in Mennonite Mutual Aid’s magazine about our new experience with budgeting, and our hope to be on the debt-free road and looking toward a managed retirement …
The first thing that caught my eye when I came into church the first Sunday in Lent was a hideous, ripped up quilt hanging in front of us. It looked like it was made from patches of women’s polyester pants in shades of dirty brown and gray. Stuffing was oozing out of it …
As a woman in my early thirties, I had high expectations for my future. I wanted a decent job, a husband and a home. I wasn’t worried about the little things that were going wrong—the sleepless nights, the restlessness and lack of appetite. It wasn’t until I began hearing (what psychiatrists call) “command voices” that I got scared. These voices were both familiar and strange …
Something is rumbling around inside of me to be heard or felt and I don’t know exactly what it is. I dreamed last night that we had visitors, a couple, and they were eating breakfast. When I asked if they would like some toast the man gave me a long, very exact request with spreads I had never heard of. I felt overwhelmed and frustrated because I knew I couldn’t give him what he wanted. The wife looked exasperated and said something, to let me know whatever I had was OK …
It’s been documented by those observing human behavior that our world is run by tired people. Many long for a way of life that has periods of true rest and relaxation. Society is obsessed with competition, work and productivity. Even our leisure time is scheduled and goal-oriented …
As a pastor and now as a counselor, I have been troubled with the difficulty Christians seem to have with wounded people. I have brought people to church and seen them welcomed warmly, only to have them come back later feeling utterly rejected. It was as though, when the newcomer began to share his or her pain, the church seemed to back off in retreat. At the same time, the strong or relatively whole people seem to have little or no trouble integrating. Why is that? …
Interest in charitable giving may have increased over the last decade, but so has the influence of consumerism. Corporations have recognized both trends and created avenues for people to give while getting …
At my wife’s urging, I joined a choral ensemble. I did not join because I have any singing talent—quite the opposite. I joined because I thought I might be able to improve myself without being too big of an anchor tied around the necks of the other choir members. Or at least my wife thought so. I was not convinced …
When people talk about ecumenism, it usually refers to something church leaders do. But our congregation’s summer morning of ecumenism had more to do with the ordinary—the everyday—not an annual gathering. It was, literally, about grass and about roots …
It was a spectacular display. Fireworks and the sound of a violent wind took the people by surprise and turned a typical celebration into an unforgettable event. Today we are still drawn to those amazing signs of Pentecost, and reenact them in our worship …
