I am the descendent of generations of Mennonite and Church of the Brethren pacifists. While my innate aversion to war and things military runs deep, as a citizen of the United States I have not been able to avoid the implications of living in a country that depends so mightily on its military …
The first seven years of this new millennium have proven to be a challenging time for peacemakers. Wars devastated Sudan and the Congo and continue to rage in Iraq and Afghanistan, while violent civil conflict grips Colombia and Myanmar/Burma. The U.S. invasion and ongoing occupation of Iraq, in particular, generates intense opposition both in the United States and internationally. Individuals passionate about peacemaking, who also happen to be U.S. citizens, face a particularly difficult dilemma. How do we work constructively for peace while we are furious with the behavior of our own government? …
Stephanie Hirschler and Michael Honderich—both Goshen (Ind.) College graduates— married on June 7 and took a new route with their wedding registries. They registered at Target and Ten Thousand Villages, but also provided options for people to give gifts to causes in their names …
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 …
When I heard there are churches in the online virtual world, Second Life, my jaw dropped—although not as far as the other jaws in the room …
I have always believed that Karl Barth was right: Christians ought to hold their Bibles in one hand and the newspaper in the other. The media frenzy surrounding the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, though, gave me pause …
There are many “Robert Kreider stories” across our denomination. One of my favorites involves a meeting where people were attempting to develop a mission statement. We were having some difficulty and asked Dr. Kreider, an author, historian and a former president of Bluffton (Ohio) University, to comment on the draft. To my delight, instead of offering a rewrite, Dr. Kreider noted that the statement “does not sing—it needs more effervescence” …
On Jan. 26, top leaders of our denomination said of the 7-year-old Mennonite Church USA, “Our vision and call to engage in God’s purposes in the world is not adequately supported by our present relationships, behaviors and organization” …
