Our great-great-great- grandparents Joseph and Barbara (Yoder) Bontrager were among the first Amish to settle in Elkhart and LaGrange counties in northern Indiana, now a thriving Amish and Mennonite region. We Bontragers have always celebrated the hard work and pioneering spirit of these ancestors; a stone marker three miles from Marty’s house commemorates the original homestead of Joseph (Sep) Bontrager …
What happens when you are filled with Jesus, when Jesus grows inside your life? When you are full of Jesus, what do you say? These questions take us into the heart of Advent. These questions take us into the womb of Mary, where we find Jesus, filling her body. And we listen to what Mary says when Jesus grows into her life …
I grew up in a church with rigid gender hierarchies, so it wasn’t until college that I attended a church where women regularly preached or held other leadership positions. My decision to pursue theological studies at Duke Divinity School was a step away from the Christianity of my youth, and as a member of Chapel Hill (N.C.) Mennonite Fellowship it is a tremendous blessing to be part of a community where women’s preaching gifts are affirmed …
