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Blog Post
Randy Heacock is interim LEADership minister for Franconia Conference. He is also pastor of Doylestown Mennonite Church. Randy holds an Master of Divinity degree from Moravian Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Messiah College. Though many in our culture are turned off by Christianity, Randy encounters many who are intrigued to learn about Jesus. Randy is married to Nancy and together they have two adult daughters. Randy enjoys disc golf, trash talking on the basketball court, trivia and watching people age with grace. This piece originally appeared in the June 8 edition of Intersectings, Franconia Conference's bi-weekly...
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Blog Post
Barbie Fischer finds her energy in helping people be restored to God, to themselves and their communities. She is often found goofing off with the two teens she mentors, facilitating restorative justice workshop with her organization Restorative Encounters or hanging out with her church family at Ambler (Pennsylvania) Mennonite Church. She spends her weekends traveling around the globe or on road trips to see family and friends. Barbie is communication manager and administration coordinator for Franconia Conference As a child my father use to say that love is a choice, not a feeling. I never quite understood what he meant,...
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Dayna Olson-Getty serves as associate pastor at Community Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she lives with her husband and one living son. She was first called into the Anabaptist stream through Pasadena Mennonite Church and through her studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, where she earned an M.Div. She blogs at daynasmusings.blogspot.com/ and is writing a book about motherhood, grief and faith. On my third Sunday visiting Durham Mennonite Church, Pastor Spencer Bradford leaned into our getting-to-know-each-other conversation with a warm smile and asked, “So — when would you like to preach?” Some newcomers might have been scared off by...
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Steve Thomas is coordinator of Mennonite Men, the men’s organization of Mennonite Church USA. Steve lives in Goshen, Indiana. The mission of Mennonite Men is engaging men to grow, give and serve as followers of Jesus. For more information visit MennoniteMen.org. In a gathering of men, Ben[i], a 30-something man, shares from his heart. He speaks of the pain he’s caused, and the pain he suffers. He talks about his anger, brokenness and struggle. And he asks for help to be a better man for his family and community. In the world, though lacking true strength, he projects toughness. Among...
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URBANA, Illinois (Mennonite Church USA) — For Earl Kellogg, who spent much of his career working in higher education, reaching out to people of other faith traditions comes as easily as connecting with his next-door neighbor. And for his congregation, First Mennonite Church of Champaign-Urbana, the local mosque literally is a next-door neighbor, so the opportunities for connection were abundant. “It’s important,” Kellogg says. “Doing this kind of dialogue is not something that...
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Blog Post
Britt Carlson is the pastor of community life and outreach at Portland Mennonite Church. A native Oregonian, Britt holds a bachelor of arts from Seattle Pacific University and a master of divinity from Duke Divinity School. She has served churches in North Carolina, El Salvador, Texas, Seattle and Portland. When not in the office, you can find her hiking, reading, laughing with family and friends or enjoying (though not necessarily cooking) good food. According to the poet Christian Wiman, it’s very difficult to use the word “love” in poetry. The word, he says, has “decayed; it’s almost lost its meaning...
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Jennifer Delanty is a member of Seattle Mennonite Church and mother of four young adults, all in their 20s. She enjoys writing, cats, traveling, African-American history and counting the many blessings of her three-generation household. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. —Psalm 23: 4 When I first began attending Seattle Mennonite Church around the start of this millennium, then-Pastor Weldon Nisly challenged our congregation to use Lent as a time of intentional inner exploration. Akin to Jesus’ desert...
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Scott Peterson is the Leadership Pastor at Trinity Mennonite Church in Glendale, Arizona, where he lives with his amazing wife and two adorable sons. He holds an ever-growing list of hobbies and a Master of Arts in Theology from Fresno Pacific University. You can find his blog and spoken word poetry at truergrit.com. When I was just starting out in ministry I remember hearing a mentor tell me all about a particularly difficult period of time in a local church. A conflict that started relatively small grew larger over time and eventually, the congregation became so divided on the issue...
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Note: This story initially appeared on the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary website. By Annette Brill Bergstresser ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — Char Mast recalls the moment she realized she had a deep historical connection to the story of the Trail of Death — a connection she had not been aware of before. It was a cool summer morning in late June 2015, and Mast was standing at the base of the Chief Menominee Statue south of Plymouth, Indiana — the first stop on...
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Jeryl Hollinger lives with his wife, Mary, in the foothills of the Swan Mountain range in northwest Montana where they share the space with a few chickens and ducks – and the welcome wildlife. His spare time goes into a variety of community clubs and the fruit trees, berry bushes and vegetable garden that feed them most of the year. He is the pastor of the Mountain View Mennonite Church in Kalispell, Montana and moderator-elect of the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference. Settling into my seat in the dimly lit theater, I glanced around to see who was there. Who will...
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Steve Ratzlaff is a retired pastor. He has served as pastor of Seattle (Washington) Mennonite Church, First Mennonite Church in Lincoln, Nebraska and Mennonite Community Church in Fresno, California. He and his spouse, Lynette, live in Fresno, California. Last year, a headline in the Fresno Bee newspaper read: “Breakthrough plan to inspect rental housing approved by Fresno City Council.” After 13 years of protest, meetings with City Council members, years of research and lots of prayer, the Fresno City Council passed breakthrough legislation that will guarantee fair, safe, affordable and decent housing for all of Fresno’s residents. In 2003, 20...
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Note: This article initially appeared in The Mennonite. By Gordon Houser HESSTON, Kansas (Mennonite Church USA) — Michael (MJ) Sharp, whose death in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was confirmed by the United Nations on March 28, was “a kind soul,” said his mother, Michelle, in an April 3 interview. John, his father, added that Michael always had a strong intellect but a soft heart. You may expect parents to speak so highly of their child, but similar...
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Karla Friesen lives in Washington, Iowa, as a stay at home mom and community volunteer. She enjoys baking, hospitality, walking, traveling and spending time with her family. Karla represents Mennonite Church USA on the Mennonite Disaster Service Delegate Board. The one key word that my faith boils down to is love. Love is an “active stance of compassion and care toward others” as Leo Hartshorn mentions in his blog. Love is not always easy, but I personally believe as a Christian we are called to live our lives like Jesus, who displayed love for all people. The first and second...
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Tina Schlabach lives with her husband, Jay, in Tucson, Arizona. She serves as co-pastor of Shalom Mennonite Fellowship, offers spiritual companioning and visits with women from Central America and Mexico held in immigration detention. Tina loves conversation with friends, reading, hiking, time with her three young adult children and her morning coffee. This morning I visited with nine women from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico in the chilly visitation room of the Eloy Detention Center. This is a prison-like facility housing about 1,400 immigrants from many different countries, owned and operated by Core Civic, a for-profit company that contracts with Immigration and...
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Rod Stafford is the lead pastor of Portland (Oregon) Mennonite Church. He has also served congregations in Lawrence, Kansas and Pasadena, California. When he is not at the church he likes to ride his bikes, watch baseball and do the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle with his wife, Molly. Three Sundays ago these words of Jesus were part of the lectionary reading from Matthew 5. The Sermon on the Mount is really in our Mennonite wheelhouse. This commandment in particular, is a lot easier to hear in our worship services. We are a historic peace church after all. We...
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