Posts by Greta Holt
Strangers no more
This month, we’ll look at some sermons and inspirational pieces. As Mennonite congregants, we take a try at preaching once in a while. It gives our pastors a week to breathe and catch up on all the others things the job requires, and it is enjoyable to hear each other’s voices. The following is a ‘sermon’…
Read More »Courage, humility, and the Mennonite Arts Weekend
____________ There is a little, urban church in southwestern Ohio that creates a magical thing every even-numbered year. The Mennonite Arts Weekend takes place in Cincinnati, and the year 2020 will see MAW’s fifteenth gathering of Mennonite visual, musical, and prose/poetry artists. Even though the church is graced by commissioned artwork from MAW artists,…
Read More »Courage, humility, and writing
As I stated in the introduction to my website, the book that saved my grade school life was Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry. The young Mafatu’s journey gave me hope. He dug deep, found the courage to survive, and gained confidence. A little of that rubbed off on me when I needed it, and…
Read More »Courage, humility, and the visual artist
This month, we will examine courage, humility, and creativity. This week, let’s take a look at how these characteristics affect the journey of a painter. My sister-in-law, Melinda Harleman, is a visual artist in the Washington, D.C. area. She is talented, articulate, and yet unassuming—in the terms of my blog, she is humble. Courage, she says,…
Read More »Pacifism and the Soldier–Part 4
Warriors for Peace This month, we have looked at pacifism, soldiers, and conscientious objectors. Hopefully, the posts have honored everyone’s service to society, with a sense of feet-on-the-ground reality. I’d like to finish this contemplation by naming organizations that work for peace. The second post I did for this blog (3/15/18) began with remembering Michael J.…
Read More »Pacifism and the Soldier–Part 3
‘Going to War’ by Karl Malantes, a Vietnam veteran and author of ‘Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War,’ and ‘What It Is Like to Go to War’ and war correspondent/author Sebastian Junger is a documentary about soldiers in Vietnam and the Middle East. It aired on PBS on Memorial Day and can be accessed on Amazon…
Read More »Pacifism and the Soldier – Part 2
Anabaptist Pacifism in the Western World : a Few Definitions and a Little History Next week we will take a look at “Going to War.” We’ll see the close friendships, patriotism, and sense of purpose that military life can bring. Today we’ll visit a brief history of pacifism in the Europe and the U.S., in which…
Read More »Pacifism and the Soldier – Part 1
This post is greatly enhanced by the poetry of Ruth Naylor. Photo by Anna Ogiienko on Unsplash We all know that bravery is part of soldiering. The new documentary “Going to War” by Sebastian Junger and Karl Marlantes outlines veterans’ experiences and makes some interesting conclusions. There is more to soldiering than meets…
Read More »Evidence of the Journey – Nancy Nordenson
Nancy Nordenson joins us again to finish our month of exploring life’s stages. Just Think: Nourish Your Mind to Feed Your Soul (Baker Books, 2004) is her quiet call to embrace faith, creativity, and wisdom. Please see below for a special offer on her books. Photo by Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash _____________________________________________________________ Evidence of the Journey…
Read More »Courage, humility, and old age
In May, with spring in swing, we are looking at stages of growth. Nancy Nordenson began our month with a beautiful essay about middle life and the blessedness of not knowing the future. Then, Anny Rusk and Christina Hoover Moorehead showed us the importance of children’s play. Last week we looked at the Hero’s Journey,…
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