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We will vote. Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash I feel quiet, waiting, don’t you? We have canvassed, displayed our yard signs—and our ‘We’re Glad You’re Our Neighbor’ signs—debated, gossiped, and ignored awful political ads. (All that money poured into overstated commercials that no one believes.) This week, an article shared widely on FB decried being…

As we careen toward November’s elections, we often worry about compromising vs resisting. Bombs are being sent, caravans are marching toward us, and folks are being killed in embassies. Candidates  disrespect each other without restraint. Even though listening and compromising seem key to our progress forward, we cannot forget the 15th Century martyrs who resisted…

A few months ago, my husband and I were visiting relatives in the Washington, D.C. area. We were able to read hard copies of the Washington Post. It is always a treat holding those big pages at breakfasts and ‘solving’ the problems of the world with good friends. (We get the online version only now,…

  My church is studying gratitude, and I’m not comfortable. I’ve not been sure that gratitude is an Anabaptist thing. The early martyrs suffered for their beliefs. They refused to fight back physically because Jesus had not done so. Thus, torturers and interrogators had their way with them, but many Täufer and Täuferin remained loyal to a freer,…

  We continue this month’s celebration of inspirational pieces and sermons by congregants. The post below is by Scott Troyer, a Mennonite congregant and blogger at: The Divine Pull: Moving Toward Justice. Scott and his wife Allison, graduates of Bluffton University in Ohio, have generously given of their time and talents to the youth at…

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.…

‘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…