2016
Wait With Joy
Speaker: Cynthia Lapp
Our advent theme this year is Wake. Watch. Wait. These three small words are easy to glide right over. They seem almost interchangeable in our advent context. Yet they hold weight in the Christian tradition, in scripture, in our lives. “They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31) “Wait for God, […]
Watching For Shoots
Speaker: Cynthia Lapp
I am grateful for this season of advent. When all around we hear “buy, more, now” and “cook, bake, eat” it is a relief to come to church and hear “wake, wait, watch.” It is not that here we are asked to be selfish. It is not that we are encouraged to be inactive. It […]
Wake!
Speaker: Michelle Burkholder
Well, here it is, once again the first Sunday of Advent and instead of being greeted with a text of excitement and warm fuzzy anticipation about the impending birth of a lovely little baby who would carry a message of love and inclusion into the world we are given this gospel text of apocalyptic warning. […]
Be Still, And Know!
Speaker: Sara Wenger Shenk
The Psalm has many familiar, reassuring cadences. Some of us may know it by memory. 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; “Be still, and know that I am God! […]
Frightening Omens, Patient Endurance
Speaker: Cynthia Lapp
I am grateful to be with you all again today. Last weekend I spent an intense and idyllic weekend with 160 women doing theology in Leesburg, VA. We were participants in a conference called “I’ve got the power.” Having the weekend planned and led primarily by women of color was a rare privilege in the […]
Faithful Flexitarians
Speaker: Michelle Burkholder
Yesterday was the fall delegate session for Allegheny Mennonite Conference. There were seven people from this congregation that attended the gathering. During the last several weeks, as we anticipated the meeting, we were encouraged by the conference office to read and spend some time considering Romans 14-15:6 as preparation for the looming conversations. I say […]
Centered In Christ
Speaker: Cynthia Lapp
Ephesians 2:11-22 Bear in mind, that at one time the men among you who were Gentiles physically – called the “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves the “circumcised,” all because of a minor operation – had no part in Christ and were excluded from the community of Israel. You were strangers to the Covenant and […]
Talking About Salvation
Speaker: Gene C. Miller
I don’t often hear about salvation in our church any more, so I was glad to hear a bit about it when our Colombian brother, Ricardo Esquivia, was here earlier this summer. He opened a door and I hope to nudge it open a bit further. So why don’t we talk about salvation? I suspect […]
In It Together
Speaker: Michelle Burkholder
On World Communion Sunday it is natural for us to think about the wider church. And I don’t just mean MCUSA, on world communion Sunday we are invited to ponder and celebrate what it means to be in communion with the whole world. The church, on this day is the movement and expression of God’s […]
Jeremiah IV
Speaker: Cynthia Lapp
This week, Michelle lent me her graphic novel version of Jeremiah. It is fascinating – and helpful – to see the book of Jeremiah in “comic strip” format. Though it is an ancient story, the invasions and threats of invasions, unjust imprisonment, and leaders that abuse their power make it a timeless tale, perfect for […]