Anabaptist and Quaker essays, sermons, and other writings
I began my role as Prison Justice Learning Action Community Organizer with On Earth Peace in October of 2019. My faith background as a Quaker led me to pursue this position. Some of the Quaker testimonies that are most valuable to me are Community, Equality, and Simplicity. Being exposed to […]
A friend recently asked me to name three things I’d want from a faith community. I think it’s an excellent query for every Christian to ponder. But my first response was, “What would the Lord want me to want?” and I think that’s a better question. It took a few […]
“Then, Jesus began to speak, and taught them.” Matthew 5:2 As a Mennonite Anabaptist, one thing my tradition has taught me is to look to the Sermon on the Mount to understand Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God. Yes, Jesus teaches about many topics, and in the gospel according […]
Having spent years ministering with Quakers and Brethren, it should come as no surprise that I have often referred to myself as a pacifist. There was even a season when I would have preferred the term non-resistor. I used to pride myself on my peace-loving zeal. I ate up respectability […]
4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give […]
Earlier this year, my Campus Ministry colleague and I decided that our Lent practice would be canceling things. Our schedules were so packed with programs, events, and meetings that there was little time for connecting with individual students and our own spiritual reflection. It felt freeing each day to remove […]
CP: Introduce yourself. Location. Current Congregation. (If not currently at a Brethren congregation, where do you worship now? What is your “home” CoB?) Occupation. Age. Did you know March is Women’s History Month? Either way, what does Women’s History Month mean to you? How do you understand your identity as […]
Preached at Highland Avenue CoB, May 27, 2018 Isaiah 6:1-8 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six […]
Preached at Goshen City CoB, April 29, 2018 John 15:1-8 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more […]
Preached at Old South Church Boston June 2014 John 20:14-29 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to […]