Prayer

Last summer, I gave a tour to a nun, Sister Joseph. We had a great time on tour and talked a little bit afterwards. Somehow, prayer came up in our conversation, and Sister Joseph said she would pray for me, because she would think about me, and every time you think about someone, you pray for them. That profound statement has stayed with me ever since.

My understanding of prayer growing up was that prayer was a conscious action. We folded our hands, bowed our heads and prayed. And when we said Amen, the prayer was over; we were no longer praying. Prayer had a distinct beginning and ending, it functioned to give thanks or express concerns, and it had definable limits. But Sister Joseph was hinting at something far deeper, and more powerful.

Lent

Today, the first Sunday of Lent, I would like to spend some time reflecting. The pastor at my church this morning, Mark, considered the way our ancestors observed (or more accurately, didn't observe) the Lenten season. Could this have been linked to the idea that Lent is a time to remember the pain of Christ? Perhaps these early Anabaptists had no need of such a season, as they were reminded of this pain every day. There was a constant fear of discovery, a constant fear of imprisonment and death. They lived through pain and suffering the entire year as their friends and relatives were taken away, and as they were taken away. They would be burned at the stake,  beheaded, or drowned. The church in this country is relatively removed from this sort of suffering. Perhaps a reminder of this sort of persecution would do us good. Perhaps we should use this Lenten season to remember the intolerance against which our ancestors struggled, rather than perpetrating intolerance against others (particularly the LGBTQ community. See my last post). I plan to spend this season reading through more of the Martyr's Mirror for just this reason.

Division and Exclusion

Introduction:

The issue of human sexuality has become a major issue of division in the church, more than any I can remember since I became active in the church.  Recently, the Mountain States Mennonite Conference (MSMC) affirmed the ministry of Theda Good (http://www.themennonite.org/issues/16-12/articles/Mountain_States_first_conference_to_license_samesex_pastor). In response, several other conferences wrote letters to the Executive Board (EB), and both directly and indirectly requested that MSMC be removed from Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) (http://www.themennonite.org/issues/17-3/articles/Letters_from_conference_leaders_and_pastors_express_concern_about_Mountain_States_decision).

My first thought on reading this article and the letter from my home conference, signed by people I know and by many leaders from my home area, was to renounce my membership at my home congregation. However, I would not cease attending this congregation when I return, nor would I change the venue of my upcoming wedding. I am a part of this community, and though we disagree on these matters, I want it to be clear that I do not wish to withdraw from the community. This differs from the views expressed in the Ohio Conference letter (http://www.themennonite.org/uploads/File/Ohio%20letter.pdf), which calls for the removal of an entire conference based on such a disagreement.