This past week has been overwhelmingly full. On one hand, we have had a great time relaxing. On the other we have been stretched and pushed with new perspectives and lots of reflecting. Let me backtrack.
A week ago on Friday we had just left our temporary home in the upstairs apartment of Martha and Darvin Yoder and arrived in Des Moines, Iowa for a final retreat of sorts. We allowed ourselves a night in a Marriot in downtown Des Moines by way of Priceline bidding. It was great. We went out for supper, walked around downtown, stayed up late snacking and playing Rook, then Saturday Jess, Matt and I went to the biggest Farmer's Marked I have ever been to. Needless to say, it was a nice way to take a break before we kicked life into high gear for these last two weeks.
Saturday afternoon we went back to work, putting final touches on some workshops before we met up with Pastor Kent McDougal and his wife Julie of Christ Community Church, Des Moines. At their home we met representatives of Jess and Randy's host families and spent a good hour talking and sharing who we are and what we're up to.
Christ Community is a recent member of the Conference (the past seven years or so); they had been nondenominational and wanted to connect to the larger church. After much study and discernment: reading the works of Hauerwas, Yoder and other Mennonite authors, conversations with different Mennonite leaders, they decided to join. Even with all our flaws, the Mennonite Church was a good fit for them.
We had a good weekend with them, as we enjoyed fellowship and good conversation over and over again. This congregation has worked hard at creating a community and being involved in each others lives.
Our encounter with Christ Community stands out as one where it was very apparent how our stories/histories and experiences with the church have shaped the Seeds and the folks of Christ Community to be wrestling with different things. In many older Mennonite congregations we have visited, we have been challenging folks to think and talk about peace, and connect it to the way they have been living their lives. We have encouraged people to reflect theologically on their lives, and to name the peacemaking activities they are already doing because it's hard for them to talk about faith. On the other hand, Christ Community feels they are good at talking about peace and theology, but find it's easier to talk and harder to act. Please note here, this summary feel like quite the generalization.
The other thing that impressed me about our visit was the difference in worship style. Christ Community is liturgical, and I like it! It was a nice change. During our tour this summer we have off and on used the Anabaptist Prayer Book as a devotional, I have come to appreciate the repetition of the words, and in the same way, I found I a lot of meaning in the repetition of the liturgy, although I know first hand from friends that repetition isn't always meaningful when it's a style that you don't choose and you just grow up in.
In our conversations, we heard folks from Christ Community emphasize the importance of the Eucharist and the of the Trinity. Two things I can honestly say I haven't given much thought to. The Trinity conversations most caught my attention.
I remember in High School after track practice one day standing with a group of people. Some were self-proclaimed agnostic, another an atheist, there were a few Catholics and Lutherans and an Assembly of God and me. We were talking about the Trinity, and to my memory this was the first time I had ever had a conversation about the Three in One. I even had to go home and ask my dad what Mennonites thought about the Trinity, that's how unsure of myself I was. Anyway, this story is to demonstrate how little emphasis I really felt on the Trinity in my own church experience. At Christ Community as we were talking about Shalom/peace as being relational and shalom as being peace in our relationship with God, and in our relationship with ourselves, in our relationship with others and in our relationship with all of creation, one of the pastors noted that, "even before creation and before humans, there was peace." He commented that the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is an example for community and for peace. Again, I really liked this perspective. It got me thinking about the Trinity. Though I have no more written thoughts to share at this time.
We left Christ Community on Sunday afternoon and headed West together for the last time, West to Jess's home congregation of Wood River Mennonite Church, Nebraska.
We've spent all week at Jess's home, working on our final report, debriefing, cleaning out our stinky van, and getting ready for our last weekend church engagement as a team of four. On Wednesday we spend part of the afternoon with the Pastor of Wood River Mennonite (Darrell) at the local care home. We ate some popcorn and sang some songs together with the Alzheimer unit. Later in the evening we gathered with the youth group to share You're Called to be a Dirk. We had a great time; look for some newly posted pictures!
I guess I've written enough for now; more reflections to come. On Monday morning Randy, Matt and I will be heading to Goshen and on Tuesday evening, at 8pm we'll be doing some sharing and reflecting on the third floor of the Wyse building at Goshen College. Please come if you're in the area! Then we'll keep heading East.
Elizabeth
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Happy Nebraskans
This is what you will see when you return two Nebraskans back to their homeland.
This was taken at the beginning of September on our way to Omaha.
This was taken at the beginning of September on our way to Omaha.
Elizabeth
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
“How are you supposed to cross this durn thing?”
Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over
the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go
through the sea on dry ground.
Exodus 14.16
Several weeks ago we were with Zion Mennonite Church of Donnellson, IA. Now, I have many excuses for why this post is about three weeks late, and I can assure you that all of my excuses are very good ones. I’ll save those for another day and begin with a “Seeds” group observation: the Mississippi River is about twenty miles from Donnellson, and the Mississippi is a large river. (Editors note: This is actually a picture of the Cedar River. The Mississippi is about 1,000 times bigger)
Why make this seemingly obvious statement? Throughout this summer we have heard time after time again how hard it is to recruit pastors to move west of the Mississippi. We’ve heard this from Conference Pastors, laypeople, and congregational pastors-this struggle may be the one thing that the people of the Central Plains Conference speak about with a unified voice.
I think the “Seeds” group gravitated towards psychological explanations as we tried to understand why this was so. Churches in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota…they’re just too geographically isolated. Or they’re too small and can’t afford a full-time salaried pastor. Or they’re too far away from educational and professional opportunities. Or it’s too depressing watching small towns die. Or God doesn’t call pastors to the Midwest. I don’t know. Name the reason-no matter how outrageous-and we probably discussed how it affects someone’s willingness to move west.
But after observing the Mississippi River: it’s might, it’s strength, it’s girth, I now finally understand why the Central Plains Conference has such a hard time getting pastors to move west of the Mississippi…it’s a really big river. And as the Seeds of the Kingdom stood on the banks of the mighty Mississippi and contemplated the sheer volume of water held within the banks, the scales fell from our eyes we suddenly could see.
“How are you supposed to cross this durn thing?”
It would be a bad idea to try and swim across it, let alone have your entire family swim across. Too risky. Walking on the water is out, for the obvious reason (can’t do it!)-and anyways, think of the disturbing messianic parallels. You could try lifting your staff and stretching out your hand over the river and parting it, although this hasn’t been pulled off successfully since Moses in Exodus 14. Besides, who carries a staff anymore?
Once you’ve tried all these options, you’d be left with one and only one other option. Which is, of course, covered wagon. Which is, of course, notoriously unreliable as far as fording the Mississippi goes. Your oxen won’t like the water, it’ll probably be too deep, and the water will rush so fast that you’ll capsize. I think most everyone will admit, however reluctantly, that a capsized covered wagon is not the optimal way to begin a pastorate.
Once we saw the river, we understood. We understood why it’s hard to move the family west of the Mississippi. It’s big, scary, and it’s so hard to find a good staff these days.
the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go
through the sea on dry ground.
Exodus 14.16
Several weeks ago we were with Zion Mennonite Church of Donnellson, IA. Now, I have many excuses for why this post is about three weeks late, and I can assure you that all of my excuses are very good ones. I’ll save those for another day and begin with a “Seeds” group observation: the Mississippi River is about twenty miles from Donnellson, and the Mississippi is a large river. (Editors note: This is actually a picture of the Cedar River. The Mississippi is about 1,000 times bigger)
Why make this seemingly obvious statement? Throughout this summer we have heard time after time again how hard it is to recruit pastors to move west of the Mississippi. We’ve heard this from Conference Pastors, laypeople, and congregational pastors-this struggle may be the one thing that the people of the Central Plains Conference speak about with a unified voice.
I think the “Seeds” group gravitated towards psychological explanations as we tried to understand why this was so. Churches in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota…they’re just too geographically isolated. Or they’re too small and can’t afford a full-time salaried pastor. Or they’re too far away from educational and professional opportunities. Or it’s too depressing watching small towns die. Or God doesn’t call pastors to the Midwest. I don’t know. Name the reason-no matter how outrageous-and we probably discussed how it affects someone’s willingness to move west.
But after observing the Mississippi River: it’s might, it’s strength, it’s girth, I now finally understand why the Central Plains Conference has such a hard time getting pastors to move west of the Mississippi…it’s a really big river. And as the Seeds of the Kingdom stood on the banks of the mighty Mississippi and contemplated the sheer volume of water held within the banks, the scales fell from our eyes we suddenly could see.
“How are you supposed to cross this durn thing?”
It would be a bad idea to try and swim across it, let alone have your entire family swim across. Too risky. Walking on the water is out, for the obvious reason (can’t do it!)-and anyways, think of the disturbing messianic parallels. You could try lifting your staff and stretching out your hand over the river and parting it, although this hasn’t been pulled off successfully since Moses in Exodus 14. Besides, who carries a staff anymore?
Once you’ve tried all these options, you’d be left with one and only one other option. Which is, of course, covered wagon. Which is, of course, notoriously unreliable as far as fording the Mississippi goes. Your oxen won’t like the water, it’ll probably be too deep, and the water will rush so fast that you’ll capsize. I think most everyone will admit, however reluctantly, that a capsized covered wagon is not the optimal way to begin a pastorate.
Once we saw the river, we understood. We understood why it’s hard to move the family west of the Mississippi. It’s big, scary, and it’s so hard to find a good staff these days.
Matt Troyer-Miller
Beemer I-W and CPS Highlights (9/6/08)
In Beemer, I interviewed four men, but only three were able to participate in our Saturday evening story-telling time. Two men did CPS, and two did I-W service.
If I get my act together, I’m going to try and type up a summary of each of the story-telling sessions I led this summer. I’m not going to make any promises, because it’s going to be a busy three weeks ahead of us as we try to finish strong and then close down the summer. But I’ll give it the “old college try.”
Jim Troyer, CPS (right)
Jim grew up on a farm in Shickley, NE (yes, in case you’re wondering, Jim is my great-uncle, and grew up on the same farm I would fifty years later). When he started CPS in Hill City, SD, this was the first time he had ever been around a lot of people. He was used to the solitary work of farming. A big shock was the communal latrine, which was like a big outhouse. It was a row of toilets that emptied in the same hole in the ground. Jim said that for the first month or so, he waited until nighttime to use the bathroom.
For the first year of CPS, CPS’ers weren’t paid. After that, they received a whopping $4.65/mo (I believe this was from the church, not the government…) Near the end of the term in Camino, CA, Jim worked for a local man. For four months. Every month, the man promised to pay Jim at the end of the month. It never happened though.
In SD, Jim stacked rocks to help build a dam. As I understood it, after the CPS’ers laid the rock, they scooped gravel around the rocks, and would unload ten train cars (by shovel and wheel barrow) of gravel in a day.
The camp in SD had been a former CCC camp (Civilian Conservation Corp-a New Deal program designed by the Roosevelt Administration to provide employment and jumpstart the economy) that was converted into a CPS camp. The barracks held several long rows of beds, with a large stove in the middle of the building. If you were too near the stove, you were hot all night. If you were too far away, you were cold all night. You had two options: hot or cold. Snow would often blow in the barracks through cracks in the walls. Jim preferred to be hot.
While in SD, Jim’s grandpa died. There were several other Shickley men in the SD camp at the time: Les Troyer (his brother) Wayne Kempf, and Vernon Kennel (his first cousins). When the news of Grandpa Troyer’s death reached the camp, the four men went to the government supervisor to request a leave of absence, but the supervisor did not believe they were cousins. “Do you really expect me to believe this? You all have different last names!” he argued. Eventually they were able to leave, and barely made it home in time for the funeral.
Earnest Kauffman, CPS
Earnest’s first camp was in Colorado Springs, CO. He started in the laundry, and then soon became a night watchman. As a night watchman, he took occasional walks to look around the camp, and then he returned back to the office to play Monopoly.
Although he was short on money during his time in CPS, he never regretted choosing alternative service.
The end of his term was in Mercer County, PA, where he worked for the government testing dairy cattle. He had a book for each dairy, with information on each cow and it’s pedigree. He tested things like production quantity and butterfat content. He visited one farm a day for a month, then started the rotation over. He would stay in the farmer’s homes during the week, and then was able to live near his wife Lois on the weekends.
One weekend, Lois visited one of the farms where Earnest tested cattle. The house was not very clean, and she asked Earnest if there were bed bugs in the bed. Earnest responded, “If there were bed bugs, I’d know it by now.” So later that evening she went to bed before him, and immediately after she crawled into bed, she felt a bite. She turned on the light and flipped up the sheets and saw a bed bug. She killed it, and then saved the carcass until Earnest came to bed, because “I knew Earnest would never believe me unless I saved the dead bug to show him.”
Merle Oswald, I-W (middle)
Merle worked in Denver, Colorado as an ER orderly for most of his I-W time. He and several other Beemer men decided to volunteer, even though there was no war going on (between Korea and Vietnam) and CO’s weren’t being drafted. They all ended up in Denver, and shared an apartment for the first while. Eventually Rollie (see below) got married and moved out, so the Beemer men moved into an old house with six or seven other I-W guys. This was kind of a junky house. One of the guys had hurt himself and was walking through the house on crutches, and one time one of the crutches broke right through the floor. Not long afterwards, the city government condemned the house, and I-W guys had to find a new place.
As an ER orderly, Merle worked about 40 hour weeks. He liked working the night shift the best. Because he worked in the ER on the night shift, he saw all sorts of crazy things. He saw drunks, people who had been wounded in fights, and drunk people who had been wounded in fights. He also learned about racial tension between blacks, Hispanics, and whites. This was the first time he’d been exposed to race issues before.
Merle’s time in I-W was a valuable learning experience for him. I-W men were paid real wages, but they were also responsible for finding their own housing, food, transportation. Merle said this experience taught him how to manage money, do laundry, dishes, general housekeeping, and cook. He learned that this sort of stuff didn’t do itself, and he appreciated his mother in new ways.
Rollie Oswald, I-W (left)
Rollie went down to Denver with the same group of Beemer men. He grew up as a son of a Pastor, and the military was never an option. When he went to Denver, however, he very quickly needed to learn how to talk about his decision to be a Conscientious Objector. His time in I-W was a time where he learned to talk about his faith. Although people in the hospital became familiar with the work of CO’s and their reasons, he still often had to explain why he refused to go to war. He remembers one doctor in particular who was very interested in CO status, and became very supportive of Rollie’s stance.
Rollie worked as a medical orderly and an X-ray technician. In fact, after his I-W time ended, the hospital wanted Rollie to stay around so they could train him into a more skilled position. He said that if he hadn’t wanted to be a farmer so badly, he probably would still live in Denver.
Medical orderlies were expected to transport dead people to the morgue, which was attached to the hospital, but the orderlies needed to use a really small service elevator to access the morgue. One time a new I-W guy was being oriented to the position. Another I-W (we’ll call him Bob) guy convinced some of the other I-W guys to play a joke on this new guy. Bob laid down on the gurney and one of the other I-W guys placed a white sheet over Bob. The other I-W guy explained to the newbie that he needed to take this cadaver to the morgue, the cadaver was a younger man who had died earlier that evening. Bob continued to lay very still, and waited until they were taking the cramped service elevator down to the morgue, and at that point sat up and yelled. Scared the poor guy half to death (Merle also remembered this story).
Rollie also observed first hand the tragedy of racial discrimination. There was a position open in the X-ray department. It was a supervisory position, one that involved a lot of training and supervising of new workers. A black man (Ralph) and a white man were the two front-runners, and the hospital leadership chose the white man. Rollie and the rest of the crew, the ones who knew these men the best, knew that this was a poor decision. Not only was Ralph more knowledgeable, competent, patient, and trustworthy, he also was a far better teacher. This incident really affected Rollie, and he thinks it was a big reason why he and his wife helped support Northside Christian Fellowship over the years, a primarily African-American Mennonite church in Omaha.
Matt Troyer-Miller
If I get my act together, I’m going to try and type up a summary of each of the story-telling sessions I led this summer. I’m not going to make any promises, because it’s going to be a busy three weeks ahead of us as we try to finish strong and then close down the summer. But I’ll give it the “old college try.”
Jim Troyer, CPS (right)
Jim grew up on a farm in Shickley, NE (yes, in case you’re wondering, Jim is my great-uncle, and grew up on the same farm I would fifty years later). When he started CPS in Hill City, SD, this was the first time he had ever been around a lot of people. He was used to the solitary work of farming. A big shock was the communal latrine, which was like a big outhouse. It was a row of toilets that emptied in the same hole in the ground. Jim said that for the first month or so, he waited until nighttime to use the bathroom.
For the first year of CPS, CPS’ers weren’t paid. After that, they received a whopping $4.65/mo (I believe this was from the church, not the government…) Near the end of the term in Camino, CA, Jim worked for a local man. For four months. Every month, the man promised to pay Jim at the end of the month. It never happened though.
In SD, Jim stacked rocks to help build a dam. As I understood it, after the CPS’ers laid the rock, they scooped gravel around the rocks, and would unload ten train cars (by shovel and wheel barrow) of gravel in a day.
The camp in SD had been a former CCC camp (Civilian Conservation Corp-a New Deal program designed by the Roosevelt Administration to provide employment and jumpstart the economy) that was converted into a CPS camp. The barracks held several long rows of beds, with a large stove in the middle of the building. If you were too near the stove, you were hot all night. If you were too far away, you were cold all night. You had two options: hot or cold. Snow would often blow in the barracks through cracks in the walls. Jim preferred to be hot.
While in SD, Jim’s grandpa died. There were several other Shickley men in the SD camp at the time: Les Troyer (his brother) Wayne Kempf, and Vernon Kennel (his first cousins). When the news of Grandpa Troyer’s death reached the camp, the four men went to the government supervisor to request a leave of absence, but the supervisor did not believe they were cousins. “Do you really expect me to believe this? You all have different last names!” he argued. Eventually they were able to leave, and barely made it home in time for the funeral.
Earnest Kauffman, CPS
Earnest’s first camp was in Colorado Springs, CO. He started in the laundry, and then soon became a night watchman. As a night watchman, he took occasional walks to look around the camp, and then he returned back to the office to play Monopoly.
Although he was short on money during his time in CPS, he never regretted choosing alternative service.
The end of his term was in Mercer County, PA, where he worked for the government testing dairy cattle. He had a book for each dairy, with information on each cow and it’s pedigree. He tested things like production quantity and butterfat content. He visited one farm a day for a month, then started the rotation over. He would stay in the farmer’s homes during the week, and then was able to live near his wife Lois on the weekends.
One weekend, Lois visited one of the farms where Earnest tested cattle. The house was not very clean, and she asked Earnest if there were bed bugs in the bed. Earnest responded, “If there were bed bugs, I’d know it by now.” So later that evening she went to bed before him, and immediately after she crawled into bed, she felt a bite. She turned on the light and flipped up the sheets and saw a bed bug. She killed it, and then saved the carcass until Earnest came to bed, because “I knew Earnest would never believe me unless I saved the dead bug to show him.”
Merle Oswald, I-W (middle)
Merle worked in Denver, Colorado as an ER orderly for most of his I-W time. He and several other Beemer men decided to volunteer, even though there was no war going on (between Korea and Vietnam) and CO’s weren’t being drafted. They all ended up in Denver, and shared an apartment for the first while. Eventually Rollie (see below) got married and moved out, so the Beemer men moved into an old house with six or seven other I-W guys. This was kind of a junky house. One of the guys had hurt himself and was walking through the house on crutches, and one time one of the crutches broke right through the floor. Not long afterwards, the city government condemned the house, and I-W guys had to find a new place.
As an ER orderly, Merle worked about 40 hour weeks. He liked working the night shift the best. Because he worked in the ER on the night shift, he saw all sorts of crazy things. He saw drunks, people who had been wounded in fights, and drunk people who had been wounded in fights. He also learned about racial tension between blacks, Hispanics, and whites. This was the first time he’d been exposed to race issues before.
Merle’s time in I-W was a valuable learning experience for him. I-W men were paid real wages, but they were also responsible for finding their own housing, food, transportation. Merle said this experience taught him how to manage money, do laundry, dishes, general housekeeping, and cook. He learned that this sort of stuff didn’t do itself, and he appreciated his mother in new ways.
Rollie Oswald, I-W (left)
Rollie went down to Denver with the same group of Beemer men. He grew up as a son of a Pastor, and the military was never an option. When he went to Denver, however, he very quickly needed to learn how to talk about his decision to be a Conscientious Objector. His time in I-W was a time where he learned to talk about his faith. Although people in the hospital became familiar with the work of CO’s and their reasons, he still often had to explain why he refused to go to war. He remembers one doctor in particular who was very interested in CO status, and became very supportive of Rollie’s stance.
Rollie worked as a medical orderly and an X-ray technician. In fact, after his I-W time ended, the hospital wanted Rollie to stay around so they could train him into a more skilled position. He said that if he hadn’t wanted to be a farmer so badly, he probably would still live in Denver.
Medical orderlies were expected to transport dead people to the morgue, which was attached to the hospital, but the orderlies needed to use a really small service elevator to access the morgue. One time a new I-W guy was being oriented to the position. Another I-W (we’ll call him Bob) guy convinced some of the other I-W guys to play a joke on this new guy. Bob laid down on the gurney and one of the other I-W guys placed a white sheet over Bob. The other I-W guy explained to the newbie that he needed to take this cadaver to the morgue, the cadaver was a younger man who had died earlier that evening. Bob continued to lay very still, and waited until they were taking the cramped service elevator down to the morgue, and at that point sat up and yelled. Scared the poor guy half to death (Merle also remembered this story).
Rollie also observed first hand the tragedy of racial discrimination. There was a position open in the X-ray department. It was a supervisory position, one that involved a lot of training and supervising of new workers. A black man (Ralph) and a white man were the two front-runners, and the hospital leadership chose the white man. Rollie and the rest of the crew, the ones who knew these men the best, knew that this was a poor decision. Not only was Ralph more knowledgeable, competent, patient, and trustworthy, he also was a far better teacher. This incident really affected Rollie, and he thinks it was a big reason why he and his wife helped support Northside Christian Fellowship over the years, a primarily African-American Mennonite church in Omaha.
Matt Troyer-Miller
When Jesus said, "love your enemies" he didn't mean kill them.
On Monday we spent the day at Freeman Academy in Freeman, South Dakota. Within 8 hours we taught four classes and lead the chapel service, so it was a very busy day.
We volunteered to teach for 30 to 40 minutes in each classroom, which challenged us to turn our hour youth session for youth groups into a shorter classroom teaching. We knew that the students at Freeman Academy would have Bible knowledge and an understanding of an Anabaptist approach to Christianity so we wanted to challenge them. They know about the Bible and they know what it means to be an Anabaptist and peacemaker but could they articulate what they believe about the Bible, peacemaking and Anabaptism when put into a situation that argued against their beliefs?
In each class we had three students volunteer, not knowing what they were getting into for our roll play exercise. As Elizabeth led the three volunteers into the hall I explained to the rest of the class that each volunteer was going to be put into a situation where they would be challenged to talk about their beliefs to a couple of co-workers (played by Matt and Randy). As each volunteer was directed into the classroom Matt and Randy welcomed them to their “first day of work”, and quickly questioned them about a bumper sticker that said, "When Jesus said, 'love your enemies' he didn't mean kill them." The student volunteer was abruptly challenged to state what they believe and why. They didn’t have time to put their thoughts together or sit down and think about it. At that moment they need to give an answer. Matt and Randy did a good job of pushing each volunteer out of their comfort zones.
It was a good exercise for the students. We found that many of the students were able to say whether they agreed or disagreed but it was hard for them to talk beyond that answer. Many were able to define pacifism but struggled to share their own opinions on the subject. Now I am sure that if they would have had longer to think about their beliefs about peace and Jesus and why it is important (or not important) they would have been able to say a lot more. We didn’t do the exercise to try and show them how much they don’t know; rather we wanted to challenge them to think about their own beliefs about the Gospel of Peace. Do they know what they believe and more importantly can they talk about their beliefs with others.
This is a challenge that we all need to be faced with more often. Many of us choose to live in comfort. Many of us choose to go to a church that closely agrees with our own theology and choose to create a community that share similar goals and beliefs. I am not saying that this is bad in moderation. But I do think that many Christians at least those who live in middle class America are not challenged to articulate their faith. We are too comfortable.
Jess Roth
We volunteered to teach for 30 to 40 minutes in each classroom, which challenged us to turn our hour youth session for youth groups into a shorter classroom teaching. We knew that the students at Freeman Academy would have Bible knowledge and an understanding of an Anabaptist approach to Christianity so we wanted to challenge them. They know about the Bible and they know what it means to be an Anabaptist and peacemaker but could they articulate what they believe about the Bible, peacemaking and Anabaptism when put into a situation that argued against their beliefs?
In each class we had three students volunteer, not knowing what they were getting into for our roll play exercise. As Elizabeth led the three volunteers into the hall I explained to the rest of the class that each volunteer was going to be put into a situation where they would be challenged to talk about their beliefs to a couple of co-workers (played by Matt and Randy). As each volunteer was directed into the classroom Matt and Randy welcomed them to their “first day of work”, and quickly questioned them about a bumper sticker that said, "When Jesus said, 'love your enemies' he didn't mean kill them." The student volunteer was abruptly challenged to state what they believe and why. They didn’t have time to put their thoughts together or sit down and think about it. At that moment they need to give an answer. Matt and Randy did a good job of pushing each volunteer out of their comfort zones.
It was a good exercise for the students. We found that many of the students were able to say whether they agreed or disagreed but it was hard for them to talk beyond that answer. Many were able to define pacifism but struggled to share their own opinions on the subject. Now I am sure that if they would have had longer to think about their beliefs about peace and Jesus and why it is important (or not important) they would have been able to say a lot more. We didn’t do the exercise to try and show them how much they don’t know; rather we wanted to challenge them to think about their own beliefs about the Gospel of Peace. Do they know what they believe and more importantly can they talk about their beliefs with others.
This is a challenge that we all need to be faced with more often. Many of us choose to live in comfort. Many of us choose to go to a church that closely agrees with our own theology and choose to create a community that share similar goals and beliefs. I am not saying that this is bad in moderation. But I do think that many Christians at least those who live in middle class America are not challenged to articulate their faith. We are too comfortable.
Jess Roth
The Weary Traveler
I am getting tired of traveling. My suitcase can’t seem to stay in order. The weather is cooling down and I recently realized I haven’t packed enough warm clothes for these last three weeks. I’m tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and our van stinks. Yup, it really stinks. We bought air freshener and it still has a strange odor that just lingers.
And yet, as we meet new people and join a new congregation my spirits lift, my energy rises and I get just as excited as I was during the first weeks of our travels. Our message of peace, of Shalom is important and I am still excited about our opportunity to be able to share this message with others, and to hear how God is working other people to bring God’s Kingdom to life.
I continue to find joy in the journey. Joy in the conversations we have as a group as we wrestle with questions of content and our message and of things we read. In the journey of faith I have been on this summer. In the hospitality we experience and in the wonderful people we meet. Joy in the opportunity to get our hands dirty and do some labor with our bodies as we did another day with Mennonite Disaster Service this week.
The challenges of this summer continue. I still wrestle with how to talk about my faith with confidence. I still struggle with how to share peacemaking as an expression of my faith and to invite others in the conversation.
While I’m tired of traveling, I’m not ready to put our message on a shelf with the end of our travels. I will continue to wrestle with how do I serve God authentically in a world that does everything it can to distract me.
Elizabeth
And yet, as we meet new people and join a new congregation my spirits lift, my energy rises and I get just as excited as I was during the first weeks of our travels. Our message of peace, of Shalom is important and I am still excited about our opportunity to be able to share this message with others, and to hear how God is working other people to bring God’s Kingdom to life.
I continue to find joy in the journey. Joy in the conversations we have as a group as we wrestle with questions of content and our message and of things we read. In the journey of faith I have been on this summer. In the hospitality we experience and in the wonderful people we meet. Joy in the opportunity to get our hands dirty and do some labor with our bodies as we did another day with Mennonite Disaster Service this week.
The challenges of this summer continue. I still wrestle with how to talk about my faith with confidence. I still struggle with how to share peacemaking as an expression of my faith and to invite others in the conversation.
While I’m tired of traveling, I’m not ready to put our message on a shelf with the end of our travels. I will continue to wrestle with how do I serve God authentically in a world that does everything it can to distract me.
Elizabeth
Friday, September 12, 2008
We got new Pics up!
Hello everyone.
Just an update, that we are feeling healthy again, and our ready for a big weekend in Wayland, IA where we will be with three different congregations. Also, we realize that we have not been getting pics up in a timely fashion, but now for your viewing pleasure you can see in picures what the past 3 weeks have been like for us! (thanks to Matt, for taking the time to put em all up)
Just an update, that we are feeling healthy again, and our ready for a big weekend in Wayland, IA where we will be with three different congregations. Also, we realize that we have not been getting pics up in a timely fashion, but now for your viewing pleasure you can see in picures what the past 3 weeks have been like for us! (thanks to Matt, for taking the time to put em all up)Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Beemer Mennonite, Freeman Academy, and a minor health crisis
Hello all,
This past weekend, the Seeds team was in Beemer, NE. It was another great time of meeting wonderful people, and having good conversations. I can't express how gracious and kind our hosts have been this summer, and it was more of the same in Beemer. Pastor Lewis Miller, gave us a taste of Beemer culture by taking us out to eat at the local Beemer cafe. It's a place to experience, and the food was so good. We also got to take in a Nebraska huskers football game on Saturday afternoon (another huge part of Nebraska culture.) Saturday evening we had a CPS/I-W seminar where 3 different men shared stories from their alternative service experience. Matt does a great job of leading this seminar, with his expertise knowledge and ability to recall random facts, and also is able to push the different men to think critically about their experience and how they were changed by it. Sunday morning, we had a joint Sunday School session between youth and adults, where we further explored the word shalom as God's holistic vision for peace (much more than just the absence of war, but includes peace with God, ourselves, others, and all of creation).
The Sunday morning service went good too. We have done this service at many of the churches, so it feels like we have a come a long way from the first couple Sundays! After another amazing potluck meal, I led an afternoon workshop on Anabaptist history, and it's relevance for us today as we talk about what the early Anabaptists believed.
The Sunday morning service went good too. We have done this service at many of the churches, so it feels like we have a come a long way from the first couple Sundays! After another amazing potluck meal, I led an afternoon workshop on Anabaptist history, and it's relevance for us today as we talk about what the early Anabaptists believed.
We couldn't stay long in Beemer, sadly. We had to pack up quickly and head to Freeman, SD, where on Monday we led chapel at the Freeman Academy, and also talked in the high school Bible classes. Despite being really tired that day, we were glad to be able to get to the school.
Now we are ALL trying to re-coup from a last couple busy days. Unfortunately, we also are trying to recover from sickness that has plagued our team since early morning Tuesday, September 9th. Yes, there is small crisis right now. Last night, Matt, Elizabeth, and myself all got really sick, and today, while we are doing much better, are all still feeling it. At about 2:00 AM last night I was so sick that all I could think about doing was to call my mom (who is a nurse and was up at the time, because she works the night shift. ) Of course, with my luck, I didn't have cell phone service- thank you South Dakota! Anyways, a big thanks to Stacy and Jeremy Waltner, who have so kindly let us crash at their house while we try to re-coup!
The one thing about being sick is that it makes you even more grateful for good health- something I usually take for granted.
Til next time,
Randy
Friday, September 5, 2008
Omaha Zoo
As you can see there are no pictures attached to my post. You'll just have to check back later for those.
Anyway, the Seeds finally did something fun together that made them not talk about work for about 4 hours it was really exciting. We went to the Omaha Zoo.
Some highlights:
Matt deciding his favorite animals were the turtles and sloths. (see any trends?)
Jess screaming when Randy jumped out at her and touched her arm in the snake cave.
Elizabeth getting over-excited by the toad the size of a bowling ball. (ok, it was about half a bowling ball)
In any case, this is just a note to say we still are alive and kicking. Last weekend we joined the Yoked Fellowship of Zion Mennonite and Donnellson Presbyterian Churches. Saturday evening we hung out with the youth group and Sunday morning we led worship and Randy presented a bit on Anabaptist history after lunch. Thanks to Pastor Audrey Ratzlaff for her work organizing the weekend and for an awesome bulletin cover. We'll have to post this as a picture as well.
Mid-week we had the opportunity to stop in Omaha and visit with Northside Christian Fellowship. A really neat congregation in Omaha; small with exciting visions for their congregation and community. One member, Pat, owns Big Mama's. If you're ever in Omaha, make sure to make time and space in your belly to check her place out. http://www.bigmamaskitchen.com/
I guess I'll quit now. More next week!
Elizabeth
Anyway, the Seeds finally did something fun together that made them not talk about work for about 4 hours it was really exciting. We went to the Omaha Zoo.
Some highlights:
Matt deciding his favorite animals were the turtles and sloths. (see any trends?)
Jess screaming when Randy jumped out at her and touched her arm in the snake cave.
Elizabeth getting over-excited by the toad the size of a bowling ball. (ok, it was about half a bowling ball)
In any case, this is just a note to say we still are alive and kicking. Last weekend we joined the Yoked Fellowship of Zion Mennonite and Donnellson Presbyterian Churches. Saturday evening we hung out with the youth group and Sunday morning we led worship and Randy presented a bit on Anabaptist history after lunch. Thanks to Pastor Audrey Ratzlaff for her work organizing the weekend and for an awesome bulletin cover. We'll have to post this as a picture as well.
Mid-week we had the opportunity to stop in Omaha and visit with Northside Christian Fellowship. A really neat congregation in Omaha; small with exciting visions for their congregation and community. One member, Pat, owns Big Mama's. If you're ever in Omaha, make sure to make time and space in your belly to check her place out. http://www.bigmamaskitchen.com/
I guess I'll quit now. More next week!
Elizabeth
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Goodbye, and a Trip to Oregon
I took my leave to join the Mennonites of the Pacific Northwest Conference following our appearance at Iowa Mennonite School a week ago. Before the Seed’s summer schedule was solidified it looked like we might be finishing up around the end of August so I accepted a volunteer position at Western Mennonite School as a dorm leader. The school year in Salem, Oregon begins at the beginning of September and as our Seeds of the Kingdom schedule began extending into September I knew that I’d have to be skipping out on the end portion of the trip.
Now, saddened that I don’t get to continue learning about our conference with the others for the remaining 5 or 6 weeks, I’m glad that they are able to continue and glad that I’ll be able to add input for our final project that will come together following the end of the Tour (now early October – see calendar).
Thank you Matt and Elizabeth for concocting this great idea and for following though on the hard work it took during busy times last year to write grant proposals, to contact conference leadership, and to arrange transportation. Thank you for donating your own time and money to a project that helped me learn about the importance of conferences and about their role in weaving together a varied response to our Mennonite history.
Thank you Randal H. Keener, for your enthusiasm for our midwestern conference! Your outside perspective helped me realize what we do have here in the Central Plains Mennonite Conference and also to see where growth as a body can still happen.
Jess, you did such a wonderful job of coordinating the upcoming stops, and helping add pep at just the right times that your presence was invaluable. I also appreciated your calm tone and dexterous words when our group ran into conflict or had to navigate different personality/organizational/preference types that made our summer tour an experiment in community living — something we may not prefer for our entire lives, but a lifestyle we now know we can certainly survive and something we all recognize help us grow in the fruits of the spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.
Thank you Shana Boshart for walking along side us and giving us room to struggle, to overcome and to learn on our own. At this time in life, when it’s easy to think we can figure it out by ourselves, it has been a good reminder for me that there is a huge group of loving supporters who want to see the youth of their conference succeed and grow into leaders themselves.
The list of others I’d like to thank could go on and on, but just know that if you have interacted with our group in small or large ways during the hot, corn growing months of Summer 2008, I extend my gratitude whole heartedly! Each of your donations of time, energy or something else where what made this trip possible and I feel honored to have been a participant.
It’s my hope that others could experience the trip we went on whether it’s online following our blog or as part of a future trip that has a similar mission.
Mark Gingerich
Now, saddened that I don’t get to continue learning about our conference with the others for the remaining 5 or 6 weeks, I’m glad that they are able to continue and glad that I’ll be able to add input for our final project that will come together following the end of the Tour (now early October – see calendar).
Thank you Matt and Elizabeth for concocting this great idea and for following though on the hard work it took during busy times last year to write grant proposals, to contact conference leadership, and to arrange transportation. Thank you for donating your own time and money to a project that helped me learn about the importance of conferences and about their role in weaving together a varied response to our Mennonite history.
Thank you Randal H. Keener, for your enthusiasm for our midwestern conference! Your outside perspective helped me realize what we do have here in the Central Plains Mennonite Conference and also to see where growth as a body can still happen.
Jess, you did such a wonderful job of coordinating the upcoming stops, and helping add pep at just the right times that your presence was invaluable. I also appreciated your calm tone and dexterous words when our group ran into conflict or had to navigate different personality/organizational/preference types that made our summer tour an experiment in community living — something we may not prefer for our entire lives, but a lifestyle we now know we can certainly survive and something we all recognize help us grow in the fruits of the spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.
Thank you Shana Boshart for walking along side us and giving us room to struggle, to overcome and to learn on our own. At this time in life, when it’s easy to think we can figure it out by ourselves, it has been a good reminder for me that there is a huge group of loving supporters who want to see the youth of their conference succeed and grow into leaders themselves.
The list of others I’d like to thank could go on and on, but just know that if you have interacted with our group in small or large ways during the hot, corn growing months of Summer 2008, I extend my gratitude whole heartedly! Each of your donations of time, energy or something else where what made this trip possible and I feel honored to have been a participant.
It’s my hope that others could experience the trip we went on whether it’s online following our blog or as part of a future trip that has a similar mission.
Mark Gingerich
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