Editorial
The importance of our collective well-being
Pastors and Leaders Update Philippians 2:1-13 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition…
Read MoreA Dimmer Switch Approach to Reopening the Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia Governor Northam has indicated that churches may reopen as of May 15, 2020, but with a restriction of 50% capacity of the meetinghouse’s certificate of occupancy. COVID-19 is spread from person to person mainly through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. This reality raises health concerns related to choirs, congregational…
Read MoreUpdates: Conference Assembly, Conference Ministries, and more
Greetings from Virginia Mennonite Conference! We have been an experiencing a crisis of community through physical and social distancing. As a people of faith we value relationships, public worship, and engaging in ministry in the community. But in order to reduce the potential impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable in our congregations, community, and…
Read MoreOur journey on the Emmaus road
I have been reflecting on the Emmaus Road experience found in chapter 24 of Luke’s Gospel. Two followers of Jesus are going to Emmaus. Along the way, a stranger joins them. They travel together talking about the events that have occurred. Recounting the death and resurrection of Jesus, there is an aura of confusion, bewilderment,…
Read MoreGrieving alone: a new challenge for families, congregations, and our faith community
Pastors and Leaders Update On April 5, I had the privilege of providing a meditation for Asheville Mennonite Church via Zoom. Followers of Jesus were commemorating the hope they held as the processional headed for Jerusalem. It was a time of hopeful acknowledgement that the future will be different. As it turned out in biblical…
Read MoreThis time of crisis requires adaptations, innovations, and perseverance by faith leaders
April 3, 2020 Pastors and Leaders within Virginia Mennonite Conference, As I anticipate celebrating Palm Sunday, I fondly remember children walking into the meetinghouse waving palm branches and smiling boldly; their enthusiasm was in the air. I remember the uplifting singing and the sense of a celebrative mood. I am celebrating today that our congregations…
Read MoreLeading through difficult choices
Jesus instructed the blind man to go to the pool of Siloam to receive his sight (John 9). Not knowing what to expect, he stumbled and made his way to the pool, and received his sight. Blindness is a relevant metaphor for the circumstances many leaders have experienced. They are moving forward into the unknown,…
Read MoreConference responds to the coronavirus
This letter and list of resources was sent to Virginia Mennonite Conference leaders on March 19, 2020. Dear Virginia Mennonite Conference Leaders, Hope springs forth! Rosy pink blossoms of the redbud are blooming, a dazzling yellow on the forsythia, and the soft pink of the apple blossoms display the hopeful magnificence of spring. But…
Read MoreTaking our faith seriously with formation ministries
In September, my wife Eunice and I traveled to Pennsylvania to celebrate our forty-fifth class reunion. We were classmates at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School. I attended from fall 1970 through spring 1974. (VMC members Willis Hunsberger, Knoxville, Tenn., Barbara Weirich, Ted and Sue Swartz, and Rosemary Landis, all of Harrisonburg, Va., are also members…
Read MoreBeing a follower of Jesus has three dimensions
Virginia Mennonite Conference held our Assembly at C3 Hampton (Hampton, Va.) with the theme God’s Kingdom: The 3D Experience. This theme emerged as our Assembly Vision Team sought to bring a new lens to the multi-dimensional nature of being a disciple of Jesus in our time. Our encounter with God through Jesus Each person experienced…
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