Pathways
Pastoral care with Duo, a meaningful connection
In this issue of Pathways, we are to share “stories of coping, thriving, innovation, danger, struggle, hardship, new ways of working, new focuses….” Yes—to all of the above. It’s amazing how the same experience—and experiment—can contain all of those components at the same time. Like every other congregation, we at Weavers Mennonite Church are also…
Read MoreSpringdale congregation adapts WARM program
The apostle Paul comments in II Corinthians 12:10 that “When I am weak, then I am strong.” God’s strength often seems most apparent when we ourselves are weak. Each year, usually in mid-March, Springdale Mennonite Church, located on the outskirts of Waynesboro, Va., hosts the local overnight homeless shelter WARM (Waynesboro Area Refuge Ministry) for…
Read MoreWe are still a community
Park View Mennonite Church grapples with losses but finds undiminished connections We have made a significant discovery at Park View Mennonite Church. Even though we cannot gather physically in the space where we love to worship, pray, and sing together, our sense of community has not diminished. On March 13, we made the difficult…
Read MoreMore than a Sunday morning gathering
Early Church has never been defined primarily by our Sunday morning gathering. We have been known for the high value we have placed on being a glimmer of God’s presence when we worship and relate at Our Community Place (OCP), and for lots of non-Sunday face-to-face interactions. Before the coronavirus hit, we had already begun…
Read MoreBig Spring: still the arms and hands of Jesus
Big Spring Mennonite Church is alive and together, even if we have to be together by Zoom. We have said we are so grateful for Zoom and we are so tired of Zoom. But the Holy Spirit has been with us through all of our virtual gatherings and it has been good. By being a…
Read MoreThe church ‘did not close’
Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home; …and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. – John 16:32 It all started with an elbow bump— not my type of hugging and a difficult thing for our older Waynesboro Mennonite…
Read MoreThe exchange in the time of COVID-19
In this time of church doors being closed, we have the opportunity to live into our professed Anabaptist theology that the church was never about the building. We are the church. Like the old song, “I am the church. You are the church. We are the church together.” At our church, the exchange, in…
Read MoreAn important and timely Assembly theme in these uncertain days
Our summer Conference Assembly was held on July 18, 2020, with a focus theme of “Living As Those Made Alive In Christ.” Our theme was of utmost importance in the time we are living. Over the last number of months, we have lived into the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. This medical crisis places us…
Read MoreNaomi Rowe Francisco: A legacy of faith and love
Naomi Rowe Francisco wore many hats and went by many names: Sister Naomi, Neme, Aunt Neme, momma, sister, cousin, friend, grandma. She was known by hundreds of Calvary Christian Academy students and C3 members as Mother Francisco. I had the distinct privilege to call her Grams, and the privilege of being with my grandmother…
Read MoreVMRC community engagement reflects heritage
Core values create a foundation for an organization’s mission and purpose. Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community embraces its heritage, one of its core values: We are Christ-centered, rooted in our Anabaptist heritage of stewardship, service, justice and compassion. “As part of VMRC’s vision to be a destination for those who want to age well in…
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