A friend read my post on sex workers in the neighborhood. He said it reminded him of this story: When I was about 6 or 7, I dropped an ice cream on the sidewalk in my neighbor’s yard. I was really upset that I had lost my ice cream. The neighbor ran out into the yard, as if she had been waiting for a chump kid to come along, and yelled at me to clean it up. She complained... Read more
I spent the weekend at a seminar on Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities. During one of the HROC sessions, we listed the consequences of trauma. One group came up with scapegoat as a consequence. Dictionary.com defines scapegoat, “a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place.” The concept originates in the Bible, in Leviticus 16, where it says: When he has finished atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting... Read more
I’m spending the weekend at a retreat learning how to respond to trauma. The process is called Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities, and was developed in Rwanda and Burundi, and is a method of getting in touch with our own trauma and that of others. You can read more here. Actually, I like the philosophy so much, I’m going to repost it: First, HROC believes that in every person, there is something good. This is a radical notion in societies... Read more
I had a former congregant call a while back about her teenage daughter, coming out as bisexual. There was none of the usual upset, no “I’m not going to have grandchildren,” or “Will my daughter still be able to go to heaven?” She and her husband were happy that their daughter felt free to tell them, and they were supportive and understanding. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that it struck her—instead of being worried about the boundaries her... Read more
I have a friend who lives on the stroll. No, really! There are sex workers operating their small businesses right along the alley behind her house. Sometimes she hears them, sometimes she sees them, and sometimes her children notice them, too. When Jesus was asked about which part of the Law is most important, he answers, “Love God, love your neighbor.” My friend and I have had lots of conversations about being a neighbor to the individuals who are trading... Read more
The heat can make anyone grumpy. Not that it’s difficult to make me crabby, but yesterday in our building-cum-old- house church, it was 90 degrees, and we don’t have air conditioning. After working in the building, straightening-up, removing light bulbs to make it cooler, getting up and down on the ladder, I was definitely hot. And I stayed that way all day. But this morning, on my run, I felt a breeze. A cool, moving breeze. And I remembered. You... Read more
If you know me, you know that I pastor a Mennonite church. They are really an amazing congregation. I’m not just saying that, either! They believe in women’s leadership, they are welcoming and affirming, and have a really strong commitment to peace. It’s not final yet, but we have a tagline at my church. It’s “cultivating faith, committed to peace, and engaged in justice.” And it’s all true. But you also know that I consider myself Baptist. Because I’ve found... Read more
Consider for a moment that you want to start a restaurant. What would you do? Would you find out what kind of food people liked? Would you poll people who are willing to spend money in restaurants and ask them questions? Like, “What kind of food do you eat?” and “What restaurants do you frequent, and why?” Or even, “If you could have any kind of food you wanted, what would it be?” Why is that? Because your customers are... Read more
I am a Mennonite pastor. What comes to mind? Well, if you know any Mennonites, you might think of plain clothes, conservative theology with a peace and justice bent, horse and buggies, and wimples, those little white lace hats that many Mennonite women wear. That’s if you even considered that I might be female. Let me blow a few of those stereotypes out of the water. I’m female (we established that, didn’t we?), progressive, including my peace and justice bent.... Read more
There’s lots of questions in the blogosphere about whether or not women can have it all. Of course, by “all” we mean, can we work and have families? And do both as well as we can do them? In Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article in The Atlantic she says: In short, the minute I found myself in a job that is typical for the vast majority of working women (and men), working long hours on someone else’s schedule, I could no longer... Read more
Rogue Reverend
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