Last Sunday, Frank Scoffield Nellessen addressed the current call to solidarity with those suffering violence in the spirit of Galatians 5:1: For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery; and 1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. Listen as Frank speaks to the movement of God's spirit toward dismantling systems of oppression, and invites us to join in despite the fears that generally control us. Hear as he challenges us lovingly to enter the flow of God's spirit. The post Living in Freedom appeared first on Pasadena Mennonite Church.

On June 7th, Jason Smith, in signature style, wove together art, scripture, theological reflection, and the application of the woven strands to our community. He reflects on the creation story of Genesis 1:1 through 2:4a — the seven days of creation, and the patterns set that are born out throughout scripture. He uses as example "The Ancient of Days" — a series of etched and handcolored prints by William Blake. He talks about the God's consistent value of the last and the least. And he paints a picture of how this applies to our church community. The post Why I Am A Mennonite: Creative Community appeared first on Pasadena Mennonite Church.

On May 31st, David Gist prepared us for an advocacy campaign — with Luke 11:5-13, where Jesus tells a parable teaching us how to advocate for those in need. David notes that Jesus comforts his disciples, and us in turn. In this time of pain following the murder of George Floyd, over the weaponization of racism by Amy Cooper in Central Park, and the hunting down of Ahmad Arbery — and the many lives taken before these. Many are grieving over hurt, neglect, bigotry, white supremacy and the violence it begets, over the infiltration of peace movements, peace rallies and peaceful protests by those who have no intention of carrying out peace. Amidst the pain, we might wonder — is God hearing us? Is God answering prayer? Here, in Luke, we find both comfort and instruction. This is a lesson in advocacy. The post Ask, Seek, Knock appeared first on Pasadena Mennonite Church.

Sarah Fuller, PMC congregant and a member of a Catholic Worker community in Los Angeles, continued our series "Why I am a Mennonite," basing her thoughts in Matthew 25:31-46. It is a passage from which we get the traditional list of the “Works of Mercy”: Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. The post Why I am a Mennonite: Don’t Tell Me; Show Me appeared first on Pasadena Mennonite Church.

Eric Schnitger shares thoughts about how our history shapes where we arrive, the Mennonite "melodies" of pacifism (though complex); of consensus decision making — truly hearing and valuing the variety of points of view within community; and the value of mutual aid — which takes work given how counter-cultural it is. He then visits the question of what keeps him returning to his anabaptist faith. In the reality of the hurts that come within families and communities, Eric finds meaningful the work of allowing the community to speak into our lives — to push back against the idea that we must only be individual and autonomous selves. In the process, we move toward the goodness of nurturing acceptance of one another and ourselves. The post Why I am (still) a Mennonite appeared first on Pasadena Mennonite Church.

On Mother's Day, Tim Reardon spoke about God, Our Mother — a metaphor that helps us to image an aspect of God. Language is powerful, and can provide a lens to envision God more fully. And there is a history in the church of images of God as mother. We read from Hosea 11:1-4, where God as parent calls Israel son, teaches Ephraim to walk, takes Israel into his arms, leads with human kindness and love, lifts them as one would an infant to the cheek, and bends to feed them. From there we read from John, where Jesus refers to the sorrow of his death as like the woman giving birth to a child, where pain becomes joy. Who is this woman whose hour has come? The post God, Our Mother appeared first on Pasadena Mennonite Church.

On May 3, Sue Park-Hur was first in a series to engage the question of Why am I a Mennonite? As a Korean-American exposed to and embracing the core tenets of Mennonites — Sue has realized that she felt challenged to prove that she was Mennonite enough. It was a question of identity. To this Sue looks to Jesus' temptation in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1-11 with fresh eyes for Satan's challenge to Jesus' identity. The post Why I Am a Mennonite appeared first on Pasadena Mennonite Church.

The Parable of the Unjust Manager has long confounded commentators, but perhaps we are better able to hear it in these “apocalyptic” times. Perhaps the current crisis can open our eyes to see things, and to see people, that we were unable to see before. The post Solidarity in Apocalyptic Times appeared first on Pasadena Mennonite Church.

Lisa Thornton reflects on Matthew 20-20-28, where the mother of Zebedee's sons bring them before Jesus to ask if they might sit at Jesus' side in his kingdom. Lisa notes Jesus' reply that they do not know what it is they are asking. What they envision is not how things will be in his kingdom. She talks reflects on our own "new normal" in the social distancing of Covid-19. This too is not what we were expecting. But we are invited to envision ways in which it might become more than what we were expecting. The post New and Unexpected Normal appeared first on Pasadena Mennonite Church.

Lisa Danner talks about the instructions of how to talk to our brother/sister if they have sinned against us, found in Matthew 18. She illustrates some ways that this is hard to do, perhaps especially in our current society, and the fact that many of us attempt to prioritize peace or acceptance with people who offend us—often because pursuing them or trying to correct them simply doesn’t go well. The post Talking to Lost Sheep is Hard appeared first on Pasadena Mennonite Church.