WildWords: Sermons from Wildwood Mennonite Church

This Sunday we explore rules, boundaries, institutions: how they can serve as a grounding for our experiences of God, but how they are merely the human-made containers in which we hold our finite understandings of God.

"Listen: Our God is One" ~ When asked to sum up the core of faith, that's what Jesus said: God is One. And (I'm paraphrasing here...) you are One, and we all are One. Preposterous, given the trainwreck that life on this planet can seem to be sometimes... Or is it possible that we have been seeing things incompletely, missing a larger unity of which we are all a part? That's the Yellow space on the Spiral Dynamics model; the gateway to a brand new tier of consciousness. Or maybe it's not new: perhaps this is what Jesus was trying to tell us all along?

The Spiral Dynamics model describes the last fifty years as a massive shift from Orange to Green as the leading edge of Western society. Green is the space of inclusion, equality, globalism: lifting up the inherent value in each person and story. It's easy to recognize Wildwood as a generally Green church... how did we get here? And what does it mean to be healthy and whole in our Green approach to faith?

Knock-knock! (Who's there?) ORANGE! (Orange who??) Orange you glad this series is almost over???  Okay, don't answer that honestly... but yeah, this week our journey through the Spiral Dynamics model brings us to the Orange spaces of research, technology, logic and productivity. Reason and Science are often positioned as the antithesis to Faith... but does it have to be that way? Bring your notebooks and pocket protectors and let's find out!

This week we are taking a break from the "Faith of Many Colours" theme and will be led by David Schwinghamer and Sean Baergen in examining lessons we have learned in maintaining community through our Covid experience. What have we learned? And how can we do things better in the future?

Feeling Blue?? The Blue we're talking about this week in our journey through Spiral Dynamics theory is all about peace, order, and good government (hey, that's catchy). What does that have to do with faith? And did this (basic!) pastor really manage to go the whole sermon about Blue without a single Eiffel 65 reference? Join us and see! #DaBaDeeDaBaDi

Which stories have shaped our faith? Who are the people whose examples and influence we lean on? Jesus' story includes some pretty unexpected mentions... do we seek out those kinds of influences as well?

This week Patrick Preheim, Co-Pastor at Nutana Park Mennonite Church, shares with us his sermon "Story Shaping Story" drawn from Matthew 1:1-17. This sermon was recorded on June 6, 2021 as part of Nutana’s summer sermon series on spiritual guides.

What Colour is your Faith? This summer at Wildwood, we're exploring the model of Spiral Dynamics as a way to understand the many different faith perspectives that are within and around all of us. Week 2 on the Spiral brings us to Purple: How do I get what I need in a world that is beyond my understanding, let alone my control? Grab your magic wands and customer loyalty cards and join us!

What Colour is your Faith? This summer at Wildwood, we're exploring the model of Spiral Dynamics as a way to understand the many different faith perspectives that are within and around all of us. Up first is "Beige: Primal Faith." Stayin' alive, stayin' alive, oh, oh, oh, oh Stayin' aLIIIIIIVE......

I thought Easter was supposed to be a celebration of the Risen Christ! So why is everybody so quiet at the end of Mark's version of the story?? "...and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." Join us for a guided meditation inviting us further into this expected/unexpected end to our series on the gospel of Mark.