Author: admin
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Hauling Grace
We left our campsite that morning, already getting a “low fuel” warning. The dashboard display of our Pontiac Montana tells us how many kms we have left on our tank, unless it thinks you have less than 100, in which case it simply says, “low fuel” and automatically turns the gas light on and drops…
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Still buying green bananas #MennoNerdsOnLoss
At the hospice I visit from time to time, there is a list in the staff room of things not to say. It’s a good reminder that even the things said by well-meaning people can be difficult for people to answer if they are dying or watching a loved one die. Among the expressions on…
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How I Talk to My Little Girls
An article showed up on my Facebook feed a few times a long time ago. I had a reaction to it at the time, but I figured it would fade away, which it mostly did. Now I’ve seen the article posted again a few more times and I thought it would be worth spelling out…
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I am Mike Duffy
For those of you who don’t follow Canadian politics (and I suspect you are the salient majority), let me summarize for you one of our current scandals. In this country, our elected officials in the national government (the House of Commons) have their proposed legislation reviewed, revised and/or approved by a group of appointed officials…
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An Anabaptist Pilgramage (and no, that’s not a typo)
My theme of “(Re)Discovering Ancient Spiritual Practices” at the Mennonite Church where I serve as the pastor seems a little odd to some. Those religious rituals having little to no bearing with our Radical Reformation past. In fact, our spiritual ancestors would likely reject many of these activities as human creation and therefore unhelpful in…
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Why doesn’t this feel more sacred?
My theme for the year at our church is “(Re)Discovering Ancient Spiritual Practices.” As a part of that, I’ve introduced ritual prayer, labyrinths, sacred calendars, etc. People have been generally supportive and willing to try new things, which has been great. The latest spiritual practice I’ve talked about is pilgrimage. Like many ancient spiritual practices,…
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Babies don’t fix anything
Every now and then I hear people talk as though having a baby will somehow fix a part of their life. Don’t get me wrong, I love babies. I think there are lots of people who aren’t having babies that should. Still, it needs to be clear that having a baby, whether it’s by birth…
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Short Story: Ten Bucks
This short story was written as a submission in a writing contest in a literature magazine. It wasn’t selected as one of the winners, and so now I am free to use it for my own purposes. The story is mostly true with names and some details changed. — “They saw you coming,” I said…
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I didn’t notice at all
So, there I was, in a room full of church people more evangelical and traditional than me, at least I’m sure all of them saw it that way. A video had been presented to us as a potential education and outreach resource for high school aged youth. My concern was that the material provided no…
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Is missional thinking based in Christendom?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of missional thinking. I love the challenge to ask how the church can join God’s ongoing mission rather than asking how we can get God to bless our church programming. I love the emphasis on developing a sense of belonging before the rigid requirements of belief. But there…