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Resisting Fear: The Story of Guled Omar
On March 10th, we heard from Matt Palombo, with recordings from Guled Omar. Matt Palombo has been working in Minneapolis on mass incarceration and the war on terror. He is a philosophy professor at Minneapolis College, where there is a large Muslim Somali refugee population. Many of his students are part of this Somali community.…
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Wed. Mar. 13: Vigil in Support of ICWA
This Wednesday, on land formerly inhabited by the Tongva nation, we will be gathering at Full Circle Thrift for prayer for the Indian Child Welfare Act, an important piece of civil rights legislation that attempts to provide indigenous people with some protection from what has been centuries of cultural genocide. Pasadena Mennonite Church is responding…
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The Transfiguration
On March 3rd, Transfiguration Sunday, Tim Reardon spoke of the transfiguation of Jesus as a transition point in Jesus’ ministry. Previously, Jesus had been moving about Galilee speaking about a kingdom, now he tells his disciples he must go to Jerusalem to proclaim this kingdom, and there he will suffer, be rejected by the leaders…
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Lament
On February 24, Erica Scoffield Nellessen spoke to us about lament as a practice of discipleship. Lament, she says, is very heavy. It’s an intense experience. Just listening to the scripture of Lamentations 5 and Psalm 88 being read fills her with emotions that aren’t easy to sit with. Even as a social worker… And…
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Laughing Warrior Girl: Indigenous Spirituality & Mennonite Tradition
PMC had the privilege of having Sarah Augustine speak with us on February 17. Sarah shared about her identity as both an indigenous woman and a Mennonite woman. She spoke about her work in Suriname, South America, beginning in 2004. There, Sarah was challenged by a community member, an elder, to fight with the local…
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A Surplus of Rich Generosity
Last Sunday, Rob Muthiah walked us through 2 Corinthians 8:1-15. He introduced the passage as a sort of fund-raising letter — like those we receive from people raising support for mission trips. Paul is raising support for the mission of the church in Jerusalem, and introduces the churches in Macedonia as generous givers. They give…
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Giving God Our Best: How Much Is That, Exactly?
Lisa Finlay anticipated that speaking about giving would be an interesting challenge, because money is a complex issue for her personally. But she thinks it’s important to talk about giving because, in our consumer society, the way we interact with money—what we decide to give, to spend, where to spend—requires frequent decision-making. And the way…
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2 Corinthians 8:1-15
On January 20th, Frank Scoffield Nellessen continued PMC’s theme for the month of first fruits giving. He weaves the theme of giving beautifully with our honoring of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Reflecting also on 2 Corinthians, Frank brings together the words and works of Paul and MLK. “God’s love is radical, flowing through…
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Being First Fruits People
Tim Reardon introduced PMC’s Consecration Sunday — the time when the congregation makes commitments to carry us through the coming year. As a lay-operated and lay-lead church, if we don’t do the things we think are important, they won’t get done. We try not to be a community of passive spectators but active participants. We…
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Star of Wonder
Eddie Beres shared an Epiphany reflection at PMC on January 6th—in relation to Matthew 2:1-12, and primarily Ephesians 3:1-12. He begins his thoughts, “As I read through the lectionary passages for this year’s Epiphany, the one from Ephesians caught me. I noticed one word repeated four times: mystery. Eddie goes on to say that the…
Pasadena Mennonite Church 