"My Life is my Message"

Camp Micah (http://www.campmicah.ca/), an inter-denominational peace and justice leadership camp run the last week of August for high school students, was a new experience for us.

As Mennonites we kind of thought we had the market cornered on peace and justice work, and it was exciting and refreshing to work alongside Catholics and United Church friends to instill alternative leadership skills in youth with a focus on peace and justice. Camp Micah uses all the normal camp activities (canoeing, low-ropes, games, and campfires) to create awareness about the importance of peace and justice in our everyday lives, and to challenge us to think about how we live our lives and, ultimately, what type of message we share with others by how we live.

My life is my message...  It was a catchy phrase to put on the t-shirts for Camp Micah.

A Peace Sunday Sermon: Part 4 of 4. Conclusion

Some final things to remember

Peace happens in relationship

Jesus, sometimes called Truth said:

Folks are lucky, blessed, fortunate, on the right track

by living out compassion

“dethrone [yourselves] from the centre of our world and put another there”[1]

This is the kindom of God

A Peace Sunday Sermon: Part 3 of 4. Remembering we live by a different story

We’re not alone, you know

Everyone wishes for Peace

Even beauty queens, with their tiara’s and sparkling dresses wish for …

[sigh] world peace

– someday

Everyone wishes for Peace

Even the Lennon’s who imagine no countries

[sung] and no religions too (Oh, oh – o-o-oh)

Everyone wishes for Peace

Even the folks who earnestly engage in war,

They believe that their show of mighty force will bring conflict to a speedy end:

“We’ll just go in,

strike with precision

and then we’re out.

Balance will be restored.

We’re helping people — oh, and democracy.”

But, as the general said on the radio: conflict is never that predictable

Walking with People in Poverty

Jesus announced his mission: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor…." 

And what is good news for the poor? 

Affordable housing, quality relationships, wages that sustain a dignified life, meaningful community, adequate social assistance, a valued voice in society … and much more. 

In Toronto, Kitchener and Timmins, MCC Ontario responds to poverty by walking alongside marginalized people with compassion and caring.

Loving our neighbor through witness to government

Many of you are energized by following Jesus call to love our neighbors.  There are many ways that you can do this and I would encourage you to think creatively with others about how this might look in your community.

One way to love our neighbours, both near and far, is through political advocacy.

When we claim that Jesus is Lord we are claiming that (as the early church and as many Anabaptist communities have done for 500 years) our political leaders and structures are not Lord. This doesn’t mean that we call for anarchy and disregard order.  But it means we must be willing to speak out (even to our government representatives) when our convictions as Christians come face to face with injustice.

Good thing we don’t have to go it alone…there are people that can guide us along the way.  To get you started, check out these helpful sites:

Advocating for a Poverty Free Ontario

MCC Advocacy Webpage

Yella: a middle eastern learning tour for young adults

Ever wonder what the heck is going on in the Middle East? We know Jesus grew up, and lived his life and ministry somewhere in what we now call Israel (and parts of Palestine). We hear about a lot of conflict ('over there').

The Old City of Jerusalem, May 2010

But how does the developing story of today's Middle East connect to the Roman ruled context of Jesus? Is there anything we can learn about Jesus and the bible by walking where he walked?

MCC Ontario has partnered with Mennonite Church Eastern Canada to develop opportunities for people like you to learn about God, the world, and yourself...to explore questions of Christian faith and life by:

- Interacting with Christians, Jews and Muslims

- Encountering complex peace and conflict issues

- Considering the context for Jesus' life and ministry

The program is called Yella and we have organized two groups thus far: the first in 2008, and most recently in May 2010.

You might have heard of the program through some articles in the Canadian Mennonite by Micheal Turman, Katie Erb, and Katie Penner.

MCC: Connecting the World Through Service

Ever heard the musical creations of Playing For Change?  Their motto is Connecting the World Through Music.  I like it.  A good motto and an interesting project.

"Playing for Change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music...music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people."

I grew up in a family and in a community that sings a lot together.  And in my travels throughout the world, nothing has brought me closer to the communities that have hosted me more that music.  Music has an good way of bringing people together.

So does service.  If we play on the words of the "Playing for Change" motto we get a good one for MCC: Connecting the World Through Service.

Walking to Learn with Jesus

As Christians we are followers of Jesus. Not just the Jesus we call Lord, Saviour, Redeemer, Messiah (feel free to add any titles I have missed here...). We also follow Jesus of Nazareth, he who walked the earth as we do.

We can be followers in a variety of ways - whether we walk the Jesus Trail in Israel or walk the streets of a small town in Ontario; whether we serve with MCC internationally or serve our community locally. Regardless of where and how we choose to follow (or perhaps a better way of saying it is regardless of where we are led), we can look to Jesus and the disciples to see how they learned. And how DID they learn? They walked! They got out of their comfort zones and moved and met people and they learned along the way.

I wrote a section of an article called "Walking to Learn with Jesus" for the Nazareth Village publication, The Word on the Street, that is all about this. Click here to see the full article which includes sections by David Landis (the creator of the Jesus Trail) and Linford Stutzman (author of Sailing Acts).

~Allan

J

esus walked and walked! He was on the move. Jesus took risks on the road and did things that others wouldn’t do. He interacted with people whom he was supposed to ignore and hate. As he walked he explored the world around him and related to all kinds of people. Jesus learned as he walked.
Jesus called his disciples to walk with him. “Come, follow me. “Come, learn with me.” The disciples learned many of the lessons of the kingdom on the way through the fields, along the path, on the slopes of mountains. By answering Jesus’ call to “come and follow” we commit to walking with Him, to learn as his disciples did. We commit to move to explore and relate with the world around us.