Grace & Groundings
Putting the focus on social justice
By Nathanael Hofstetter Ressler Note: This year Grace & Groundings, Ohio Conference’s racial reconciliation resource team, invited Ohio Conference churches to set aside Sunday, June 18, as Social Justice Sunday. The Grace & Groundings team provided worship planning resources for Social Justice Sunday. Below, Nathanael Hofstetter Ressler, pastor of Maple Grove Mennonite Church in Hartville, reflects on his congregation’s experience…
God’s kingdom is bigger
By Kevin Himes In Acts 10, Peter had a dream — a weird dream. Foods that any God-fearing Jew knew to be unclean were no longer off limits. It’s like a vegetarian dreaming of bacon high fiving a cheeseburger while God says, “It’s okay to eat meat now!” Although it seemed ridiculous at the time, Peter’s dream ultimately paved the…
Please let us know how you used these resources
Grace & Groundings, Ohio Conference’s racial reconciliation resource team, has produced a brief, six-question questionnaire concerning the Social Justice Sunday resources the team shared with congregations. Team members would appreciate hearing from your congregation regardless of whether or not you used the resources. Please take a few minutes to help the team assess the use of these resources. The questionnaire…
How will you celebrate Social Justice Sunday?
Social Justice Sunday, June 18, is quickly approaching. Grace & Groundings, Ohio Conference’s racial reconciliation resource team, will be sending each congregation a questionnaire later in the month to learn if and how your congregation celebrated. You may find it beneficial to keep notes on how you celebrated the day in order to respond to some of the questions. Please…
‘Aha’ moments: Reflections on a lifetime
By Gregory Battle “Now I understand why people choose to have biographers. This is painful to revisit.” — All-Too-Black Greg Many of the things that have formed my life experiences are the same things that have formed the lives of other men of my age. Then there’s a whole other thing: I am visibly Black. I have 67+ years of learning…
Celebrate Social Justice Sunday on June 18
Grace & Groundings, Ohio Conference’s racial reconciliation resource team, is inviting all Ohio Conference churches to set aside Sunday, June 18, as Social Justice Sunday, in recognition of Juneteenth the following day. (If June 18 does not work well for your congregation, please consider setting aside a different Sunday as Social Justice Sunday.) The theme for this year’s Sunday is…
June 18 is Social Justice Sunday
Grace & Groundings, Ohio Conference’s racial reconciliation resource team, is inviting all Ohio Conference churches to set aside Sunday, June 18, as Social Justice Sunday, in recognition of Juneteenth the following day. (If June 18 does not work well for your congregation, please consider setting aside a different Sunday as Social Justice Sunday.) The team is preparing worship planning resources,…
List of resources for racial reconciliation work now available
Grace & Groundings, Ohio Conference’s racial reconciliation resource team, has compiled a list of resources for working at racial reconciliation: Racial Reconciliation Resource List.
Humbled from the start: One person’s start on the anti-racist journey
By Greg Bowman Part 1 “When did you begin to grapple with being White?” The answer to this question is fairly straightforward: about 2001. The back story is more revealing. I was 49, living in eastern Pennsylvania in an all-white community, attending an all-white rural Mennonite congregation in Bally. It was at a Saturday morning session of a weekend-long anti-racism…
Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.
Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This is a day that remembers the nonviolent approach to racial justice that was led by minister and activist Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Grace & Groundings,” Ohio Conference’s racial reconciliation resource team, invites you to use the previous Sunday – Jan. 15, 2023 – to remember the work…
Grounding our healing in grace
Let us begin to heal. Read Proverbs 3:1-7, noting especially verse 5a: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” We are in community with each other. Many of us are hurting. Can we come together and promote healing? Maybe you don’t see it. Maybe you don’t feel it. But when you listen…