Grapevine - Ohio Mennonite Conference

Grapevine is a newsletter from Year of Covenant Facilitator George O’Reilly detailing his work throughout the Conference.

What will we “take away” from Event Two?

Any reasonable person might well ask this question or one much like it in considering the prospect of Ohio Conference’s credentialed leaders meeting together on Sept. 28. I would suggest the more important question might be, “What will we bring to Event Two?” If we bring only expectations about the rules, the answers, the procedures, we may be disappointed, each…

Striving to be my best self

I have sometimes quoted a quip from Garrison Keillor of A Prairie Home Companion: “They say wisdom comes with old age — but sometimes old age comes alone.” I suppose I haven’t quite admitted I am old yet, but I can feel myself getting there. I also should admit I haven’t quite gotten to “wise” yet, but I can feel…

New Fears

As my wife and I were driving to church last Sunday, she received a chat text from our daughter who lives in Northern Ireland. Our son-in-law is a technical climber, an instructor of mountaineering instructors actually, and their two daughters are quite the outdoor enthusiasts normally. In fact, at just about 4 years old the older girl had her own…

Signs of Health in a Recovering Body

A recurring pesky condition cropped up again recently in my physical person. While not generally overwhelming, this condition is difficult to ignore and disrupts focus on “regular” life. Not that illness, irritations, “dis-ease,” etc are not a regular part of life. They are for the vast majority of us, and quite common for many. In fact, to an immunologist, a…