Dear Blooming Glen Friends:
"By the grace of God, we seek to live and proclaim the good news of reconciliation in Jesus Christ. As part of the one body of Christ at all times and places, we hold the following to be central to our belief and practice:
5. The Spirit of Jesus empowers us to trust God in all areas of life so we become peacemakers who renounce violence, love our enemies, seek justice, and share our possessions with those in need.
The most recent Anabaptist confession of faith, known as the "Statement of Shared Convictions of Global Anabaptists," was adopted in 2006. I helped to host the meetings of the Mennonite World Conference General Council in Pasadena, California that adopted a seven-point confessional statement that Anabaptists leaders from national church bodies around the world agreed was a sufficient summary of our common beliefs. This statement doesn't replace our "Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective (1995)," but it does provide us with a starting point to define our faith identity as Mennonites in relationship with sisters and brothers around the world.
Global Anabaptists believe that the Holy Spirit – the promised One who comes alongside and comforts us – is the source of our ability to make peace. All political philosophies divide…every single one of them. The Holy Spirit unites. Partisan points of view disenfranchise those who have a different point of view. The Holy Spirit empowers all of us – conservative, liberal, capitalist, socialist, soprano, alto, tenor, or bass – to trust God. It is our Holy Spirit gifted ability to trust God that makes it possible to become nonviolent lovers of our enemies, and justice seekers who share our stuff generously. Our capacity to be a nice person is finite. Our empowerment from the Holy Spirit to trust God is infinite.
At Blooming Glen, we are a congregation active in a variety of missional efforts. We care for the small patch of creation for which we’ve been made stewards. So, among other efforts, we are reforesting part of the land God has loaned to us. We care for kids in the Perkasie neighborhoods. So, alongside other activities, we offer a number of games that invite conversations about God’s amazing grace. We care for the children who attend our church. So, alongside other relationships, we offer Sunday School classes, a mentoring program, Kid’s Club, JMYF, and MYF, to provide ways for our children and youth to hear the Biblical story of good news that God, through Jesus, seeks to restore us together as the church to a life of wholeness and integrity, empowered with nonviolent purposes to love and serve. At the heart of all this activity, effort, and relationship-building is not so much our goodwill as it is the Spirit of Jesus empowering us to trust God. If the church and its mission is a project left solely up to us, it will fail. If we are able to trust the God who loves us completely and empowers us by means of the Spirit, then the gates of hell cannot prevail against God’s work in us, through us, and with us.
Sisters and brothers, may we be a church that relies of the Word of God for a resilient life. May we be a church that seeks to follow the peaceful practices of the Spirit of Jesus. May we be a church that cares deeply and challenges directly. And, may we be a church that holds fast to our ancient and modern confessions faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again…
Pastor Jeff
I’ll be at A&N Diner at 7:30am, on Monday, October 16, and I’ll be at the Broad Street Grind on Friday, October 20, at 3:30pm. My purpose is to listen to whatever is on your mind. If those times don’t work for you, then call me, text me, or email me with some times that might work for you. I’ll do my best to accommodate to your availability.