#mennonite — Public Fediverse posts

It’s in the Blood

In 1539, a fugitive former-priest-turned-Anabaptist, in his seminal work “The Foundation,” penned the following words:

“Christ is our fortress; patience our weapon of defense; the Word of God our sword. …Iron and metal spears and swords we leave to those who, alas, regard human blood and swine’s blood of well-nigh equal value.”

So said Menno Simons, principal leader of the Protestant sect which then became known as the Mennonites.

More than 500 years later, his words still resound with a mighty truth.

At the risk of sounding morbid, it has to do with blood.

While Menno specifically refers to the difference between human blood and that of an animal, his larger point is the “value” we place on the blood of another.

My point is quite simple.

Killing will not end through education, conflict resolution, or disarmament, though all of these are important and can help. Killing will end only when there is a fundamental shift in the mind and heart of those who kill.

For how can you kill someone if you believe that their blood is just as valuable as your own?

Let’s call it – for lack of a better term – bloodism.

The other – their humanity, life, blood – is somehow less than I, and therefore, their humanity, life, blood, is not as valuable as my own. It becomes quite easy then to justify killing the other, ie. spilling his/her blood.

The directors of death throughout history from every nation, tribe and religion have understood and disseminated this concept quite well. A person (and those like him/her) is described as having the wrong beliefs, the wrong skin color, the wrong gender, the wrong age, the wrong station in life, the wrong land, the wrong possessions, the wrong clothing, the wrong language —- the wrong blood. These others are not as valued as you are, the leaders of the macabre scream, though they couch their speech in terms such as vigilance, freedom, history, security, and truth.

Then the killing begins.

The Nazis did it to the Jews. Israelis do it to the Palestinians. Hutus did it to the Tutsis. Shiite do it to the Sunni. Palestinians do it to the Israelis. Sunni do it to the Shiite. Muslims do it to the Christians. Christians do it to the Muslims. This country does it to that country. That neighborhood does it to this neighborhood. This race does it to that race. That religion does it to this religion.

And any one of a million other combinations.

STOP!

Do not allow your mind and heart to be filled with bloodism.

We are made in the image of God.

ALL of us.

And that divine DNA resides in the very marrow of our bones and flows through our veins.

It’s in the blood.

July 28, 2014

It’s in the Blood

In 1539, a fugitive former-priest-turned-Anabaptist, in his seminal work “The Foundation,” penned the following words:

“Christ is our fortress; patience our weapon of defense; the Word of God our sword. …Iron and metal spears and swords we leave to those who, alas, regard human blood and swine’s blood of well-nigh equal value.”

So said Menno Simons, principal leader of the Protestant sect which then became known as the Mennonites.

More than 500 years later, his words still resound with a mighty truth.

At the risk of sounding morbid, it has to do with blood.

While Menno specifically refers to the difference between human blood and that of an animal, his larger point is the “value” we place on the blood of another.

My point is quite simple.

Killing will not end through education, conflict resolution, or disarmament, though all of these are important and can help. Killing will end only when there is a fundamental shift in the mind and heart of those who kill.

For how can you kill someone if you believe that their blood is just as valuable as your own?

Let’s call it – for lack of a better term – bloodism.

The other – their humanity, life, blood – is somehow less than I, and therefore, their humanity, life, blood, is not as valuable as my own. It becomes quite easy then to justify killing the other, ie. spilling his/her blood.

The directors of death throughout history from every nation, tribe and religion have understood and disseminated this concept quite well. A person (and those like him/her) is described as having the wrong beliefs, the wrong skin color, the wrong gender, the wrong age, the wrong station in life, the wrong land, the wrong possessions, the wrong clothing, the wrong language —- the wrong blood. These others are not as valued as you are, the leaders of the macabre scream, though they couch their speech in terms such as vigilance, freedom, history, security, and truth.

Then the killing begins.

The Nazis did it to the Jews. Israelis do it to the Palestinians. Hutus did it to the Tutsis. Shiite do it to the Sunni. Palestinians do it to the Israelis. Sunni do it to the Shiite. Muslims do it to the Christians. Christians do it to the Muslims. This country does it to that country. That neighborhood does it to this neighborhood. This race does it to that race. That religion does it to this religion.

And any one of a million other combinations.

STOP!

Do not allow your mind and heart to be filled with bloodism.

We are made in the image of God.

ALL of us.

And that divine DNA resides in the very marrow of our bones and flows through our veins.

It’s in the blood.

July 28, 2014

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rolkuchen and watermelon night! 🍉
#home #ukrainian #mennonite #food

rolkuchen and watermelon night! 🍉
#home #ukrainian #mennonite #food

Very happy to share the first issue of my new monthly newsletter for friends and supporters

This issue includes:

- My writing in the month of June on a variety of topcs (my 50th birthday, LGBTQ inclusion, Torah study, AI in the practice of law, and my complicated feelings about #USA250)

- Some pictures from the month of June

https://jmbzine.com/PDF/JMBzine-newsletter-202607.pdf

#MilitaryLaw #LGBTQ #Torah #HumanisticJudaism #Mennonite #USA250

Very happy to share the first issue of my new monthly newsletter for friends and supporters

This issue includes:

- My writing in the month of June on a variety of topcs (my 50th birthday, LGBTQ inclusion, Torah study, AI in the practice of law, and my complicated feelings about #USA250)

- Some pictures from the month of June

https://jmbzine.com/PDF/JMBzine-newsletter-202607.pdf

#MilitaryLaw #LGBTQ #Torah #HumanisticJudaism #Mennonite #USA250

I've written a blog post entitled "Why I (a Bicentennial baby) have complicated feelings about patriotism, the flag, and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence"

Here are the opening paragraphs:

I decide to write this blog post partly as a message to my future self (so I can remember what this moment was like), but also because I know others are feeling this tension, but might be nervous to express how they are feeling.

I was born in June 1976, only a month before the US Bicentennial, so I was brought up in a patriotic world. And I grew up in Oklahoma, in a context that was saturated in patriotic ideology. But today at age 50, I sadly see things very differently and in some ways I’m grieving this change.

I think it is time to unpack why I’m feeling grief at this moment. . .

https://jmb.mx/blog/2026/06/30/why-i-a-bicentennial-baby-have-complicated-feelings-about-patriotism-the-flag-and-the-250th-anniversary-of-the-declaration-of-independence/

#USA250 #Teshuvah #Patriotism #Mennonite #Judaism #Nationalism #USA

I've written a blog post entitled "Why I (a Bicentennial baby) have complicated feelings about patriotism, the flag, and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence"

Here are the opening paragraphs:

I decide to write this blog post partly as a message to my future self (so I can remember what this moment was like), but also because I know others are feeling this tension, but might be nervous to express how they are feeling.

I was born in June 1976, only a month before the US Bicentennial, so I was brought up in a patriotic world. And I grew up in Oklahoma, in a context that was saturated in patriotic ideology. But today at age 50, I sadly see things very differently and in some ways I’m grieving this change.

I think it is time to unpack why I’m feeling grief at this moment. . .

https://jmb.mx/blog/2026/06/30/why-i-a-bicentennial-baby-have-complicated-feelings-about-patriotism-the-flag-and-the-250th-anniversary-of-the-declaration-of-independence/

#USA250 #Teshuvah #Patriotism #Mennonite #Judaism #Nationalism #USA

https://anabaptistworld.org/new-trial-results-in-death-sentences-for-murders-of-un-investigators/

I knew Michael from his days working with the GI Rights Hotline-affiliated group in Germany.

While I'm glad that his murderers were brought to justice, I mourn the fact that they are likely going to be executed, which is not somthing that Michael ever would have wanted --- which is what his #Mennonite family has said as well.

#Congo #DeathPenalty

https://anabaptistworld.org/new-trial-results-in-death-sentences-for-murders-of-un-investigators/

I knew Michael from his days working with the GI Rights Hotline-affiliated group in Germany.

While I'm glad that his murderers were brought to justice, I mourn the fact that they are likely going to be executed, which is not somthing that Michael ever would have wanted --- which is what his #Mennonite family has said as well.

#Congo #DeathPenalty

https://jmb.mx/blog/2026/06/09/three-benefits-that-come-when-a-religious-community-becomes-an-open-and-affirming-congregation-to-lgbtq-queer-people/

Sharing this transcript (and audio) of my message at Joy Mennonite Church (of #OKC) from this last Sunday.

But if you don't have time to read the whole thing, here are three benefits I mention:

1. LGBTQ affirming communities can gain the gifts, talents, and creativity of Queer folks who have been turned away elsewhere.

2. LGBTQ affirming communities benefit from having a queer perspective on their tradition.

3. LGBTQ affirming congregations benefit from the struggle itself.

P.S. Also, I have to mention to my friends at #JudaismUnbound that I discussed the concept I first heard on the podcast about "queering Torah" and why we need to think about what else needs to be queered.

#PrideMonth #LGBTQ #Mennonite #Oklahoma

https://jmb.mx/blog/2026/06/09/three-benefits-that-come-when-a-religious-community-becomes-an-open-and-affirming-congregation-to-lgbtq-queer-people/

Sharing this transcript (and audio) of my message at Joy Mennonite Church (of #OKC) from this last Sunday.

But if you don't have time to read the whole thing, here are three benefits I mention:

1. LGBTQ affirming communities can gain the gifts, talents, and creativity of Queer folks who have been turned away elsewhere.

2. LGBTQ affirming communities benefit from having a queer perspective on their tradition.

3. LGBTQ affirming congregations benefit from the struggle itself.

P.S. Also, I have to mention to my friends at #JudaismUnbound that I discussed the concept I first heard on the podcast about "queering Torah" and why we need to think about what else needs to be queered.

#PrideMonth #LGBTQ #Mennonite #Oklahoma

Visual Art Interpretation – My Hopes and Dreams for the Next Year

This feels less like a list of resolutions than a marquee-map of my identity and desire: a radiant, hand-made 2027 filled not so much with tasks to accomplish as with the people, callings, loves, and practices that make my life feel alive.

The bright red border and repeated golden lights give it the appearance of a theater sign, a carnival ride, or an illuminated road. It seems to announce the year joyfully: Here is what I hope will shine. But inside that celebratory outline, the words do not sit neatly in straight lines. They curve, turn, reverse, overlap, and require the eye to travel. That seems important. My hopes are not separate boxes. Pastor, husband, author, musician, PeaceGrooves creator, friend, artist, woodworker, child of God—all of these identities wind through and around one another.

The words I placed inside the year—Sing, Play, Memories, God, Laugh, Journey, Pastor, Author, Husband, PeaceGrooves, Friends, Art, Church, Love, Woodcraft—are striking to me because so many of them are relational or creative. Even the roles are not primarily about achievement. Author is near Husband. Pastor winds along the same road as Journey. PeaceGrooves circles alongside Friends, Church, Love, and creativity. I did not imagine the coming year as productivity alone. I imagined it as belonging, expression, vocation, joy, and connection.

The Word I Did Not Write

After finishing the piece, I realized that I did not write health or healing anywhere inside it. Those things matter deeply to me, especially in light of some of the physical concerns and uncertainties I have been carrying. And yet, perhaps their absence does not mean they were forgotten. Perhaps I instinctively wrote the life I hope healing will allow me to continue inhabiting.

I did not write healing, but I wrote Sing-Play: the hope that my body and spirit can still release themselves into music.

I wrote Laugh: the hope for lightness, delight, and joy.

I wrote Journey: the hope that I can continue moving forward.

I wrote Husband and Friends: the hope of remaining present in love and relationship rather than retreating into worry or isolation.

I wrote Pastor and Church: the hope that I can continue serving meaningfully among people.

I wrote Art, Author, Woodcraft, and PeaceGrooves: the hope that creativity will continue flowing through me rather than being swallowed up by discouragement, exhaustion, or fear.

Perhaps healing is everywhere in this drawing without having been named. It is hidden beneath almost every word: Let me be well enough, free enough, encouraged enough, and alive enough to keep inhabiting these loves.

But perhaps the omission also tells me something tender and difficult about myself. When I think about the future, I often think first about what I can give, create, serve, love, and build. I may not always think first about what I need. This picture invites me to remember that somewhere in the glowing year ahead, there must also be room for my own care. I am not only the husband, pastor, artist, author, musician, friend, and creator. I am also a person who needs healing, rest, gentleness, and grace.

The Smear Between Author and Husband

One of the small accidents in the piece occurred in the space between Author and Husband. Water smeared the color there, and I had to cover it as best I could. I was mostly able to hide the mistake, though I know it happened. I know that beneath the finished surface there is a place where the colors once ran together in a way I did not intend.

That accidental smear now feels strangely meaningful. Author and Husband are two of my most intimate identities: the part of me that creates worlds and gives language to inner experience, and the part of me that shares an actual life in love and covenant with another person. Perhaps those two identities were never meant to be sharply separated. My writing rises from my lived relationships, from tenderness, memory, fear, faith, longing, disappointment, and love. And my creative life inevitably spills into the life I share with my wife.

The water touched the border between those words, and I tried to repair it. That is not a failure of the picture. It may be one of the most honest parts of it. Life does not remain perfectly inside the lines. The roles I care most about do not remain untouched by mess, vulnerability, or accident. Sometimes the colors run together. Sometimes I try to cover what went wrong. Sometimes a trace remains, visible mostly to me.

Yet I did not throw the picture away. I continued working on it. I allowed the imperfection to become part of the finished whole.

Perhaps that is an image of grace. A life of grace is not a life where nothing ever gets smeared. It is a life in which even the smeared places can be incorporated into the beauty.

Church: Almost Illegible

I also noticed that Church almost looks like “Churgh.” It is there, but it is not the clearest or most immediately readable word. That, too, feels symbolic.

Church is deeply present in my hopes for the coming year. It is part of who I am, part of my calling, part of my relationship with God and with community. But church is not always simple or perfectly clear. It can be difficult to read. It can be beautiful and messy, life-giving and exhausting, sacred and profoundly human all at once.

In this picture, church does not appear by itself in a clean, isolated space. It is crowded into a circling path alongside other words: Love, Friends, Art, perhaps even the movements of creativity and ministry surrounding it. That seems truthful. For me, church is not separate from love, friendship, art, imagination, service, or reconciliation. It is entangled with them.

The fact that the word is only almost clear may express something I feel: church is something I continue to believe in and belong to, while also still trying to see clearly. It is present. It matters. It is part of the year I hope to live. But it is not polished or uncomplicated.

Perhaps that is what makes it real.

The Shape of the Year

The large number itself is not simply filled in. It becomes a winding course. The words curve around turns and corners; some appear upright from one angle and upside down from another. To read the whole image, I almost have to rotate it, follow it, and let my eyes travel through it.

That feels like an honest representation of the year ahead. I do not know exactly how it will unfold. My hopes do not form a straight road or a neatly numbered plan. They form a brightly lit labyrinth. Something that appears upside down from one position may look different once I travel farther along the curve. Something that seems peripheral now may become central. Something disappointing may redirect me toward an unexpected opening.

This drawing does not say, Here is my plan to master the next year.

It says, Here is the glowing path I hope to inhabit.

That is truer to my life. Music feeds ministry. Woodcraft feeds contemplation. Writing feeds faith. PeaceGrooves gathers together my imagination, my longing for peace, my love of play, and my desire to offer something meaningful to others. Marriage and friendship keep my creative life from becoming merely solitary. Church places my personal dreams within a larger body. God is not outside all these things, looking down upon them from a distance, but present among them.

My life is not a ladder climbing toward a single success. It is a winding, illuminated journey through many loves.

The Lights Around the Border

The repeated yellow bulbs around the border give the piece a vintage, celebratory feeling. They make the year look like something being announced: a show beginning, a stage opening, a bright invitation to enter.

There is something almost exuberant about it. I did not draw a quiet little calendar page or a restrained list of intentions. I drew the year as a spectacle of hope. These dreams are not small to me. They are worthy of light. Music, laughter, love, friendship, art, faith, craft, writing, church, PeaceGrooves—these are not hobbies or decorative extras around the edge of life. They are among the things that make life worth living.

And yet the lights are not machine-perfect. They are hand-drawn. Each one is slightly different. Some are rounder, some rougher, some more irregular. That matters too. The brightness of this coming year is not a slick commercial promise that everything will be perfect. It is the brightness I have carefully drawn around my hopes with my own imperfect hand.

Most moving of all, the lights continue around the bends. They do not shine only along the smooth or impressive stretches. They follow the narrow turns, the dips, the places where the shape curls inward. The light does not abandon the complicated places.

What This Picture Says to Me

This is a picture of my hope not merely to survive another year, but to remain fully myself within it.

I want to sing and play.

I want to laugh.

I want to remember.

I want to journey.

I want to love and be loved.

I want to remain a husband, a pastor, an author, an artist, a craftsman, a musician, a friend, and a dreamer.

I want PeaceGrooves not merely to exist as a project, but to become an expression of something deep within me: my longing to imagine, create, and make peace.

I want God not as an abstract religious idea floating somewhere outside my life, but as a living presence woven among music, love, creativity, friendship, church, memory, laughter, and journey.

And perhaps beneath the entire picture is the word I did not write: wholeness.

Wholeness includes health. It includes healing. But it is larger than both. It is the hope that all these different names for myself will not compete with one another, break apart, or fade away, but somehow curve together into a single radiant life.

The smear between Author and Husband, the almost-illegible Church, the reversed words, the crowded pathways, the uneven bulbs, and the wandering design do not lessen the picture. They make it more truthful.

My hopes for the next year are not cleanly arranged or perfectly protected from mistakes. They are handmade. They are entangled. They are vulnerable. They are colorful. They are imperfect.

And they are still shining.

Visual Art Interpretation – My Hopes and Dreams for the Next Year

This feels less like a list of resolutions than a marquee-map of my identity and desire: a radiant, hand-made 2027 filled not so much with tasks to accomplish as with the people, callings, loves, and practices that make my life feel alive.

The bright red border and repeated golden lights give it the appearance of a theater sign, a carnival ride, or an illuminated road. It seems to announce the year joyfully: Here is what I hope will shine. But inside that celebratory outline, the words do not sit neatly in straight lines. They curve, turn, reverse, overlap, and require the eye to travel. That seems important. My hopes are not separate boxes. Pastor, husband, author, musician, PeaceGrooves creator, friend, artist, woodworker, child of God—all of these identities wind through and around one another.

The words I placed inside the year—Sing, Play, Memories, God, Laugh, Journey, Pastor, Author, Husband, PeaceGrooves, Friends, Art, Church, Love, Woodcraft—are striking to me because so many of them are relational or creative. Even the roles are not primarily about achievement. Author is near Husband. Pastor winds along the same road as Journey. PeaceGrooves circles alongside Friends, Church, Love, and creativity. I did not imagine the coming year as productivity alone. I imagined it as belonging, expression, vocation, joy, and connection.

The Word I Did Not Write

After finishing the piece, I realized that I did not write health or healing anywhere inside it. Those things matter deeply to me, especially in light of some of the physical concerns and uncertainties I have been carrying. And yet, perhaps their absence does not mean they were forgotten. Perhaps I instinctively wrote the life I hope healing will allow me to continue inhabiting.

I did not write healing, but I wrote Sing-Play: the hope that my body and spirit can still release themselves into music.

I wrote Laugh: the hope for lightness, delight, and joy.

I wrote Journey: the hope that I can continue moving forward.

I wrote Husband and Friends: the hope of remaining present in love and relationship rather than retreating into worry or isolation.

I wrote Pastor and Church: the hope that I can continue serving meaningfully among people.

I wrote Art, Author, Woodcraft, and PeaceGrooves: the hope that creativity will continue flowing through me rather than being swallowed up by discouragement, exhaustion, or fear.

Perhaps healing is everywhere in this drawing without having been named. It is hidden beneath almost every word: Let me be well enough, free enough, encouraged enough, and alive enough to keep inhabiting these loves.

But perhaps the omission also tells me something tender and difficult about myself. When I think about the future, I often think first about what I can give, create, serve, love, and build. I may not always think first about what I need. This picture invites me to remember that somewhere in the glowing year ahead, there must also be room for my own care. I am not only the husband, pastor, artist, author, musician, friend, and creator. I am also a person who needs healing, rest, gentleness, and grace.

The Smear Between Author and Husband

One of the small accidents in the piece occurred in the space between Author and Husband. Water smeared the color there, and I had to cover it as best I could. I was mostly able to hide the mistake, though I know it happened. I know that beneath the finished surface there is a place where the colors once ran together in a way I did not intend.

That accidental smear now feels strangely meaningful. Author and Husband are two of my most intimate identities: the part of me that creates worlds and gives language to inner experience, and the part of me that shares an actual life in love and covenant with another person. Perhaps those two identities were never meant to be sharply separated. My writing rises from my lived relationships, from tenderness, memory, fear, faith, longing, disappointment, and love. And my creative life inevitably spills into the life I share with my wife.

The water touched the border between those words, and I tried to repair it. That is not a failure of the picture. It may be one of the most honest parts of it. Life does not remain perfectly inside the lines. The roles I care most about do not remain untouched by mess, vulnerability, or accident. Sometimes the colors run together. Sometimes I try to cover what went wrong. Sometimes a trace remains, visible mostly to me.

Yet I did not throw the picture away. I continued working on it. I allowed the imperfection to become part of the finished whole.

Perhaps that is an image of grace. A life of grace is not a life where nothing ever gets smeared. It is a life in which even the smeared places can be incorporated into the beauty.

Church: Almost Illegible

I also noticed that Church almost looks like “Churgh.” It is there, but it is not the clearest or most immediately readable word. That, too, feels symbolic.

Church is deeply present in my hopes for the coming year. It is part of who I am, part of my calling, part of my relationship with God and with community. But church is not always simple or perfectly clear. It can be difficult to read. It can be beautiful and messy, life-giving and exhausting, sacred and profoundly human all at once.

In this picture, church does not appear by itself in a clean, isolated space. It is crowded into a circling path alongside other words: Love, Friends, Art, perhaps even the movements of creativity and ministry surrounding it. That seems truthful. For me, church is not separate from love, friendship, art, imagination, service, or reconciliation. It is entangled with them.

The fact that the word is only almost clear may express something I feel: church is something I continue to believe in and belong to, while also still trying to see clearly. It is present. It matters. It is part of the year I hope to live. But it is not polished or uncomplicated.

Perhaps that is what makes it real.

The Shape of the Year

The large number itself is not simply filled in. It becomes a winding course. The words curve around turns and corners; some appear upright from one angle and upside down from another. To read the whole image, I almost have to rotate it, follow it, and let my eyes travel through it.

That feels like an honest representation of the year ahead. I do not know exactly how it will unfold. My hopes do not form a straight road or a neatly numbered plan. They form a brightly lit labyrinth. Something that appears upside down from one position may look different once I travel farther along the curve. Something that seems peripheral now may become central. Something disappointing may redirect me toward an unexpected opening.

This drawing does not say, Here is my plan to master the next year.

It says, Here is the glowing path I hope to inhabit.

That is truer to my life. Music feeds ministry. Woodcraft feeds contemplation. Writing feeds faith. PeaceGrooves gathers together my imagination, my longing for peace, my love of play, and my desire to offer something meaningful to others. Marriage and friendship keep my creative life from becoming merely solitary. Church places my personal dreams within a larger body. God is not outside all these things, looking down upon them from a distance, but present among them.

My life is not a ladder climbing toward a single success. It is a winding, illuminated journey through many loves.

The Lights Around the Border

The repeated yellow bulbs around the border give the piece a vintage, celebratory feeling. They make the year look like something being announced: a show beginning, a stage opening, a bright invitation to enter.

There is something almost exuberant about it. I did not draw a quiet little calendar page or a restrained list of intentions. I drew the year as a spectacle of hope. These dreams are not small to me. They are worthy of light. Music, laughter, love, friendship, art, faith, craft, writing, church, PeaceGrooves—these are not hobbies or decorative extras around the edge of life. They are among the things that make life worth living.

And yet the lights are not machine-perfect. They are hand-drawn. Each one is slightly different. Some are rounder, some rougher, some more irregular. That matters too. The brightness of this coming year is not a slick commercial promise that everything will be perfect. It is the brightness I have carefully drawn around my hopes with my own imperfect hand.

Most moving of all, the lights continue around the bends. They do not shine only along the smooth or impressive stretches. They follow the narrow turns, the dips, the places where the shape curls inward. The light does not abandon the complicated places.

What This Picture Says to Me

This is a picture of my hope not merely to survive another year, but to remain fully myself within it.

I want to sing and play.

I want to laugh.

I want to remember.

I want to journey.

I want to love and be loved.

I want to remain a husband, a pastor, an author, an artist, a craftsman, a musician, a friend, and a dreamer.

I want PeaceGrooves not merely to exist as a project, but to become an expression of something deep within me: my longing to imagine, create, and make peace.

I want God not as an abstract religious idea floating somewhere outside my life, but as a living presence woven among music, love, creativity, friendship, church, memory, laughter, and journey.

And perhaps beneath the entire picture is the word I did not write: wholeness.

Wholeness includes health. It includes healing. But it is larger than both. It is the hope that all these different names for myself will not compete with one another, break apart, or fade away, but somehow curve together into a single radiant life.

The smear between Author and Husband, the almost-illegible Church, the reversed words, the crowded pathways, the uneven bulbs, and the wandering design do not lessen the picture. They make it more truthful.

My hopes for the next year are not cleanly arranged or perfectly protected from mistakes. They are handmade. They are entangled. They are vulnerable. They are colorful. They are imperfect.

And they are still shining.

#MENNONITE #CHURCH #USA multi-search-tag-explorer.allgraph.ro/advanced-sea... #OLD #BELIEVERS www.perplexity.ai/search/new?q... #MUGEN #GAME #ENGINE search.brave.com/ask?q=Analyz... www.paypal.com/donate?busin... aePiot: Connecting the present to Web 4.0 for unmatched SEO dominance.

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A happy birthday to my Grandpa Henry Neufeld. Born this day in 1922 at present day, Hrushivka, Zhaporihzia,(Russia-occupied) Ukraine.

Here he is beside my Grandmother on their wedding day in 1943.

Oh cool! You know... Google maps is incredible. I was just looking at the location of the old Mennonite village on Google Earth and up popped a landmark pin and photo just down the lane from his birthplace. It is named:

"Staryy Holandsʹkyy Mlyn - Historical landmark
Unnamed Road
Hrushivka
Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine
71775”

Which translates as “Old Dutch Mill”... which would jive with Mennonite history!! I wonder if my Grandpa was ever in that mill, likely not as he was only 2 or 3 when they left for Canada but surely his parents and siblings were.

I wonder if it has survived the war? Another war…

#Ukraine #Mennonite #Family #FamilyHistory #Ancestry #RussiaUkraineWar

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Staryy+Holands%CA%B9kyy+Mlyn/@47.0467057,35.8238797,2894m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x40dd59849c53559f:0xeef602c02324c544!8m2!3d47.0467057!4d35.8238797!16s%252Fg%252F11n7s87khs?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDQxMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

A happy birthday to my Grandpa Henry Neufeld. Born this day in 1922 at present day, Hrushivka, Zhaporihzia,(Russia-occupied) Ukraine.

Here he is beside my Grandmother on their wedding day in 1943.

Oh cool! You know... Google maps is incredible. I was just looking at the location of the old Mennonite village on Google Earth and up popped a landmark pin and photo just down the lane from his birthplace. It is named:

"Staryy Holandsʹkyy Mlyn - Historical landmark
Unnamed Road
Hrushivka
Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine
71775”

Which translates as “Old Dutch Mill”... which would jive with Mennonite history!! I wonder if my Grandpa was ever in that mill, likely not as he was only 2 or 3 when they left for Canada but surely his parents and siblings were.

I wonder if it has survived the war? Another war…

#Ukraine #Mennonite #Family #FamilyHistory #Ancestry #RussiaUkraineWar

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Staryy+Holands%CA%B9kyy+Mlyn/@47.0467057,35.8238797,2894m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x40dd59849c53559f:0xeef602c02324c544!8m2!3d47.0467057!4d35.8238797!16s%252Fg%252F11n7s87khs?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDQxMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Disturbing #documentary on #sexualabuse in the #Mennonite + #Amish communities.

Showing as part of #IndependentLense on PBS

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35393499/reference/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

PLANNING AN EPIC RAIL TRIP/SPEAKING TOUR

I was able to snag a half-price #Amtrak railpass on a special, so I'm planning some cross-country travel, but I also would love to take advantage of this opportunity to get to do some speaking in different communities while traveling.

The cities I'll be at (and would have time to speak in) are: Seattle, Portland, SF Bay area, and Denver.

The topics I can present on would include:

1. #DraftCounseling - Why local groups need to start getting ready to help people who may face military conscription under the Trump administration?

2. The issue of #IllegalOrders under US #MilitaryLaw as well as #InternationalLaw

3. #Indigenous Draft Resistance - stories and reflections from the history of resistance by Indigenous Americans to being drafted

4. The joys of engaging in MRP (multi-religious practice) --- I'm a Humanistic Jew who is also an active member of a progressive #Mennonite church.

5. Something else? - I'm open to other topics related to military law, #HumanisticJudaism, and the progressive Mennonite tradition.

As far as cost goes, I'm asking for local groups who can afford it to either: (1) find me a place to a stay, ideally a private bedroom that I can get to by mass transit from the Amtrak station, or (2) pay me an honorarium of at least $100.

I'm firming up my travel plans, but it looks like the cities and dates that I would be available for speaking engagements would be:

#Seattle, WA
Wed, April 29 (evening)
Thu, April 30 (all day)
#Portland, OR
Fri, May 1 (evening)
#SF Bay Area
Sunday, May 3 (all day)
Monday, May 4 (all day)
#Denver
Tuesday, May 6 (late evening, if train is on time)
Wed, May 7 - morning or lunch

If you know any groups who want me to speak for them and/or have other ideas, please me a message or email me at girightslawyer at gmail dot com.

Thanks!

PLANNING AN EPIC RAIL TRIP/SPEAKING TOUR

I was able to snag a half-price #Amtrak railpass on a special, so I'm planning some cross-country travel, but I also would love to take advantage of this opportunity to get to do some speaking in different communities while traveling.

The cities I'll be at (and would have time to speak in) are: Seattle, Portland, SF Bay area, and Denver.

The topics I can present on would include:

1. #DraftCounseling - Why local groups need to start getting ready to help people who may face military conscription under the Trump administration?

2. The issue of #IllegalOrders under US #MilitaryLaw as well as #InternationalLaw

3. #Indigenous Draft Resistance - stories and reflections from the history of resistance by Indigenous Americans to being drafted

4. The joys of engaging in MRP (multi-religious practice) --- I'm a Humanistic Jew who is also an active member of a progressive #Mennonite church.

5. Something else? - I'm open to other topics related to military law, #HumanisticJudaism, and the progressive Mennonite tradition.

As far as cost goes, I'm asking for local groups who can afford it to either: (1) find me a place to a stay, ideally a private bedroom that I can get to by mass transit from the Amtrak station, or (2) pay me an honorarium of at least $100.

I'm firming up my travel plans, but it looks like the cities and dates that I would be available for speaking engagements would be:

#Seattle, WA
Wed, April 29 (evening)
Thu, April 30 (all day)
#Portland, OR
Fri, May 1 (evening)
#SF Bay Area
Sunday, May 3 (all day)
Monday, May 4 (all day)
#Denver
Tuesday, May 6 (late evening, if train is on time)
Wed, May 7 - morning or lunch

If you know any groups who want me to speak for them and/or have other ideas, please me a message or email me at girightslawyer at gmail dot com.

Thanks!

Just a last minute reminder that our Draft Counseling 201 class starts at 1 pm central.

Here is the zoom link if you have not had a chance to register: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/-jYOUaW4QUWfaNujQ-fk1w

And to learn more about the training series, please visit: DraftCounseling.org

#MilitaryDraft #MilitaryConscription #Draft #USA #War #Peace #ConscientiousObjection #Mennonite

Just a last minute reminder that our Draft Counseling 201 class starts at 1 pm central.

Here is the zoom link if you have not had a chance to register: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/-jYOUaW4QUWfaNujQ-fk1w

And to learn more about the training series, please visit: DraftCounseling.org

#MilitaryDraft #MilitaryConscription #Draft #USA #War #Peace #ConscientiousObjection #Mennonite

https://jmb.mx/blog/2026/03/02/looking-for-james-mast/

I’m making this post because I don’t what else to do.

I’m looking for James Mast, a son of Moses Mast (my dear friend and mentor who recently passed away). If you are James or you know how to get in touch with him, please contact me (jmb.mx/contact) , as I want to make sure James can attend the memorial service (even if it has to be remote) but also for some other important issues.

FYI, James was last known to be in Cornwall, Ontario (see https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sixties-scoop-immigration-1.7541323 ) , but I haven’t had any luck tracking him down.

#Canada #Cree #Metis #Oklahoma #Ontario #SixtiesScoop #Indigenous #Mennonite

https://jmb.mx/blog/2026/03/02/looking-for-james-mast/

I’m making this post because I don’t what else to do.

I’m looking for James Mast, a son of Moses Mast (my dear friend and mentor who recently passed away). If you are James or you know how to get in touch with him, please contact me (jmb.mx/contact) , as I want to make sure James can attend the memorial service (even if it has to be remote) but also for some other important issues.

FYI, James was last known to be in Cornwall, Ontario (see https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sixties-scoop-immigration-1.7541323 ) , but I haven’t had any luck tracking him down.

#Canada #Cree #Metis #Oklahoma #Ontario #SixtiesScoop #Indigenous #Mennonite

https://anabaptistworld.org/queen-vashti-says-no/

If you are like me and looking for an alternative way to engage with the #Jewish holiday of #Purim this year, I strongly recommend this bit of midrash (which lets us see into the mind of #QueenVashti before she bravely said no to the king) written by a professor at Eastern #Mennonite University.

Also, on a side note, I'm really happy with the number of recent articles in Anabaptist World magazine that have brought Jewish thinking and ways of engagement (such as midrash) to its pages. It obviously fits into my own bi-religious orientation, but I also think there is fertile ground for some new epiphanies when we consider concepts from different theological/philosophical perspectives.

#Mazeldon #MRP #MultiReligiousPractice

https://anabaptistworld.org/queen-vashti-says-no/

If you are like me and looking for an alternative way to engage with the #Jewish holiday of #Purim this year, I strongly recommend this bit of midrash (which lets us see into the mind of #QueenVashti before she bravely said no to the king) written by a professor at Eastern #Mennonite University.

Also, on a side note, I'm really happy with the number of recent articles in Anabaptist World magazine that have brought Jewish thinking and ways of engagement (such as midrash) to its pages. It obviously fits into my own bi-religious orientation, but I also think there is fertile ground for some new epiphanies when we consider concepts from different theological/philosophical perspectives.

#Mazeldon #MRP #MultiReligiousPractice

https://youtu.be/_d1fPu9Wq0M

A message about the upcoming #DraftCounseling101 training that is happening on Sunday, February 8th, 1-3 pm Central at Joy Mennonite Church in #OKC and online.

#Draft
#Conscription
#MilitaryConscription #ConscientiousObjection
#MilitaryLaw
#Mennonite #Peace #Oklahoma

https://youtu.be/_d1fPu9Wq0M

A message about the upcoming #DraftCounseling101 training that is happening on Sunday, February 8th, 1-3 pm Central at Joy Mennonite Church in #OKC and online.

#Draft
#Conscription
#MilitaryConscription #ConscientiousObjection
#MilitaryLaw
#Mennonite #Peace #Oklahoma

I imagine the reason he felt he could welcome people from faraway places so easily was because he was one of those people... and faced persecution because of it in his childhood. A reminder that people are good. #Friendship #welcome #mennonite

I imagine the reason he felt he could welcome people from faraway places so easily was because he was one of those people... and faced persecution because of it in his childhood. A reminder that people are good. #Friendship #welcome #mennonite

A nice obituary from December 31, 2024 about my Great Uncle Herman Neufeld (my mom's Uncle).

I never really knew him as I grew up 4000km away... but he had a positive impact on people, especially Jamaican workers, in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

"Herman, who died Dec. 31, became very involved in the Niagara Workers Welcome services and other outreach programs. He considered the farmworkers his friends and neighbours, and treated them as such."
#Friendship #welcome #mennonite
https://www.notllocal.com/local-news/remembering-herman-neufeld-10060084

A nice obituary from December 31, 2024 about my Great Uncle Herman Neufeld (my mom's Uncle).

I never really knew him as I grew up 4000km away... but he had a positive impact on people, especially Jamaican workers, in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

"Herman, who died Dec. 31, became very involved in the Niagara Workers Welcome services and other outreach programs. He considered the farmworkers his friends and neighbours, and treated them as such."
#Friendship #welcome #mennonite
https://www.notllocal.com/local-news/remembering-herman-neufeld-10060084

https://anabaptistworld.org/u-s-defense-bill-calls-for-automatic-draft-registration/

#Conscription #Draft #SelectiveService #Mennonite #Anabaptist #Peace #ConscientiousObjection

Tagging: @MilitaryLawTaskForce @ehasbrouck

https://anabaptistworld.org/u-s-defense-bill-calls-for-automatic-draft-registration/

#Conscription #Draft #SelectiveService #Mennonite #Anabaptist #Peace #ConscientiousObjection

Tagging: @MilitaryLawTaskForce @ehasbrouck

Hype for the Future 40C: Southeastern Pennsylvania

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2025/12/10/hype-for-the-future-40c-southeastern-pennsylvania/

Hype for the Future 40C: Southeastern Pennsylvania

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2025/12/10/hype-for-the-future-40c-southeastern-pennsylvania/

Hype for the Future 39E: Amish and Mennonite Communities

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2025/12/09/hype-for-the-future-39e-amish-and-mennonite-communities/

Hype for the Future 39E: Amish and Mennonite Communities

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2025/12/09/hype-for-the-future-39e-amish-and-mennonite-communities/

https://anabaptistworld.org/whistles-a-nonviolent-way-to-resist/

#Mennonite #Anabaptist #ResistFascism #Fascism #Whistles #Ice

https://anabaptistworld.org/whistles-a-nonviolent-way-to-resist/

#Mennonite #Anabaptist #ResistFascism #Fascism #Whistles #Ice

Trudno mi znaleźć jakieś obszerniejsze informacje o zabobonach i wierzeniach ludowych Olędrów. W pamięci mieszkańców Mazowsza nie zapisali się jako ludzie o skłonnościach do przesądów. Jedno jest pewne - spali w pozycji półsiedzącej, żeby nie przypominać nieboszczyka. Był to dość powszechny zwyczaj w dawnej Polsce i Rusi.
Prawdopodobnie pierwsi przybysze, mennonici z XVII i XVIII wieku bali się czarownic. W ich świecie duchowym Bóg i diabeł mieli bezpośredni wpływ na życie codzienne. Niszcząca działalność osób parających się czarną magią uosabiała knowania szatana. Smutny był los tych, wobec których wysnuwano te okrutne oskarżenia.
Niepewna i wątpliwa jest dla mnie obecność białej magii na Mazowszu. Mennonici z Pensylwanii i Apallachów do XX wieku zachowali zwyczaj szeptania zaklęć. Czy kiedykolwiek podobna praktyka była żywa między Płockiem a Warszawą?
Czeka mnie jeszcze sporo zgłebiania historii osadników. Pewnie powinienem przekopać Kolberga. Może tam coś znajdę.

#Mazowieckie #Polska #historia #wierzenia #dziady #ParkNarodowyWisła #Kampinos #kampinoskiparknarodowy #skansen #olendrzy #mennonite

Sharing this from another Social media platform:

#MennoniteAction is turning two, and it's a sobering anniversary. We wish to see a free #Palestine, and see our work become obsolete. And yet, we're encouraged by two years of faithful expression of #solidarity, two years of learning, training, taking bold public action, and experiencing unity together in this movement. We invite all in our community of #Mennonites 4Ceasefire
to join us on November 20th for our Anniversary Call, this month's Mass Call oriented to reflection, remembering, and recommitting to the work that still lies ahead. RSVP to join here: https://www.mennoniteaction.org/call

#Palestine #Mennonite #Anabaptist #Peace #ShalomSalaam

Sharing this from another Social media platform:

#MennoniteAction is turning two, and it's a sobering anniversary. We wish to see a free #Palestine, and see our work become obsolete. And yet, we're encouraged by two years of faithful expression of #solidarity, two years of learning, training, taking bold public action, and experiencing unity together in this movement. We invite all in our community of #Mennonites 4Ceasefire
to join us on November 20th for our Anniversary Call, this month's Mass Call oriented to reflection, remembering, and recommitting to the work that still lies ahead. RSVP to join here: https://www.mennoniteaction.org/call

#Palestine #Mennonite #Anabaptist #Peace #ShalomSalaam

Review of Eating Like a Mennonite

Aqeel Ihsan

Marlene Epp's Eating Like a Mennonite: Food and Community Across Borders is a compelling study of how food mediates cultural, religious, and communal identities. Drawing from personal reflection, Epp reorients the reader's attention from "what" Mennonites ate to what food has meant for them throughout their historically migratory and diverse religious tradition.

#Community #Diaspora #Eating #Food #Mennonite #Migration #BooksAboutFood #CurrentlyReading #BookReview

#Read all you want! #OpenAccess
#Share generously! #KnowledgeSharing
#Grow your understanding of #Food
#Repeat

https://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/743

Review of Eating Like a Mennonite

Aqeel Ihsan

Marlene Epp's Eating Like a Mennonite: Food and Community Across Borders is a compelling study of how food mediates cultural, religious, and communal identities. Drawing from personal reflection, Epp reorients the reader's attention from "what" Mennonites ate to what food has meant for them throughout their historically migratory and diverse religious tradition.

#Community #Diaspora #Eating #Food #Mennonite #Migration #BooksAboutFood #CurrentlyReading #BookReview

#Read all you want! #OpenAccess
#Share generously! #KnowledgeSharing
#Grow your understanding of #Food
#Repeat

https://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/743

https://anabaptistworld.org/61-arrested-calling-on-senator-to-stop-starving-gaza/

I am incredibly proud of these 61 Mennonites for their nonviolent hymn-singing protest for the people of #Gaza.

#Mennonite #Peace #ShalomSalaam

https://anabaptistworld.org/61-arrested-calling-on-senator-to-stop-starving-gaza/

I am incredibly proud of these 61 Mennonites for their nonviolent hymn-singing protest for the people of #Gaza.

#Mennonite #Peace #ShalomSalaam

My interests and hobbies are quite varied!
You may not want to sign up for all of it?
These are some of my common topics that you may wish to follow or mute:

⚽️ football/soccer (#fedifc) particularly #USWNT, #USMNT, #IXI (#USL), #CFC (#championsleague), and now #Bundesliga
🎶 music, particularly electronic, metal, and genre crossover things like industrial, darkjazz, trip-hop, etc.
🎲 table games, especially #ttrpg games
🚲 cycling and alternate transportation #waroncars
🕊️ faith with an #anabaptist and #mennonite perspective
🗳️🏴 politics with a left-libertarian, pacifist (see above) and anarchist perspective
🛡️ product and cyber security
🔎♻️ wildlife and watershed discipleship
🛶🥾 outdoor activities

🇨🇦 “The Leader of the Opposition plans to compete in the annual Parliamentary Plautdietsch Spelling Bee in Ottawa this fall. Competitors in this year’s event include perennial runner-up Ted Falk, as well as Jake Sawatzky, Chris Warkentin, Rosemarie Falk, Brad Redekopp, and Dave Epp. Last year’s champion Ernie Klassen gets an automatic bye into the finals.”

#satire #mennonite ##abpoli #Canada #cdnpoli @canada 🇨🇦 https://www.ungerreview.com/pierre-poilievre-scambling-to-learn-plautdietsch-to-serve-his-new-riding/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic%2Fsatire

🇨🇦 “The Leader of the Opposition plans to compete in the annual Parliamentary Plautdietsch Spelling Bee in Ottawa this fall. Competitors in this year’s event include perennial runner-up Ted Falk, as well as Jake Sawatzky, Chris Warkentin, Rosemarie Falk, Brad Redekopp, and Dave Epp. Last year’s champion Ernie Klassen gets an automatic bye into the finals.”

#satire #mennonite ##abpoli #Canada #cdnpoli @canada 🇨🇦 https://www.ungerreview.com/pierre-poilievre-scambling-to-learn-plautdietsch-to-serve-his-new-riding/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic%2Fsatire

Mennonite Woman Refunded Tuition After Graduating Bible School Single

#Mennonitehumour #humour #mennonite

https://www.ungerreview.com/mennonite-woman-refunded-tuition-after-graduating-bible-school-single/

Mennonite Woman Refunded Tuition After Graduating Bible School Single

#Mennonitehumour #humour #mennonite

https://www.ungerreview.com/mennonite-woman-refunded-tuition-after-graduating-bible-school-single/

if anyone wants to get on this silly white gravy train:

boil up some rede-made brand wide noodles or similar dried kielke nood, and corn if you have
put your hoarded bacon fat in the cast iron pan, add a bit of butter if you have
put the pepper in now!! make it fragrant on high heat as if its a fancy curry (we are not fancy here)
sprinkle on a slightly less volume of white flour, and on a medium heat let it combine with the fat and toast just a little, to a light brown if you can, no darker.
throw in cream or milk at around 6-8x the volume of fat you first added. boil this at a medium or low heat until its real thick.
(check your noodle boil, take them off if theyre done)
turn off the heat once its saucy, and add a big dollop of sour cream to taste. adjust the salt and pepper.
top your noodles with the sauce, top it with more salt and pepper, also ketchup, and have some wine with the meal while youre at it, really spite your ancestors, spite tastes great #mennonite lol