August 17, 2010
Dancing. The whole world seems crazy about dancing. All over the place people are talking about “Dancing with the Stars” or “So You Think You Can Dance”. It makes me quite uncomfortable.
I was never much for dancing. As an adolescent, I remember the feelings of betrayal, when my closest friends, those who at one time hung with me at the side of the room at the school dances and would run out of the room when there would be a “lady’s choice” announced, reached the point when they gave up their spot on the wall and started dancing!
Some of those feelings changed on Pentecost Day this past May.
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Posted in Voices of Service
Brethren Volunteer Service Staff for Vocation and Community Living
June 23, 2010
There’s a quip that gets repeated a lot – that these long-term volunteer
programs will “ruin your life.” Some might argue that the opposite is
true – spending a year or more working for peace and justice, living in
community, and working for little to nothing actually enrich and
transform, opening us up to the beauty and possibility in the world like
nothing else. Actually, I think most former volunteers would agree with
that argument. But this recent conversation about decision-making
reminded me why we talk about volunteer service ruining our lives.
Once you know what’s possible – how little money can sustain you, how
life-giving community living can be, how a small individual effort can
in fact make a difference in the world – it’s hard to go back to what
you thought you knew, or what you thought life should be like. Old plans
just don’t seem to fit, anymore. All of a sudden, you have to take into
account this glimpse you’ve gotten of life lived another way, and it
throws things into tangled messes that you’re left to unravel.
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Posted in Voices of Service
National Director of DOOR (Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection)
May 13, 2010
A couple of months ago I picked up Rhonda Janzen’s book, “Mennonite in a Little Black Dress.” 
It is one of those reads that can cause you to laugh
out loud. I found it to be a good reminder of my Mennonite heritage. I
believe that more books need to be written that help explain Mennonite
cultural idiosyncrasies.
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May 06, 2010
At the end of April, I witnessed Cornell West live in a presentation
in Princeton, New Jersey along with my VEV colleague Wayne Meisel and
hundreds others. As you might imagine, it was brilliant intellectually
as well having a feeling that was a bit like being in the Black church.
For one hour, West inspired those gathered with insights and
observations about society, the church and service in the world.
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