As a Christian community, called to peacemaking and reconciliation, we affirm that people of any race, ethnic identity, gender, who are gay or straight, of any ability, age, or economic status, are welcome to full participation in our congregation.
Matthew 22: 1-14 The Parable of the Wedding Banquet We often try to interpret parables to find easy lessons and clear allegories, but Melissa Florer-Bixler invites us to ask how the “Parable of the Wedding Banquet” interprets ourselves, the recent violence in Israel and Gaza, and where we can find the character of God and […]
Exodus 17:1-7 & Matthew 21:23-32, World Communion Sunday “Is God here?” is a question that comes up throughout the Bible. And it has come up for many of us. But maybe there’s another question lingering in the lines between the lines of the scripture. Maybe it begins by saying, “What is that I need?” If […]
Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35 In this parable we learn something remarkable. We determine our relationship to God by how we live. We have been forgiven. We owe nothing. And you need to do nothing in order to earn forgiveness. But the only way that you actually believe this? That you believe that it’s true? Is your […]
In the third sermon on the theme of “What is church for?”, Melissa talked about God’s countercultural vision of hierarchy demonstrated by Paul’s body metaphor in 1 Corinthians 12: 14-31. Since antiquity, the institutions of government and the economy have a distinct continuity: they have created social, political, and economic hierarchies that we have often […]
In the second sermon on the theme of “What is church for?”, Melissa talked about stewardship, speaking from Acts 2:38-47. She shared the story of the Diggers. Every once in a while Christians begin to live so near to the life of Jesus, so deeply in tune with the Spirit of God at such a […]
John 2:1-12 This Sunday Melissa begins a three-part series on the question: What is the Church For? The miracle at the wedding of Cana seems like a superfluous act on the part of Jesus. There’s nothing practical or useful about the sign. Jesus doesn’t cure disease, raise a person from the dead or feed hungry […]
Dr. Candace Laughinghouse brought the sermon during this last Sunday in the summer series focused on Genesis 1 and creation care. God applies purpose and abundance to the earth even before humanity’s existence. From earth’s exception to today’s reality. How did we get to this place of chaos, catastrophe, and destruction? Today’s text reminds us […]
RMC’s summer series on the Genesis account of creation continues with this Sunday’s sermon by Elizabeth Korver-Glenn. Dr. Korver-Glenn is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, and a member of Raleigh Mennonite. Elizabeth began by sharing from a booklet she and Randall received at their wedding. God creates out of […]
Continuing the summer’s theme on creation, this Sunday Dr. Derek Hicks brought the sermon. Dr. Hicks is associate professor of Religion and Culture at Wake Forest University. What is creation for ALL if some are pushed to the margins? Or left out altogether? How does that square with the radical nature of Jesus’s declarations about […]
Our summer series focusing on the creation story from the beginning of Genesis continued. Dr. Christopher Hays, president of Scholar Leaders, joined us this Sunday. He shared the Babylonian creation story, the “Enuma Elish,” comparing and contrasting it with the biblical creation story. The Enuma Elish provides insight into how the contemporaries of the ancient […]
In the continuing summer series on Genesis 1, this Sunday’s guest speaker was Ren Martin. Ren is the Eco-Justice Connection Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Council of Churches. Genesis teaches us that all of creation is a gift from God. Our response to this gift should be one of deepest respect and gratitude. We […]
As our summer series focused on creation from Genesis 1 continues, Chas Edens brought the message this morning. Melissa introduces him at the outset. Do we name and care for creation, for the environment, as an asset or part of our livelihood, an extension of ourselves? How we look at it may depend upon our […]
On this third Sunday of our summer series focusing on creation care, Dr. Aminah Al-Attas Bradford provided the message, speaking from Genesis 1, 2:9, 15-17, 3:1-6, 22-23. We’ve been misreading what it means to be a reflection of God. The world in its entirety is meant to mirror and reflect a symbiotic God. Symbiosis is […]
On this second Sunday of the summer series focusing on creation care, Doug Kaufman brought the message. Doug will be taking on the role of executive director of the Anabaptist Climate Collaborative and has been an environmental activist, along with being a pastor. Doug preached from Genesis 1:2-3 and Jeremiah 4:23-28. He spoke of the […]
Melissa kicked off a summer series focusing on creation care. Over the course of the summer we will hear the story of creation from Genesis from nine different preachers. She started us off, combining it with the passage from Colossians 1:15-20. Another aspect of the series this summer is captured in this web page, suggesting […]
Scripture: John 20:19-23; Acts 2:1-21 On this Pentecost Sunday we also celebrated the birthday of Raleigh Mennonite and the annual renewal of our covenant together. We take time to remember that we’ve said “yes” to showing up for one another. There’s no rule book for how to do this. The only tools we’re given to […]
Scripture: John 17:1-11 We were privileged to have Casey Stanton provide the message this Sunday. Casey is co-director of Discerning Deacons, a project serving the Catholic Church through active discernment around women and the diaconate. Called to be active in promoting change within the Catholic Church, Casey called all of us to do the work […]
This was a unique Sunday when Raleigh Mennonite joined St. Ambrose Episcopal for a joint worship service in St. Ambrose’s sanctuary. Father Jemonde Taylor and Pastor Melissa Florer-Bixler brought a dialogical sermon from the gospel reading in John 14:15-21. During Lent the choirs from both churches joined together to learn about and sing songs from […]
Susan provided the message this Sunday from John 14:1-14 Jesus tells his disciples to, “Ask for anything in my name and I will give it.” That offer needs to be looked at in context!
Our guest speaker this Sunday was Ian McPherson, from Pullen Memorial Baptist Church. Chrys introduced him before he spoke from the lectionary passage of John 10:1-10. We often hear of Jesus referred to as the good shepherd. But in this passage, Jesus first refers to himself twice as “the gate.” “Christ’s in-breaking into our world […]
Melissa preached from Luke 24:13-35 on this third Sunday of Easter. Bread weaves a thread through the pages of scripture. Bread is a character in our salvation story. Even though they had talked at length with this stranger, it wasn’t until the two traveling on the road to Emmaus sat and broke bread with Jesus […]
On this Easter morning Melissa preached from John 20:1-18. Early on the first morning, while it was still dark, there was sweat and adrenaline and weeping. It has been three days since the crucifixion. Three days since they took his body down from the cross, and sealed it inside a cave with a massive boulder. […]
Melissa spoke from Matthew 21:1-11 on this Palm Sunday. She shared the story of one of her favorite parties she has been a part of, when women were released from jail after their bond was paid by members of SONG. “When I see the women with radiant faces celebrating their freedom, I am there with […]
On this fifth Sunday of Lent Melissa preached from Romans 8:6-11. Our bodies are not neutral. We are formed by environments, constrained or freed, or subjected to housing laws and legal decisions, physical borders, corporations. Our bodies, our racialized bodies, our aging bodies, our gendered bodies, these are formed by forces much larger than our […]
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