Mark 14:16-26, Isaiah 25:6-8 Susan spoke this Sunday about something Christians universally practice and everyone maintains is important in some way: the Lord’s Supper. Also called Communion, the Eucharist or the Mass. She painted three word pictures for us that could provide a greater appreciation for what we’re doing at the table: a Passover meal, […]
Raleigh Mennonite Church
Formation in the Rubble of Loss – Sept. 14, 2025
Lamentations 3:17-26 This Sunday Melissa Rogati shared from her personal story of lament and dealing with a dark period in her life. It’s very uncomfortable to be in that place. As humans, we don’t like being there. But as she came to eventually realize, God is in the dark too! It’s us who feel discomfort […]
A brief history of Gifts Discernment – Sept. 7, 2025
I Corinthians 12:4-13 Following the summer time of gifts discernment, each September Raleigh Mennonite recognizes the many volunteers who help make the church function. This Sunday Susan provided a brief overview of church history and how Mennonites incorporated the concept of the “priesthood of all believers” as a fundamental tenet of our faith and community […]
Dramatic Readings – Aug. 31, 2025
Luke 10: 25-28 This week volunteers from the RMC congregation shared dramatic readings, acting out some of the experiences of the founding figures in Anabaptist/Mennonite history that suffered persecution and even martyrdom. This continues our series celebrating 500 years of Anabaptism. The sincere faith and devotion of these individuals to Anabaptist principles are a source […]
A Lens of Love – Aug. 24, 2025
Ephesians 2: 14-22 RMC’s Leah Weaver preached this week on her own faith story and her history with the Mennonite Church (and RMC specifically). Throughout her time as a youth at RMC, she experienced the love of a “second” family and received inspiration from many members whose lives and ministries demonstrated the love of Christ […]
Indonesian Mennonites – Aug. 17, 2025
1 Peter 2: 11-17 RMC’s Hans Linnartz shared from the pulpit last week about the inspiring story of the formation of the Mennonite Church in Indonesia. The ideal of nonviolence is difficult to achieve in the best of circumstances, but the slowly growing Mennonite Church in Indonesia had to overcome challenges from the Dutch colonial […]
The Stories That Shape Our Lives – Aug 10, 2025
Luke 1: 26-38 Susan Scott preached today for the first time as RMC’s interim pastor. Susan shared stories from her life’s journey and the bible stories that meant the most to her at these most critical and formative parts of her life. With this act of sharing Susan also invites us as well to examine […]
Love one another as I have loved you – July 27, 2025
John 15:9-17 On this last Sunday of Melissa’s pastoral ministry with us at RMC, she spoke from this scripture passage that Jesus shares with his disciples toward the end of his ministry. Unlike clubs and societies, the foundation of our friendship as the church isn’t a shared interest, but a shared good. Friends pursue the […]
Creatively Reordering Stories – July 20, 2025
Luke 10:38-42 This Sunday Elizabeth Korver-Glenn shares of the dearth of information she was able to find about early Black and Brown Mennonite leaders, with an even greater lack of any details about Black and Brown Mennonite women. She found brief information about Phoebe Sheela Bisahu Solomon and Rowena Lark in the archives of Mennonite […]
Storytelling: The Good Samaritan – July 13, 2025
Luke 10:25-37 This summer at RMC we’re focusing on telling stories of hope from the Bible. Katie Mangum was our guest speaker this Sunday and shared reflections on one of the most common and beloved of Jesus’ parables, that of the Good Samaritan. Jesus’ parables can be frustrating, since many don’t have clear meanings. Even […]
Soft Heart, Hard Feet – June 29, 2025
Luke 16: 1-9 RMC’s Susan Scott preached this week on what Jesus was trying to do when he spoke in parables. The parables Jesus spoke in are often confusing, indirect, and seldom leave the listener with clear answers to their questions. Why won’t Jesus get to the point? However, this storytelling tactic forces the listener […]
Experiments of Peace – June 22, 2025
Matthew 5: 43-48 With the recent American bombing of Iran, we now move into a time filled with tension, fear, calls for war, and calls for reprisal. As Christians we must remember that we are called to a different path than the world. Melissa Florer-Bixler preaches on our Covenant Sunday that we must pay close […]
Not What God Is, But Who – June 15, 2025
Romans 5: 1-5 On Trinity Sunday Melissa Florer-Bixler preached on the words of Paul in Romans. Paul didn’t focus on what the makeup of the Trinity is, but who the persons of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are. Essentially, God is not vengeful, cruel, or indifferent. God, through the trinity, is the giver of […]
When God is Lost in Translation – June 1, 2025
1 Corinthians 3:11 This Sunday RMC’s own Jordan Morehouse preached on the foundations of our faith. We often use scripture, tradition, and faith practices to justify all manner of evils against our neighbors. Jordan reminds us that we must be ready to change our actions and views when we see that time honored parts of […]
Swimming Toward Sharks – May 25, 2025
Scripture: Isaiah 12:1-6 Melissa opened her sermon sharing about a man who helped rescue a friend who was attacked by a shark. He swam directly toward the injured swimmer, putting himself in direct vicinity with the shark. The backstory behind most people who show real bravery in the midst of danger is that they have […]
Abide! – May 18, 2025
Scripture: John 15:1-10 “Abide” is central to John’s gospel. Abide is the orientation of our lives to Jesus, but also of Jesus’s life with us. Jesus tells his disciples that he will abide with them, even as he goes away. In this goodbye it’s interesting that Jesus actually never tells the disciples that they ought […]
Come as Children – May 11, 2025
Scripture: Matthew 18:1-5 The disciples of Jesus have “power problems.” Who’s going to be greatest? Who’s going to sit next to him? And as usual, Jesus has to gently put them in their place. He tells them, Unless you turn around and become like a child you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus […]
Lean not on your own understanding – May 4, 2025
Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-8 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” It’s easy to “weaponize” this teaching in Proverbs, to make us believe that the rational or scientific reasoning may be suspect. That can open us up to a […]
Giving Up In Order To Win – April 27, 2025
Jeremiah 17: 5-8 This week RMC’s Miguel Cruz preached the sermon in Spanish. The English voice you will hear is that of the live translator in the sanctuary. Due to the nature of the recording tech, there is some residual audio of Miguel’s voice in the background. ** Preaching from Jeremiah, Miguel asks us to […]
The Resurrection Is For The Hopeless – April 20, 2025
Luke 24: 1-12 Happy Easter everyone! This week Melissa Florer-Bixler preached from the Gospel of Luke. The women Disciples (the men having scattered) around Jesus, despite their deep grief and despair, stayed with Jesus through his arrest, death, and burial, and then returned only to find the tomb empty save for shining beings that declared […]
The Gospel of All Creation – April 13, 2025
Luke 19: 28-40 What could we possibly have to learn about the Gospel message from a donkey? Luke spends as much time in his Gospel on the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday as he does on the Lord’s Supper. Melissa Florer-Bixler reminds us this Palm Sunday that our Anabaptist ancestors were keenly […]
God’s Love is Reckless – April 6, 2025
John 12: 1-8 This week Melissa Florer-Bixler preaches on Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive funerial perfume meant for Lazarus, whom Jesus had recently raised from the dead. Mary knows that Jesus plans to go Jerusalem soon to die, and her offering is a reckless offering of love, not just grief, as she sacrifices in […]
Rewriting the story of justice – March 30, 2025
Scripture: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 How many times have we heard Jesus’s parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15? While the focus is usually on the son who leaves with his share of the inheritance and squanders it away, Melissa brings us a fresh perspective on the father and the eldest son. Not only was […]
From Confession to Penance – March 23, 2025
Scripture: Isaiah 55:1-9 God’s version of confession and penance is entirely different from the world’s understanding of confession and penance. During Lent we have to let go of the anxiety that comes from the long-held cultural myth that confessing can only make things worse. Penance is to accept responsibility and to repair what is broken. […]