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Raleigh Mennonite Church

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.

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Melissa Florer-Bixler

Stumbling Toward the Promised Land – Feb. 25, 2024

February 28, 2024

Melissa preaching in front of a colorful quilted background.

On this second Sunday in Lent, Melissa preached from Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 and Romans 4:13-25, focusing on the story of Abram. Way before Moses gives those laws on the tablets, Abram is righteous before there’s a temple to sacrifice things in. Even before circumcision. And that’s really important, especially for us, because most of us […]

Stumbling Toward the Promised Land – Feb. 25, 2024

Tagged With: Abram, Genesis, Lent, Melissa Florer-Bixler, Romans, Wilderness

Prayer: An Invitation for God to Dwell Within Us – Feb. 11, 2024

February 11, 2024

Melissa Florer-Bixler Sermon at RMC

Mark 9: 2-9 What will we do when we meet God? Will we run away? Cower? Ask questions? Or can we make a tent for God to inhabit and live among us? Melissa Florer-Bixler explores and unpacks the experience of Peter meeting God in the story of the transfiguration of Christ in the Gospel of […]

Prayer: An Invitation for God to Dwell Within Us – Feb. 11, 2024

Tagged With: Gospel of Mark, Melissa Florer-Bixler, Peter, prayer, transfiguration

Learning to be Free – Feb. 4, 2024

February 4, 2024

Melissa preaching with her hands held out, illustrating a point, on Sept. 3, 2023 in front of a multi-colored quilted wall hanging.

I Corinthians 9:16-23 Paul descended into the laboring class rather than being paid for his ministry. That way he was able to be free from the patronage of the wealthy people of Corinth and others. There was something more significant in his life. He had been found by Jesus and this good news. The spirit […]

Learning to be Free – Feb. 4, 2024

Tagged With: evangelism, freedom, I Corinthians, Melissa Florer-Bixler, Paul

Two Things Can Be True : It’s Complicated – Jan. 28 2024

January 28, 2024

Melissa Florer-Bixler Sermon 1-28-2024

Scripture 1 Corinthians 8: 1-13 How do we conduct our lives as believers when our decisions affect not only ourselves, but can cause harm or distress to other Christians or those in other communities around us? What do we do when our choices are technically righteous, but still harm other believers with a different interpretation? […]

Two Things Can Be True : It’s Complicated – Jan. 28 2024

Tagged With: community, Corinthians, Melissa Florer-Bixler, Paul

Shepherding us Sheep – Jan. 21, 2024

January 21, 2024

Scripture: John 10:14-15 Each year, Anabaptist-related churches around the world are encouraged to worship around a common theme on a Sunday close to January 21. On that date in 1525, the first Anabaptist baptism took place in Zurich, Switzerland. Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday provides an opportunity to remember our common roots and celebrate our worldwide koinonia. Today […]

Shepherding us Sheep – Jan. 21, 2024

Tagged With: Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday, Gospel of John, Melissa Florer-Bixler, shepherd

Who I am not – Dec. 17, 2023

December 19, 2023

Black and white drawing of a candle with background illuminated by the flame.

John 1:6-8, 19-28 and Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 On this third Sunday of Advent, Melissa shared about a list of “I am nots” that she made this week. John the Baptist knew who he was not, and who he was. Think about (or make) your own lists of “I am nots.” How does that sentence end? […]

Who I am not – Dec. 17, 2023

Tagged With: Advent, Gospel of John, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Melissa Florer-Bixler

Reorienting Time – Dec. 10, 2023

December 10, 2023

Melissa preaching with her hand raised outward. A star-patterned quilt is behind her.

Mark 1:1-8 and Isaiah 40:1-11 On this second Sunday of Advent, Melissa reflects on our relentless focus on time; our need for efficiency. Time is invented; we made it up. Advent invites us into a different pace of time, a pace we call “Waiting.” Time’s first purpose was to be loved by God.

Reorienting Time – Dec. 10, 2023

Tagged With: Advent, Gospel of Mark, Isaiah, L'Arche, Melissa Florer-Bixler, time, wasting time

Leaning into Fear – Dec. 3, 2023

December 3, 2023

Melissa, holding her hands out while preaching on Dec. 3, 2023.

Isaiah 64:1-9 On this first Sunday of Advent, Melissa acknowledged that there is so much in our lives, in our world, to be afraid of. We are not in control of the world. We are vulnerable beyond our imagining. Somehow though, God is at work in this Apocalypse. She told the story, among others, of […]

Leaning into Fear – Dec. 3, 2023

Tagged With: Advent, fear, Gospel of Mark, Isaiah, Melissa Florer-Bixler

The Terrible Parable – Nov. 19, 2023

November 19, 2023

Mellissa F-B November 19 2023

Melissa’s sermon focused on Matthew 25: 14-30, the Parable of the Talents. This passage has often been used to justify a variety of teaching praising rampant capitalism or aggressive evangelization and placing God in the role of the master who casts out the lazy slave into darkness for burying the talent he should have invested. […]

The Terrible Parable – Nov. 19, 2023

Tagged With: Gospel of Matthew, Justice, Melissa Florer-Bixler, Parable

Staying Awake, Pouring Out Hope – Nov. 12, 2023

November 12, 2023

Melissa’s sermon this Sunday focused on the parable from Matthew 25:1-13 about the bridesmaids waiting for the long-delayed bridal party, with all of them falling asleep and half of them running out of lamp oil. Jackie and Trixie provided a reenactment of how things maybe could have gone better had they stayed awake. What might […]

Staying Awake, Pouring Out Hope – Nov. 12, 2023

Tagged With: darkness, Gospel of Matthew, hope, light, Melissa Florer-Bixler, Parable

Martyrs on All Saints Day – Nov. 5, 2023

November 6, 2023

Melissa preaching in front of a colorful quilted wall hanging.

Revelation 7:9-17 The great ordeal John writes of in this letter from exile in Patmos is the persecution of the church. It’s a real and living threat to Christians in the first century. If you were to join up with the Anabaptists in the sixteenth century, there was a very good chance this would get […]

Martyrs on All Saints Day – Nov. 5, 2023

Tagged With: All Saints Day, Anabaptism, Gaza, martyrs, Melissa Florer-Bixler, Revelation

Quenching our thirst – Oct. 1, 2023

October 1, 2023

Melissa preaching on Oct. 1, 2023 in front of a colorful patchwork quilt.

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 […]

Quenching our thirst – Oct. 1, 2023

Tagged With: Exodus, fear, Gospel of Matthew, grief, Melissa Florer-Bixler, thirst, World Communion Sunday

Worship Declares God’s Truth About Hierarchies- Sept. 10, 2023

September 10, 2023

Melissa with her fingers interlaced behind a quilt background

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 […]

Worship Declares God’s Truth About Hierarchies- Sept. 10, 2023

Tagged With: hierarchy, I Corinthians, Melissa Florer-Bixler, What is church for?

Redistributive Justice – Sept. 3, 2023

September 3, 2023

Melissa preaching with her hands held out, illustrating a point, on Sept. 3, 2023 in front of a multi-colored quilted wall hanging.

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 […]

Redistributive Justice – Sept. 3, 2023

Tagged With: Acts, diggers, Justice, Melissa Florer-Bixler, money, stewardship, What is church for?

Extravagant abundance – Aug. 27, 2023

August 27, 2023

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 […]

Extravagant abundance – Aug. 27, 2023

Tagged With: abundance, Gospel of John, Melissa Florer-Bixler, What is church for?

Creation Care – June 11, 2023

June 11, 2023

Melissa preaching at Raleigh Mennonite on June 11, 2023.

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 […]

Creation Care – June 11, 2023

Tagged With: Colossians, Creation care, Genesis, Melissa Florer-Bixler

Spirit Empowered Community – May 28, 2023

May 28, 2023

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 […]

Spirit Empowered Community – May 28, 2023

Tagged With: Acts, community, Gospel of John, Holy Spirit, Melissa Florer-Bixler, peace, Pentecost

Abiding – May 14, 2023

May 16, 2023

Father Jemonde Taylor and Pastor Melissa prepare communion at St. Ambrose Church

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 […]

Abiding – May 14, 2023

Tagged With: abide, blackness, Gospel of John, Jemonde Taylor, Melissa Florer-Bixler, racism, trust, white supremacy

We are Bread – April 23, 2023

April 23, 2023

Melissa preaching at RMC on April 23, 2023

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 […]

We are Bread – April 23, 2023

Tagged With: beloved, bread, communion, Gospel of Luke, Melissa Florer-Bixler

While it was still dark – April 9, 2023

April 10, 2023

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. […]

While it was still dark – April 9, 2023

Tagged With: darkness, Easter, Gospel of John, light, Mary Magdalene, Melissa Florer-Bixler

Dangerous Parties – April 2, 2023

April 4, 2023

Melissa preaching at RMC on Sunday, April 2, 2023

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 […]

Dangerous Parties – April 2, 2023

Tagged With: empire, Gospel of Matthew, Melissa Florer-Bixler, Palm Sunday, parties, song

No One Needs to Know You’re a Chicken – March 26, 2023

March 29, 2023

Melissa preaching at RMC on March 26, 2023.

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 […]

No One Needs to Know You’re a Chicken – March 26, 2023

Tagged With: Lent, Melissa Florer-Bixler, Romans

Seeing & Not Believing – March 19, 2023

March 19, 2023

Melissa preaching at RMC on March 19, 2023, with a quilt behind her and a plant and stalks of brown grass and wheat on a table in front of her.

On this fourth Sunday of Lent Melissa preached from John 9:1-41 and Romans 5:1-11. The story of Jesus healing the man who was born blind, and the subsequent questioning by the Pharisees illustrates the difference between being cured and being healed. After he gains his sight, he is repeatedly questioned by the people in power […]

Seeing & Not Believing – March 19, 2023

Tagged With: blind, Gospel of John, grace, Melissa Florer-Bixler, Romans

Confession and Sin – March 12, 2023

March 14, 2023

Melissa preaching at RMC on March 12, 2023 in front of a quilted wall hanging.

On this third Sunday of Lent, Melissa spoke from Romans 5:1-11. Most of our sins aren’t interesting or dangerous. They’re mostly petty and boring and cruel. We short change both the chasm of our failings and the grace of God when we limit the scope of our sins to doing bad things. Our sins are […]

Confession and Sin – March 12, 2023

Tagged With: confession, Lent, Melissa Florer-Bixler, Romans, Sin

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Raleigh, NC 27603

Phone: 919-831-2969

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