Wildwords: Sermons From Wildwood Mennonite Church

“Nothing strips you down to your essential humanity and inherent dependency quite like submitting to the elements, surrendering to the wild. In the wilderness, you find out what you are made of and who your friends are. You are forced to leave behind all non essentials, to quiet yourself and listen.” – Rachel Held Evans Listen to what David shared with us in "Church in the Wilderness." 

We live in a world where personal safety seems threatened. Media seems to threaten our peaceful existence. How is God relevant to that “dis-ease?” How does God show us, teach us, and keep us safe? How will we recognize God when that happens? 

 Are your celebrations, traditions, and significant life transitions as meaningful as you'd like them to be? Some holiday gatherings tend towards the superficial and overly-commercial, and there are many moments (career changes, miscarriages, beginning adolescence or adulthood, divorce, adoption, health scares, and many more) that don't typically have traditions or rituals associated with them. There is great potential in all of these "holy days" to fill our lives with meaning, process our emotions, strengthen connections, and to celebrate our values. And so, as we often have this summer, we ask: how is what we're doing working for us? And how could we do better, particularly by intentionally bringing out the spiritual elements of these moments?  

How does your family do faith? Closely held traditions (helpful or otherwise)? Feisty conversations (helpful or otherwise)? Caution and avoidance (helpful or otherwise)? We get it, your family relationships are complicated and far from perfect--ours, too. The goal isn't perfection but connection. What role does spirituality play in deepening those connections and how do we get there from here? Let's talk. (Also, Joe tries out yet another ritual with stones...)

The Christian tradition has revolved around God as Trinity, but does that name for the Divine have any relevance for us today? It seems archaic, kind of patriarchal, and is it even biblical? Maybe it's a reminder that God holds both unity and diversity within Godself - just like the church community - and that the Divine Mystery can't be reduced to just one name.  Listen to what our guest, Susanne Guenther Loewen, shared with us in her sermon "Diversity in Unity."

How's your spirituality working for you? Everyone has a spirituality, religious or otherwise: vocation, relationships, stress-management, recreation, self-awareness...all of those things are part of our spirituality, that which gives life meaning and purpose. Regular church attendance used to be at the center of spirituality for many people; now, "going to church" is less of a priority for a growing majority. Instead of bemoaning that trend, what can we learn from it? What forms does spirituality take in our lives "beyond Sunday" and how can we shape those things to give us the kind of life of meaning, purpose, and belonging that we seek? 

Sprinkling, pouring, drowning, and even a mythical ocean goddess? Who says it's dry in Saskatchewan! Come to the Water, it was time for some baptizin' last Sunday at WMC! #WetandWildwood Hear what Joe had to say in his sermon "Christening."

How do you think you will be remembered after you are gone? What, of your life experience, do you want to pass on? And how can you help to ensure that you are remembered in the way that you would want? 

What is grief - and what is anticipatory grief? Are there “stages” of grief, or feelings we can expect along the way? How do we process our emotions after the death of a loved one? How does our faith impact our understanding and experience of grief? And finally, how can we support those around us who are grieving? Listen to a "Conversation About Grief." 

What is it like to die? No one knows completely, but there's a lot we can learn from professionals who give care in the final days and moments of life and for the bodies of the deceased. Listen in to our panel conversation between a senior care nurse, a palliative care nurse, and a funeral director. 

How do we accompany someone who is dying, and why would we want to do so? What information can be helpful to know at a time that can be stressful? How do we handle our own grief and other emotions even as we hold space for others? And where is God to be found at such a time?  Listen to what Eileen has to share.

To be alive means we have a fatal condition. How do we come to terms with that? How do we even talk about our own death with those nearest and dearest to us? How do we prepare for this inevitability when so much is out of our control? And where is God to be found at such a time? Hear what Eileen has to say in her sermon titled "A Time to Die."

Trivia time: how many people have ever lived--and died--in the history of the planet? Better guess quickly, because you yourself are currently dying at a rate of 300 million cells per second...  Yup, we're talking life-and-death over the next while at WMC, and we're beginning with a planet-sized look at the context of mortality. Also, astronauts! #churchwithnumbers #clickordietrying  Hear what Joe had to say in his sermon "E Pluribus Unim."

Better Than A Sermon: Listen to "Not the Gardener?" - Mary at the Tomb - reimagined from John 20

 The new day has dawned. Grace is Everywhere. And we are living in a Christ-soaked world. Come and See! 

Better Than A Sermon: Listen to "The Journey Back," Hannah's story, adapted from 1 Samuel 1.

Ryan Siemens, Mennonite Church Saskatchewan Executive Minister was our guest speaker this Palm Sunday. Hear what he had to share in his sermon titled "When Two Worlds Collide."

Better Than A Sermon: Listen to "The One Who Bleeds," a monologue of the bleeding woman adapted from Grit and Grace by Caryn Rivadeneira.  

Special guests at WMC this past Sunday: Lisa Gungor and Kate Bowler! Well, not in person exactly...but at least the preacher had the good sense to defer to the words of these wise women on things he knows precious little about. #sermonsfromthepubliclibrary Hear what Joe has to say in "Forgetting What We Don't Know."   

 Better Than A Sermon: Listen to "The Debate," a dramatic representation the story of Job re-imagined adapted from Inspired by Rachel Held Evans.