Wildwords: Sermons From Wildwood Mennonite Church

Following our Sunday Brunch on this last Sunday of the month, Kari Thronberg shared with us some thoughts on self-esteem drawn from Psalm 139.

Jesus is the center of our faith. While our ways of living this out are many, Mennonites are followers of Jesus. We study his teachings, we follow his example, and we keep him at the center of our theology. This plays out in different ways in different settings, but this relationship with Jesus holds us together and is the basis for our shared values moving forward. What's your particular flavour of Jesus? And what is this squirrel doing in here?

An Anabaptist faith is rooted in the story of a particular place and time: the “radical reformation” of 16th century Western Europe. As political and religious shifts raced across the region, a small community of religious radicals challenged the state-sanctioned Christian hierarchies and formed their own churches based around a simple reading of Scripture, the non-violent Way of Jesus, and adult baptism. In spite of intense persecution, the movement spread and the religious denominations they began, including Mennonites, have carried on for 500 years in communities around the globe.

Our sermon this Sunday was a video recording of the message given by Mennonite Church Canada executive minister Doug Klassen at the recent MC Sask delegate sessions. Doug joins ancient religious leader Nicodemus in wrestling with how the identity of Jesus changes everything and shares some of his vision for the future of the church.

We come to Easter Sunday expecting a happy ending, as we should, with Jesus having risen from the grave! However, the gospel of Mark leaves readers with an entirely different vibe: overwhelming fear. Why is that? And how is this story of fear still good news?

On Palm Sunday, Christians around the globe sing praises to King Jesus. And yet, when we read the gospels, on Palm Sunday Jesus actually walked away from the crown and all it promised. Why would he do such a thing? And what does it mean for us to follow in the footsteps of a man who would not be king?

God’s light shines everywhere and always. We can embrace it or cover it; we all stray from the path but God is always with us. Let us open our hearts to the light so that God’s love can flow in and through us to all those we encounter. As the light does not begin with us and yet we have a part to play in reflecting and amplifying the light, so too with God’s mercy. We were pleased to have Jeanette Hanson, Director of International Witness for Mennonite Church Canada with us this Sunday. Jeanette shared stories from the global church to illustrate the message on this fourth Sunday of Lent.

Welcome to the journey of Lent! This season begins with a call to change, to "Repent and Believe the Good News!" But what kind of repentance are we talking about here? And what is the Good News? It's a long walk to understanding, and this is but the next step... come and see!

Following our Sunday Brunch on this last Sunday of the month, Don Epp shared with us from a book of stories about a prairie teacher (his Dad) in Saskatchewan. The stories describe what life was like in the mid '40s for a teacher in a one room school. Listen for Don’s sharing about the book From Between the Tracks by Dick H. Epp.

What's your origin story? Our religious ancestors defined their beginnings through the Creation Story of Genesis 1. "In the beginning, God Created... everything!" What does this familiar story have to say about our place in this wide universe as we begin another journey around the sun?

God chooses to work through ordinary people like Mary, more likely clad in rough brown rather than silken blue. God still works through ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

This third week of Advent finds us looking for hope and joy amidst the unanswered questions of life. Not knowing can feel like darkness, failure, or disorder. And yet, God shows up with freedom, integrity, and good company. Come and see!

This second Sunday of Advent asks the question: "What shall we do while we wait?" While we may sometimes feel discouraged or uncertain about when or how God will act, like those in our scriptures, we are called to live and move in the world as God's people. Where do we begin?

Our Advent theme this season is How Will We Know? This first Sunday of advent we focused on the question How Long Must We Wait? Dr. Seuss and Joe introduced the topic of waiting and then Marg Epp helped us to think about waiting from the perspective of a refugee. Marg shared about the period of waiting that our refugee committee experienced back in 2015-2016 while waiting for Ma They Yare and her family to arrive. Marg also shared excerpts from a book that she is writing about Ma They Yare’s lived experiences as told by Ma They Yare through a translator. These excerpts are not included in the recordings. We will have to wait until the book is complete to read them.

Most years our Eternity Sunday service focuses on a time of remembering those we love who have died in the past year. We watch a slideshow of pictures, we light candles in their memory, and we have an open mic time for anyone to share about these and other losses as well. Here are the words of this year's ritual, along with a short sermon from Joe on Jesus' holding together the Resurrection and the Life in John 11:25.

We were pleased to have Eileen Klassen Hamm, Executive Director for MCC Saskatchewan and a part of our Wildwood family, as our guest speaker this Peace Sunday. Eileen encouraged us to ponder how interconnected creation is, even in this very first creation story, and then wonder about how we might understand "dominion" as love, love of neighbour/enemy, love of all creation. Eileen shared a passage from Revelation as a vision for us, a vision of wellness and security and interconnectedness. Eileen shared some MCC stories about climate change and responding to climate change and talked about how climate change challenges peaceful relations between peoples.

The great prophet Moses devoted his life to getting his people to the Promised Land--but never made it himself. Our world is full of that kind of tragedy; people searching fruitlessly for meaning, purpose and belonging, even struggling for the basics of survival let alone prosperity. How can we possibly claim there is "enough for all" when so few of us actually receive that which we long for?

We were pleased to have Carol Penner as our guest speaker this Sunday. In her sermon Carol talks about the tension between deliverance and suffering in the life of Christians. Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow him; does that mean choosing suffering is always the most faithful choice? Yet God also calls us to freedom and deliverance. How do we reconcile these two directions?

This Sunday was our congregation’s opportunity to say “thank you” and “farewell” to Pastor Eileen as she retired after five years as pastor at Wildwood. Join us as we reflect on the presence of Lady Wisdom in Eileen's service and friendship in our congregation.

Things are looking pretty bleak, eh? I mean, we don't know the future, but when it comes to climate change it sure looks like things are going to get a lot worse before they get better... Given the magnitude of challenges facing humanity and the earth, our "Season of Creation" series can bring on feelings of despair and helplessness. What does it mean to trust and to reimagine a different kind of future for ourselves and the planet? We turn to "the Weeping Prophet" for an unexpectedly bright vision of hope.