Practicing Hope
Are you needing some hope right now? I have come to understand that hope is not only, or even primarily, a feeling. It is a practice. It requires muscles. Here are three strong practices of hope.
President Rebecca J. Stoltzfus
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Distinctively Goshen
Reflections from President Stoltzfus
My word for 2024
My word for the year is faith because it’s what I need. Faith is such a familiar word that it can sound bland, and so I’ll try to explain what I mean. Faith for me is the belief that God is love and that God is at work in the world and in me. In these times, I need to feel a deep confidence in the marrow of my bones that love is the most powerful force in the world.
My ‘Sabbath Christmas’ wish list
I am in need of a Sabbath Christmas. Maybe you are too. Here is my wish for all of us in this December of 2020.
Hungry for light!
I am tired of the armor of masks and physical distancing. I want the armor of light! Our dark ordeal fuels an Advent longing further intensified by our many constraints. We simply cannot do the many things that we want to do to lighten our spirits. As plant and animal life goes underground in these short cold days, so are we forced inward again, into our houses, our small social bubbles and into ourselves.
Imagine this
At a time when threats to the life and people we love seem overwhelming and out of control, it is essential that we focus on those things that matter most, and those things that we can control. Our imagination is one such thing.
Wild, joyful, porous…
Last Sunday was Pentecost and I’ve been thinking about how we experience the Holy Spirit in our lives. I remind myself: science and imagination are more powerful together than either one alone. Practicality and wildness are both necessary.