| September 28, 2020 Good afternoon, ” For other foundation can no man lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” I Corinthians 3:11 This is the favourite verse of Menno Simons. He wrote it on the many missionary tracts that he published. This was the “foundational’ verse for his ministry and his life. He has been a Cathoic priest, and then he began to read the Bible, and came to new understandings about peace, baptism and discipleship. The Bible came to be his guide, and he moved away from the church’s traditions and theology. Menno was not killed by the authorities, and that might have been because he lived in the more liberal Netherlands. The Netherlands tolerated different kinds of views, both Catholic and Protestant. Many of Menno’s writings are foundational to how we see Christ and the world. The General Conference Mennonite Church ( of Canada and the United States ) took the verse as its motto. I grew up in that church. As I was driving Caleb back home ( in Kitchener ), we got talking about St.Catharines. He preached there yesterday at Westview Community Church. I said that is where I was born, but they tore down the hospital a few years ago. And even before that, they tore down our house, 76 North Street. Even before that, they converted my elementary school into a community center. I then thought about my other public school in Niagara-on-the-Lake that I attended. That is now closed, and will be demolished. And my high school is closed, not enough students anymore. The first church I was pastor at, Bethel Mennonite, is no longer a Mennonite church. So many things that formed me as a person, pastor and community leader are gone. They are not gone from my memory, but it is difficult going back to these places, and see the structures are not there. Is my foundation gone ? No, of course not. As the pandemic has shown, the church and family have to be more than buildings. We are a people of God, without the usual things going on in our lives today. What are your foundations in Christ ? Prayer ( The Church’s One Foundation ) The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord She is his new creationby water and the Word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her for her life he died. AMEN Salaam and strength for our journeys of faith and life. Fred Tread on bold new paths! Fireflies flash the direction Hope springs eternal ! Monica Pieper Landoni 2020  |
