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Banks first Mennonite woman ordained in NYC in 100 years

By Kenneth L. Thompson and Anna Groff

Addie Banks, a pastor at King of Glory Tabernacle in the Bronx, was ordained for ministry on June 18 at Riverside Church, New York City.

Banks is the first woman to be formally ordained for ministry in a Mennonite Church USA congregation in New York City since 1911 ...

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Unflagging patriotism

By Ryan Ahlgrim

I sometimes fly a Welsh flag from the front porch of my house. It's not because I'm Welsh; it's because the flag has a dragon on it-and I think dragons are cool. When Memorial Day or the Fourth of July come around, I always remove the Welsh flag, but I don't put up an American flag in its place. If I fly the flag of Wales, which is not my country, why don't I fly the flag of the United States, which is my country? ...

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'Peace Pastor' blog reaches thousands

By Anna Groff

When Martin Troyer, a Houston pastor, began blogging for his church nearly two years ago, about 30 people read his posts.

Now his blog, "The Peace Pastor," reaches an online audience of tens of thousands of people. On one occasion, his blog post received 15,000 hits within six hours of publishing a post ...

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College Corner: Both sides of the desk: Bethel's 2011 graduates include nine faculty and staff children

By Melanie Zuercher

For any college student, crossing the stage at commencement symbolizes turning the last page and closing the final chapter in the book about college. For several 2011 Bethel College graduates, commencement also meant leaving the home they have known since childhood.

Bethel had a record number, for recent years, of nine graduates who are children of current faculty or staff ...

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Photo by Vada Snider.

Tim's blog: Anabaptist Missional Project: Renewing the Story gathering

This weekend I was at Laurelville Retreat Center participating in "Renewing the Story: Anabaptism and Mission for Today," a gathering organized by the Anabaptist Missional Project ...