Baptism & Membership Exploration
Our Church:
Peace Mennonite
For our session on July 23:
- Mentor Prompt: Talk with your mentor about how you both came to be part of Peace Mennonite Church. How do you participate in church life? What do you appreciate most about this community?
- Read this brief history of our congregation, compiled by Anne Bailey.
- Choose at least four activities from the lists below.
Use the comments section to share what you are doing and what you learn!
Head
things to think about
Read our church mission statement and welcome statement.
Pastor Joanna blogged about her credentials being reviewed for officiating a same-sex wedding in 2011. And also about the outcome of the conference resolutions to remove her credentials.
Roger Martin writes about how he came to be part of Peace Mennonite. And here is an article about his book A Doubter’s Guide to God.
An article about our recent building expansion.
*And a video about our tree of life and labyrinth.
Whitney Baker did amazing work getting our church archives organized and into the Spencer Research Library at KU. Check out our archive page!
Pastor Joanna’s testimony on behalf of the church to repeal the death penalty.
Founding members John and Reinhild Janzen won the 2011 Bethel College outstanding alumni award.
Here is a profile of Peace Mennonite’s first pastor.
Explore some of the organizations that Peace Mennonite Church connects with:
- Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests
- Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen (LINK)
- Justice Matters
- Mennonite Creation Care Network
- Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Coalition
Heart
ways to reach out
Share our “At Home Worship” with a friend and invite them to join us for one of our weekly gatherings.
Send a card to someone (or a few someones) from church. You may want to thank them for serving on a committee or offer a note of encouragement.
Show up for Joanna’s office hours this week. (See our announcements for details.)
Hands
things to do
Go do some weeding in the church gardens! If you’re not sure where to weed, ask Anne Bailey, Roger Gibson, Jill Allen, or Matt Schwabauer.
Print and color one of these pictures of our church.
For those on Facebook, make sure you have liked our Facebook page and joined the Friends of Peace Mennonite group.
Take a walk around the church’s north Lawrence neighborhood.
Make zwieback rolls. You can find recipes online or ask Jim Krause or Steve Unruh for their recipe! (Then maybe take some rolls to a church friend–or the pastor!)
Spirit
ways to connect with God
Pray for each person in the church directory.
Go to Pastor Joanna’s blog index and find a worship piece or sermon based on one of your favorite scriptures. (Or any random scripture.)
*Find something in your home to use as a peace lamp or candle. Light it each day (maybe at the dinner table or before bed) and say a prayer for Peace Mennonite Church and for peace in our community and our world.
Use the current At-Home Worship materials and then join the church Zoom call at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Peace Mennonite Church 
I read the church mission statement, Joanna’s testimony to repeal the death penalty, the article on the building expansion, and the biography of the church’s first pastor.