Author Archives: Ruth Harder

What do you get when Mennonites, Methodists, and a Mayor make lunch? Goulash! Last winter Rachel Hostetler and I volunteered at the Willa Gill Food Kitchen. I knew that Rainbow volunteers helped serve lunch at Willa Gill periodically and so … Continue reading →

What could have been an awkward moment this past Sunday turned into laughter and fun. Tara Lindahl came forward to lead the time with children, but unfortunately no children came with her. She and Ashton Wells handled the situation like … Continue reading →

I wish I could be transported back in time to the Mennonite Church located on Rainbow Boulevard, known at that time as Kansas City Mennonite Church. I would choose April 20, 1964. That is the day many young scholars in … Continue reading →

My good friend and Mennonite Church USA and Western District Conference pastoral colleague Joanna Harader often gets strange looks when she introduces herself around fellow Mennonites, especially when those said Mennonites are more accustomed to the last name “Harder.” Sometimes … Continue reading →

On Sunday, June 28 Hannah Heinzekehr and I lit these 21 candles, each candle representing one of the 21 conferences within Mennonite Church USA. Ten days later I returned to Rainbow and felt the urge to light them again. With … Continue reading →

They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” -Luke 24: 32 I  am coming down with a serious case … Continue reading →

Believe it or not, I never ever set out to be a preacher. As a young girl, I was always more comfortable dribbling basketballs than I was speaking or writing. I thought if I was made to do anything, it … Continue reading →

What follows is a guest blog post entry by Diane Richardson Spaite. Thank you Diane, for being a persistent, courageous, compassionate, and bold community leader and advocate here in Rosedale and beyond! _______ Just as the leaves were beginning to … Continue reading →

Rosi Penner Kaufman tells me that the first email she has between us that mentions the word “Whoosh” is dated Nov. 7, 2013. Something  happened during worship planning that seemed more than coincidental and one of us said something like, … Continue reading →

Several months ago I left the Reference Council gathering of Western District Conference feeling all twisted up. I don’t particularly enjoy talking about or stirring up controversy. There are others much more skilled than me in this department. I feel … Continue reading →