Articles : Stephen Kriss
April 29 issue
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Kriss
God knows why we won’t go to Phoenix
My church is made up of immigrants and migrants. We are political refugees. We have arrived here because of economic realities. We’ve been granted religious asylum. We’ve come to Philadelphia to find ourselves, to find flourishing space. We all landed in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Compassion for different reasons, and we’ve become the largest Mennonite Church USA congregation in the city.
This summer, though, we won’t be going to Phoenix to join with other Mennonites to discern and fellowship. We’re staying home from the MC USA convention because we’re honoring those among us who are undocumented and would risk too much in making the trip to Arizona. We know that bearing witness this summer is important, but we won’t put our most vulnerable members at risk by traveling there.
March 18 issue
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Students reflect changing face of church
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been dispatched to diverse contexts in relationship to Eastern Mennonite University. This included Spanish conversations in Sarasota, Fla., gathering around a ping-pong table in the basement of a rowhouse in the District of Columbia, and listening to stories of growing up far away while eating at a Mennonite-owned sushi restaurant in Philadelphia.
Feb. 4 issue
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God’s caretakers
After Hurricane Sandy, I trekked with a Mennonite Disaster Service assessment team out to the peninsula of the Rockaway neighborhoods of New York City. This thin peninsula juts south from Long Island into the Atlantic in the borough of Queens. It’s a beautiful spot for a beach vacation, but a precariously situated stretch of city neighborhoods packed with people.
Dec. 24, 2012 issue
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Grace in the ruins of a Superstorm
My colleague Andrew and I were trawling through New Dorp Beach, scouting out potential relationships and photo ops to tell the story of Mennonite Disaster Service’s response to Superstorm Sandy on Staten Island.
Nov. 12, 2012 issue
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Revolutionary dream
Traveling in the Sinai of Egypt this spring I met Mustafa, a twentysomething tour guide with a degree in ancient history and a decent handle on English. His workload diminished significantly with the Arab Spring and ensuing unrest. He had retreated to the now nearly deserted Sinai Peninsula, hoping to work in the resort areas and with tour groups visiting Mount Sinai. We were the first American group in weeks.
Oct. 1, 2012 issue
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Taking the Esther principle to the polls
I’m uncomfortable in the presidential election season. The divisiveness makes me irritable. The campaigns reduce important issues to the most simplistic thinking possible.
Aug. 20, 2012 issue
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Lessons from British taxi drivers
Just before the world’s eyes were on London for the Olympics, I traveled with a group of Eastern Mennonite Seminary students to the U.K. to visit Anabaptist-related groups.
July 9, 2012 issue
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Spirit shows up when we take risks
About a dozen of us were gathered around fresh-squeezed orange juice and a couple of tables just inside the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. We had been traveling in Israel and the Occupied Territories as part of a partnership between Franconia Mennonite Conference and Biblical Seminary of Hatfield, Pa.
May 28, 2012 issue
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Defined by a martyr complex
Having recently returned from Israel-Palestine, I am struck at how the martyr complex manifest there also remains ingrained within Mennonite identity. And I am more convinced than ever that we need to re-imagine how we tell our stories of struggle and grace.
April 16, 2012 issue
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Considering our brother Trayvon
I live in Philadelphia, a city named by love but plagued by violence. The violence is sometimes plotted, sometimes random, sometimes systemic. With a murder a day on the news and frequent stories of fisticuffs, I become more or less numb to the news. I live in one of the “good” zip codes. I have a security system at my house.
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