Looking Back - Moving Forward
Motivational speaker Joe Girard encourages people to “Look back to learn how to look forward.” We decided the perfect way to begin our journey as co-editors of MennoExpressions (ME) would be to look back at past issues to get a sense of how it all began, what it has evolved into, and what it might become in the future. So, we collected all the past issues and began reading. What an exciting journey it was to experience the story of First Mennonite Church through the articles and stories in each issue of ME. In our trip down MENNOry Lane, we paid particular attention to structure, content, and functions, and used some of what we learned by looking back as inspiration for this issue of MennoExpressions.
Structure
MennoExpressions was “born” in October 1987. For several years, it was a monthly publication, with a copy of the newsletter appearing in FMC mailboxes each month, except August and September. In addition to feature articles related to each issue’s theme, early ME included an editorial (“My Turn”) and a column from the pastor (”Pastor’s Pen Points”). There were also several regular columns for readers to enjoy in each issue. Some of you may remember “At a Glance,” which was a table or pie chart sharing results from a survey. For example, a survey published in Vol. 1, Issue 1, asked, “Why do you come to church?” The responses indicate that 36% of the 96 respondents came for “fellowship,” and 25% came for “worship.” Wonder what the results would be today? “Kicks for Kids” was another regular column. It provided a puzzle of some sort – crosswords, word searches (i.e., find the animals that Noah might have had in his ark), logic puzzles, or number puzzles. Other regular columns included ”Book Corner” and the “Photo of the Month.” The photos are especially fun to look back at; the first issue has a picture of someone sleeping in church . Before long, recipes became a regular part of MennoExpressions as did “Video Picks,” with recommendations for videos to rent. Later, artwork, a comic strip named First Impressions by E.L. Smucker, and poetry became frequent additions.
Content
Over the years, a wide variety of topics have been included in the pages of ME. Even though most issues had a particular focus, it was interesting to note the most commonly recurring themes. One prominent theme has been putting faith into action, whether through service to the larger community, service to each other, stewardship, or sharing our faith with others. ME articles have featured the many ways in which FMCers serve and seek justice for others. In fact, the lead article in the inaugural issue of ME describes the “Self Help Room” at FMC, which was the precursor to Global Gifts. Other service activities featured in the pages of MennoExpressions over the years include a Women’s Prison visitation program, Habitat for Humanity, the CROP walk, and the Crooked Creek Food Pantry.
A second recurring theme in the life of ME has been fellowship, with articles about church retreats such as Snow Camp and the all-church retreat that used to be held at Bradford Woods. Did you know that the first Bradford Retreat was held in 1966 for recently married couples and was expanded to include the entire congregation in 1970? Not surprisingly, food has always been an important part of fellowship at FMC. Articles report on fellowship meals, prayer breakfasts, and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” gatherings, and the regular “Recipes” column offered contributors a chance to share not only recipes but stories that went along with those recipes. Food hasn’t only been about feeding ourselves, though; it also has been about feeding others. While one of the more recent examples of that is IHN/Family Promise, one of the earliest issues of ME (November 1987) describes an “Outreach Meal” with a pig roast that attracted 250 attendees. Food and fellowship definitely go hand-in-hand (or hand-to-mouth?) at FMC!
A third theme that struck us as we looked back through the volumes of previous MennoExpressions was the focus on getting to know each other. In its growing years, ME included articles introducing newcomers or a recently selected trustee/elder to the church community. It wasn’t uncommon for an article to feature an individual sharing about their profession, hobby, or special talent. In addition, a reader-favorite seems to be the recognition of high school and college/university graduates in ME each summer. While personal details about church-goers’ lives seem to be mostly shared through social media these days, in the good old days, MennoExpressions served that function, too. We discovered articles in which people shared what their summer vacation plans were or how they were going to spend the holidays.
Functions
The themes and specific content of ME already reveal the functions this publication has served for the church. In the past 38 years, ME has played an important role in building and maintaining our church community. It has helped us define who we are as individual participants, as a church family, and as a force in the larger world. Finally, ME serves as a thought-provoking and fun archive of our faith community. If you are interested in perusing that archive yourself, bound copies of the print issues of MennoExpressions are available in the FMC Library.
That’s the looking back part – now for moving forward. As the church has changed over the years, and the technologies we use to communicate with each other have evolved, the functions of ME have changed some as well. Some of what ME used to do is now accomplished through the Wednesday email and the church’s social media platforms, such as the FMC Faith Formation group on Facebook. As the new editors, we’re looking forward to working with you, the readers, as we navigate the ongoing journey of MennoExpressions. In putting together this issue of MennoExpressions, we took inspiration from what we learned on our trip through the ME archives. We started by asking the past editors and some regular readers to send us their impressions of MennoExpressions. You will find articles extending some of the most common ME themes, such as Mary Liechty’s article on Global Gifts and Lynn Graber’s contribution on food and fellowship. Continuing the “getting-to-know-you” theme of past ME, this issue includes an introduction to our newest pastor, Ndunge Sefu, and carries on the tradition of recognizing high school and college graduates from FMC. We also invited artists, Sarah Burkholder and Annette Bolton, to explore the theme of “looking back, moving forward” in word and image. Happy reading!
About the Author
Beth Goering and Andrea Krause
Your co-editors at work - this time at Café Hoffnung (Café Hope) in Göttingen, Germany. We found this to be a particularly appropriate workspace because Café Hoffnung is a Christian church-run nonprofit. Every cup of coffee you drink and every pastry you eat there supports local social projects.
