Again and Again…We Are Shown the Way

Sermon from Sunday, March 7 John 2:13-22 | D.L. Mayfield and Kelley Nikondeha D. L. Mayfield lives and writes on the outskirts of Portland, OR with her husband and two small children. Her first book of essays, Assimilate or Go Home: Notes from a Failed Missionary on Rediscovering Faith was released by HarperOne in 2016. Her second book, The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power will be released in April 2020. Her writing has appeared in a variety of places, including McSweeneys, Christianity Today, Sojourners, The Washington Post, Image Journal, Vox, and The Rumpus, among many others. She is trying very hard to be a good neighbor. Practical theologian Kelley Nikondeha is the author of Defiant: What the Women of Exodus Teach Us About Freedom as well as Adopted: The Sacrament of Belonging in Fractured World. Kelley calls the Roman Catholic Church “the point of my theological origin,” though she has also been profoundly shaped by evangelical and charismatic expressions of faith and now describes herself as “ecclesiastically promiscuous.” Her growing understanding of her heritage and her bi-cultural marriage have also helped refine her theology. Born to a Mexican mother, she was adopted at three months old; her adoptive mother is also Mexican-American. Kelley’s husband is Burundian, and they make their home in Burundi, where she is co-director and chief storyteller for Communities of Hope, a community-development organization.