1. What experiences have you had with prison visitation or helping someone with a painful past become settled in Canadian society? What level of acceptance would someone like Jack... Read More
Features
Born and raised in Niverville, Man., Matt Falk began performing stand-up at the age of 17 after seeing comedians like Ellen DeGeneres and Robin Williams on TV. ‘I just wanted to be like them so badly,’ he recalls. ‘I think that’s what motivated me.’ (Photo courtesy of Matt Falk)
Matt Falk recalls one of his worst gigs from the beginning of his career as a comedian. He was hired to perform at a corporate event, and during his 30-minute set the audience... Read More
March 12, 2014 | Feature | By Aaron Epp
Laughter has always been a huge part of my working career, working as a writer and actor in comedic theater. Most etymologists, those who study where words come from, believe that... Read More
March 12, 2014 | Feature | Ted Swartz
1. What kind of jokes make you laugh? Why do we value a sense of humour? When can laughter be disrespectful or inappropriate? What is the tipping point where there is too much... Read More
March 12, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
Physician-assisted suicide has been in the news a lot recently. Last spring, Canadians watched as Winnipegger Susan Griffiths took her final journey to Switzerland to end her life... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Compiled by John Longhurst
Sikander Hashmi
“Do not kill yourselves: for verily God is to you most merciful” (Qur’an 4:29). It is commonly understood that when we were born, we had no choice but to become a citizen of this... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Sikander Hashmi
Atish Maniar
Hinduism is based on nonviolence. Suicide—killing oneself—is an act of violence. Killing another person is also wrong. In Hindu scriptures, nowhere is it mentioned that one can... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Atish Maniar
Alan Green
To begin with, Judaism teaches that our lives belong to God. We are mere stewards of the body which the Creator has given us. As Jews, we also believe that we are commanded to... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Alan Green
Fredrich Ulrich
Buddhism as an organized religion began some 2,600 years ago. The advanced technology we have today was unimaginable in those distant eras. We are thus faced with the problem of... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Fredrich Ulrich
1. John Longhurst refers to a recent poll indicating that 70 percent of Canadians support physician-assisted suicide and 68 percent believe that those who help a seriously ill... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
Lawyers with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), of which Mennonite Church Canada is a member, have joined lawyers from across the country in signing a declaration that... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Evangelical Christian Fellowship
A mayor in Texas made headlines this past December when he proclaimed 2014 as “the Year of the Bible.” “Throughout the history of the United States, one of the most important... Read More
February 12, 2014 | Feature | Aaron Epp
1. What biblical movies have you seen? Will you watch the upcoming releases mentioned by Aaron Epp? Do you think Hollywood movies are an effective way to learn stories from the... Read More
February 12, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
Photo credit: www.freebiblemages.com
When I first read this passage in Luke’s gospel, in preparation for preaching on it, I thought, “Oh, this is just too easy.” Unlike some stories which leave you scratching your... Read More
January 29, 2014 | Feature | By Anita Fast
1. In what situations have you prayed for justice or deliverance? Have you ever begun to doubt that you were praying hard enough, or even to doubt the existence of God? How do you... Read More
January 29, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
Update: In October 2020, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada announced the termination of the ministerial credentials of John D. Rempel, on the basis of ministerial sexual misconduct... Read More
January 15, 2014 | Feature | John D. Rempel
The good news is that God came to us in Jesus Christ to reconcile us to himself and to invite us into his kingdom. The news of what God has done—and is doing—for us in Christ is... Read More
January 15, 2014 | Feature | By Palmer Becker
1. In what setting have you heard someone “sound the Scripture,” telling a Bible story without reading it? How is re-telling a story different from reading it or repeating it from... Read More
December 31, 2013 | Feature | By Barb Draper
Biblical storyteller John Epp
Managing editor Ross W. Muir was introduced to biblical storytelling when John Epp, a member of the Network of Biblical Storytellers Canada and Toronto United Mennonite Church,... Read More
December 31, 2013 | Feature |
1. Do your Christian values make you feel like a resident alien in Canada? How strong are your ties of loyalty to Canada? How strong is your allegiance to your local community or... Read More
December 11, 2013 | Feature | By Barb Draper
In Philippians 2:25-30, the Apostle Paul advises the violently besieged Christian community in Philippi to grant special “honours” to a “fellow-soldier” who has “risked his life”... Read More
December 11, 2013 | Feature | By Gordon Zerbe
In the first 300 years of the Christian church, before church and state became fused, preachers and leaders regularly used the language of “citizenship” to describe the Christian... Read More
December 11, 2013 | Feature | By Gordon Zerbe
Ray Friesen suggests, ‘If we can imagine a nativity scene in first-century Palestine (pictured), we can possibly imagine it in our 21st-century world.’
In Charles Dickens' well-known story, A Christmas Carol, anyone who dares enter the inner sanctum of Ebenezer Scrooge's office with so much as a suggestion of Christmas is greeted... Read More
November 20, 2013 | Feature | By Ray Friesen
1. Do you know anyone with a “Bah! Humbug! ” attitude towards Christmas? What makes you want to say “Bah! Humbug! ”? Where do you draw the line on sentimentalism? What does it... Read More
November 20, 2013 | Feature | By Barb Draper