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The deadly sin of greed
Categories: ViewpointsOn a perfectly lovely summer day last month, I joined a couple hundred people for a worship service on the edges of a wheat field. The crop on the field…
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Beware of ‘undue influence’
Categories: ViewpointsBack in 2011, I met with an elderly person to assist her with will and estate planning. “Maggie’s” intentions were to name a couple of friends as executors and give…
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‘New Coke’ church
Categories: ViewpointsIn the spring of 1985, Coke decided to change the recipe of its flagship beverage for the first time in 99 years. The intensity of consumer rejection was unprece-dented. Protesters…
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Camp Valaqua builds for the future
Categories: UncategorizedCamp programs were in full swing alongside Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) hammers at Camp Valaqua this summer. MDS teams are usually found on disaster sites, helping to rebuild homes, so…
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Righting an historical wrong
Categories: UncategorizedA paper cut-out of Joseph Cramer has stood prominently at the many House of Friendship (HoF) events during the Kitchener-based social agency’s 75th-anniversary year. The implication of this is that…
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Celebrating summer fun together
Categories: UncategorizedThe sun shone, the air was warm—but not too warm—and there were no mosquitoes. It was, in fact, a day perfect for a picnic. On Aug. 10, people of all…
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Listening to those being served
Categories: UncategorizedWhen John Neufeld took the reins as director of Kitchener’s House of Friendship (HoF), he was confused by the 19 separate programs it was running: shelters, a food bank, addiction…
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‘Helplessly in love with music’
Categories: UncategorizedOn a Wednesday evening in early June, Waterloo musician and musicologist Wilbur (Bill) Maust was seated in the chapel of Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo, Ont., among some 170 family…
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A family in need of a fresh start
Categories: Artbeat“The only safe place is inside the story,” reads an epigraph to this first novel by Sarah Klassen of Winnipeg. This story moves through a momentous year in the life…
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‘Along the Road to Freedom’
Categories: ArtbeatSeeking to honour the faith of Mennonite mothers who single-handedly brought their families through difficult and challenging experiences to safety, Winnipeg artist Ray Dirks has created “Along the Road to…
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Readers write: September 1, 2014 issue
Categories: Viewpoints‘Whatever happened to forgiveness?’ Re: Pastor’s credentials withdrawn,” July 7, page 23. When I read the short release regarding Tym Elias, I was reminded of similar situations where church leaders…
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A new leadership model
Categories: Editorial“We would benefit more if our leaders were leading more and following less,” lamented one reader in reflecting on the Being a Faithful Church (BFC) discussions at Assembly 2014 this…
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Rape culture from a Mennonite perspective
Categories: UncategorizedOn Friday, May 23, 2014, Elliot Rodger killed six people at the University of California Santa Barbara before he turned the gun on himself. In his manifesto, he stated he…
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A world of diverse Mennonite faith
Categories: UncategorizedLast year I was asked if I was interested in serving on the planning committee for Mennonite Church Canada’s Native Assembly 2014. Taking a directed reading course on aboriginal theology…
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Rape culture from a Mennonite perspective
Categories: UncategorizedOn Friday, May 23, 2014, Elliot Rodger killed six people at the University of California Santa Barbara before he turned the gun on himself. In his manifesto, he stated he…
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BFC: Whom are we serving?
It’s been over a month since the Mennonite Church Canada Assembly was held in my new/old hometown of Winnipeg, but I for one am still thinking about everything I heard…
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Church takes tithing to a new level
Categories: Web FirstWhen Douglas Mennonite Church decided to undertake an extensive renovation of their Winnipeg facility two years ago, they took tithing to a whole new level. They promised to donate 10…
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Building friendship through music
Categories: UncategorizedIt may be a blip on the radar compared to other events of its kind, but what it lacks in size the Spruce River Folk Festival more than makes up…
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Taking fun and faith on the road
Categories: UncategorizedThe pews are pushed together along the walls while in the middle of the sanctuary children play an energetic game of Duck, Duck, Goose. Vacation Bible School (VBS) is in…
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Summer of my discontent
I have been absent from this blog for a while. I wish I had a grand excuse, like gallivanting around Europe, or road tripping across the country, or building a…
