For discussion: ‘Peace be with you’
Categories: Feature Articles1. When you meet friends or family, what form of greeting do you use? Have you ever met anyone who used “peace” as a greeting? Does your congregation use “passing…
I was in prison
Categories: Feature ArticlesJust before Jack McKay* was let out of prison, a local paper ran an article that portrayed him as an unhinged, unreformed sexual predator. The message was blunt: Beware, be…
For discussion: I was in prison
Categories: Feature Articles1. 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 McKay,…
The 100 percent clean comedian
Categories: Feature ArticlesMatt 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…
Laughter is sacred space
Categories: Feature ArticlesLaughter 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…
For discussion: The 100 percent clean comedian and Laughter is sacred space
Categories: Feature Articles1. 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…
Other faiths speak out on end-of-life issues
Categories: Feature ArticlesPhysician-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, rather than…
Only God can determine the time and place of death
Categories: Feature Articles“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…
God gives life, nobody should try to take it away
Categories: Feature ArticlesHinduism 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 assist someone who…
Obligated to ‘choose life’
Categories: Feature ArticlesTo 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…
Applying ancient wisdom to the here and now
Categories: Feature ArticlesBuddhism 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…
For discussion: Other faiths speak out on end-of-life issues
Categories: Feature Articles1. 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 person commit…
‘Right to life does not include the right to be killed’
Categories: Feature ArticlesLawyers 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 condemns the…
A book of answers . . . or a book of God-with-us stories?
Categories: Feature ArticlesA 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…
For discussion: A book of answers . . . or a book of God-with-us stories?
Categories: Feature Articles1. 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…
Listen to the unjust judge
Categories: Feature ArticlesWhen 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…
For discussion: Listen to the unjust judge
Categories: Feature Articles1. 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…
Bread, acceptance and covenant
Categories: Feature ArticlesUpdate: 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. To learn more, see ‘Credentials…
A multi-atonement communion service
Categories: Feature ArticlesThe 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…
For discussion: ‘Sounding the Scriptures’
Categories: Feature Articles1. 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…
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