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A way of life
Categories: Feature ArticlesHowever difficult this book is to read, Dawn Ruth Nelson has done the church a significant service in her study. Her effort to both diagnose the malaise in North American…
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My journey into prayer
Categories: Feature ArticlesGrowing up in a family with an Evangelical Mennonite bent meant that I early on learned about going to church. While we had prayers at meals, bedtime and on special…
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Encountering the living God
Categories: Feature ArticlesGod is a living God who encounters us in our daily lives.” So said Arnold Snyder, professor of history at Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo, Ont., during a Reformation Sunday…
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When you come . . .
Categories: Feature ArticlesIn addition to the usual Assembly 2011 activities, local organizers have planned a number of tours of Waterloo Region, including: Historic Ebytown. Engage the historical Mennonite presence in downtown Kitchener…
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Meet me at the Grand!
Categories: Feature ArticlesIt is 1786. The first Swiss Mennonites have just arrived in Ontario, having travelled from Pennsylvania in Conestoga wagons. They crossed the mighty Niagara River by taking the wheels off…
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Mennonite workers appeal for prayer for Burkina Faso
Categories: Feature ArticlesJeff Warkentin, Mennonite Church Canada worker in Burkina Faso, West Africa, has sent out a prayer appeal in light of continued political unrest in Ouagadougou, the capital city. Six years…
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For discussion
Categories: Feature Articles1. When did your congregation first have a woman preach a sermon or first have a woman pastor? How open was the congregation to this change? Were there surprises in…
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‘I don’t have to prove anything’
Categories: Feature ArticlesThroughout her childhood and youth Martha Smith Good believed her conservative Swiss Markham-Waterloo Mennonite church north of Toronto was all about rules and regulations. “In my spirit/soul I knew there…
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You don’t have to be perfect
Categories: Feature ArticlesIt was the simple yet profound welcome she received as a stranger in a Mennonite church that made all the difference to Erin Morash, who says she grew up in…
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Not her gender, but her age that’s an issue
Categories: Feature ArticlesRecently ordained, Emily Toews—at 35—is the youngest female lead pastor in Mennonite Church Saskatchewan. She has served for four years at North Star Mennonite Church in Drake, and clearly enjoys…
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Not a stereotype
Categories: Feature ArticlesAs far as I know, I’m the only one. I’m the only home-grown Alberta woman who left the province, studied in Mennonite institutions, and is a pastor back here. Friends…
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From a closed community to an open heart
Categories: Feature ArticlesGrowing up in a very conservative Old Colony Mennonite home in the 1950s and ’60s, I soon learned that education was not encouraged. Church was meant only to attend. I…
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Women in ministry
Categories: Feature ArticlesCanadian Mennonite profiles the inspiring stories of women pastors from each of Mennonite Church Canada’s five area churches, beginning with Eve Isaak from British Columbia and working east to Martha…
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Creating a new culture for recovery
Categories: Feature ArticlesDr. Mark Ragins, a well-known American psychiatrist who has dedicated his life and practice to recreating, improving and sustaining mental health recovery programs, spoke to 200 people who attended the…
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A crash course in grace
Categories: Feature ArticlesEvery one of us deals with mental health challenges. Whether we’re losing sleep about the math exam tomorrow or are hospitalized for schizophrenia, whether we’re on medication for depression or…
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The changing face of mental illness among Mennonites
Categories: Feature ArticlesAmerican Mennonite conscientious objectors (COs) working in mental hospitals during World War II decried the deplorable and inhumane treatment of patients. One symbolically powerful way they objected—and advocated for better…
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For discussion
Categories: Feature Articles1. Do you remember comments about physical appearance from when you were young? What attitude did your parents and family have about physical appearance? How did they communicate that attitude?…
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Breaking down the pretty/ugly altars
Categories: Feature ArticlesI think you know a lot about Jesus’ body, so I invite you to close your eyes and picture some things. Picture Jesus as a baby, his tiny body wrapped…
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For discussion
Categories: Feature Articles1. What has your congregation done to help members dealing with personality disorders, addiction or family dysfunction? How effective has it been? How involved should the congregation or the pastor…
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‘Hi, my name’s Steve* and I’m a porn addict’
Categories: Feature ArticlesMy first experience with pornography was at a corner store when I was nine years old. On a dare, I picked up a Playboy magazine and found that those glossy…
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