Readers write: October 17, 2022 issue
Categories: OpinionPreaching in a ‘maze of postmodern reality’ Say a prayer for pastors, teachers in seminaries and Mennonite schools, bishops and executive ministers, and any others who are tasked with leading the rest of us Anabaptist Christians through the maze of…
Only together can we heal
Categories: OpinionA former Maoist rebel, a Muslim corporate lawyer, a conservative Baptist pastor and an Indigenous coffee farmer walk into a coffee shop . . . and sit down for a board meeting for PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. In Mindanao, Philippines, these…
Queen in Manitoba
Categories: OpinionIn 1970, the province of Manitoba celebrated its 100th birthday, and celebrations included a visit by the queen and her family. Among the many stops and events in July was a visit to the town of Steinbach, and the Milltown…
Modelling another way to healing
Categories: OpinionThe past month has been indescribably hard for many here in Saskatchewan. I refer, of course, to the savage happenings on James Smith Cree Nation, and also touching nearby Weldon, which involved the violent deaths of 12 people and injury…
What is your theory of social change?
Categories: OpinionSome years after making a faith commitment, I was drawn by Anabaptism. It seemed to be a movement of the spirit, deeply aligned with the way of Jesus, which had attracted me to the Christian faith. The historic peace churches…
Abandoning the Lord
Categories: OpinionAs I read the annals of the kings of Israel in Chronicles, the length of the timeline gets lost on me. Only a few pages before I was reading the account of David, followed by a few pages for Solomon.…
Readers write: October 3, 2022 issue
Categories: OpinionIndigenous gifts to the world Re: “Get over being called a ‘settler’ ” letter, June 27, page 7. This letter writer suggests those of us who are descendants of settlers should ask ourselves how we have “benefited from colonialism.” We do…
A new chapter?
Categories: OpinionMy family and I entered a new chapter this past week. Shortly after our fourth child was born, I stepped away from my career as a nurse to focus on our family and our family farm. It has been more…
Amish bicentennial
Categories: OpinionYou are looking at one of the oldest original photographs in the Mennonite Archives of Ontario, likely taken in 1867. The father and daughter are John (or Jean) and Anna (“Annie”) Kennel. John was an Amish immigrant from France, like…
50 years of change
Categories: OpinionI was in Ottawa recently for the anniversary of the church that my parents started 50 years ago. In 1972, we were five families eager to start a new—and different—church in the east end of Ottawa. I was the oldest…
Water music for the soul
Categories: Opinion“Come to the water, living water. Come to the water, come all, singing.” These are the words of Voices Together No. 35, “Come to the Water.” For its composer, Carol Ann Weaver, the experience of finding living water has not…
The Paradox of Enoughness
Categories: OpinionIn an episode of the television show The Simpsons, Homer complimented his boss, Mr. Burns, on being the richest person he knew. Mr Burns replied, “Ah yes, but I’d trade it all away. . . for a little more.” This…
Readers write: September 19, 2022 issue
Categories: OpinionTwo editorials lauded Re: “Two things not up for debate” and “Acting ‘a little strange’ ” editorials, May 16 and June 27, respectively. What a great editorial. You are expressing my thoughts completely. When the abortion question was discussed in the…
A narrative of hope
Categories: OpinionThis fall is unlike any fall in my memory. As a new Mennonite pastor, I am entering this fall listening to the hearts and minds of the congregation at Foothills Mennonite Church and helping discern how our church lives faithfully…
Zollikon church
Categories: OpinionFor a few brief months in spring 1525, the first Anabaptist congregation flickered to life in this house in Zollikon, a village on the edge of Zurich, Switzerland. According to the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online, the group attempted to…
A tale of two clans
Categories: OpinionThis summer, I attended two family reunions separated by one week. The Olferts, my paternal family, gathered at Pike Lake for several days, while the Warkentins, the maternal side, met a week later at Shekinah, a church camp near my…
Climate imagination
Categories: OpinionFaith and imagination go hand in hand. Addressing climate change decidedly requires both. Can Christians imagine a different world that takes better care of creation and all human brothers and sisters? Over the past few weeks I have been intricately…
Grasping God’s glory
Categories: OpinionSometimes I wish God would indisputably appear in some fantastically obvious way, eliminating my wrestling, struggling and doubt. Something like what happens in II Chronicles 7: “When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering…
Canadian Mennonite online event will explore Indigenous-settler reconciliation
Categories: OpinionThe second event in a series of online discussions that Canadian Mennonite is hosting will take place on Zoom on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. ET. Hosted by Aaron Epp, CM’s online media manager, the discussion will explore Indigenous-settler…
Evangelism that heals
Categories: OpinionOn July 30, my brother was getting married in Williston, N.D., and I was the officiant. It was a lovely celebration, with little kids taking over the dance floor at the reception, and I’m delighted to have my brother’s partner…
Opinion/columns
