Remembrance, regret, resolution
Categories: OpinionI miss my Opa. A few years ago, my daughter Ellie had a school assignment for Remembrance Day to to write about someone she remembered that served in the armed forces. She wrote about her great-grandfather (Opa). Helping her write…
Readers write: October 25, 2021 issue
Categories: OpinionNo religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccines: MC Canada Mennonite Church Canada’s executive ministers released a statement at the end of September responding to inquiries from constituents regarding exemption from COVID-19 vaccines. It states: “For a religious exemption to be granted,…
Plymouth Victory
Categories: OpinionLook way off in the distance behind the North American Mennonite and Brethren farm boys (looking rather dazed at their surroundings) and you will notice the ruins of ancient Athens. These young men volunteered to tend horses and other livestock…
Is that not us?
Categories: OpinionI am pondering yet again the “Mennonite” label, and what it means for us today in Canada. There are three things that recently provoked these questions. First, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) funded historical research on its historical relationship with Nazism.…
Into the woods
Categories: OpinionTomorrow I’m driving to a log cabin in remote northern Quebec to spend a month in the woods by myself. That said, I’m not exactly roughing it. The cabin has electricity, a kitchen, a bathroom and what looks like a…
Readers write: October 11, 2021 issue
Categories: OpinionIdea of defunding the police based on false premises Re: “Defund the Police?”, Sept. 27, page 4. This response is not addressed to the generalizations made in this article (police “don’t prevent crime,” “officers spend most of their time…,” and…
The banality of saying ‘Intercultural’
Categories: OpinionNo one would dispute that our world has become intercultural. Culture meets culture and languages are exchanged randomly on streets, in restaurants, in classrooms and even during Sunday church worship. “Intercultural” is being used at a massive rate. But this…
The benefits of a hamlet
Categories: OpinionSomeone suggested I apply for a pastoral position in a church in a large Canadian city. My ego liked that quite a lot. Then I gave it some thought. The whimsical welding project that has mostly held me in thrall…
What is learning?
Categories: OpinionLearning happens because learners do something, not because teachers teach. Education is not about teaching—it is about learning. Of course, we should value teachers! The best ones teach people how to learn. Still, learning is an ongoing process, happening inside,…
An enemy of hope
Categories: OpinionThree years after graduating from Bible college on the prairies, I returned for a one-week complimentary alumni seminary course. I was excited to be back in the classroom again, but if I’m completely honest, I was just as, if not…
‘Whatever happened to simple living?’ – Part 2
Categories: OpinionFor 45 years, the More-with-Less Cookbook has been a beacon of the Mennonite legacy of simple living. The popular, and much more recent, cookbook, Mennonite Girls Can Cook, is rooted in a decidedly more First-World spirituality. The divergent books illustrate…
Readers write: September 27, 2021 issue
Categories: OpinionWhat if there had been no war in Afghanistan? While it is water under the bridge, it is still worth pondering what would have happened if the United States and allies had not gone to war in Afghanistan some 20…
Holy space
Categories: OpinionWhen I was director of Person-to-Person, a prison visitation program started by Mennonite Church Saskatchewan in the early 1970s, the V&C Room (Visitors and Correspondence Room) was often a place of holy space. While the prison system has a strict…
Torchbearers
Categories: OpinionOn the heels of the Second World War, the General Conference Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Church were concerned about scouting programs that promoted patriotism to boys and girls. In 1957, the Wayfarers girls club was begun and in 1958,…
Weak ties matter
Categories: OpinionLong ago I studied both sociology and theology, and I remain intrigued by the relationships between culture and faith. We can’t have one without the other. Which influences the other more? One of the ideas that has intrigued me through…
The misplaced pursuit of authenticity
Categories: OpinionBeing authentic has always been important to me. However, what authenticity means or looks like isn’t always as straightforward as I’d like. Especially as a pastor. One of the reasons authenticity has been such a big priority for me is…
‘Whatever happened to simple living?’ – Part 1
Categories: OpinionGoing right back to Menno himself, Mennonites have valued simplicity. But to what extent has this ethos survived the age of gadget-saturation, relentless advertising and soul-numbing consumption? It feels odd to even use the term “simple living” now. It feels…
A more inclusive story
Categories: OpinionHow can Mennonite historical sites become sites of decolonization and reconciliation? This question has challenged and inspired my husband Joshua and me for the past four years, as we have served as hosts of Brubacher House Museum. This is an…
Opinion/columns
