Readers write: September 13, 2021 issue
Categories: OpinionNonviolence is the greatest ideal and goal Re: “Finding a balance between pacifism and reality” letter, Aug. 16, page 8. Like the letter writer, for much of my life I found nonviolence and pacifism a wonderful ideal to aspire to,…
Take a breath before the plunge
Categories: OpinionWinston Churchill, Great Britain’s Second-World-War-era prime minister, famously said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Or maybe it was Rahm Emanuel, former White House chief of staff and mayor of Chicago. The internet is unsure. Regardless, the phrase…
Doris Moyer
Categories: OpinionDavid Hunsberger’s photos are normally more well-composed. But it appears he saw the expression of expectation and joy on the face of music teacher Doris Moyer and he couldn’t wait to capture it. She grew up in Pennsylvania and taught…
The pack of smokes on my mantel
Categories: OpinionOn my mantel stands a pack of smokes. It’s in a place of honour. It’s probably been 50 years since I last purchased cigarettes for my own use. It’s a phase that came and went quickly. I’m good with that. A…
What is enough?
Categories: Opinion“Who says they have enough money? We’ve never heard such a thing!” blurted the students at a Christian college at which I used to teach. I had just told them that I was going on an international human-rights delegation. After…
Making it personal
Categories: OpinionOccasionally, if my wife Rebecca doesn’t get home when I was expecting her, my mind will become morbidly creative. I mustn’t be the only one who has “daymares” of their spouse dying in a car accident. Selfishly, I must admit…
Students in Burkina Faso write African church history
Categories: Web First – OpinionSibiri Samuel Zongo, a student at LOGOS University in Burkina Faso, lamented that the church in Africa is “like a canoe that passes without leaving a trace.” Anicka Fast, serving with Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Mission Network, is committed…
What is the loving thing to do?
Categories: OpinionThere is no question that COVID-19 has been disruptive. We, like the Israelites, found ourselves wandering in the wilderness, anxious to get back to normal. We have realized that “normal” will not happen anytime soon so, like the Israelites, we…
Expanded belonging
Categories: OpinionI’m not naturally a morning person; it usually takes a lot to get me started at the beginning of my day. But this last Wednesday, I set my alarm a little earlier and bounced up from bed like a child…
Seven ways to worship without singing
Categories: OpinionWhat can services look like without music? Mennonites express their unity and diversity through singing together. The coronavirus pandemic silenced many voices for the sake of public safety. As congregations cautiously welcome more people back into their buildings for in-person…
Will COVID-19 create lasting divisions in churches?
Categories: OpinionThe correlation is unavoidable. Some of the areas with the lowest vaccination rates in Canada are areas inhabited by lots of Mennonites. The Globe and Mail reported on vaccination resistance in the Aylmer area of Ontario, with special mention of…
Readers write: August 16, 2021 issue
Categories: Opinion‘Big’ farmers can be ‘Christians with a conscience’ too Re: “Germinating conversations,” June 7, page 16. It seems to me that this article has been written with a negative outlook. Will Braun is right when he says that this is…
Why don’t we talk about evangelism?
Categories: OpinionHe discretely looked to the left, then to the right and said quietly, “Why don’t we talk about evangelism in this denomination?” I grinned and replied, “Ever seen the movie A Thief in the Night?” “No”, he said. I briefly…
Der Bote 1924
Categories: OpinionThe German-language periodical Der Bote was begun in Rosthern, Sask., in 1924, to connect Mennonites in Russia, Canada, the United States and Latin America. It had generations of faithful readers, like Mrs. Lepp, pictured. Der Bote recorded the pain and…
What will church look like?
Categories: OpinionChurch is not the building. We’ve heard that often over the last 18 months. But now that some congregations are back in their building, with the rest trying to figure it out, I wonder who will come back? And what…
It’s about to get weird
Categories: OpinionI was about to take a shower, and for some reason, I looked at myself in the mirror. Rookie mistake. You see, I’ve gained 5.5 kilograms in the last year and, without access to my local gym and trainer for…
Hearing from God
Categories: OpinionA long time ago I told God that I was his, and that I would follow him wherever he led me. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to decipher God’s leading! Does that still small voice belong to God, or is…
Safe space in light of COVID-19
Categories: OpinionOn a cold wintry night in the middle of February around a decade ago, I arranged five chairs at the table for our committee meeting. One person came in looking wretched; she blew her nose and sneezed through the whole…
Readers write: July 19, 2021 issue
Categories: OpinionBeware of pulling up the crop with the weeds Re: “Author, bookstore owner dispute ‘censorship’ claim,” June 7, page 21. Censorship versus freedom of speech is a hot topic in the news and, rather than debate thoughtfully about it, we’ve…
‘It is so good to connect!’
Categories: Opinion“It is so good to connect with each other.” In my role as executive minister of Mennonite Church Alberta, I have heard this sentiment expressed many times in many different ways. It is a feeling I heard expressed again on…
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