Cairn unveiled
Categories: OpinionHochstadt, Man., near Altona was the location of the first delegate meeting of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada (CMC) in 1903. A cairn was unveiled in July 1978 at that location to mark the 75th anniversary. On the left…
A pretty big leap for Arthur
Categories: OpinionIt’s Friday. I drive to Rosthern, Sask., and pull in at the Good Neighbours Food Centre, where I will spend the day volunteering. My task, besides praying before the doors are opened, is to deliver groceries to cars, and to…
Is it moral to bike?
Categories: OpinionWhat is a bike to you: Exercise? A commuter vehicle? Opportunity for a family outing? Tool for close-by errands? A connection to simple living? Related to your spirituality? One day, when the kids were young, I came home really upset…
Discovering my dross
Categories: OpinionI remember singing in various youth-group settings the once popular, and now dated-sounding, worship song, “Refiner’s Fire.” Admittedly, I never really took the time to ponder the metaphor of being refined in the fire. The words “Purify my heart, let…
Is church online for good?
Categories: Web First – Opinion“We’re all going through the same storm, but we’re not all in the same boat. Context is everything.” These words, spoken by a North American pastor, address the divergent responses to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Many congregations in Canada and…
What makes you happy?
Categories: Opinion“So . . . what’s next??” The dreaded question for every graduate. It’s been a few years (plus a few more!) since I graduated from high school and university, but I still remember this sense that, come graduation, I needed…
Lamenting the loss of young Indigenous lives
Categories: OpinionFollowing the discovery of the remains of 215 children on the grounds of the former Kamloops (B.C.) Indian Residential School by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) laments the loss of these young lives. We acknowledge…
Members from MC Canada delegation share what they learned
Categories: OpinionMembers of a Mennonite Church Canada delegation attended the virtual conference hosted by NAIITS—An Indigenous Learning Community from June 3 to 6. Each year NAIITS (formerly the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies) hosts a theological conversation intended for…
Readers write: June 21, 2021 issue
Categories: OpinionColumnist thanked for his ‘encouragement and inspiration’ Re: “Are you okay with okay?” April 26, page 11. What a fantastic reflection by Troy Watson. I am glad that he assumed this message was for someone, and that he let all…
A pastor’s struggle
Categories: OpinionI’m surrounded by a legion of internal voices telling me I am not the pastor I should be. I’m not enough of a leader, not caring enough, not informed enough, not clear, not decisive, not doing enough. My soul cowers…
Lament and love
Categories: OpinionOnce again news headlines are about how the church has failed. News about residential schools fill our newsfeeds, schools generally run by churches and funded by the government, with decades of separating families and leaving wounds of trauma for seven…
Being, doing and becoming
Categories: OpinionI’m sure you’ve heard the sayings, “We are not human doings, we are human beings,” “Just be,” or “Stop doing and start being.” I appreciate the sentiment behind these statements, but what do they mean? What does it mean to…
More than just a walk in the park
Categories: OpinionJust days before the Walk in the Spirit of Reconciliation began, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation discovered the remains of 215 children at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The news made the walk all the…
The Damascus Road Initiative
Categories: OpinionThis year marks a devastating milestone. It is the 10th anniversary of the war in Syria. This dreadful war has resulted in the deaths of a half-million people and is the largest displacement crisis since the Second World War. More…
Congregations need to talk about generosity
Categories: Web First – OpinionMany congregations struggle with finances, wishing their members would contribute more towards the budget, while assuming that no one wants to talk about money. In her book, Growing a Generous Church, Lori Guenther Reesor says this kind of thinking is…
Readers write: June 7, 2021 issue
Categories: OpinionFinal letters responding to controversial vaccine letter Re: “Reader calls on Mennonites to reject COVID-19 vaccines,” April 12, page 7. I applaud Canadian Mennonite for printing the letter because it highlights the diversity of thought that we find within the…
Courageous stories
Categories: OpinionWe have gone to places yet unknown, trusting in a God who leads and a Spirit who prays when our own words cease. Mother’s Day 2020 was the beginning of many outbreaks at the Leamington (Ont.) Mennonite Home, where I…
Egg collection
Categories: OpinionWe wish we knew more about George Hamm of Didsbury, Alta., and his egg collection. This photo was found in The Canadian Mennonite files from the 1960s, but it was not published in the newspaper. His collection was later listed…
A sign of the presence of God
Categories: OpinionSeveral months ago, I bleated piteously about a diabetes diagnosis. That has moved forward well, managed by diet, exercise and pills. Alongside, however, has come a new struggle with balance, dizziness and nausea. (To you medical folks, no, it’s not…
Opinion/columns
