Where do transformation, inspiration and calling come from?
Categories: OpinionThe book of Hebrews argues that nothing compares with Jesus. Jesus is the living God, the everlasting high priest and the redeemer of humanity. The author uses a metaphor of running an agonizing race to describe the believer’s call, a…
What We Owe the Future
Categories: OpinionIn a time of great uncertainty, do we give up on worldly concerns, or try to return to a storied past? Or do we look ahead to what we can do for the future? In his 2022 New York Times…
Readers write: June 30, 2023 issue
Categories: OpinionColumn about Holy Land draws response In response to Randy Haluza-DeLay’s June 16 column, “Not talking politics in the Holy Land,” Canadian Mennonite received over 70 identical copies of the letter below. The form letter was posted on the website…
A plastic chair partnership
Categories: OpinionI was recently tasked with writing a “giving catalogue” that will highlight various activities of Mennonite Church Canada International Witness. For some organizations, this would be easy—one goat costs $15—but how do you reduce leadership development and mentoring, relationship building…
Peter J. Dyck
Categories: OpinionPeter J. Dyck was recognized with an honorary doctorate from the University of Waterloo on Oct. 18, 1974. Dyck was born in 1914 and immigrated with his family to a farm near Laird, Saskatchewan, in 1927. During World War II,…
Unity and uniformity
Categories: OpinionAs a preteen more than 50 years ago, I remember asking my mom about the difference between Baptists and Mennonites, given that we were members of a Fellowship Baptist church while all our relatives were Mennonite Brethren. My mom stumbled…
Worship through visual art
Categories: OpinionIf you have flipped through Voices Together, you have likely found that visually it looks like many other worship and song collections, with one noticeable difference: the inclusion of visual art. Unlike previous collections, the new hymnal contains 12 works…
Let’s talk about spiritual experiences
Categories: OpinionIn my April column, I invited Canadian Mennonite readers to email me their experiences, thoughts and questions about the Holy Spirit. I’m humbled and grateful to the many people who took the time to formulate responses and send them to…
Four models of multiracial church
Categories: OpinionIn his 2003 book, One Body, One Spirit: Principles of Successful Multiracial Churches, George Yancey shares the results of a major study funded by the Lily Endowment and conducted by Michael Emerson, Karen Chai and Yancey. The researchers discuss four…
Readers write: June 16, 2023 issue
Categories: OpinionSpringfield Heights process flawed I want to thank Canadian Mennonite for the report on Carman Mennonite Church and Springfield Heights Mennonite Church leaving Mennonite Church Manitoba (“Two congregations withdraw from MC Manitoba,” May 5). As a member of Springfield Heights,…
Are pick-and-shovel prayers still tearing through God’s rooftop?
Categories: OpinionIn Mark 2:1, Jesus teaches the word to crowds gathered at his home. (Most readers don’t realize this was likely Jesus’s house). Jesus didn’t want the crowds. In the previous verses he healed a leper and told him not to…
Walnut Receiving Home
Categories: OpinionIn 1976, Jake and Trudy Unrau bought a home at 171 Walnut Street in Winnipeg and opened it up for Indigenous people visiting Winnipeg for medical appointments. In 1977, the Conference of Mennonites in Canada bought the home, and the…
The gift of urgency
Categories: OpinionAn impassioned rant by a grandchild included these words: “Opa, why are you not dead yet?” Why indeed. The comment regarding my deserved death connects to the story of a recent event in my life. I had been asked to…
Not talking politics in the Holy Land
Categories: OpinionTourism is often promoted for the sake of economic development and toward the goal of breaking down stereotypes and barriers. A companion and I just returned from the Holy Land. My thoughts are filled with how our travel promotes or…
Deciding where to drink
Categories: OpinionWould you rather drink from the fountain of youth or the fountain of life? Why is our culture so obsessed with the many iterations of the mythical fountain of youth? Is it a desperate desire for more time, or a…
A safe-ish consumption site
Categories: OpinionThis spring it dawned on me that our front yard occasionally functions as a safe-ish consumption site. Almost 10 years ago we bought a small church in Winnipeg’s West End and renovated it to be our home. The exterior looks…
Readers write: June 2, 2023
Categories: OpinionPuff U2’s “One Tree Hill” is a hymn that is both grief-laden and hope-filled, a hope shaped by Christological themes (“U2’s Mennonite string section,” May 5). I was looking forward to reflections on the intersections between the faith and spirituality…
The idol of neutrality
Categories: OpinionDuring a Mennonite Church gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina, some years ago, I decided to go to a local restaurant for lunch. I left my name tag and swag bag behind so that I would look less vulnerable to thieves,…
Menno House
Categories: OpinionMenno House was formed by a group of young Mennonite students and recent graduates living in Toronto in 1956. The aim was to provide support and community to Mennonite students in the city. The group became involved in youth leadership…
Communal prayers
Categories: OpinionI recall sitting through church services as a child, being even more bored with the pastor’s long prayer than I was by the sermon. During the sermon I could look around at people and out the windows, but during the…
Opinion/columns
