Since its inception, L’Arche has been built on the values of mutual sharing, building relationships and being a signpost to the world that friendships with people who have... Read More
Blog
Deborah-Ruth Ferber, bottom right, visits L’Arche Warsaw. (Photo courtesy of Deborah-Ruth Ferber)
February 20, 2020 | Deborah-Ruth Ferber
'Imagine that Jesus asked us, “What do you want?” really wanting to know the answer. Imagine that we knew and were honest with him.' (Image by Pete Linforth/Pixabay)
“What do you want?” The tone says it all. The words are more of a put-down than a question spoken by a belligerent teen or a ticked off boss. But when the question is asked by... Read More
February 13, 2020 | Donna Dinsmore
This man still seated at Pompeii is a plaster cast, made by archaeologists who found voids in the solidified ash. (Photo by J. Nelson Kraybill)
The man sits as he died 2,000 years ago, in a position that looks like weeping. Surrounding him are amphorae jugs used to import wine, olive oil and fish sauce that fed the huge... Read More
February 6, 2020 | J. Nelson Kraybill
"And the Birds Rained Down" is 'a profound, stunningly beautiful film,' Vic Thiessen writes.
For various reasons, I watched fewer films in 2019 than in any of the previous five years. In general, the films listed below are not as strong as films on previous lists. In the... Read More
January 23, 2020 | Vic Thiessen
'I do, at the moment, have a way of holding myself together. It hinges on a hyphen.'
Let me be honest with you: I don’t want my kids to be evangelical Christians when they grow up. It was only recently, in one of those rare moments of fatherly self-awareness, that... Read More
January 16, 2020 | Paul Cumin
'Mondays is when he plays hockey with a bunch of other clergy.' (Image by Photo Mix/Pixabay)
Editor’s note: Last year at this time, Gary Harder, a retired Mennonite Church Canada pastor in southern Ontario, related the following on his blog. 'Tis a New Year. We have laid... Read More
January 9, 2020 | Gary Harder
'What difference will it make to see living as a gift?' (Image by George Dolgikh/Pixabay)
To get and to receive. These are the two modes of living which sustain us. Both of these paths provide for us, but there is a marked difference between them. In one, I am the... Read More
December 19, 2019 | Scott Tolhurst
(Image by Dale Forbes/Pixabay)
waiting in the dark this season and place tilted away from the sun provides generous hours of darkness darkness may harbour breathtaking fear endless dread of unknowns aching... Read More
December 12, 2019 | Eileen Klassen Hamm
'One of the ways we can expand the table and experience community with the wider Church is by following the rhythms of the church calendar.' (Image by cocoparisienne/Pixabay)
I don’t recall talking about Advent in the church in which I grew up, an Anabaptist church with a conservative evangelical bent. Certainly we didn’t mention Lent. And those other... Read More
December 5, 2019 | Michael Pahl
(Photo by Lee Scott/Unsplash.com)
As the days get shorter and darker it’s worthwhile to take some time to think about the connections between creation care and self care. If you’re anything like me, the increasing... Read More
November 28, 2019 | Zoe Matties
The exercise group at Foothills Mennonite Church. (Photo courtesy of June Miller)
In the fall of 2015, members of the neighbourhood community association asked if they could use our lower auditorium at Foothills Mennonite Church here in Calgary for a group of... Read More
November 21, 2019 | Erwin Strempler
A stretch of what remains of the Berlin Wall. (Image by Ingeborg Kråka/Pixabay)
On Nov. 9, 1989, I held on to my mother’s hand as hard as I could as we pushed through the crowds on the dark streets of Bonn, the capital of Germany at the time. At one point we... Read More
November 14, 2019 | Leona Lortie
(Image by Free-Photos/Pixabay)
I was working from home early last month when the doorbell rang. A delivery man handed me a box. An initial shake gave me the impression it contained books. Occasionally I do... Read More
November 8, 2019 | Anthony G. Siegrist
"We Are Best Friends," an acrylic painting by Laura Gross from the Millshof Community.
There are one hundred and seven Hutterite colonies in Manitoba and those colonies are home to a talented enclave of visual artists. I recently visited the Mennonite Heritage... Read More
October 31, 2019 | MaryLou Driedger
'It seems to me that we could be out participating in the wider culture; joyfully, cheerfully, confidently handing out ‘sweets’ in the various cultural arenas.' (Image by Tesa Robbins/Pixabay)
When I was a kid, Halloween was one of the best nights of the year. We lived in Drumheller, Alta. then. My mom and dad were both quite into Halloween and often lent their skills... Read More
October 24, 2019 | Steve Bell
'People want to come out and show their compassion.' (Image by carolynabooth/Pixabay)
Does this sound familiar? “At George’s request, cremation has taken place. There will be no funeral home visitation or service. As expressions of sympathy, donations to the... Read More
October 18, 2019 | Fred Redekop
'I believe the one thing individuals can do to have the greatest impact in the fight against climate change is to give up their cars.' (Image by tookapic/Pixabay)
The climate strike in Waterloo last month raised awareness and got people talking about climate change, which is a good thing. What's a lot more important but a lot more difficult... Read More
October 11, 2019 | Jonathan Klassen
'If nothing else, [this article] might inspire you to say a prayer for your pastor as they clear their throat behind the pulpit next Sunday morning.' (Image by Björn Eichenauer/Pixabay)
Around this time last year, someone forwarded an email to me about “Pastor Appreciation Month.” I think I vaguely knew that this was a thing, but I had no idea that it was upon us... Read More
October 3, 2019 | Ryan Dueck
'This is a prayer we are reluctant to pray because it is so hard to name what we fear out loud... We feel so small in the story of the world, and yet our actions have such big consequences.' (Image by Tumisu/Pixabay)
This is a prayer we are reluctant to pray because it is so hard to name what we fear out loud. We go through our days trying to pretend that life as normal will continue forever,... Read More
September 26, 2019 | Carol Penner
'I still make paper cranes often...' (Image by Anke Sundermeier/Pixabay)
As the policy analyst for Mennonite Central Committee Ottawa, I’m constantly engaging with Canadian politics. I mostly love politics, but it’s also so easy to get drawn into toxic... Read More
September 19, 2019 | Bekah Sears
"We all carry more profound debts than car loans and credit cards." (Image by Mohamed Hassan/Pixabay)
One of the terms I heard repeatedly at Gathering 2019 from June 29 to July 1 in Abbotsford, B.C. was “institutional church.” As in, “The institutional church would do things that... Read More
September 5, 2019 | Anthony G. Siegrist
'Our wanting is deeply influenced by what other people want, whether it’s a glass of expensive wine or the meticulously curated Instagram holidays of our friends.' (Image by StockSnap/Pixabay)
Most of us are at least dimly aware that our thinking and behaviour is influenced in important ways by our social circumstances. We tend, in general terms, to think and act like... Read More
August 22, 2019 | Ryan Dueck
'Her baby was crying loudly...' (Image by joffi/Pixabay)
Four weeks ago, just over 40 volunteers returned to Winnipeg from a week of service, learning and community engagement in Cross Lake, Man. This marked the 10th year that our... Read More
August 15, 2019 | Moses Falco
‘Just because we take a vacation from ordinary daily life does not mean that the events of ordinary daily life vacate us,’ Gareth Brandt writes. (Image by David Mark/Pixabay)
To “vacate” means to “leave a place once occupied.” In North America, summer is the time many people choose to leave home and travel somewhere else in order to rest and relax from... Read More
August 8, 2019 | Gareth Brandt
Dann and Joji Pantoja with their seven grandchildren. (Photo courtesy of Dann Pantoja)
My peace and reconciliation ministry is motivated ultimately by my love of the Creator, my service to Christ and my submission to the Comforter. Yet, I also have familial... Read More
August 1, 2019 | Dann Pantoja