He came one week and one day early. He came quickly, so quickly that his dad and midwife almost missed his grand arrival. “He’s here,” the nurse yelled while everyone else was... Read More
Blog
A typical Latin American welcome or parting kiss. (Photo courtesy of Palmer Becker)
A lot has happened since I last wrote. The ten days in Chile were especially unforgettable! Chile, with seven climate sub-types, is 4,300 km (2,670 miles) long and 350 km (220... Read More
April 2, 2015 | Palmer Becker
C. Paul and Hildi Amstutz serve in chaplaincy and spiritual formation ministries in Asuncion, Paraguay. (Photo courtesy of Palmer Becker)
Ardys and I have been able to spend ten wonderful days together first in Asuncion, then at the world-famous Iguazu Falls and now in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ardys is now on her... Read More
April 2, 2015 | Palmer Becker
Now that we’ve entered once again into the sombreness of Holy Week, I’d like to share a poem of mine which expresses some of my reflections on the cross, which I’ve shared on this... Read More
April 1, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
Luke 19: 28-44 Verse 40: “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (NIV) I wish you a happy celebration of this Holy Week, and most recently, happy... Read More
March 31, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
God, our Mother and our Father, Jesus Christ, Holy Son, Holy Spirit, our Comforter. We offer our gratitude, for you are with us. You are familiar without struggles and joys, and... Read More
March 31, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
Passage: Luke 19: 28-44 Verse 40: “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (NIV) I wish all of you a happy celebration of this holy week, and most... Read More
March 31, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
It’s become clear to me from a lot of the conversations occurring within Canadian Mennonite , especially in the letters to the editor, that as Mennonites, we’re not of one mind... Read More
March 19, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
Paraguayan pastors and church workers arrive by truck to attend a four-day workshop. (Photo courtesy of Palmer Becker)
Everywhere I go I extend greetings from my church, family and friends. There is always an enthusiastic response saying that I should convey greetings back to you. Greetings! This... Read More
March 18, 2015 | Palmer Becker
Youth are engaged in graffiti evangelism. Note that Jesus is going to church in a boat on a skateboard with a Bible in one hand and a spray can in the other! (Photo by Palmer Becker)
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, both in land mass and population. The densely forested Amazon Valley, which includes up to 69 Indian tribes, makes up a large... Read More
March 12, 2015 | Palmer Becker
I’m now in my ninth month of pregnancy, which is hardly the beautiful and magical time magazines and mommy-blogs would lead one to believe that it is. Pregnancy is difficult,... Read More
March 11, 2015 | Tamara Petkau
Lizette, co-director of MCC, was an excellent translator. (Photo by Linda Shelly)
Bolivia, named after its first president, Bolivar, is about 4,500 miles south and one time zone east of Kitchener. It is a beautiful country with lots of tropical foliage,... Read More
March 9, 2015 | Palmer Becker
Earlier this month, I was one of many who gathered in the new Marpeck Commons building at Canadian Mennonite University to hear from a panel of “young adults” on their age group... Read More
February 27, 2015 | Susie Guenther Loewen
Every week my grandma sends every member of her family an email update on her weekly events and the happenings of the entire family’s whereabouts. She’s been providing these... Read More
February 23, 2015 | Tamara Petkau
Having gone public with my New Year’s resolutions this year, it was inevitable that I would be asked the dreaded follow-up question: “How are your resolutions going?” While I’m... Read More
February 12, 2015 | Tamara Petkau
It’s interesting being a Mennonite and an academic. Sometimes I find my Anabaptist-Mennonite sensibilities grating against the norms of academia: my “priesthood of all believers”... Read More
February 6, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
A 17th-century Dutch church. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Earlier this month, I was one of many who gathered in the new Marpeck Commons building at Canadian Mennonite University to hear from a panel of “young adults” on their age group... Read More
February 2, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
What is grafted poetry, you ask? It's an invention of my poetic play, and I offer you a definition; /ˈgraft·ed po·et·ry/ : A style of writing where in a writer grafts in another... Read More
January 30, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
Today's guest blogger is Deanna Zantingh , a masters of Theology student who currently resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Let her powerful insights and sharp intel be the sparks for a... Read More
January 29, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
We’re having a baby boy. We’re excited and scared and overwhelmed and underprepared. Mostly excited, but it’s taken me a little while to get here. I have two young girls. They are... Read More
January 9, 2015 | Tamara Petkau
I’m a fan of new beginnings and fresh starts and the start of the New Year is the ultimate in possibilities and promise. Yes, I am a fan, a big fan, of New Year’s resolutions. I... Read More
January 8, 2015 | Tamara Petkau
We are accustomed to reading the narrative of the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) as something of an ethereal event, a moment of encounter with the divine realm during which Mary’s... Read More
December 23, 2014 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
We are accustomed to reading the narrative of the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) as something of an ethereal event, a moment of encounter with the divine realm during which Mary’s... Read More
December 23, 2014 | Susie Guenther Loewen
Time. We never seem to have enough of it, and yet it dominates us, ruling our days and how we view and spend our hours, even our very lives. Time was Professor John Swinton’s... Read More
December 12, 2014 | Susie Guenther Loewen
Did you know that Thursday, November 27 was American Thanksgiving? You might not, since this holiday seems to have faded into the shadows of the sinister Black Friday—which is... Read More
November 28, 2014 | Tamara Petkau