Holy Saturday, The place for bleakness, twisted mourning, black. I like this day, today, How it holds permission to wallow and be in the dark, To wander in the twisted depths... Read More
Blog
Sunset in Bethlehem (Photo by Brandi Friesen Thorpe)
April 9, 2016 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
“Crucified Woman” by Almuth Lutkenhaus-Lackey (Photo by Susie Guenther Loewen)
The sculpture above stands on the grounds of my theological college, Emmanuel College in Toronto, of the United Church of Canada. I used to walk by her almost daily, on my way to... Read More
March 25, 2016 | Susie Guenther Loewen
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the wider Mennonite church these past few weeks, as there have been discussions about the future of Mennonite Church Canada at the... Read More
March 23, 2016 | Susie Guenther Loewen
The bleeding woman touches Jesus’ cloak, in an image from the catacombs in Rome. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)
I got into an interesting discussion with a friend from my church recently. In adult ed., we were talking about liberation theology and its view of sin. (You can read about... Read More
February 29, 2016 | Susie Guenther Loewen
I’ll be honest right from the beginning: when it comes to music in worship, I’m a hymn-person. Always have been. Especially as a youth, when everyone assumed that because of my... Read More
February 22, 2016 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
Christmas in Sicily (Photo by Brandi Friesen Thorpe)
At Christmas time families journey to meet other family members. There is a Christmas tree up in the corner, and some twinkly lights afloat somewhere. Somewhere in the corner... Read More
December 26, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
Last year I wrote about Advent as a time of pregnant waiting, and of the way that Mary exemplifies mothering as the embodied practice of hospitality, fulfilling the biblical call... Read More
December 22, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
A pre-20th century Muslim depiction of Mary and Jesus by the stream and the date palm that sustained her during childbirth. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
These are times of uncertainty and hatred, when our political and social discourses are marred by xenophobic, Islamophobic, and just plain racist rhetoric. (Remember the niqab... Read More
December 15, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
The cover of the children’s book The Sun and the Wind, retold by Cornelia Lehn and illustrated by Robert W. Regier.
With Peace Sunday past, we approach the time of waiting for the Prince of Peace to be born, so I wanted to share a few children’s books on peace which have been getting repeat... Read More
November 25, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
Photo by Brandi Friesen Thorpe
Once again, we have lived through a moment that will continue to define our century. The wake of the triad of terror that has happened in the last days in Paris and Beirut and... Read More
November 18, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
Photo by Brandi Friesen Thorpe
Recently at my church here in central Winnipeg, we have been navigating a sermon series on the Psalms. My small group, some ten or so very diverse people at various stages in... Read More
November 17, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
Mennonite Central Committee’s 2015 Go Purple postcard
As we celebrated Peace Sunday at my church this week, a friend of mine got up during the time of sharing and prayer. He told us that November has been designated Domestic Violence... Read More
November 10, 2015 | Suzanne Guenther Loewen
The poster for the conference, “Mennonites, Medicine and the Body: Health, Illness and Medical Research in the Past and Present,” held at Canadian Mennonite University in October 2015.
I had the privilege of participating in a conference this past weekend (Oct. 23, 24, 2015) at the University of Winnipeg hosted by Royden Loewen, the chair of Mennonite Studies... Read More
October 27, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
A page from the children’s book The Dumpster Diver, by Janet S. Wong, illustrated by David Roberts.
Being a parent, I’ve found, can be profoundly clarifying in terms of what aspects of faith one finds most meaningful, and therefore most worthy of teaching to one’s children. One... Read More
October 15, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
Settler and indigenous participants shake hands during the Reconciliation Walk at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission events held in Ottawa, in June 2015. The five-kilometre walk included about 10,000 people. Members of the Student Christian Movement (SCM, also known as WSCF), Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Central Committee, and Christian Peacemaker Teams were present during this walk, as were representatives from many other church denominations and justice-oriented organizations, and individual citizens. (Photo by Brandi Friesen Thorpe)
I’ve been on the road three of the last six months, in no particular order. As I return home and begin to reflect on the encounters and experiences that I’ve had, my heart returns... Read More
September 23, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
Simone Weil, 1909-1943. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)
The Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition arose in a context of great suffering. If you’ve ever done any reading (or even leafed through!) the Martyr’s Mirror (a collection of the... Read More
September 22, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
I wrote this story two years ago, and since then another suicide has occurred and been mourned, in a neighbouring community. That man I did know. To remember both of these men who... Read More
September 12, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
As I write this I am flying over the ocean, returning from an international ecumenical gathering in the north of Italy. People from across the world were there, including some... Read More
August 27, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
Pope Francis on his 2013 visit to Brazil. (Photo by Agencia Brasil, from Wikimedia Commons.)
God is not afraid of new things! That is why he is continually surprising us, opening our hearts, and guiding us in unexpected ways. –Pope Francis Being the theology enthusiast... Read More
August 19, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
The Italian Alps, near the Agape Ecumenical Center in Prali, Italy. (Photo by Brandi Friesen Thorpe)
I have spent the last week in the beautiful Alps of Italy, at the Agape Ecumenical Center, gathering with an international community to delve into interreligious dialogue. I am... Read More
August 17, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe
One of Tomie dePaola's beautiful collages in The Song of Francis. (Photo by Susie Guenther Loewen)
I was happy to discover another gem of a children’s book on the subject of faith at my public library recently: it’s called The Song of Francis , written and illustrated with... Read More
July 30, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective was published in 1995 and is still used by Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA.
You may have heard about what happened at Mennonite Church USA’s convention earlier this month, specifically with regard to same-sex marriage and LGBTQ Mennonites. And, like me,... Read More
July 20, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
Sometimes I think the church struggles with the tension between its individual members and its task of being a communal body. In a socio-economic context such as ours, where... Read More
June 29, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
“David and Abigail” by 16th-century painter Guido Reni (Wikimedia Commons)
This week I was reminded of a biblical figure who is often overlooked: Abigail (or, as my Bible disappointingly calls her, “the wife of Nabal”!). Her story is found in I Samuel 25... Read More
June 19, 2015 | Susanne Guenther Loewen
There is a popular language arising in the church when it comes to justice work, that of “being an ally.” It means to align yourself with whoever your “other” is, so to love your... Read More
May 28, 2015 | Brandi Friesen Thorpe