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Leading with care
In the 15 years he was the executive director of Community Justice Initiatives (CJI) in Kitchener, Ontario, Chris Cowie felt it was important to lead the organization with the same relational and restorative justice principles CJI uses with clients. Doug Klassen, executive minister of Mennonite Church Canada, describes a similar model of operating. “We have…
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Three responses to the conundrum of conflict
When I tell people whom I’ve just met that my job includes working with congregations in conflict, typically they respond in one of two ways. Either, “Really? Churches have conflict?” or, “Oh dear. That must be hard.” With that, I know if the person attends, or has attended, church. Sometimes, those who say “That must…
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Pain, apologies and repair following 2017 MC Canada restructuring
Jeanette Hanson, director of International Witness for Mennonite Church Canada, began a Zoom call last spring with an apology to members of the Anabaptist Network in South Africa. “I told them I was sorry for the way MC Canada broke relationship with them,” she said. “Two people on the call cried, talking about the hurt…
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The edge of meaning
I once read a history of the phenomenon of war. The author said that, though we have archaeological evidence of wars many centuries ago, often we don’t know who was involved or what they were fighting about. Thousands of people like me— with families and friends, dreams and desires, laughter and tears— fought over things…
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The Sixties Scoop brothers: A conversation
Mark: Our parents were extremely loving, amazing people. I remember a time I asked Mom why they had adopted kids. My mom’s response was so simple: because there was a need. I remember when we were still living on the farm, becoming very aware that Kelly and my other brothers’ ancestors had been on the…
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Feature Film Documents Migration
Toronto filmmaker Dale Hildebrand has lots on the go. In late November, he was preparing for a hospital series, had just shot a TV pilot for an Indigenous cop show and was looking ahead to work on a Western and a horror–sci-fi–thriller “type of thing.” “I’m all over, but I just love the idea of…
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Quilts for Survivors
The story isn’t about Mennonite Central Committee. That’s what Cam McEachern stresses. McEachern, Indigenous Neighbours program associate at the Mennonite Central Committee Ontario (MCCO) office in Timmins, Ontario, describes MCCO’s role as “an incidental, though helpful, element to this phenomenon.” “The story is about Vanessa and her undertaking and achievements,” McEachern says. Vanessa Genier is…
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Two parents, two kids and an in-law
Halfway up the street in midtown Kitchener, Ontario, is a single, detached home much like the other houses around it, but inside, something unusual is happening. At least the neighbours think so. How does it work? they ask. What are the common areas? How do you get privacy? Is there a limit if they start…
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Commitment to accommodate
Thomas Bumbeh talks about cultural commitment to care for aging parents Living with extended family under the same roof has made sense to Thomas Bumbeh on several different levels throughout the years. After arriving in Edmonton from Liberia in 2001, Bumbeh shared a house with three cousins. Now, the 50-year-old realtor and entrepreneur who attends…
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Tying Grandpa’s shoelaces
Grandpa’s shoelaces were round, not flat like my own. They were a challenge to tie up, even for my nimble fingers. He sat in his straight-backed chair at the kitchen table, and, since his fine motor skills had declined, it became my job to tie up those laces before school each morning. Sometimes he would…
