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The truth about sexual abuse will set you free
I came across an editorial by Dick Benner a few months ago and was distressed to read about the late—and highly regarded—John Howard Yoder having sexually violated 80 women “at last count” (“Healing sexual abuse,” Sept. 2, 2013, page 2). This was news to me, as I am relatively new to the Mennonite circle. Then…
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Deepening community
“I really do not want more community than we already have at this church,” shared a congregant during a Sunday morning adult Sunday school discussion. “What I like about this church is that no one judges you for not being more involved or attending regularly. If we had more community, people would expect too much…
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For discussion: Deepening community
1. What are some examples of things you do to support others in your family, congregation, team or club? In what situations have you received support from others? In what groups do you feel a strong sense of belonging? Have Mennonite congregations tended to take the importance of community for granted? 2. Why do some…
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A time to die
When Susan Griffiths of Winnipeg went to Switzerland a year ago to die by doctor-assisted suicide, it was headline news and re-ignited the debate around end-of-life issues. Responses to her death revealed that we are living in a time of shifting public sentiment when it comes to end-of-life issues, especially concerning euthanasia and assisted suicide.…
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For discussion: A time to die
1. Have you participated in any end-of-life decisions? Under what conditions would you consider withholding possible treatment for yourself or a family member? How would you respond to a loved one’s request for assisted suicide? Why are we so reluctant to talk about death? 2. Evelyn Rempel Petkau observes that, “with ever-advancing research, technology and…
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How to heal a nation divided?
One could attribute the current crisis in Ukraine to the lack of sympathy for democratic practice. Repeated fisticuffs in Ukraine’s Parliament were one indication of that deficit. And why was it not possible for the protesters in Kyiv’s Maidan Square to wait for upcoming elections? They had been set for March 2015, then moved forward…
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‘Blessed are the peacemakers’
The following announcement was released by Vyacheslav Nesteruk, president of the All-Ukrainian Union of Associations of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, and Aleksey Smirnov, president of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, after they met on April 8: We representatives of the congregations of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in Russia and Ukraine have come together to express our common views…
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For discussion: How to heal a nation divided?
1. William Yoder suggests that democracy requires compromise and a sharing of power. Have you had experiences in public, church or family life where compromising or sharing power was difficult? Why is power so hard to share? What role do emotions play in these situations? 2. What is hampering relationships between Christians in Russia and…
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The shape of church to come?
The skyline is liberally punctuated with steeples, but they loom like tombstones over the churches of Montréal. The beautiful buildings are mostly dead on Sundays, and I wonder where the church has gone. As part of a four-month sabbatical, our family spent several weeks in Montréal, living in a student residence at-Maison de l’Amitié (House…
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Honouring a cross-country request
The first Skype conversation I ever had was with someone in Germany about a guy from Montréal who wanted to be baptized in Edmonton. This extraordinary testament to a globalized world was also my introduction to Alain Spitzer. David Eggert, a world-class cellist living in Stuttgart, Germany, grew up at First Mennonite Church in Edmonton.…
