Holy moments in the midst of grief
There’s one church service that Fran Giesbrecht makes a special point not to miss: Eternity Sunday. Observed at his Winnipeg church on the last Sunday before Advent, Eternity Sunday provides opportunity for Giesbrecht and others at Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship to commemorate members of their community who have died. The church marks Eternity Sunday in…
Memory carrier
“Sir,” said the man, “you and your family can be very proud of your son.” I could tell the man at the door was important by the way his brass buttons shone, and the way Father stood stiffly and Mother wrung her hands. They turned their backs, and I knew I wasn’t supposed to hear.…
The Beatitudes: Testing a biblical antidote to division
When conservative Christians in the southern U.S. were agitating to erect monuments with the 10 commandments on them in front of courthouses, I heard someone suggest that they put up the Beatitudes instead. The idea stuck with me, as did the reaction of my Trump-loving, warm-hearted neighbour when I floated the idea by her. She…
The gift of life, the question of death
Robert Bruinsma remembers the day his friend, Sam, told him he was going to die. It was a few days before Christmas 2017, and Bruinsma was visiting Sam (not his real name) in the hospital. Sam told Bruinsma that his request for medical assistance in dying (MAID) had been approved and would be carried out…
Stepping overboard
Florence Driedger turns to look out the window before she replies to my question. “Well, we never know from one year to the next who and how many . . . whether we’ll still be functioning. We think we will be, but you never know.” Uncertainty about congregational futures is nothing new. In my role…
Humans and Humus
On a hundred hilly acres near Mildmay, Ontario, the Wiederkehr family is quietly pushing the limits of human energy, spiritual integrity and disconnection from the consumerist web. The following is the first in a series of bi-monthly dispatches from their family. If you were to visit my family’s home and stroll about with a sharp…
Rest and Restlessness
We asked the Canadian Mennonite community to reflect on rest and restlessness. Where do you find rest for your soul? What do you need rest from? How does Jesus’ promise in Matthew 11 connect with your experience? “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my…
Broken to serve
In my mid-30s, two decades after the last time my father beat me, and two years after he died, I broke glass twice in one week. Once, for the first time in my life, in anger. On a September Saturday, atop a stepladder, I was scraping the peeling wood around our garage window, preparing it…
In the current of wavering defiance
I want to know how to pray. It’s December 2021. Advent. A season of waiting. Everything is waiting. Waiting for the pandemic to be over. Waiting for our leaders to start acting like we’re in a climate emergency. Waiting for our hemisphere to tilt back into the light. We are hunkered down for our second…
In the current of wavering defiance
I want to know how to pray. It’s December 2021. Advent. A season of waiting. Everything is waiting. Waiting for the pandemic to be over. Waiting for our leaders to start acting like we’re in a climate emergency. Waiting for our hemisphere to tilt back into the light. We are hunkered down for our second…
