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Like a ‘biblical mustard seed’
It all started simply enough. In January 1996, Clare Jantzi, worship leader at Valleyview Mennonite Church in London, invited three men from the congregation to sing an introit during four consecutive worship services. One year later, encouraged by the previous year’s experience, Clare planned another choral musical introit for the worship service. In consultation with…
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Kuttab calls Mennonites to action for Middle East peace and justice
On September 28, 2016, Palestinian Christian Jonathan Kuttab spoke to Mennonites gathered for lunch at the Mennonite Central Committee Ontario building in Kitchener, Ont. Responding to the action Mennonite Church Canada delegates took to approve a resolution concerning Israel and Palestine, Kuttab affirmed the call to support the boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement. He sees…
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Bean Soup (Bohna Supp)
This simple soup was eaten in Amish Mennonite communities in southwestern Ontario and was often called by its Pennsylvania Dutch name. Some cooks served it simultaneously with a slice of apple pie and pieces of cheese. 1 ½ cups dried navy beans 2 ½ tsp. salt 2 T. butter 4 cups milk 1 ½ cup…
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Devastation in Haiti: ‘Yesterday, we lost everything’
When rushing water of the River Gris, overflowing with rain from Hurricane Matthew, washed away Sarditren Dete’s and Antovan Enit’s houses and possessions, it destroyed their livelihoods too. “Yesterday we lost everything: our chickens, our pig and our garden. This is how I eat, this is how I feed my children, this is how I…
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‘It was a very sad day’
On Monday, September 26, 2016, I flew from Canada back to Colombia more excited than usual. After four years of negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia had finally reached a deal, which they would officially ratify that very day. As I began boarding the plane I saw a cameraman from the…
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Peacebuilding with ordinary people
Julianne Funk is a peacebuilder. In Bosnia, the northern region of the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. And at the University of Zurich, where she teaches religion as well as peace and conflict studies. Based in Zurich, she travels to Bosnia regularly. A graduate of Wheaton (Ill.) College and the Katholieke Univeristat Leuven, Belgium, where…
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Ted Giesbrecht wins local law association award
Ted Giesbrecht of the Kitchener, Ont., law firm Giesbrecht, Griffin, Funk and Irvine has been honoured by the Waterloo Region Law Association with the 2016 Coulter A. Osborne Award, given to lawyers who practise law “with integrity, courtesy and beneficence.” There have been three time periods in Giesbrecht’s legal work. In his younger years, he…
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‘10 Young Women Changing the World’ award recipients announced
Over the last two years, the “20 under 35: Young professionals changing the world initiative” instituted by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) recognized 40 young professionals under the age of 35. To reflect the special 2016 MEDA convention theme—“Business as a calling: Women changing the world”—MEDA will recognize 10 exceptional young women who exude a…
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Saying goodbye to war and hello to peace in Colombia
UPDATE (Oct. 3, 2016): In an Oct. 2 plebiscite, Colombian voters rejected the proposed peace deal by a thin margin of 50.21 to 49.78 percent. Angélica Rincón could not stop smiling. All around her, crowds of people cheered and waved signs, banners and Colombian flags. Rincón—like others who partner with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)—had longed…
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God makes a way where there is no way
Matt Yeater can relate to Bible stories in which God moves in seemingly impossible ways. His own story is one of them. Blinded in a meth lab explosion when he was 20 and imprisoned on multiple occasions, Matt doesn’t fit the stereotype of a seminary student. However, he not only graduated May 21, 2016, with…
