The ordinary dark
Dawn comes slowly. There is no rush in it. Often—not always—the hour is still and quiet when the dark so gradually abates in the east. The dawn comes slowly. As it must. We can but wait. I have not always been an earlier riser, but since Cinnamon the milk cow moved into the barn on…
Readers Write: December 2024
A sprinkling of change As I read the “Exit Interviews” issue of CM (September 2024), I thought of the words of Jessica Herlein in a Rejoice devotional from October 30, 2021: “All our systems for righting wrongs and making amends pale in comparison to God’s overtures of mercy and restoration.” Born and raised Mennonite, I…
Awakening to the Church’s true vocation
“God has been at work from the beginning to form a covenanted people of God to help bring about God’s plan for reconciling the world to its intended purposes.”– From The Baby and the Bathwater, by Robert (Jack) Suderman When I heard that Jack and Irene Suderman were visiting Winnipeg this fall, I reached out…
With God, all things are truly possible
I am honoured and delighted to share my faith journey and to witness to the grace and love of Christ in my life. I am a proud Eritrean-Canadian who has called Canada home for eight years. I am a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, grounded in the teachings and love of my Saviour. I live…
The challenge of Anabaptist leadership
In the faith community of my youth, church leaders were held in extremely high esteem. The expectation of respect for leaders weighed heavily, for better and worse. To respond to a call, to serve and to be an elder or pastor in the church, meant equal parts responsibility and regard. Growing up, I was taught…
Waiting in the uterverse
On every one of my previous visits to the fertility clinic, the waiting room was full. Women of different ages, ethnicities and income brackets would take their seats in fertility limbo. Some would sit on their own, while others sat with partners who held their hands and brought them water or coffee until they were…
The colour of prayer
For my birthday last month, I asked for markers. Since then, I’ve spent several hours in my soft front-room chair, copying out verses from the Psalms in a large, empty sketchbook I’ve had for years, illuminating the letters like a not-very-talented medieval scribe. I meditate on the words as the texture of the paper, the…
A donkey ride to Texas
“This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice …” These words came to me in the quiet, early hours of November 6. The day after. Before I turned to any news. The night before, I waited until 8:30, then 8:45 pm, to check the election news the world was hanging on. I…
Growing into the future
Over the past year, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada has been leaning into its strategic plan, “Growing into the Future,” a plan that honours the five strategic priorities set in 2022. The plan is anchored in MCEC’s identity statement—transformed, inspired and called—and includes four specific goals to be enacted over the next few years. Both the…
After the bubble shatters
I felt delight in growing up in the church. Not only did I attend Sunday school and children’s church, but I went to Christian elementary and secondary school. I felt most safe in the Christian bubble around me. As I grew up, I was very active in my church and volunteered in several different capacities,…
