Don’t hail Caesar
The big blockbuster of the summer is the critically acclaimed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It is set in the near future, in which an epidemic—created by the same retrovirus that made apes as intelligent as humans—has wiped out most of the…
Writing as a spiritual journey
Writing as a spiritual journey and what it means for writers and readers was the topic of a July 11 authors forum at House of James Christian bookstore. Drawing on a variety of experiences, three Mennonite book authors addressed “writing as a spiritual journey” as they discussed their books and the process of writing them.…
Retelling the Story
In his new book Rewriting the Break Event, Robert Zacharias identifies a major theme running through four works of Canadian Mennonite literature. The author is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo and is connected to Conrad Grebel University College. Focusing on the Russian Mennonite experience, Zacharias draws upon his sources and highlights…
Music and the Environment—a locavore feast for ears and soul
Sound in the Land. Sound of the Land. Sound for the Land. Sound with and behalf of and from the Land. Sound. Land. Take your pick, there was something of all these in the 2014 Sound in the Land festival/conference, June 5-8 at Conrad Grebel University College. Following the success of the 2004 and 2009…
Bethel Place residents host an art, craft and antique show
A buzz of excitement filled the common room at Bethel Place on June 5. A button collection with buttons dating as far back as the 1700s, photos over 100 years old, a beautifully polished samovar that was brought from Russia in 1923 and many other artifacts and artwork were among the items that evoked conversations…
Faith explored through literature
“I’m hoping it’ll be like a three-day book club,” said one participant of the continuing education event offered by Mennonite Church Saskatchewan recently. Seventeen participants representing 12 congregations gathered at First Mennonite Church in Saskatoon to learn about “Faith and literature.” Cindy Wallace, assistant professor of English at St. Thomas More College at the University…
From garbage, beautiful music comes
What do cake pans, candy tins, bottle caps and wooden pallets have in common? They were all found in a landfill, and they’ve all been made into musical instruments for Paraguay’s Recycled Orchestra. Cateura is a slum built on that landfill near Asunción, Paraguay’s capital. Residents earn their living by scavenging for items they can…
Unlocking a mystery
In 2010 Todd Burpo, a Wesleyan pastor from Nebraska, told the “astounding story” of his four-year-old son Colton’s “trip to heaven and back.” Heaven is for Real (Thomas Nelson Publishers) tells the story of the tribulations of the Burpo family: too little pay, Todd’s kidney stone emergencies, a business that was barely making ends meet,…
A flood of bleak images
Those who miss the days of Hollywood biblical epics will be happy to see that one of the first stories we hear in Sunday school has come to the cinema as a grand, big-budget spectacle. Darren Aronofsky’s Noah has opened to widespread critical acclaim and blockbuster status, defying the expectations of those who thought it…
Who Are the Mennonites? video translated to American Sign Language
Five Core Media, a video production firm in Goshen, Ind., has produced an American Sign Language (ASL) version of Who Are the Mennonites?, a DVD/video originally produced by a predecessor agency of MennoMedia. The production company worked with a translation team organized by Sheila S. Yoder, long-time deaf ministries advocate. Providing a visual translation for…
