Even in the smallest places . . . can a garden grow
In the middle of the most violent places in Guatemala, music is a healing presence. While recording their most recent CD, Even in the Smallest Places, in Guatemala and El Salvador, Kim Thiessen and Darryl Neustaedter Barg had opportunities to interact with local musicians and talk about peace. “It never ceases to amaze me that…
Scenes along the ‘road to nowhere’
Ian Willms’s provocative photo of a young girl walking away through the windblown grasses towards a small Russian village on a lakeshore was part of his winning entry in the 2013 Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival. Entitled “Road to Nowhere,” Willms’s photo exhibit was judged by a portfolio review panel consisting of some of the world’s…
Mothers: Carriers of culture and faith
Having just become a mother several months ago, I was intrigued to learn that Mothering Mennonite had recently been published, and once the sleepless fog of the early weeks of my new endeavour wore off, I was eager to get my hands on a copy. I wasn’t disappointed. This diverse collection of “essays, creative writing…
Was Jesus just a rebel with a cause?
Zealot is a popular presentation of scholarly research on the historical Jesus, read through the lens of Jewish resistance to Roman imperial domination. The main thesis of the book is that Jesus, like the leaders of other Jewish prophetic and messianic movements in Galilee and Judea in the first century, was primarily a rebel whose…
Book offers neutral voice in CO debate
For God and Country is a bit of a surprise for a Mennonite publisher. Although non-Mennonite readers may find the questions it raises about the role of Christian soldiers thought-provoking, it does little to promote the idea that followers of Jesus should not participate in war or military service. The author, Logan Mehl-Laituri, was serving…
Writer makes plea for legitimacy
Before Malcolm Gladwell signed copies of his newest book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, for a gathered crowd at Floradale Mennonite Church, he spoke at a fundraiser there for the Woolwich Counselling Centre in nearby Elmira, which was founded by the author’s mother Joyce. In his Nov. 27 talk…
Disclaimer to be included in John Howard Yoder books
The board and staff of MennoMedia, the publishing agency for Mennonite Church U.S.A. and MC Canada, has issued a statement regarding the continued publication of John Howard Yoder books in light of ongoing discussion of Yoder’s long-term sexual harassment and abuse. The statement approved by the board of directors reads: “John Howard Yoder (1927–97) was…
Catching Fire turns up the heat
Directed by Frances Lawrence. Written by Simon Beaufoy and Michael deBruyn (screenplay); Suzanne Collins (novel). Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson and Donald Sutherland. A Color Force/Lionsgate Entertainment release, 2013. Rated PG. Last year’s first instalment of the blockbuster four-film Hunger Games series was a relatively weak film, with under-developed characters and plot, and…
Challenging facile conclusions
Logan Mehl-Laituri, a veteran of the war in Iraq, has written a new book, For God and Country (In That Order): Faith and Service for Ordinary Radicals, the first book written by such a recent war veteran published by Herald Press. Mehl-Laituri, a member of St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church in Durham, N.C., was a fire…
Honouring God while serving people
I once read a quote describing the purest form of ministry as “everything believers do to honour and glorify God. ” That’s a broad definition. It gives us opportunity to do ministry with every breath we take. But while honouring and glorifying God, ministry also benefits both the giver as well as the receiver. My…
