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Hold tenderly to death
The day before writing this marked three years since my sister died of cancer. We gathered as a family at her grave to mark the occasion. We talked about the day she died, things that remind us of her and how proud she would be of the two young boys who will always be her…
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WWII Alternative service camp
These men visited an alternative service camp in 1942. From left: D.P. Reimer (EMC, Steinbach), Jacob F. Barkman (Holdeman minister, Manitoba), David Schulz (Bergthaler bishop, Manitoba) and George DeFehr (Holdeman minister, Alberta). During WWII, Schulz supported men applying for conscientious objector status, advocating for those whose applications were denied. When the workload was too much,…
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Readers write: November 3, 2023 issue
Gratitude for foyer discussions Today I got my COVID booster. Other than a barely perceptible soreness in my arm, I have never experienced side effects from these vaccinations. When it comes to being pro-vaccine, my wife and I are in the minority on her side of the family. Right now, I am tempted to boast…
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Teach us to pray
On a Wednesday in mid-October, I’m at the auto shop for winter tires; a TV on the wall flashes tanks, rubble and protests alongside talking heads. On social media, I can’t look away from children held hostage or from parents pulling kids from collapsed buildings. When my church gathers on Sunday, I struggle for words…
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Salt and light: Structures and policies
I like paying attention to structures and policies. My attention was caught on Sunday when the visiting preacher, Fanosie Legesse of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, said that wisdom is when churches shape structures and policies to be salt and light in the world. Every board or management team that I have been part of has…
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Invisible barriers to becoming an intercultural church
At WBUR, Boston’s National Public Radio station, a very interesting testimony appeared three years ago titled “A Dual Degree from Oxford. A Medical Degree from Harvard. Neither Protected Me from Racism.” It’s from Tafadzwa Muguwe, a Zimbabwean-born Rhodes scholar and Harvard-trained physician. Back in the U.S., an early memory from medical school was seeing a…
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Opened eyes
Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities nearly 200 years ago. His opening lines describe our world today, as aptly as anything published in recent years. He writes: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was…
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Part III: Who owns your church building?
This six-part series draws on Kara Carter’s PhD studies, for which she conducted five focus groups with Mennonite Church Eastern Canada pastors. For periods of time during the pandemic, sanctuaries sat empty and congregations scattered, worshipping from home. As in-person gatherings and programming adapted, social media and technology became a vital tool to remain…
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Part II: Aging
“My children decided it’s time for me to move out of my house and join a retirement community. I don’t agree. I feel like I have no say anymore. I can still think, but they are not interested in hearing me out.” Sound familiar? This scenario is not uncommon. Aging can put strain on families.…
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Making Wars Cease: Charting the evolution of MCC peace work
In 1841, Ontario Mennonite bishop Benjamin Eby wrote that the time would come “when all Christians, and indeed all governmental authorities, will acknowledge that the waging of war is evil and does not belong in the kingdom of God.” Eby’s words echoed Psalm 46, which says, “Come, behold the works of the Lord. . .…
