Category: Opinion

  • Open to the Spirit

    Open to the Spirit

    Just over a year ago, I invited readers of Canadian Mennonite to share their Holy Spirit experiences with me (April 6, 2023). I was pleasantly surprised by the response. I was moved and encouraged by the messages I received. Thank you to all who responded. These messages were shared in confidence, and confidentiality is sacred. Although I…

  • Community found in the kitchen

    Community found in the kitchen

    In 1989, my grandmother, Lorraine Braun, began creating a cookbook for my mother, Maurya. For three decades, she handwrote recipes of foods that were significant in our family or the Mennonite community. This recipe book is a central memory from my childhood.  The book’s pages are covered with the ketchup we used to make rib sauce…

  • A bullet point editorial

    A bullet point editorial

    This issue of CM contains much intense material. I want to take this opportunity to not add to that, (though I had started writing about an unanswerable question I inherited when I took this job). Instead, I offer quick thoughts on a bunch of elements in the following pages (with page numbers in parentheses). I…

  • Threads of unity – Diversity in faith and tradition

    Threads of unity – Diversity in faith and tradition

    The tilet is a quintessential feature of Ethiopian traditional attire, deeply rooted in our religious, ethnic and identity symbolism. Crafting the tilet involves intricate weaving techniques, utilizing continuous extra weft threads of varying colours to achieve specific desired designs. This intricate process requires a diverse range of colours, thread types and patterns, demanding significant time and effort to create…

  • Why we asked MCM to sign a call for a fossil fuel treaty

    Our society is in the middle of a painful, promising and complicated shift. We know we need to stop burning fossil fuels. We need to transition to energy systems that are less polluting and less extractive while also learning to use less energy and consume less altogether.  It’s a challenging time, but not one without…

  • A Place for Hate

    A Place for Hate

    Hate – Ryan Dueck “My cellmate said a wild thing the other day; he told me that the word ‘hate’ is in the Bible, somewhere in the Old Testament. I told him he was full of s—, that God doesn’t hate, he only loves.” This was the first comment that emerged around the circle at…

  • Navigating pastoral transitions

    Navigating pastoral transitions

    My interview with the pastoral search committee was wrapping up when one of the members asked me if I had any questions. They were not expecting the one question I had: “When my ministry at the church is finished, how do I leave?” By the surprised looks on their faces, I’m certain they were thinking,…

  • Learning unity

    Learning unity

    As Christians, we are called to be in the world but not of the world. We are urged to be transformed and renewed by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2).  Whatever the dominant culture in the world says to us is not who we are. Instead, we are a community of faith that has Jesus at the centre of our lives.  I believe that Jesus Christ came to tear down the walls that divide people, and that the Holy Spirit unites us to be one in Christ. The intercultural church must reframe a new kind…

  • To talk about God

    To talk about God

    When I started seminary three years ago, I realized I didn’t know how to talk about God. I was motivated to go to seminary because of my love for the Mennonite church. I wanted to deepen my understanding of how the church can draw people into forms of life that challenge us to transform boundaries constructed out of a fear of difference. This desire led me to study…

  • Risking Introspection

    Risking Introspection

    I recently met someone who is new to Anabaptism after decades in other churches. He was unrestrained and exuberant about the distinctive gifts that Anabaptist churches can offer young people in our society. I could have spoken with him for hours about Anabaptist values. At the same time, some discussions of Anabaptist identity feel tired and self-absorbed. With that risk in mind, this issue of the magazine explores the essence of Anabaptism (pages 9, 12-19). We do so with one hope and five caveats.…