Kitchener-Waterloo House Church
Families of the Kitchener-Waterloo House Churches sing hymns around a piano in 1974. This particular house church began services in 1969. North American Mennonites rediscovered the house-church model, first described in the New Testament, in the 1950s. Small groups of believers coming together to experience close relationships have been associated throughout Christian history with times…
Tending and befriending
From time immemorial—as the biblical story of Ruth and Naomi illustrates—developing friendships and tending relationships have often been a woman’s “go-to, our have-to, our live for,” especially during times of stress. In the current season of stressful change within Mennonite Church Canada, tending relationships may be especially important to the health of the church. Drawing…
Readers write: March 26, 2018 issue
It’s important to listen well Re: “The skill and soul of listening,” and “What kind of Mennonite?” (Feb. 12, pages 16 and 2, respectively). The Bible refers often to listening; Proverbs expounds the value of listening and so do Jesus, Paul, Peter and James. But social media bombards us with all sorts of information so…
‘Our missionaries’
More than a decade ago, my family and I were privileged to serve as church planters in southern Italy. We were Mennonite Church Canada Witness workers seconded to what is now Virginia Mennonite Mission, and were financially supported by many friends, family members and our home congregation, Community Mennonite Fellowship in Drayton, Ont. One instance…
Acting like adults
In a phone conversation with a friend, she reveals her struggle with an event she is planning. Given that the gathering will be held in a small space, there are a limited number of people she can invite. After telling me whom she thinks she will include, she speaks of others, those left off the…
Buried treasure
Lately, I have had several conversations with people about downsizing or simplifying their estates. Some talk about rearranging their financial affairs to make life easier for their executors someday. Others face the physically and emotionally demanding task of moving from the homes they have lived in for many years to smaller, more manageable accommodations. Furniture,…
Steinbach windmill
Mennonites learned how to harness the wind while in the Netherlands, and used this knowledge in the 16th and 17th centuries in Prussia, where wind-powered mills were primarily used to pump water to drain land. Between 1876 and ’78, four windmills were built in the Steinbach, Man., area by Mennonites. This one was built in…
What does ‘sorry’ mean?
“Sorry” is a very Canadian expression, but what does it mean? To the more than 200 Sixties Scoop survivors gathered at the Amiskwaciy Academy in Edmonton on March 1, 2018, the word is problematic. The hearing is the last of six events held across Alberta by the NDP government in an effort to make an…
An ‘Easter Fools’ Day’ rant
When I first heard that Easter falls on April Fools’ Day this year, my mind immediately thought about how many people think I’m a fool for believing in the Easter story. I can hear them scoffing, “Do you believe in the Easter bunny too?” This brought to mind all the people I’ve known over the…
What ‘women’s conference’ is all about
Recently I was asked what is so special about the Mennonite Church Alberta women’s retreat. I remember, as a kid, my mom leaving us in my father’s care in order to go to “women’s conference.” We had a big family, and for my mom to take time away from the conference was something unheard of.…
