Readers write: March 12, 2018 issue
Lenten prayer sheet reflects Lululemon spirituality A friend recently sent me the new “Lenten Guided Prayer Experience,” issued by the Mennonite Spiritual Directors of Eastern Canada. It is a curious document, symptomatic of what regularly circulates in the pages of Canadian Mennonite and passes for theology in many congregations. I mean here a sort of…
Our baseline for unity
What is our baseline for unity in the church? The most basic shared reality is that the church is a community of people who follow and walk faithfully with Jesus Christ. In order to follow, this means that we know Jesus. The word “to know” in the Bible has an understanding of an intimate relationship.…
The power of being ‘with’
There was an intense, seemingly overwhelming ache in my heart. Separated by 2,500 kilometres for our third school year apart, I longed for my sweetheart. I read her letters over and over, and again once more. They offered a delightful glimpse into her mind and heart, but they just didn’t cut it. I wanted nothing…
Butternut bisque recipe
Last fall when Erin Froese and her household received the gift of many large squash they had trouble using it all up. They made a couple large pots of Butternut bisque and invited their neighbours to join them for a winter soup night. See the story by Erin Froese at canadianmennonite.org/stories/squash-main-course-fellowship Recipe is from Simply…
Squash: A main course for fellowship
When a friend asked me last spring if I would like to live with nine other people for the following school year, my initial reaction was a firm no. I couldn’t imagine figuring out all of the details like eating, cleaning, sharing spaces and resolving conflicts, among many others. Despite my hesitation, somehow I found…
Passover
This image of a Passover meal appears next to Exodus 12 in a Bible published in Zurich in 1531. The idea of owning a family Bible, especially in one’s own language, was very new at the time for families of modest means. This particular Bible travelled from Switzerland to Pennsylvania to Ontario with the Reesor…
Words worth considering
Although many brave young people have spoken up in the aftermath of last month’s school shooting in Parkland, Fla., to advocate for tighter gun regulations in the U.S., it’s words spoken by a man in his 40s that I keep coming back to. On Ash Wednesday, Christian podcaster and author Mike McHargue (a.k.a. Science Mike)…
Readers write: February 26, 2018 issue
God’s graciousness is ‘prior to our faith and love’ Re: “We know who we are,” Jan. 1, 2018, page 8. I find myself agreeing with Willard Metzger but wishing he had said more. I would say that God’s love for us precedes our love for God as the basis of the church’s unity; love for…
The nature of change
“Changes coming upon us / It keeps moving, moving around us. / Got to keep singing, knowing he loves us; / Got to keep joy in our hearts.” Those words from the song “Changes” by Jim Croegaert seem appropriate as I look forward to retirement in less than two months. But they also reflect this…
Tender times call for kindnesses
It was a tender time. Our 86-year-old mother had fallen ill and was hospitalized. Family members who lived nearby were keeping vigil at the hospital, consulting with doctors and caring for Mom’s basic needs, at points even helping her to eat. Those who lived further away were being regularly updated. All of us were praying.…
