Readers write: April 25, 2016 issue
‘You betcha’ climate change is real Re: “Is climate change real?” by Will Braun, Feb. 29, page 17. Is climate change real? You betcha! Just ask northerners who are seeing their ice roads, permafrost and sea ice disappearing from warmer winters. Just ask people in Calgary, Toronto and along the Assiniboine River in Manitoba who…
Art can make a difference
My exhibit of paintings, Along the Road to Freedom, remembers and honours the journeys of Russian Mennonite women who led their families to freedom in Canada, mostly in the 1920s and 1940s. It also acknowledges those thousands who did not escape. It’s a story that is familiar to many cultures and faiths. During Along the…
My conversion
Recently the Listening Church video (listeningchurch.ca) was released, in which lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer (LGBTQ) people speak of their experiences in Mennonite churches. One speaker challenged people “who had changed their minds” to tell their stories. Here I take up that challenge. Although it was not always the case, I have viewed myself as “gay-positive” for many years.…
Reducing the potential for drama
There was an interesting scene on a recent courtroom drama in which a dying, wealthy woman had taken the time to place sticky notes on precious items around her home to indicate to whom the items should go after she died. Unfortunately, the woman passed away during the night. By morning, all of her carefully…
The pursuit of truth (Pt. 4)
In my experience, Mennonites live by the adages “Actions speak louder than words” and “Faith without works is dead.” One of the things that drew me to Anabaptism was its emphasis on “walking the walk” more than “talking the talk.” I was raised in a church in which passionate shouting was the hallmark of faithful…
Crowd surfing
Banff, Alta., has hosted numerous Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren national youth gatherings. Pictured are youth “crowd surfing” at a 1995 Mennonite Brethren event in Banff. Events like these have been important times of building friendships with youth leaders, people within one’s own church, and those from across the country. Youth were inspired to be faithful…
Readers write: April 11, 2016 issue
Jesus ‘affirms’ male-female marital unions Re: “What is ‘good’ and ‘acceptable’?” feature, Feb. 15, page 4. We are greatly encouraged by Darrin W. Snyder Belousek’s scholarly article on marriage. Using scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, he has convincingly shown that marriage as ordained by God is not negotiable: “The Jerusalem council, in redrawing membership boundaries…
Exciting times for our church
It is said that change is inevitable. As true as that might be, it doesn’t have to leave us powerless, for we always have a choice of how we decide to respond to it. In the four years I served as moderator of Mennonite Church Alberta and on the board of MC Canada, I observed…
Optimism in an age of ‘isms’
In 2015, for the first time in nearly two centuries of publication, Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary chose a suffix as its word of the year. That word was “ism.” To name its winner, Merriam-Webster tracked two criteria: a high volume of look-ups and a significant year-over-year increase in look-ups. Who, pray tell, searches the meaning of suffixes?…
Mennonite plays
Dianne Bailey, Mary Bechtel and Beth Good play Mennonite pioneer women in the 1970 production of Trail of the Conestoga. Several ambitious drama projects were undertaken by Ontario Mennonites during this time, spurred on in part by Canada’s centennial in 1967 and a new emphasis on multiculturalism. The New Commandment by Barbara Coffman was produced…
