From ‘I think’ to ‘We think’
What do you do when you’re not sure what to do? This was the topic of conversation as a friend and I met around his table this summer. He was talking about his children who were starting out in life. They were facing the usual challenges of children, mortgage and jobs. We remarked on how…
Glimpses of a holy heritage
My name is Ed Olfert. I live in Laird, Sask., and currently serve as part-time minister of Grace Mennonite Church in Prince Albert. Some time ago I critiqued Canadian Mennonite. The executive editor called my bluff and offered me a column. I inherit a double helping of storytelling tradition. My parents immigrated to Canada as…
Gathering and sharing seeds of faith
Some years ago, a seed was planted in my heart to take a group of intergenerational North American Mennonite women to share faith and life stories with other Mennonite women in an international setting. This summer, after much planning with TourMagination and excellent guidance from our Tanzanian connector and translator, Esther Muhagachi (presently studying at…
Peace Factory
“Groups keep pleading for Peace Factory,” said a Mennonite Central Committee memo in 1996. An interactive exhibit, Peace Factory was a cooperative Mennonite project. Its goal was to “help all Christians connect their faith in God with a life of peacemaking.” In 1997, it toured southwestern Ontario. Pictured at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener, a…
Readers write: September 24, 2018 issue
Supporters of Ruth-Ann Klassen Shantz speak out on her behalf Re: “Decades-old sexual abuse comes to light,” Sept. 10, page 13. We have known Ruth-Ann Klassen Shantz for 20 years as a strong, confident woman, not knowing that underneath she was trapped in the living hell of a traumatized teen. We have supported Ruth-Ann as…
Peter’s Letter to Canadian Christians
To the friends living in the colonized lands of the Salish, Mi’kmaq and Innu. This is Peter, follower of the poor Christ, in prison on the West Coast. I write because the time is urgent. Some say, “The end of the world is at hand” (I Peter 4:7). Some say, “Eternity is being determined now.”…
Can we talk politics?
Some years ago, when Canada was in the midst of a federal election, my husband proposed that our church “talk politics.” Specifically, that we set aside time in the adult Sunday school class to examine the issues and the options being offered by different parties and candidates. The proposal was originally met with hesitation; people…
A wise decision
From the time we are young, most of us are taught that decisions about money are not to be taken lightly. Through experiences like saving up to buy a new bike, purchasing our first car and choosing a new home, we become familiar with budgeting, saving and praying about the big financial decisions in our…
Lonely creek
A lonely bridge over a creek near Winkler, Man., in 1907. A humble structure, but so very important. Bridges connected farmers to markets, children to schools, families to church, and pregnant women to midwives. Many of the everyday things that we use are humble pieces that someone has expended effort to make. We would do…
Finding worthiness in weakness
In II Corinthians 12:9, Paul shares a message he received from God in response to his personal struggles: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” It’s no small thing to trust that God’s grace is sufficient for us regardless of what we’re going through. To accept that God’s grace…
