Sometimes you need to receive
Some time ago, during a morning walk, I found a wallet a few blocks from my house. I looked around, hoping the owner might still be close by, but there was no one. Just me. A peek inside revealed a library card, a health card and $25 in bills. That was it. No credit cards.…
Advent is life
The weeks leading up to Christmas brought an overwhelming spirit of anticipation to our household when I was growing up. In fact, the intensity of waiting to open our gifts on Christmas morn was too much for my brother and me to bear. Every December we searched our house high and low looking for our…
Readers write: November 9, 2015 issue
MC Eastern Canada ‘did what was proper and called for’ Re: “Seeking redemption and peace” guest editorial by Joyce Gladwell, Sept. 28, page 2. I am disappointed that you would give prominence to the letter you published as a guest editorial and seemingly force Mennonite Church Eastern Canada’s hand to respond and disclose information that…
Jesus poses a problem
How do questions bring you closer to God? The Bible includes several hundred instances where Jesus poses a question to an individual, a small group of followers or a large crowd. Rarely looking for information, he often asks questions in order to challenge, encourage, invite or inspire. The Sermon on the Mount is one of…
A most grievous sin
One of the greatest days of Jesus’ ministry was marked by one of his greatest laments. He rides toward Jerusalem amid a worshipping throng waving palm branches and declaring Messianic praise (Luke 19:28-38). He is the humble king riding a colt—a most humorous and political cartoon-worthy image. What immediately follows, however, is a Messiah in…
Ready to listen and learn
My memories of the church I grew up in are good ones. I liked seeing my friends in Sunday school every week and enjoyed singing in the grown-up service. The Halloween game nights, Christmas musicals and Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) were fun. They were also opportunities—at least the musicals and VBS—for people to accept Jesus…
Sister Care comes to Canada
During my first year as a member of the Women of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (WMCEC) executive, I was fortunate to be invited to an information session about the possibility of Sister Care (a women’s empowerment program created by Mennonite Women U.S.A.) coming to Canada. Being quite the “newbie” in 2014, I had no idea…
1960s radio broadcast of a men’s quartet
This photo is of a men’s quartet singing for a radio broadcast in a Vancouver Mennonite church basement circa the 1960s. Advances in mass communication such as radio were first met with suspicion and in some cases were banned in Mennonite communities warning about worldly influences entering the home and community. Committees were established to…
Readers write: October 26, 2015 issue
Is it really time for a vote . . . or should we keep talking? Re: “It’s time for a vote,” March 30, page 14,” and “A historic moment,” Aug. 17, page 2. Russel Snyder-Penner makes many good points in “It’s time for a vote.” His description of how the roundtable discussion format has hindered…
Defining the ‘other’
Early in the Syrian refugee crisis, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) asked me to be part of a delegation meeting with Chris Alexander, minister of immigration. We indicated that the church was ready to do what it could to respond to the crisis. But as the crisis continued to unfold and governments struggle to…
