Global gifts
Mennonite Church Canada’s history of engaging our global neighbours in mission and international church relations began more than 100 years ago. Since that time, the worldwide church has grown significantly. Almost two-thirds of the global Anabaptist community today is African, Asian or Latin American. That diversity is reflected within congregations across MC Canada that are…
Tribalism
Tribes are good (essential, I said in my last column). And yet there is danger when tribal extremes become virulent tribalism. Such tribalism takes what is good and life-giving about a bounded group and morphs it into a destructive, negative force. It proclaims the superiority of one group over another. It devalues and dehumanizes those…
‘Wholehearted giving’
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (II Corinthians 9:7). My two-year-old daughter examined the chocolate doughnut hole for a moment before taking a bite. Her face lit up instantly, and in her excitement she began to…
The ‘terroir’ of church
During our 13 years in Niagara, my wife and I grew to appreciate the beauty and complexity of the winemaking process. Wine is fascinating to me. So is its intimate connection with the Christian faith. Consider how significant Jesus made wine to our understanding of redemption. Jesus’ constant use of earthy images and metaphors to…
The long path back to the Bible
“I am 86 years old now and I am confused.” The e-mail came from a Canadian Mennonite reader who was referring to references in this magazine to myth and metaphor in the Bible. The writer, who has read a range of books about the Bible, did not dismiss untraditional approaches to Scripture, but admitted difficulty…
Nurse Katherine Dyck, 1956
Mennonite Central Committee nurse Katherine Dyck poses with mothers and twins in Pusan, Korea, in 1956. Born in Russia in 1925, she immigrated to Rosthern, Sask., and worked as a nurse in Saskatchewan and Maryland before beginning service in Korea in 1953. In 1954, she wrote, “As I daily try to help the many sick…
Readers write: September 14, 2015 issue
MWC should celebrate mission conference in 2027 The 2015 Mennonite World Conference assembly was indeed a significant event for our movement. In response to the question posed in one of the workshops and reported in your excellent coverage, let me suggest that the MWC assembly in 2027 feature the synod of Anabaptist leaders held in…
How do you pray?
“There are no atheists in foxholes.” So goes the maxim with roots in the Second World War. Caught in a pinch, surrounded by stress and fear, most human beings turn to some higher power. In fact, one must rationalize away the desire to beseech the divine from deep holes. It follows, doesn’t it, that…
Staying put
My family and I moved from Vancouver to Regina in July and are slowly searching for a faith community. So far we’ve attended two churches close to where we live, and with which we would feel comfortable, theologically. When we arrived (late) at both services, the first thing I noticed was that there were mostly…
Anna Thiessen, Winnipeg missionary
Missionary to the city of Winnipeg, Anna Thiessen, is seated with some girls she worked with in 1919. Rural life has been an important part of Mennonite life and self-understanding. The city was seen as dangerous and unhealthy and therefore shunned. Mennonite Brethren missionary Anna Thiessen was one of the first Canadian Mennonites who chose…
