An uneasy transition
This is my seventh year living in Canada. My transition from Japan to Canada wasn’t easy, since I love my country and my family. I especially love the church where I became a believer, Atago Mennonite, in Miyazaki. I still have a heart that one day my entire family will come to know Jesus. When…
Movember is the new Christmas
I have a goatee. I’ve had it for a while and, as my wife reminds me, my kids can’t even remember me without it. I can barely remember me without it. So, given that I’m already stubbled, it’s pretty hard to get excited about Movember. November has become the month—other than hockey playoff time—when men…
A deeper view of bread
When I was a child, my mother used to bake buns every Saturday. It seemed to me that she would make hundreds of them. She baked so that on Sunday we could have faspa. There was something sacred about faspa. Something about that light meal contributed to my concept of sabbath. In my mind, I…
Readers write: November 24, 2014 issue
‘Open invitation’ leaves reader saddened and disturbed Re: “Come out: An open invitation,” Oct. 13, page 14.
Faith vs. beliefs (Pt. 2)
“When the disciples saw him they worshipped him, but some of them doubted.” That’s how the disciples responded to the risen Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew (28:17). So what were these disciples doubting? Nothing less than the resurrection of Jesus. In my experience, this would be a deal breaker for most modern churches. Belief…
Serving as a witness to God’s salvation
What is central to our relationship with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit? Do we experience vitality in this relationship? What happens when we encounter people who can’t, or won’t, agree with what we hold as central to our understanding of faith? How do we challenge the discomfort, doubt or uncertainty many feel when…
Talk of sin should start with forgiveness
The best moment of my Sunday school teaching career happened when the children were nearly stumped by a question. My co-teacher began the Bible lesson by asking the 8- to 10-year-olds, “What is sin?” whereupon a rare and rich silence descended as the children contemplated her question. The silence was broken by a spiritually precocious…
Transformation to generosity
I didn’t grow up in a home steeped in Christian heritage. Instead, my childhood includes only a handful of memories that involve the church or religion. But in 1980, that all changed. My parents moved from having a distant relationship with God to a profound new life of walking with Christ. This transformation brought many…
Readers write: November 10, 2014 issue
If lesbians can’t be ordained is there still a place for ordination? Re: “MC U.S.A. will not recognize pastors in same-sex unions,” Sept. 15, page 19. The controversy as it relates to the ordination of a lesbian woman has relevance for us here in Canada. It is only a matter of time before a similar…
Writing on the walls of my little room
My mother sternly warned me against doing such a thing, and I’m sure I echoed her feelings to my children and grandchildren as they grew up. Yet, as the years flew by, I had a growing urge to just do it: to write on the walls of the little room beside our master bedroom. The…
