A plan worth making
Like more than 51 percent of all Canadian adults, Roger (a pseudonym) did not have a will. As a child, he had been adopted into a wealthy family and, although he loved them deeply, he struggled to form a strong relationship with his siblings. They never became close. In adulthood, their connection faded even more,…
Is flirting necessarily a bad thing?
What is flirting anyway? When is it a problem? When is it a delightful social interaction? I’ve been pondering these questions for years since a friend surprised me with the words, “You are such a flirt.” Even though he spoke affectionately, I was taken aback, uncertain if such a label was accurate or wanted. At…
Epp Garage
The Epp Garage in Fiske, Sask., suffered a devastating fire. When material, like this photograph, comes to the archives with little or no information, we can often learn about it from its context—the other “stuff” that comes with it. But in this case there was no contextual information. We don’t know the family, owner, photographer…
Activate your core
It seems the majority of political, social and religious discourse today consists of knee-jerk reactions to the perceived agendas, biases, foolishness and dangerous “isms” of the “other.” This rampant reactivity makes constructive dialogue impossible. To make things worse, we all assume the log is in everybody else’s eye and the tiny speck is in our…
Readers write: June 4, 2018 issue
It’s not easy being single in the church There were never many girls my age at the Mennonite church in Scarborough, Ont., prior to my adolescent years, nor did my becoming a teenager make much difference. There were many personable Upper Canada College girls at the high school I attended. But Mom said, “No!”…
Living into all our relations
In these recent years of walking with our Indigenous neighbours, I have been both blessed and intrigued by the words of encouragement often expressed at the end of a talk: “All my relations.” My understandings of this saying come mostly from the reflections of Richard Wagamese, the Ojibway author of the book Indian Horse,…
From mountain to plain and back again
Mountaintop experiences. Those moments where God is undeniably present. When he shows up in power and glory. We are left riding high on a spiritual wave, convinced that God is at work in wonderful ways. What have your mountaintop experiences been? There are a few that jump to my mind. On one occasion, the…
Brubacher House opening
Tea is served on the front porch of Brubacher House Museum at its opening in 1979. The University of Waterloo, Ont., acquired the house and land to expand its campus. In 1968, the house suffered a devastating fire, but it was rebuilt with the help of Mennonite craftsman Simeon Martin. The university invited Conrad Grebel…
Let’s try talking to the ‘enemy’
I have a few observations to make about the open letter from the Mennonite Church Canada network of regional working groups on Palestine and Israel (“MC Canada working groups call for sanctions against Israel,” May 21, page 28). You will need to read this letter to understand and evaluate my comments. Taking sides When people…
Carrying seeds from Colombia to Palestine
Five years ago I set out on a journey with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), providing international accompaniment to human rights defenders in Colombia. (See “Levelling the playing field.”) Now, as I transition into new experiences with CPT in Palestine, I will take with me the following lessons I have learned from brave Colombian peacemakers: Keep sowing…
