Christmas pudding a long-time tradition
For many of us, sitting around the table with extended family is a very important part of our Christmas celebration. In my family of origin, the traditional menu included turkey and dressing, while dessert was always iced sugar cookies and fruit salad with cubes of red and green Jell-O. I’m sure each family has its…
Drapers’ Christmas Pudding
This recipe comes from my husband’s “Aunt” Nancy who was an English war bride. I cut the recipe in half and made a few adjustments to suit my preferences. To see the story that goes with this recipe go to “Christmas pudding a long time tradition.” ½ cup flour ½ tsp. cinnamon ¼ tsp.…
Pastor uses medical assistance to die
Before his death in November 2019, John Regehr of Winnipeg said he wanted to start a discussion about death and dying. Regehr, 93, a former Canadian Mennonite Brethren pastor and professor at Mennonite Brethren Bible College (a founding college of Canadian Mennonite University), did just that when he chose to die using medical assistance in…
‘We are going to need more of each other’
Leah Reesor-Keller anticipated that her work as the new executive minister of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada would involve “a lot of talking to people at potlucks.” She was especially looking forward to going to Montreal to eat Haitian food. While the future of potlucks is unclear, Reesor-Keller is certain that “our need for a strong…
‘Do you know any Mennonites?’
In 2005, a Congolese Mennonite couple with a 15-month-old baby made a desperate plan to flee through Europe and fly to Calgary to safety. Even though the second Congo war had officially ended in 2003, a thousand people were still dying daily of disease, starvation and violence. Everyone was suffering and afraid. When Ben and…
‘Be bold! Make yourselves known!’
Giugovaz is not a Mennonite name, but Steven Giugovaz is definitely an Anabaptist. Son of immigrants from Italy and with a Croatian heritage, he has been on a journey that has led him to embracing a Jesus-centred theology whose world isn’t flat, a commitment to peace and an admiration for the early “re-baptizers.” Now a…
Women supporting women across borders
Pamela Obonde came to Winnipeg from Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2019 to study in the master of arts in peacebuilding and collaborative development program at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU). But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Manitoba in March, it threatened to foil all her plans. “I remember the day very well, when things just started…
Minority Mennonites organize a support group
When Gabby Martin mentions that she’s a Mennonite, she’s often met with, “Okay, but where are you from?” Her father is Black and her mother is Syrian; she was adopted by Mennonites. Martin grew up in Langham, Sask., and has been Mennonite her whole life, yet, because of her appearance, it feels like she’s expected…
Zwiebach from Saint Johanna
My earliest memories of food go back to my childhood in the Chaco, Paraguay, where my family lived from 1947 to 1952. Our family, like the others in our village, were refugees from Ukraine. We had arrived from Germany on the the S.S. Volendam, a Dutch freighter, with nothing but the clothes on our backs.…
‘There is always a way’
Christen Kong, 27, was part of the community outreach team at Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church when the group started a local butterfly garden to encourage pollinators. Kong marvels at how that small garden project became a “community connector” and a place of healing and wholeness. In a neighbourhood with food insecurity and high unemployment, the…
