‘Tapestry of uprooted cultures’
Authors Joy Kogawa and Rudy Wiebe speak of their ethnic histories at the Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta’s Fall 2017 meeting in Lethbridge. (Photo by Dave Toews) What would bring 200 people out on a windy, grey afternoon last November to the Southern Alberta Ethnic Association Centre for the fall conference of the Mennonite Historical…
Purposeful and meaningful
The numerous staff changes at Mennonite Church Eastern Canada in the last year have been coming for a long time. Top (from left to right): David Martin, Henry Paetkau, Al Rempel, Robertson Mbayamvula and Catherin van Sintern Dick Bottom (from left to right): Kevin Derksen, Norm Dyck, Brian Bauman, Marilyn Rudy-Froese and Mollee Moua David…
Saskatchewan youth explore what it means to answer their call
Saskatchewan Mennonite Youth Organization retreats are an annual highlight, and the senior-high retreat held at Shekinah Retreat Centre has been an opportunity for youth to reunite with each other for a long time. The weekend event has seen some changes over the years, but always includes worship times featuring a speaker and band, outside winter…
Accessing different realms of musical exploration
Since Luke Nickel was young, his parents instilled in him the value of thinking critically. He recalls one conversation—the exact topic escapes him—during which his father said to him and his siblings, “I don’t care what you think about it, as long as you think about it.” “It didn’t matter what conclusion we came to,…
‘The tensions of taking Scripture seriously’
Scripture is a massive, ancient, messy archive of God’s relationship with humanity that many claim to interpret correctly. But with such diverse understandings of the Bible, how can Christians approach it with humility while granting God’s words authority over their lives? How can young people take Scripture seriously in an increasingly secularized world? These questions…
The in-between years
Emerging adult: it’s a relatively new category to describe the life stage between adolescence and the adult they will become. They are no longer teens but are not yet fully independent adults. The term “emerging adults” usually describes young adults who don’t have children, who don’t have their own home, probably have not determined their…
The skill and soul of listening
Listening to God in worship, contemplatively in a labyrinth, or in the Bible. Listening to each other across cultures, when your hearing is impaired or when with the elderly. Mennonite Church Eastern Canada pastors, chaplains and congregational leaders gathered for a daylong seminar on listening on Jan. 20, 2018, at Redeemer College. The morning panel…
Seeking reconciliation through jubilee
What does the ancient Levitical concept of jubilee have to do with reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and their settler neighbours? Plenty, according to Steve Heinrichs. During Rosthern Mennonite Church’s Deeper Life Days on Jan. 26 and 27, 2018, Heinrichs, who is director of Indigenous-settler relations for Mennonite Church Canada, presented a three-session workshop entitled “Unsettling…
Filmmaker dedicated to telling the Mennonite story
Using pre-digital equipment, Otto Klassen works on one of his more than 50 films that document the lives of Mennonites. (Photo courtesy of Ken Reddig) Otto Klassen dedicated many years of his life to making documentaries that tell Mennonite stories. A self-taught filmmaker, he produced a total of 84 films in his lifetime, most of…
An openness to learning is the first step
Kim Penner graduated last November with a PhD in theology from the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto. Canadian Mennonite called Penner at her home in Waterloo, Ont., to ask her about her dissertation, “Discipleship as erotic peacemaking: Toward a feminist Mennonite theo-ethics of embodiment and sexuality,” and what her work has to offer…
