October 22 was a normal Sunday. I had just arrived at Rockway Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont., when Conrad Brunk approached me. He is a fellow Rockway member, a former... Read More
Features
Evangelist George R. Brunk II with his wife Margaret, and their kids, left to right, George, Conrad, Paul, Barbara and Gerald, at a 1952 revival meeting in Waterloo, Ont. (Mennonite Archives of Ontario photo by David L. Hunsberger)
March 8, 2023 | Feature | Carol Ann Weaver
Actors Rooney Mara (left), Claire Foy, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy, Michelle McLeod and Jessie Buckley on the set of Women Talking. (Photo by Michael Gibson/Orion Pictures)
What do we do when we are wronged: Nothing? Stay and fight? Or do we leave? These questions form the backbone of Women Talking , a 2022 film directed by Sarah Polley and adapted... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Feature | Mandy Elliott
Jean Friedman-Rudovsky (in the yellow shirt) pictured in Manitoba Colony in 2013. She is pictured with the family that hosted her and her now-husband Sebastian Malter who joined her for her first couple days in the colony. (Photo courtesy of Jean Friedman-Rudovsky)
After opening in select movie theatres before Christmas, Women Talking received a wide release last month. For Jean Friedman-Rudovsky, it marked 10 years since she interviewed... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Feature | Aaron Epp
The set of Women Talking at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. (Photo by Michael Gibson/Orion Pictures)
Not many farmers walk out of a movie theatre and say, “It’s a lot of fun seeing our farm on the big screen.” But that’s what Chris Burkholder thought after he watched Women... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Feature | Aaron Epp
The church in Pingjum, Netherlands where Menno Simons stood up to Catholic authorities. (Photo by Doug Klassen)
I stand on the very spot where it all began, in a former Catholic church in the village of Pingjum, Netherlands. Here, the priest Menno Simons was called to account by his... Read More
February 8, 2023 | Feature | Doug Klassen
Victor Wiebe and Lorene Nickel with a “Deed of Gift” form. (Photo by Emily Summach)
Through an easily overlooked side door and down two flights of stairs at Bethany Manor Senior Living Complex in Saskatoon one will find the archival rooms of the Mennonite... Read More
January 25, 2023 | Feature | Emily Summach
(Design by Betty Avery / Headshots from Mennonite World Conference)
Based on my first-hand experience with the Mennonite church in Canada and the U.S. over the past 18 years, I suspect that far less than 10 percent of primarily white Mennonite... Read More
January 11, 2023 | Feature | Joon Park
An Israeli soldier and Palestinian girls in Bethlehem. (Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College)
Munther Isaac recently published a book that confronts a longstanding problem in Christian attitudes toward the Holy Land—ignorance, indifference and even hostility to the... Read More
December 7, 2022 | Feature | Byron Rempel-Burkholder
This artwork was submitted to the Canadian Mennonite call for student art by Aishel Nag of Bethesda Mennonite Church, Champa, Chhattisgarh, India.
Rahab acts by faith Joshua 2:1-21; 6:22-25; Matthew 1:5; Hebrews 11:29-31; James 2:23-26. Beyond the narrative in Joshua and Jesus’ genealogy, Rahab is mentioned two other times... Read More
November 23, 2022 | Feature | Joanna Harader
‘Saint John the Baptist Pointing to Christ,’ by Carlo Maratta (1625-1713). (Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain Artwork)
At an Anglican church I know, the congregational response after the reading of Scripture is: “Listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.” This response captures the... Read More
November 9, 2022 | Feature | Johann Funk
Martin So, pastor of Vancouver Peace Church.
A quiet, years-long journey. A voice speaking in a mosh pit full of teenagers. A love for the church. An unexpected second career. These are just some of the ways that Mennonite... Read More
October 26, 2022 | Feature | Emily Summach
In the chapel at Casa Iskali retreat centre in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, Ill., 45 people gathered from Aug. 26 to 28 for a working conference to launch the Anabaptist Bible project. (Jace Longenecker photo for MennoMedia)
Anabaptism began in 1525 in Switzerland, when bold young Christians challenged authorities with the radical idea that Scripture spoke clearly to ordinary people who studied the... Read More
October 12, 2022 | Feature | Paul Schrag
CMC-MPS steering committee members meet at St. Charles Retreat Centre, Nov. 1996. The group helped shape the future directions for a churchwide publication. Front, left to right: Waldo Neufeld, Ruth Braun, Sam Steiner, Ron Rempel. Back: Marg Neufeld, Lawrence Burkholder, Jack Suderman, Ted Regehr. Missing: Otto Driedger. (Photo by Aiden Enns)
In the summer of 2003, as I pondered how to say farewell to a 24-year career as editor of Canadian Mennonite and its predecessor, Mennonite Reporter , a friend suggested I reflect... Read More
September 28, 2022 | Feature | Ron Rempel
(rawpixel photo / © istockphoto.com)
He might be the youth leader, enthusiastically singing the loudest, or the young mother protectively watching over her children as they run among the pews, or the strong-willed... Read More
September 14, 2022 | Feature | Bruce Hiebert
Members of MC Canada’s Joint Council, musicians and worship leader Tany Warkentin lead the gathering in words and actions of the ‘We declare’ affirmation. (Photo by Ruth Bergen Braun)
For the first time since 2019, members from across the five regions of Mennonite Church Canada gathered in person for learning, inspiration and decision-making. Meeting at a... Read More
August 17, 2022 | Feature | Virginia A. Hostetler
Mennonite World Conference assembly participants attend the final worship service July 10 at the 12,000-seat sanctuary of JKI Injil Kerajaan, a Mennonite church known as the “Holy Stadium,” in Semarang, Indonesia. (Meetinghouse photo by Kresna Kurniawan)
With its national motto of “unity in diversity,” Indonesia proved a fitting host for the 17th assembly of Mennonite World Conference (MWC)—downsized by COVID-19 restrictions but... Read More
July 20, 2022 | Feature | Paul Schrag
Although Mt. Baker is located in Washington state, traditional Salishan territory, its presence is part of Abbotsford, B.C.’s skyline. Abbotsford is home to the Matsqui First Nation, affiliated with the Stó:lo Nation. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
In recent years, whether attending church meetings or public or community gatherings, Canadians may have heard opening words similar to these: “We gratefully acknowledge that we... Read More
June 22, 2022 | Feature | Amy Rinner Waddell
Sadly, it is too late for either a nonviolent approach or a more violent approach with a no-fly zone to quickly restore Ukrainian rights. It is impossible for any approach to take away damage to a house after it has been burning for some time. (Pixabay photo by dangrafart)
As Christians rooted in the Anabaptist tradition, we care deeply about every human being on Earth. We no doubt have felt solidarity with Ukrainians as they struggle against... Read More
June 8, 2022 | Feature | Robert C. Johansen
Kirsten Hamm-Epp and her eldest son, Peter, have fun in the garden. The family has plans to plant more squash this year. (Photo courtesy of Kirsten Hamm-Epp)
Lately I’ve had a lot of trouble concentrating. This past week I have spent far too many hours staring at my computer screen without much progress being made. When this happens, I... Read More
May 25, 2022 | Feature | Kirsten Hamm-Epp
The quietness and rest that people with mental-health problems need is something we all need. For us to live according to the pace and drive of contemporary western culture is for us to burn through our neural circuitry in ways that lead to disruptive and disorderly crises. (Photo by Ruth Bergen Braun)
What is a human life worth? What makes my own life worthwhile? Is my time valuable only when my efforts add up to some measurable achievement I can document on my résumé or in my... Read More
May 11, 2022 | Feature | Carlene Hill Byron
At a recent annual gathering, Colombian Mennonites pray for outgoing denominational president Yalile Caballero, who was an influential advocate for peace and justice. Jeanette Hanson, MC Canada’s director of International Witness, says of the Colombian Mennonites that they do ‘amazing peace and justice work because they love Jesus.’ Reports produced by Justapaz, the peace and justice arm of the Colombian Mennonites, weave an overt spiritual intimacy into documentation of human-rights violations. (Photo by Jeanette Hanson)
Some Mennonites raise their hands when they sing. Others don’t. Some attend climate rallies and examine decolonization. Others don’t. Some Mennonites hear sermons focused on the... Read More
April 27, 2022 | Feature | Will Braun
As Mennonite Church Alberta prepares to host the MC Canada national gathering from July 29 to Aug. 1, it is fascinating to consider how a small regional church body affects the flow of city life in Edmonton, its development and the surprises and challenges that emerge. (Photo by Len Franz)
You are easily forgiven for not knowing that Edmonton is a beach city. In spite of its northern location and prairie landscape, sandcastles and sunbathers began appearing along a... Read More
April 13, 2022 | Feature | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
(Photo used with permission by Merri-Lee Metzger)
Mary Magdalene couldn’t have known the end of the story—how things would turn out. How could she? She, and the rest of the disciples, were no different from the rest of us. The... Read More
March 30, 2022 | Feature | Mark Diller Harder
In a piece titled “Migrant Journey,” artist Rafael Barahona explores a universal story that includes many perils but also a sense of hope. The art was inspired by Jeremiah 29:11 and Hebrews 11:1 and appears in the hymnal collection Voices Together, published by MennoMedia. (Artwork used with permission of Rafael Barahona)
One of the striking things about Voices Together , the new Mennonite song collection, is that it includes 12 pieces of visual art. Images reach into our lives in a different way... Read More
March 16, 2022 | Feature | Carol Penner
Following provincial protocols for meetings during the pandemic, members of Sherbrooke Mennonite Church in Vancouver gather for an outdoor service, in the summer of 2020. (Photo by Garry Janzen)
Justin Sun has never known pastoring other than during a pandemic. A year-and-a-half into his first pastorate, he says, “It’s been rough. How do I even do this job? I didn’t even... Read More
March 2, 2022 | Feature | Randolph Haluza-DeLay