In the face of an uncertain future, trepidation of shrinking budgets and programs, tired and fewer volunteers, and changing realities, encouraging stories were shared over two... Read More
Features
Where in the Bible can Christians turn to for “wild hope” if they are to have faith in an unknown season? That was the question Dan Epp-Tiessen, associate professor of Bible at... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | Aaron Epp
The biggest obstacle to working with people of other faiths is to deconstruct all the stereotypes and myths that the media have created and perpetrated, especially about Islam,... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | Dick Benner
What might a flashlight symbolize about how you were brought up to believe about generosity? That was one of the questions faced by participants during a weekend seminar at... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | Aaron Epp
“Last year, Mennonite Church U.S.A. passed a resolution on creation care at its Phoenix assembly. Is it time for [MC] Canada to have a resolution as well, and, if so, what should... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | By Evelyn Rempel Petkau
It’s hard to organize a trip to Mennonite Church Canada’s assembly, knowing what to pack, how many books to bring and how to plan visiting times. The who to travel with, however,... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
Who gets the help when a pastor marries a psychiatrist? At the 2014 Mennonite Church Canada minister’s conference, the answer was no joke, yet everyone left feeling better. Dr... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
Embodying the love that Jesus Christ modelled and treating people the way we want to be treated are the best ways to face an increasingly pluralistic society. That’s the message... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | By Aaron Epp
Doug Klassen
At a corner of Ellice Avenue and Marilyn Street in Winnipeg, the neighbourhood association erected four sheets of plywood and painted them with chalkboard paint. The phrase, “... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | By Virginia A. Hostetler
They walked together through a valley of shadows for two years, yet Assembly 2014 is the first time Elizabeth Wall and Lorraine Reimer have met face to face. Reimer, a member of... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
“It only takes a scrap of time to turn to God.” April Yamasaki shared this anonymous piece of 14th-century wisdom in her “Cultivating spiritual disciplines” workshop at Assembly... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | Evelyn Rempel Petkau
What are the needs of women, and how are they working to meet those needs? Rhoda Keener, co-director of Mennonite Women U.S.A., led a presentation and discussion surrounding these... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | Rachel Bergen
The Cree word “kiciwamanawak” means “we are all cousins.” In Canada, however, this familial relationship between settler and host is fractured. This was the theme of the “Broken... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | Rachel Bergen
After seminar leader Chris Lenshyn began his post-Christian landscape session by reading chapter 1 of Daniel, he invited participants—48 adults and one baby—to gather in twos to... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | Virginia A. Hostetler
Unique timing and collaboration led to one of Manitoba Church Manitoba Camps with Meaning sites hosting two days of the children’s assembly—a first in Assembly gathering history... Read More
July 23, 2014 | Feature | Elsie Rempel
Probably the two most divisive issues in the church at the moment are women’s status and rights in the church, and the moral legitimacy of same-sex covenant relationships. The... Read More
July 2, 2014 | Feature | By Norman Kraus
During the 2013-14 academic year, Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) was engaged in intense conversations on and off campus regarding its hiring policy concerning individuals in... Read More
July 2, 2014 | Feature | By Lisa Schirch
1. Does your church give equal status and rights to women and men? How did earlier generations explain their assumption that powerful roles were reserved for men? How much does... Read More
July 2, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
The pulpit in the Jesuit Saint-Loup church in Namur, the Netherlands. The monumental sculpture, ‘Suffer little children to come unto me’ was made by the Dinant sculptor Benjamin Devigne (1827-94) in 1876.
I came across an editorial by Dick Benner a few months ago and was distressed to read about the late—and highly regarded—John Howard Yoder having sexually violated 80 women “at... Read More
June 18, 2014 | Feature | Name Withheld by Request*
Maison de l'Amitie photo
“I really do not want more community than we already have at this church,” shared a congregant during a Sunday morning adult Sunday school discussion. “What I like about this... Read More
June 4, 2014 | Feature | By Paul Born
1. What are some examples of things you do to support others in your family, congregation, team or club? In what situations have you received support from others? In what groups... Read More
June 4, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
‘End-of-life decisions will be more complicated as time goes on. It will be necessary for the church community to be aware of the complexity of cases and to seek to find appropriate Christians responses to them.’ (Marianne Mellinger)
When Susan Griffiths of Winnipeg went to Switzerland a year ago to die by doctor-assisted suicide, it was headline news and re-ignited the debate around end-of-life issues... Read More
May 21, 2014 | Feature | By Evelyn Rempel Petkau
1. Have you participated in any end-of-life decisions? Under what conditions would you consider withholding possible treatment for yourself or a family member? How would you... Read More
May 21, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
One could attribute the current crisis in Ukraine to the lack of sympathy for democratic practice. Repeated fisticuffs in Ukraine’s Parliament were one indication of that deficit... Read More
May 7, 2014 | Feature | By William E. Yoder, Ph.D.