“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
Features
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.
The following announcement was released by Vyacheslav Nesteruk, president of the All-Ukrainian Union of Associations of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, and Aleksey Smirnov,... Read More
May 7, 2014 | Feature |
1. William Yoder suggests that democracy requires compromise and a sharing of power. Have you had experiences in public, church or family life where compromising or sharing power... Read More
May 7, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
Do empty churches indicate a lack of faith, or do they need to adapt to different ways of nurturing faith in people both inside and outside their walls? (Photo by Donita Wiebe-Neufeld)
The skyline is liberally punctuated with steeples, but they loom like tombstones over the churches of Montréal. The beautiful buildings are mostly dead on Sundays, and I wonder... Read More
April 23, 2014 | Feature | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
Alain Spitzer
The first Skype conversation I ever had was with someone in Germany about a guy from Montréal who wanted to be baptized in Edmonton. This extraordinary testament to a globalized... Read More
April 23, 2014 | Feature | By Tim Wiebe-Neufeld
As in many environments today, “peace” was a conventional salutation in the ancient world. In the Gospel of Luke, when the risen Jesus appears among the disciples in Jerusalem, he... Read More
April 9, 2014 | Feature | By Alicia J. Batten
1. When you meet friends or family, what form of greeting do you use? Have you ever met anyone who used “peace” as a greeting? Does your congregation use “passing the peace” or... Read More
April 9, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
Photo © istock.com/c_for
Just before Jack McKay* was let out of prison, a local paper ran an article that portrayed him as an unhinged, unreformed sexual predator. The message was blunt: Beware, be afraid... Read More
March 26, 2014 | Feature | By John Penner*
1. What experiences have you had with prison visitation or helping someone with a painful past become settled in Canadian society? What level of acceptance would someone like Jack... Read More
March 26, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
Born and raised in Niverville, Man., Matt Falk began performing stand-up at the age of 17 after seeing comedians like Ellen DeGeneres and Robin Williams on TV. ‘I just wanted to be like them so badly,’ he recalls. ‘I think that’s what motivated me.’ (Photo courtesy of Matt Falk)
Matt Falk recalls one of his worst gigs from the beginning of his career as a comedian. He was hired to perform at a corporate event, and during his 30-minute set the audience... Read More
March 12, 2014 | Feature | By Aaron Epp
Laughter has always been a huge part of my working career, working as a writer and actor in comedic theater. Most etymologists, those who study where words come from, believe that... Read More
March 12, 2014 | Feature | Ted Swartz
1. What kind of jokes make you laugh? Why do we value a sense of humour? When can laughter be disrespectful or inappropriate? What is the tipping point where there is too much... Read More
March 12, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
Physician-assisted suicide has been in the news a lot recently. Last spring, Canadians watched as Winnipegger Susan Griffiths took her final journey to Switzerland to end her life... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Compiled by John Longhurst
Sikander Hashmi
“Do not kill yourselves: for verily God is to you most merciful” (Qur’an 4:29). It is commonly understood that when we were born, we had no choice but to become a citizen of this... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Sikander Hashmi
Atish Maniar
Hinduism is based on nonviolence. Suicide—killing oneself—is an act of violence. Killing another person is also wrong. In Hindu scriptures, nowhere is it mentioned that one can... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Atish Maniar
Alan Green
To begin with, Judaism teaches that our lives belong to God. We are mere stewards of the body which the Creator has given us. As Jews, we also believe that we are commanded to... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Alan Green
Fredrich Ulrich
Buddhism as an organized religion began some 2,600 years ago. The advanced technology we have today was unimaginable in those distant eras. We are thus faced with the problem of... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Fredrich Ulrich
1. John Longhurst refers to a recent poll indicating that 70 percent of Canadians support physician-assisted suicide and 68 percent believe that those who help a seriously ill... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | By Barb Draper
Lawyers with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), of which Mennonite Church Canada is a member, have joined lawyers from across the country in signing a declaration that... Read More
February 26, 2014 | Feature | Evangelical Christian Fellowship
A mayor in Texas made headlines this past December when he proclaimed 2014 as “the Year of the Bible.” “Throughout the history of the United States, one of the most important... Read More
February 12, 2014 | Feature | Aaron Epp