The Christ Child has arrived. We’ve waited through four weeks of Advent to light that fifth candle, the Christ candle, symbolizing the presence of Christ in our midst. And we feel... Read More
Features
‘Nativity’ (detail), © by Brian T. Kershisnik, 2006. Used by permission.
December 12, 2018 | Feature | Susanne Guenther Loewen
Artwork by Emma Unger, Grade 11, Mennonite Collegiate Institute
God of grace, today we pray for peace for the City of Bethlehem. It has had more than its share of conflict, as it has changed from a sleepy little town to a bustling city that is... Read More
November 21, 2018 | Feature | Carol Penner
Artwork by Merle Yin, grade 11, Mennonite Collegiate Institute
From the moment we learned I was pregnant, the baby we longed for was continually on my mind. What would it look like? What kind of personality would it have? How would this baby... Read More
November 21, 2018 | Feature | Carol Penner
‘Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark’ (detail), by Benjamin West
We are daily awash in choices and opportunities, and many of us are affluent enough to be able to choose among many options. Many of us make many choices even before we get out... Read More
October 31, 2018 | Feature | Dori Zerbe Cornelsen
‘Potiphar’s wife displays Joseph’s garment,’ by Lucas van Leyden (circa 1512). Notice in the window in the top left corner Joseph can be seen being taken to prison. (Google Art Project)
The Bible is full of stories about people, real people with bodies and minds, and with an array of experiences, relationships and emotions. How odd, then, that we so often turn to... Read More
October 17, 2018 | Feature | Gareth Brandt
The first issue of the Canadian Mennonite Reporter, August 3, 1971. (Canadian Mennonite file photo)
This month marks the 65th anniversary of English-language magazine publishing for Mennonites in Canada. The Canadian Mennonite , a precursor to the magazine you are holding in... Read More
October 3, 2018 | Feature | Aaron Epp
Photo courtesy of Henry Neufeld
“Never a teacher,” I declared from the time I was in public school, growing up in the Leamington district of southwestern Ontario. When I finished high school in Ontario, I... Read More
September 19, 2018 | Feature | Henry Neufeld
‘A politics of tending is centred on shared practices, habits and memories that define a place and community in its particularity, and describe how that community will negotiate its future,’ writes Anika Reynar. (Photo © istock.com/baks)
In the midst of significant structural change in Mennonite Church Canada, a group of Canadian Mennonite University students came together in December 2015 around the question, “Do... Read More
September 5, 2018 | Feature | Anika Reynar
‘Grace’ by Eric Enstrom (public domain)
“You . . . were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people” (Ephesians 1:13-14, NRSV). I... Read More
August 22, 2018 | Feature | Dave Rogalsky
Maya Morton Ninomiya was baptized in the Saugeen River at Riverstone Retreat Centre near Durham, Ont., in June 2016, by Wendy Janzen and Kevin Derksen, pastors at St. Jacobs Mennonite Church. (Photo by Marcia Shantz)
I was baptized on an Easter Sunday morning, in the midst of a beautiful service celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. By the first rays of morning light, we greeted each other... Read More
July 18, 2018 | Feature | Kevin Derksen
Communion, the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist; whatever the name, it has been an integral part of the Christian faith since its beginnings. (Photo © istock.com/ipggutenbergukltd)
“Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And... Read More
June 27, 2018 | Feature | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
The church is a community of profound meaning for seniors because it has the capacity to speak to their deep spiritual needs, offering belonging, care and inspiration. (Photo by D. Michael Hostetler)
I was raised in a family with Scottish Presbyterian roots, where no one talked about faith for fear of being “too religious.” We trusted that seniors had it all figured out and... Read More
June 13, 2018 | Feature | Jane Kuepfer
After serving as interim pastor at Grace Mennonite Church in St. Catharines, Ont., Waldo Pauls ended up staying on as minister for seven years. He is pictured with his wife Pam at their farewell service following Waldo’s retirement in 2014. (Photo by Ernie Janzen)
“You don’t go quickly from Egypt to the Promised Land,” quips Harold Schlegel. “The wilderness is where God forms us.” The wilderness Schlegel speaks of is the transition in a... Read More
May 30, 2018 | Feature | Donna Schulz
‘David and Saul,’ by Ernst Josephson, oil on canvas, 1878
“And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would... Read More
May 16, 2018 | Feature | Virginia Gerbrandt Richert
Photo by Kaylene Derksen
“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes... Read More
May 2, 2018 | Feature | Kaylene Derksen
Neeta Solomon cooks a meal for Marlene Epp. (Photo by Marlene Epp)
I recently learned to eat anarsa —a sweet, rice-based treat—while travelling in India visiting with Mennonite women, and learning about their religious lives and food practices... Read More
May 2, 2018 | Feature | Marlene Epp
There is a new culture in North America around sexual harassment and abuse. The social media hashtag #MeToo is everywhere, and we are starting to address abusive behaviour in the... Read More
April 18, 2018 | Feature | Carol Penner
“While I don’t want to give the impression that the West has no gifts to offer the global church, too often we assume that it is our wealth and our wisdom that will be the world’s greatest salvation.” (Art: ‘Christ and the Rich Young Ruler’ by Heinrich Hofmann)
Immediately after finishing with undergraduate school in 2008, I went down to Mexico to help translate for a mission trip that my mom and younger brother were taking with my... Read More
April 4, 2018 | Feature | Michael Thomas
‘We’re starting to build momentum here . . . to build relationships and have good conversations with people who wouldn’t otherwise come to our church building.’ —Pastor Lydia Crutwell, First United Mennonite Church, Vancouver (First United Mennonite Church photo)
Mennonites have always been known as a migrant people, whether moving from Switzerland to North America, from the Netherlands to Prussia and Ukraine, and from Europe to South... Read More
March 21, 2018 | Feature | Amy Rinner Waddell
Caravaggio’s ‘The Incredulity of Saint Thomas’
It’s a question I’ve heard many times over the years: “Do Christians really need to believe in Jesus’ resurrection?” It is, after all, a pretty difficult idea to accept. And this... Read More
March 7, 2018 | Feature | Michael Pahl
Photo: istock.com/ayzek
Ephesians begins by blessing God for revealing the great mystery, namely, to “gather up all things in Christ” (1:10). Ephesians 2:11-22 then celebrates Christ’s making peace... Read More
February 21, 2018 | Feature | Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld
Within Mennonite denominations, the closure of churches is also a reality that requires acknowledgement and careful planning, so that their legacy might be a blessing. (Photo: © istock.com/hal990)
Every living thing eventually dies, including churches. Just as people who do not plan for death may complicate things for their families, churches that do not plan for eventual... Read More
February 7, 2018 | Feature | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
Constructing a house of peace that is inclusive, containing a health and safe environment in which the human soul can thrive requires the involvement of all vocations and disciplines. (Photo © istock.com/danr13)
The political scientist Harold Lasswell once defined politics to be “who gets what, when and how.” If that is politics, peace studies in contrast can be seen as an attempt to... Read More
January 24, 2018 | Feature | Lowell Ewert
Opening of the MCC Ontario building in 1964. Pictured from left to right: MCC executive secretary William Snyder, Fred Nighswander, Henry H. Epp and Abner Cressman. (Kitchener-Waterloo Record file photo / Mennonite Archives of Ontario)
When the indomitable Orie O. Miller retired from Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in 1958, there was a lot of speculation about who would fill his big shoes. In Miller’s mind,... Read More
January 10, 2018 | Feature | Edgar Stoesz
Anneken Kendriks is burned in Amsterdam in 1571. (Etching by Jan Luyken, from Martyrs Mirror by Thieleman J. van Braght, Published by Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Va. Used with permission.)
Children are among the most important things given to us in our lives. With this gift comes the responsibility of passing on our faith. This can be a daunting task in a cultural... Read More
December 20, 2017 | Feature | Arlene Friesen