“It was here somewhere,” I said to my son Allan. “The Boese canning factory was over here, and over there was an orchard where we lived in our trailer until about 1962. It was... Read More
Features
“Good King Wenceslas” is not the most sing-able of carols and the lyrics are on the King James end of archaic. You may have assumed this 10th-century legend is about... Read More
December 7, 2016 | Feature | Layton Friesen
In the northern hemisphere, Advent comes to us in the darkest time of the year. Christmas is advertised and celebrated as the happiest time of the year, and for some it is just... Read More
November 16, 2016 | Feature | Carol Penner
At times we have been both inspired and overwhelmed by the parenting books that crowd bookstore and library shelves. We have also found useful advice, and a dauntingly high bar,... Read More
November 2, 2016 | Feature | Carmen Brubacher and Paul Heidebrecht
The Evansons were out of our league. We were a plain old missionary family coming from rural New Hamburg, Ont., and they were über-educated university professors from glamorous... Read More
October 19, 2016 | Feature | Michele Rizoli
"Why should young people from our congregations choose a Christian college or university like Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, B.C., Conrad Grebel University College in... Read More
October 5, 2016 | Feature | Terry Schellenberg
Many U.S. and Canadian Mennonites think of German-speaking Mennonites in Mexico as a backward people in a Wild West country. We read of Mennonites involved in drug trafficking and... Read More
September 21, 2016 | Feature | Edgar Stoesz
Ritual, blessing, practical care and honesty: some ways that churches can support families through pregnancy loss.
Holly (a pseudonym) began experiencing serial pregnancy loss several years ago, after the birth of her youngest son. In her mind, the words “church” and “support” don’t really go... Read More
September 7, 2016 | Feature | Beth Downey Sawatzky
“So this is how Mennonite Church Canada handles layoffs due to shrinking budgets. This was my mom’s experience today: show up to work; given the news; laptop taken away; password... Read More
August 24, 2016 | Feature | Henry Neufeld
Since I shared my husband’s painful job loss through no fault of his own, I’ve received many emails and other private messages from people who have also experienced difficult... Read More
August 24, 2016 | Feature | © April Yamasaki
Peach Blossom Church almost always meets its budget, although some years involve more drama than others. It still engages a full-time pastor, fixes the roof and supports mission... Read More
August 10, 2016 | Feature | Lori Guenther Reesor
Randell Neudorf, pastor of the Commons church in Hamilton, Ont., speaks in favour of the resolution to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery. Neudorf spoke of wanting his son, who has an Ojibway background, to grow up in a land that sees him and his people as full members of the human family. The Doctrine of Discovery is a historical belief that lands without Christian inhabitants were empty and open to the predation of Christian princes. The Doctrine continues to influence the law about Indigenous Peoples in Canada (Photo by Dave Rogalsky)
“A season of change,” lament, fear, anxiety, confession, uncertainty, safe space, brave space . . . hope. Mennonite Church Canada, which held its biennial assembly, “God~Faith~... Read More
July 20, 2016 | Feature | Dave Rogalsky
Fortune and misfortune can look the same in a world of incomprehensible inequality. Each year, many thousands of Jamaicans apply for coveted temporary jobs on Canadian farms. The... Read More
June 28, 2016 | Feature | Will Braun
Someone once said, “There’s no such thing as part-time pastors, only part-time salaries.” If this is true, a lot of congregations within Mennonite Church Canada are getting good... Read More
June 15, 2016 | Feature | Emily Summach
We are a group of pastors from each of the five area churches who have gathered around the current Future Directions Task Force conversations in an effort to understand and... Read More
June 1, 2016 | Feature | Various Contributors
As delegates prepare to gather for Assembly 2016, a group of 10 pastors from across Mennonite Church Canada wrote an open letter on the Future Directions process. They write, “In... Read More
June 1, 2016 | Feature |
I memorized Philippians 4:4-9 more than 20 years ago when I was on bed rest during my pregnancy with my son Aaron. I had lost three babies before him—and one after him—so... Read More
May 18, 2016 | Feature | Angelika Dawson
Alcohol has become ubiquitous in Canada, so much so that on April 5 even Starbucks began serving beer and wine in three of its Toronto outlets. How does this preponderance of... Read More
May 4, 2016 | Feature | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
About eight years ago, Daniel Pantoja shared the approach he and his wife Joji employed as Mennonite Church Canada Witness Workers in the Philippines: “Toss aside western church... Read More
April 20, 2016 | Feature | Deborah Froese
Marriage has always been, and continues to be, a perplexing reality for Christians. From the Apostle Paul’s confusing advice to the more recent agonizing over divorce, Christian... Read More
April 6, 2016 | Feature | Bruce Hiebert
Excerpted and translated from a sermon preached at Niagara United Mennonite Church, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., on April 26, 2015. It is based on chapter 21 of the Gospel of John,... Read More
March 23, 2016 | Feature | Udo Woelke
Lent is a 40-day season on the church calendar that brings the story of Jesus into the nitty-gritty of community life. It brings the story into everyone’s own particular time and... Read More
March 9, 2016 | Feature | Chris Lenshyn
A year ago, when a colleague and I spent an intense two days in the beautiful Fraser Valley of B.C. with the writing team for our Leader magazine, I met this passage again as part... Read More
February 24, 2016 | Feature | Elsie Hannah Ruth Rempel
In a time when western society is rapidly altering its image of marriage and government institutions have legally recognized same-sex marriage, the church is pressed to decide:... Read More
February 10, 2016 | Feature | Darrin W. Snyder Belousek