God is love

Armin and Edith Krahn, both 82, have attended Nutana Park Mennonite Church in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, since moving from their farm near Herschel. They met at RJC High School and were married in 1964. They have three children. Armin is the former moderator of Mennonite Church Saskatchewan.

What are your earliest memories of church?

Edith: We had little red chairs we would sit in and gather around our Sunday school teacher. Some of those chairs are still there [at Pleasant Point Mennonite Church]. Our teacher was a gentle lady who talked about God’s love.

Armin: I remember going to Herschel Ebenfeld Mennonite. Mom and Dad went for the sermon and singing; I probably went for visiting with friends.

What are your best memories of church?

Edith: Growing up, we had a hired man from a conservative Mennonite background who couldn’t always go home for the weekend. After he came to church with us, he questioned my dad: “How come your pastor talks about God’s love, not about hellfire and brimstone?”

That impressed me. He started his own church because of what he had heard at our little church.

Armin: Music and singing were important to me. Albert Wiens was the conductor who instilled interest in music. There was going to be a male choir in Winnipeg with men from all over Canada singing on a certain weekend in 1988. Albert taught us the songs and said: “We’re going!” I got to sing in a male choir of 300. It was exhilarating.

What is your most difficult memory of church?

Armin: Sometimes in leadership, we had to make hard decisions, and that could be very painful.

At school, my social studies teacher was atheist-leaning, and he questioned the validity of the Bible. I wanted to know more, so in Sunday school, I asked my teacher. At our annual promotion Sunday, the teacher made fun of my question. I quit asking questions.

Who are the people who’ve influenced you the most?

Edith: At RJC, I would chat with Art Pauls, the dean of boys. He was easy to talk to. One time, it was suggested we should go to tent revival meetings. Our church didn’t do that. It bothered me. Our church was liberal, and we were looked at as black sheep at the college. Art said: “The most important thing is the relationship between you and God.”

Armin: When Art Wiens was our pastor, he would come back from meetings elsewhere and report on them. It tweaked my interest about the larger body and led to my involvement in MC Saskatchewan and MC Canada. The other person was Ernie Baergen, who knew parliamentary procedure. When I was concerned meetings could get out of control, I felt comfort [that] Ernie was there to help.

What is your favourite book, song, poem, Bible passage?

Armin: The song “Wehrlos und Verlassen” in Esther Wiebe’s songbook for male choirs. Albert used that a lot.

Edith: Mine would be Psalm 46. Our pastor knows I’d like it used for my funeral.

What do young people not understand about old age?

Armin: The way ageing sneaks up on you. People congratulate you on a birthday, and you wonder: how did I ever get that old? But it’s a good alternative—we want to wake up on the right side of the grass!

Edith: We’ve taught our kids that when we make mistakes, we laugh, and they laugh with us (not at us afterwards). You have to see the humour in things, even if it’s hard sometimes.

What’s the hardest thing about getting older?

Edith: My baking isn’t what it used to be.

Armin: In my 80s, my kids tell me I can’t drive to B.C. anymore. That’s the first warning. I’m certainly not looking forward to my kids, the doctor or the license bureau saying: that’s it, you’re done. That will be difficult.

What is the best thing about getting older?

Armin: It feels good to know our children have found professions and contribute to society.

Edith: This year we celebrated 100 years since our grandparents came to Canada. At the end, my daughter said she was glad I had made her come, and she had learned so much about the faith her great-grandparents had in immigrating to Canada.

That’s important, to tell the good and the bad of what has happened.

What do you wish people had told you about ageing?

Edith: My mother always told me time goes so fast. When I had three preschoolers in five years, I didn’t think it did. Now I understand where she was coming from.

If you could preach a sermon, what would it be about?

Edith: God is love, and it would go from there.

Armin: Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbour as yourself. We are really short on that.