Volume 16, Number 4
Mennonites can dance
Émilie Durville (Claudel) and Marcin Kaczorowski (Rodin) dance in Peter Quanz’s ballet Claudel/Rodin at Les Grands Ballets Canadien in the fall of 2011.
Choreographer Peter Quanz, centre, sits in the kitchen of the home of his parents, Ken and Lil, in Baden, Ont. His parents have posted the clippings of his latest dance on the fridge.
At the age of 17, dancer Peter Quanz of Wilmot Mennonite Church was already living in Winnipeg on his own. Before heading to Winnipeg, he commuted to an arts high school in nearby Kitchener, instead of attending his local high school. His parents had always supported his interest in dance, although they all kept it quiet in the congregation and community.
Nazareth service experience awesome!
Kayla Thiessen, right, with a fellow Serve Nazareth intern wear period clothing for their work at Nazareth Village. Thiessen’s service experience resulted from a Mennonite Church Canada advertisement in her church bulletin.
Kayla Thiessen bubbles with enthusiasm when she talks about her short-term service experience through Mennonite Church Canada in Nazareth.
Hard truth about hunger:
Bokayo Kanchoro collects water in Berena, Ethiopia, from an underground system filled with Oxfam tankered water. There are 3.2 million Ethiopians affected by the current drought and food crisis.
In a January report, two major humanitarian agencies confessed that they, along with the rest of the world, responded too slowly to the food crisis in East Africa last year, and that thousands of people died unnecessarily.
CMU names new president from within
Cheryl Pauls takes over as CMU president on Nov. 1.
When Cheryl Pauls takes over the reins from Gerald Gerbrandt, Nov. 1, as president of Canadian Mennonite University, she will guide the institution from a different academic discipline and from a different historical narrative.
By what authority?
This past year I prepared for ordination with Mennonite Church Canada. Part of the process of ordination is to read and comment on aspects of our Confession of Faith in Mennonite Perspective.
Four Points of Eerie Silence
I am beginning to wonder why there is an increasingly eerie silence on four points:
Are we asking the right questions?
Last fall, the leadership in Mennonite Church Saskatchewan organized regional consultations with congregational leaders. We were very pleased at the thoughtful participation from almost all the churches. We heard that the membership in many congregations is getting older. Some congregations are getting smaller. Commitment to church is changing as other things compete for time and loyalty.
Readers write
Climate change is happening
For discussion
1. What are the demographics of your congregation? What percentage is over 65? How many of those are frail elderly? What programs or ministries are designed specifically for seniors? Do the older members of your congregation feel involved and engaged?
Letter to my children and grandchildren
To my family,
Since our Saskatchewan correspondent wanted to write about caring for seniors in the church (p. 4), I wanted to share some personal thoughts triggered by her investigation. I hope you don’t mind my getting a little more “philosophical” than usual.
