Volume 18, Number 21
Lower the pointing finger
Several months ago, our editor heard complaints from someone who wanted Canadian Mennonite to stop carrying letters to the editor because letters often cause too much friction.
For discussion: "What is truth?"
1. Where would you place yourself and your congregation: believing in absolute truths, wondering if there really is any truth, or somewhere in between? Do you agree that many Christians are finding they need a new way to think about faith?
“What is truth?”
In this famous painting, Pilate presents a scourged Christ to crowds in Jerusalem. Eastern Canada correspondent Dave Rogalsky explores the meaning of Pilate’s famous question, ‘What is truth?’
A page from Galileo’s notebook depicting the movement of Jupiter’s moons.
“Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, ‘I find no case against him’” (John 18:37-38, NRSV).
Readers write: October 27 issue
Communitas follows in the footsteps of L’Arche founder
Re: “Good work” and “Differently gifted,” Sept. 1, pages 4 and 8.
I am writing to thank you for your recent articles by Jason Reimer Greig and Will Braun.
Faith vs. belief (Pt. 1)
A curious lyric caught my attention as I was listening to “Don’t Swallow the Cap,” a song by The National, a melancholic indie rock band: “I have faith but don’t believe it.”
The deadly sin of pride
Pride goeth before a fall, I ruefully thought last month, as I limped away from the place where I had taken a nasty tumble.
That’s a lot of money!
I remember a special gift from my Grandpa: a $20 bill in a Christmas card. It came with one instruction: Grandpa had to see my purchase. It was a lot of money for a 10-year old! It was the first time I’d had that much money, and I was a little concerned about using it wisely. It took a few weeks to decide, but eventually Grandpa was shown a sweater and a few books.
Connecting passions
Part of my role in overseeing Mennonite Church Canada’s assemblies includes reading every word on assembly feedback forms. As I reviewed the 128 forms we received this year—a record number—I was struck by how often people stressed the importance of being together as members of our national faith community.
Lessons from those who left
Springs Church in Winnipeg is one of Canada’s most successful and success-oriented mega churches, where an ex-Hutterite, Phil Kleinsasser—his suspenders, beard and plaid long gone—serves as an assistant pastor.
Phil Kleinsasser urged the faithful to "sow" their money in the offering plate in order to “reap” abundance in all areas of their lives.
‘Shaping a sustainable future’
S. Roy Kaufman
Even urban Mennonites lay claim to an agrarian heritage. According to many speakers at Rooted and Grounded: A Conference on Land and Christian Discipleship, held last month at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), this is important despite the urbanity of most Mennonites and North Americans in general.
‘They are not alone’
Melanie Kampen camped out at the Native Women’s Protest site near the Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg earlier this month, to protest the government’s lack of response to the 1,182 missing and murdered indigenous women from across Canada. (Photo by Chris Swan)
Flowers are laid out on the Manitoba Legislature steps in Winnipeg in the pattern of a butterfly at the annual Oct. 4 vigil honouring the 1,182 missing and murdered indigenous women from across Canada. It was one of 130 vigils held this year. (Photo by Kira Burkett)
On a very windy, cold and dark Oct. 3 night, Steve Heinrichs, director of indigenous relations for Mennonite Church Canada, and a few others strung 20 dresses on fishing line on both sides of the Esplanade Riel pedestrian bridge that spans the Red River near The Forks in downtown Winnipeg.
Encouraged to keep working
Goshen (Ind.) College president Jim Brenneman, left, presents the Culture for Service Award to alumnus Ray Funk at the college’s fall convocation and homecoming on Oct. 3. (Goshen College photo by Brian Yoder Schlabach)
“Everything I’ve done has been a team sport,” quips Ray Funk as he reflects on his life’s achievements.
2014 Fall list of Books & Resources
Theology, Spirituality
Good News: The Advent of Salvation in the Gospel of Luke. Darrin W. Snyder Belousek. Liturgical Press, 2014, 140 pages.
Pastor’s first novel invites discussion
William Loewen has written a theological book disguised as a novel. This makes it challenging to classify, but it also opens new possibilities for how it can be used. I would recommend this book for a book club or other group discussion, especially for young adults who are exploring their own spirituality.
Helping us not to forget
After getting a coffee I sat down to read The Winter We Danced.
On the table next to me I noticed a book someone left behind. On the cover was a bold notice stating “2.5 million copies sold.” The book was a contemporary work of fiction re-telling the conquest narrative of America expanding into the West doing battle in “Indian country.”
Suffering under the Soviets
Village houses face the main street with barns attached behind and fields beyond that. Young people gather for “singings.” A bone setter relieves headaches by carefully manipulating the neck. These are all aspects of Mennonite life in Russia as presented by Janice L. Dick in her new novel, Other Side of the River.
Steiner pushed open doors for other women
Sue Clemmer Steiner’s recent publication crosses genres within autobiography. It is personal memoir and spiritual recollection. It is reflections on a life in pastoral ministry. It is a historical snapshot of a 1950s eastern Pennsylvania traditional Mennonite community and a Mennonite girl facing the social upheaval of the 1960s. Steiner offers poetry and evocative images.
Faith Mennonite Church band produces CD
Watch the World CD cover
Creating a CD is both simple and complex. The proliferation of digital recording equipment and the ease and non-expensive nature of producing CDs has led many local musicians and congregations to produce their own music recordings. But music and its recording is complex.
Uncle Sam goes to jail
Sam and Beulah Martin on their wedding day.
Of memories I have of family members, the one about my Uncle Sam’s arrest on April 19, 1944, and his imprisonment, which became legendary in our community, left an indelible mark. Uncle Sam was born in the U.S. and was 18 months old when the family moved to Duchess [Alta.]. He had been baptized into the Mennonite Church and attended regularly.
‘Let nobody judge them’
An Altona, Man., war memorial bears the names of local Mennonites who served and died during the Second World War.
V. Wiebe of B.C.’s Fraser Valley served with the Canadian forces in the Second World War, earning five medals. According to ‘The Mennonite Menace: Real or Imagined, an online report from a University of the Fraser Valley student, 66 of 99 Mennonites in Yarrow, B.C., served in the Canadian military, either in combatant roles or as part of the medical corps.
V. Wiebe of B.C.’s Fraser Valley served with the Canadian forces in the Second World War, earning five medals.
Like the cenotaphs in Winkler and Altona, the Morden, Man., war memorial also contains Mennonite names.
Of late, many peace-minded Canadians have been decrying the country’s increasing militarization, calling to mind this country’s proud peacekeeping tradition as if it was a defining feature of confederation. Unfortunately, it’s a false memory, as Canada’s peacekeeping forces weren’t formed until 1956. Its military involvements, however, go back nearly to our country’s beginning.
Divinely Inspired
I grew up in a church where 2 Timothy 3:16 was almost as important as John 3:16. It declares, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” This verse was quoted regularly to defend the divine authority of every word in our Bible.
Peace to our neighbour once removed
When I was little, I remember my dad explaining our relatives to us: “She’s my cousin, twice removed.” It’s an expression that talks about a relationship that is a bit more distant. Today I want to talk about our neighbours, once removed. Why is it easier to hurt people when they are removed from us? What does it mean to be a Christian when so many of our neighbours are once removed?
Fall 2011 Listing of Books & Resources
Theology, spirituality
1,2,3 John, Believers Church Bible Commentary. J. E. McDermond. Herald Press, 2011, 344 pages.
This is the 24th volume of the Believers Church Bible Commentary series.
The Bible and the billionaire
Billionaire media titan Rupert Murdoch has made headlines over the phone-hacking scandal that forced him to shut down his British tabloid, News of the World. But few people know that News Corp, the company Murdoch heads, also owns Zondervan, the world’s leading Bible publisher.
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