Volume 19 Issue 21

Next to the Toronto Blue Jays, nothing more has gotten our attention as Anabaptist Mennonites than the greatest refugee crisis in the modern age, with more than 50 million displaced persons—the greatest number since the Second World War. With our own history of resettlement during the past century, this has become our defining spiritual moment.

What does a transformative, earth-honouring Christianity look like at ground level and lived out in daily action? Reforms of personal habits—such as recycling, eating locally and shopping responsibly—are important steps.

Early in the Syrian refugee crisis, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) asked me to be part of a delegation meeting with Chris Alexander, minister of immigration. We indicated that the church was ready to do what it could to respond to the crisis. But as the crisis continued to unfold and governments struggle to know what to do, I pondered further.

This past summer I had my own Diderot Effect moment. The term comes from Grant McCracken, an anthropologist who has studied patterns of consumption. He coined it from an essay written by Denis Diderot, a French philosopher in the late 18th century.

Predictably, CBC jumped on the story of presumed Bible Belt intolerance.

Gregory Rabus and Jennifer Otto, Mennonite Church Canada Witness workers in Germany, are finding ways to respond to the needs of refugees flooding into the country from Syria and Iraq.

What does it look like when two churches and Camp Valaqua partner toward a common goal? It looks like 18 enthusiastic campers!

This past summer, the Service and Outreach branch of Edmonton’s First Mennonite Church learned that a number of young people from the city’s South Sudanese Mennonite Church were interested in going to Camp Valaqua in Water Valley, Alta., for the first time.

His name was David Schroeder, but those who knew him affectionately and respectfully referred to him as “Doc.”

Schroeder, who worked as professor of New Testament and philosophy at Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC), one of the predecessor institutions of Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), died peacefully at his home in his 92nd year.

Two Mennonite authors in British Columbia have recently published children’s picture books, both with across-the-world themes.

“Mennonites talking about sex? That would probably make world news!”

So observes the latest original production by Ontario-based theatre company Theatre of the Beat. The hard-hitting play, This Will Lead to Dancing, tackles this “taboo” topic and encourages Mennonites to talk about lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer (LGBTQ) inclusivity at least in our congregations.