Volume 19, Number 24
A labyrinth of Advent blessing
At Waterloo North Mennonite Church, the 2014 Advent season began on Nov. 24 with a special labyrinth of blessing for the congregation’s children and youth.
More transparency please
Sexual misconduct cases by our pastors are difficult to process. These stories, numbering three in the last two years in congregations across Canada, are even harder to report in our publication.
The shepherd
I still think of myself as a shepherd. Every day, actually every night, I’m out there. I look for the lost, the wanderers and the weary, and I bring them home. It’s a living. At times, it’s easy; they know the way and I just help them along. Other times, it’s dark and cold, and I worry about predators in the shadows. My lost ones might—or might not—be in good shape.
Christmas: A time for giving
Barb and Orrie Gingrich of Holyrood, Ont., have quite a crowd of grandchildren.
Readers write: December 14, 2015 issue
Demographics play a big role in the future of MCC
Re: “The future of MCC,” Aug. 31, page 11.
I appreciated Will Braun’s attempt to ask this question.
My mechanic, my teacher
It may sound a little odd, but I really like my mechanic. I like him because I am very inadequate in my mechanical knowledge and I am grateful for anyone who can provide expertise and knowledge concerning my vehicle.
War, Christmas and Pentecost
“We’re at war.” These were the words of French President Francois Hollande after the Paris attacks. This Friday the 13th will be remembered like 9/11. Is war the new reality? Or have we just ignored the depressing thought that it’s one of humanity’s constants?
Seeking asylum for freedom and justice
“A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow can have no respect for the dignity of the individual and can not really know freedom.” (Friedrich Hayek)
MC Canada national office lays off five
Mennonite Church Canada laid off five staff members on Nov. 28, as part of the cost-saving restructuring efforts that fall under the banner of the Future Directions Task Force.
Between a rock and a hard place
Leaders at Mennonite Church Eastern Canada feel they are caught between a rock and a hard place, as they have had to deal with a number of boundary crossings by church leaders over the past five years.
MC Manitoba envisions new future for camps
Mennonite Church Manitoba has a new vision for its camping ministry, one that involves relinquishing two of its camps and significantly improving the third.
Mennonite Disaster Service steps in
The first three times their house flooded, John and Mary Webb managed to make repairs. But in 2011, after the Red River filled it with water for the fourth time, they were broke.
“We’d put our retirement money into this house,” says Mary. “We didn’t have any funds left. We were poor.”
Completion of MDS work in High River celebrated
Sandra and Harold Friesen of Calgary and Linda and Jim Dyck of Pincher Creek spent the last two years volunteering as project coordinators for Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) work in High River, Alta., cleaning up after a summer 2013 flood in Calgary and area—the worst in the province’s history—that displaced more than 100,000 people and caused an estimated $5 billion in property damage.
Mennonites ‘wage peace’ on Remembrance Day
A Mennonite church is not a typical venue for a Remembrance Day service, but on Nov. 11, 2015, members of several Mennonite Church Saskatchewan congregations came together at Osler Mennonite Church to pay tribute to those whose lives have been turned upside down by war.
‘An ample opportunity to try something new’
Abner Martin is pictured leading members of the Southern Ontario Chapter of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada in singing hymns dating back to the 17th century, during an event in Toronto in 2005. (Canadian Mennonite file photo by Ross W. Muir)
One could say that, in a musical sense, 1955 was the best of times and the worst of times when compared to today.
Any price for victory
Directed by Francis Lawrence. Screenwriters: Peter Craig and Danny Strong. Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. A Color Force/Lionsgate release, 2015. Rated PG (violence, frightening scenes).
Contemplative journal an expression of creative process
April Yamasaki and Lois Siemens have collaborated across the miles on a second creative project.
Why I go see Santa every year
Aaron, Daniel and Thomas Epp with Santa in 1988. (Photos courtesy of Aaron Epp)
Aaron, Daniel and Thomas in their Sunday best, 1992.
Aaron, Daniel and Thomas donned Canadian tuxedos in 1995.
In 2006, Santa decided to switch things up and sit on Aaron's lap.
Daniel's partner, Anna-Marie, made her first appearance in an Epp siblings Santa photo in 2012.
Daniel, Anna-Marie, Thomas and Aaron donned Christmas ties for their 2014 photo.
As Christmas approaches, one of the things I’m most looking forward to is heading to a local mall with my siblings so we can have our picture taken with Santa.
All members of one family
Mim Harder of Rouge Valley Mennonite Church, Stouffville, Ont., and Steve Heinrichs, director of Indigenous Relations for MC Canada. (Photo by Rachel Brnjas)
Mim Harder, left, presents Taylor Gibson, centre, and Rick Hill with quilts to thank them for hosting the retreat. (Photo by Rachel Brnjas)
Participants dance as part of the retreat. (Photo by Rachel Brnjas)
Dialogue between indigenous and settler peoples was a key aspect of the retreat, held at Six Nations of the Grand River, near Brantford, Ont. Six Nations is the largest first nation in Canada. (Photo by Rachel Brnjas)
Retreat participants gather in the Mohawk Chapel. (Photo by Rachel Brnjas)
Over a period of seven years, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) heard more than 6,000 survivors of residential schools tell their painful stories of injustice and abuse. With the TRC’s work in hand, Christian churches can help write a better next chapter.
