Pensions: follow the money
In “Do not store up treasures in pensions” Will Braun expresses unease with the fact that Mennonite Church Canada’s “core option” pension funds include investments in the fossil-fuel sector. Here is more information.
Volume 19 Issue 1
Volume 19, Number 1
Cover Date:
January 5, 2015
I resolve to . . .
The dawn of a new year is always alluring to me because there is so much promise. You say goodbye to the year that was. If the previous year was a good one overall, you hope that the new year will be similar. If the previous year was not so great, the new year promises an opportunity to start afresh.
For discussion: An ‘experiment’ in sexuality gone wrong
1. What has changed since the 1970s and ’80s that conversations about sexual misconduct and sexual abuse are so much more prevalent these days? Does sexual violence happen more now, or are we just more ready to talk about it? Does a sexualized culture make sexual violence more prevalent? Are we less apt to silence or blame victims than formerly?
With aching hearts
Some readers have called for a moratorium on reports about John Howard Yoder’s past misdeeds. We acknowledge that continued attention to this issue has caused pain to Yoder’s family, friends and colleagues, as well as to the women who suffered because of his actions.
Faith vs. belief (Pt. 3)
I recently came across this sermon illustration differentiating faith and belief.
Year-round generosity
The Christmas holiday season brought a bombardment of consumerism. Retailers hoped you’d blow your shopping budget on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But the day after this festive frenzy is now known as Giving Tuesday, a day that demonstrates how charities, businesses and individuals can transform the way we think about, and participate in, this season of giving.
My year of reading the Bible
Among other things, 2014 was the year I read the Bible in its entirety. Inspired by Canadian Mennonite Young Voices co-editor Aaron Epp, and with some additional space in my life, I accepted his challenge.
Starting strong
Early in the new year many congregations hold their annual general meetings. This is often the time when various leadership positions and volunteer roles are confirmed. But how many congregations provide an orientation to their new committee members? How do they learn about their church’s ministries and the wide reach of these good works?
Readers write: January 5, 2015 issue
How long will natives be patient with Mennonites?
Buffalo shout, Mennonites discuss
MC Saskatchewan participants in the five-session discussion of Steve Heinrichs’s book Buffalo Shout, Salmon Cry grapple with the complexities of indigenous/settler relations. Pictured from left to right: Craig Neufeld, Cheryl Woelk, Bernie Thiessen and Larry Epp.
They met in the library at Rosthern Mennonite Church, a good place for a book discussion group to meet. It wasn’t a typical book discussion group, but then they weren’t discussing a typical book.
Remembering Mandela
Photo © Pep Hernandex / bit.ly/1wheB9Z
Nelson Mandela passed away a year ago last December, at the age of 95. Although we knew this time was coming, it does not alleviate the sorrow experienced by South Africa and indeed the world. Mandela—or Madiba, as he was lovingly called—lived as an incredible example of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Do not store up treasures in pensions
I like the Bible verse that says, “Do not store up treasures on earth,” but I also like the thought of a few treasures on the side for the sake of financial security. That tension gripped my soul as I opened the Mennonite Church Canada pension package I received when I joined the staff of this magazine.
Chiara House officially opens
From left to right: Norm Voth, director of evangelism and service for MC Manitoba; Orly Friesen, volunteer site manager; Jon Owen, caretaker and resident; Alvin Thieseen, supporter and volunteer; Pearl Plohman, resident; and Jamie Arpin-Ricci, pastor of Little Flowers Community, cut the ribbon to officially open Chiara House in Winnipeg. (Photo courtesy of Jon Owen).
“When one of our members suffered from untreated mental illnesses and committed suicide quite publicly five years ago, we realized how critical it is to provide community supports and affordable housing in order for people to have a chance at healthy living,” said Jamie Arpin-Ricci, pastor of Little Flowers Community in Winnipeg’s downtown West End, at the official opening of Chiara House.
‘Stores are closed. There is shooting’
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is appealing for donations to significantly scale up its humanitarian assistance in eastern Ukraine.
Continued violence and armed conflicts have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes to seek safety in neighbouring countries and within Ukraine. Tens of thousands of people have been killed or wounded.
Carpe diem
Jack Dueck
In his “Remembering Jack” soliloquy at Jack Dueck’s memorial service, the famous Mennonite novelist and writer, Rudy Wiebe, termed his friend, “a very large and complex human being,” and rendered this story as an example:
Join the fight
Directed by Francis Lawrence. Screenwriters: Peter Craig and Danny Strong. Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. A Color Force/Lionsgate release, 2014. Rated PG-13.
Catching Fire turns up the heat
Directed by Frances Lawrence. Written by Simon Beaufoy and Michael deBruyn (screenplay); Suzanne Collins (novel). Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson and Donald Sutherland. A Color Force/Lionsgate Entertainment release, 2013. Rated PG.
Scripture in the postmodern shift
There are numerous schemas that map out differing views of Scripture. One of the most straightforward suggests everyone believes the Bible is either:
- fully divine, or
New president believes value in Bible-based education
Bryan Born, the new president of Columbia Bible College sees his goal as equipping and encouraging the students to become “fully devoted followers of Jesus,” and that means more than classroom instruction.
Ank de Vlas: A life devoted to Kenya’s runners and students
In recent decades, young people from the Kalenjin community in the highlands of Kenya have dominated all levels of competitive athletic running events around the world. They have been described as “the fastest people in the world.”
Seniors, youths break down age barriers
Eva Hofenk, left, chats with Tasha Janzen at an Emmanuel Mennonite Church senior-youth interaction night. (Photo by Amy Dueckman)
When the grey-haired set met the blue-jean generation of Emmanuel Mennonite Church at an evening gathering last year, both generations learned a lot about the other. And everyone agreed it was an experience worth repeating.
The merger God has been waiting for
Sandy Keomany, left, Venus Moungsouvanh and Joanne Sou perform a traditional Lao dance at the amalgamation service of Lao Canadian Evangelical Mennonite Church and Toronto United Lao Mennonite Church.
It was with singing, dancing and, of course, a potluck that two Lao Mennonite churches in Toronto celebrated their amalgamation late last year. After a seven-year separation, Lao Canadian Evangelical Mennonite Church and Toronto United Lao Mennonite Church became one again on Dec. 11.
Heartfelt apology
Ruth Boehm, right, pastor of Faith Mennonite Church, Leamington,Ont., presents Rev. Thomas Mertz, co-pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, with a breadbasket cloth she stitched from a 1545 German pattern book on Reformation Sunday, Oct. 31.
On Reformation Sunday, Oct. 31, Faith Mennonite Church in Leamington, Ont., was visited by neighbours and friends from the local St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.
Reformation Sunday marks the anniversary in 1517 when Martin Luther began public theological dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church that is considered the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
Healing memories, reconciling in Christ
Historical records are shaped by the perspectives of those who write them, but perspectives that clash can cause centuries of pain.
On July 22, 2010, an apology from Lutherans for their historical persecution of Mennonites initiated a new relationship between these parts of the church and opened a door to revisiting their shared but distinctive histories.
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