Volume 20, Number 5
What our survey says about you
For what purpose has Christ grabbed hold of you?
Readers write: February 29, 2016 issue
Magazine should ‘continue to challenge and question’
Re: “Do church and journalism mix?” by Will Braun and “Are congregations up to it?” by Dick Benner, Feb. 1, pages 14 and 2, respectively.
History matters
Last summer, the Mennonite Heritage Centre was given a German language database of more than 110,000 family registries. We were ecstatic! With this new resource, we could reconnect families torn apart during the Second World War. The “lost” had been found. A branch from our faith family tree could be grafted back on.
Aging gracefully
On a soft spring day, I looked out my window to see the neighbour’s mature crab tree in full bloom. Its tall, fully rounded shape was blanketed in a carpet of pink-lilac blossoms. Unbidden, a thought emerged, “I want to be like that when I’m old.” Years later, I can still recall the beautiful, magnificent tree and the visual it offered of aging well.
Autonomy and community
“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. . . . The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip” (Genesis 32:24-25, 31).
First Mennonite Church in Greendale, B.C., 1948
In the spring of 1948, First Mennonite Church in Greendale, B.C., was inundated with water. Dikes had been built along the rivers some 50 years earlier, but they had suffered from neglect. During the winter of 1947 and early 1948, a lot of snow built up, and the late spring and fast melt triggered a sudden rise in run-off.
The pursuit of truth (Pt. 2)
What makes a quilt Amish?
What makes a quilt Amish? Does it have to be “quilted by a group of Amish women sitting around the frame in their sitting room?” Or does it have to have an Amish pattern, like the Amish Wedding pattern created and popularized by Rachel Pellman of the Old Country Store in Lancaster, Pa? Is appliqué or pieced the appropriate technique?
Edmonton church becomes inclusive, affirming
MC Canada wants to know who is caring for refugees
Is climate change real?
A reader of this magazine sent an e-mail admonishing me not to associate our Mennonite faith with the “fear narrative” of climate change. He provided some links to seemingly credible people who refute the common global-warming argument. My impulse was to either delete or politely—or impolitely—sidestep it. Instead, I took it seriously.
Breakfasts, burnt curtains and a surprising friendship
Former soldier leaves legacy of Christian pacifism
Camping ministry a common thread for AMBS students
Deep in the marrow: Silver Lake Mennonite Camp
CMU and Camps with Meaning prepare leaders of faith
Camp installs ‘green’ roof
‘God has a vision for Shekinah that’s exciting’
It’s not the kind of news Shekinah Retreat Centre executive director Nick Parkes likes to share with his constituency, and it’s not the kind of news the constituency likes to hear. In a statement to Mennonite Church Saskatchewan dated Feb. 9, 2016, Parkes announced that Shekinah is in a deep financial crisis.
Making a Mennonite
I did not grow up attending a Mennonite church. Growing up two hours southeast of Winnipeg in Piney, Man., I attended International Christian Fellowship, a small congregation that includes an interesting mix of people and theological backgrounds. It is an international amalgamation of American and Canadian churches on the U.S.
Cohabitation focus of discussion event at CMU
What is the significance of youth pastors living with their partner outside of marriage? How do young people respond to this information? Sexuality, spirituality, marriage, cohabitation and the church community all pertain to this conversation. The reality of cohabitation questions long-held views of marriage.
