Volume 22, Number 20
Singing a new song
What will the Mennonite church in North America look like in the next 30 years? No one has a crystal ball, but one group of forward-thinking people is helping us imagine how we might be doing congregational worship in the next generation.
Biblical characters as spiritual companions
‘Potiphar’s wife displays Joseph’s garment,’ by Lucas van Leyden (circa 1512). Notice in the window in the top left corner Joseph can be seen being taken to prison. (Google Art Project)
‘David and Jonathan’ by Harmensz van Rijn Rembrandt. (Google Art Project)
The Bible is full of stories about people, real people with bodies and minds, and with an array of experiences, relationships and emotions. How odd, then, that we so often turn to the Bible as little more than an instruction manual for communal and personal life.
Readers write: October 22, 2018 issue
Differing responses to Steve Heinrichs’s ‘green gospel’ column
Re: “Peter’s Letter to Canadian Christians,” Sept. 24, page 7.
Modern ghosts of a horse-drawn scandal, Part 2
Abram Wall Enns, left, was the civic leader of the Manitoba Colony when rape stories first emerged. He wishes the leaders would have acted sooner. (Photo by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky noahfr.com)
Kennert Giesbrecht is pictured with his new book, Strangers and Pilgrims. (Photo courtesy of Kennert Giesbrecht)
The Manitoba Colony in eastern Bolivia. (Photo by Kennert Giesbrecht)
Eight men went to prison, the media gaze moved on, and colony life resumed. But the saga of mass rape in the Bolivian corner of our family of faith is far from over.
Living the ‘prairie experience’
Ken Warkentin
Aug. 15 marked the end of my three-month sabbatical and my return to the office at Mennonite Church Manitoba. Time took on a special meaning during this leave as I took the opportunity to live into the prairie experience afforded to me by our little farm: raising chickens, gardening, repairing dilapidated buildings and building new ones, caring for grandchildren and golfing.
Choose life
Melissa Miller
“Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.” These Old Testament words resonated with me this past summer as part of my extended family gathered at our church camp. We did the typical things like catching up on each other’s lives, playing games and debating if the mountain spring-fed lake was warm enough for swimming.
Building a foundation in financial literacy
Darren Pries-Klassen
Do you understand how money is made, spent and saved? It sounds simple, but it’s no secret that the need for financial literacy is as high as ever. The federal government has implemented a national strategy for financial literacy, and provincial governments are increasing financial literacy lessons in school curriculums.
Why do I need to be part of a church?
Troy Watson
“Why should I participate in church? What does the church offer that I can’t find elsewhere?”
Patricia Beach baptism
Photo: Selkirk Christian Fellowship Photo Collection
Malcolm and Esther Wenger moved to the town of Selkirk, Man., in 1979. Malcolm worked for the Conference of Mennonites in Canada’s Native Ministries program and pastored the small Selkirk Christian Fellowship. Pictured, Malcolm baptizes Gillian Thororanson at Patricia Beach, Man., on July 22, 1979.
New identity for Vancouver church
A revitalized sense of mission has led to a change of name for an 81-year-old Vancouver Mennonite congregation. The church formerly known as First United Mennonite Church (often shortened simply to FUMC or 52nd because of its address at 659 E. 52nd Avenue) is now Peace Church on 52nd.
Friendship that sticks
‘Bees for Burkina’ honey bees hard at work. (Photo by Doug Klassen, Foothills Mennonite Church)
Joyce Harder and the hives that produced ‘Bees for Burkina’ honey. (Photo by Doug Klassen)
‘Bees for Burkina’ honey sold at Foothills Mennonite Church, Calgary. (Photo by Danielle Klassen)
Each Sunday over 55 people meet for worship in the tiny church in the village of Fon, Burkina Faso. The Foothills church honey money from the summer of 2018 will go toward a necessary expansion of the church building since members have increased as some Christians have been pushed off their nearby lands due to tensions in the country. Pictured, Josue Coulibaly’s brother Emmanuel and his son are among the displaced. (Photo by Josue Coulibaly)
The hard work of some Alberta bees creates a sweet deal for two very different churches. The “Bees for Burkina” project gives people of Foothills Mennonite Church in Calgary a chance to buy local honey, while the profits provide Mennonites in Burkina Faso with financial assistance to build their church.
Bible trivia event generates spirited competition
Members of the first-place Bible Quizzing for Grown-ups team, the Canadian Mennonite Scribes, are pictured, from left to right: Jim Loepp Thiessen, pastor of Floradale Mennonite Church; Ginny Hostetler, CM’s executive editor; Barb Draper, CM’s editorial assistant; and Tobi Thiessen, CM’s publisher. (Photo by D. Michael Hostetler)
As people gathered for the Bible Quizzing for Grown-ups event on Sept. 30 at the Huether Hotel in Waterloo, the room buzzed with conversation, but when the quizmasters began reading questions from the Gospel of Luke, the room went quiet. The mood was light-hearted, but definitely competitive as eight teams listened intently and searched their memories for the right answers.
‘The more we get to know each other’
Uzbekistan hosts Mr. and Mrs. Karimov, standing, share warm hospitality with a TourMagination group visiting Serabulak. Mr. Karimov is a descendant of a merchant who gave Mennonite pilgrims a farewell gift of money and other gifts. (TourMagination photo by John Sharp)
The Kyk-Ota Mosque in Serabulak, Uzbekistan, was used by Mennonites as a church during the winter of 1881-82. (TourMagination photo by John Sharp)
Historical experiences of ordinary people living out their faith were shared at a travelogue presentation of Russian Mennonite migrations in Europe and Central Asia.
On leaving home and coming home
The Barkmans say their final goodbyes to their Peace Church friends in Manilla this past spring. (Photo courtesy of the Barkman family)
Saying goodbye to a friend that’s more like a big brother. (Photo courtesy of the Barkman family)
Five months ago, when we were packing up our lives in Manila, I wanted so badly to just stay. I didn't think I could handle any more tearful farewells and I felt horrible tearing our kids away from our Peace Church family who helped to raise our kids. I am still filled with tears when I think back on those painful goodbyes.
A challenge to give loving attention to life
Meghan Florian’s name surfaced in the small circle of Mennonite pastors and friends I know in the United States. Because this is how I found this book, I assumed it would be a “churchy” (or religious, or theological, or spiritual) collection of essays. What I found was a case for better writing in the church.
Reading together in an uncertain world
Paul Doerksen coordinates the Take & Read program, which gathers 30 people together four times a year to read and discuss books and theology. (Photo courtesy of CMU)
A widely published poet, a retired professor, a farmer, a recent graduate and an engineer regularly discuss literature and theology together. Hard to imagine? The sight is more likely than you might think.
2018 Fall List of Books & Resources
Theology, Spirituality
From Kitchener-Waterloo to Kenya
Amanda Snyder is the co-founder of Camp Marafiki Pamoja. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Snyder)
Children at Camp Marafiki Pamoja get a little messy with some science experiments. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Snyder)
In addition to singing, playing games and learning, campers receive two meals. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Snyder)
‘They have changed my life,’ Amanda Snyder says of the people she has met in Nairobi. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Snyder)
A young woman is impacting the citizens of a community 13,000 kilometres away from her home in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.
No Village
Kuri is the solo project of singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Scott Currie. (Photo by Rachel Pick)
Nevado Music re-released Kuri’s debut EP, Human Nature, on Oct. 12. (Photo courtesy of Sweiss PR)
‘I hope my music brings healing in some way to listeners,’ Scott Currie says. (Photo by Rachel Pick)
Prior to his solo career, Scott Currie, second from left, performed in Oh Village with David Dueckman, Stephen Dahl and Matthew Jake Janzen. (Photo by Abbye Dahl)
After releasing two full-length albums and an EP with experimental alt-rockers Oh Village, musician Scott Currie is striking out on his own. The Abbotsford, B.C. native, who performs under the name Kuri, recently signed a record deal with Nevado Music.
