Volume 27, Number 5
Is the ban back?
(Photo by Wall in Palestine/Flickr)
In our feature article, Carol Ann Weaver tells of two Mennonite evangelists who imposed a ban on musical instruments decades ago. It’s tempting to marvel at how utterly unenlightened such a response to perceived wrong now seems. Banning feels so backward.
The piano ban
Evangelist George R. Brunk II with his wife Margaret, and their kids, left to right, George, Conrad, Paul, Barbara and Gerald, at a 1952 revival meeting in Waterloo, Ont. (Mennonite Archives of Ontario photo by David L. Hunsberger)
Influential Mennonite evangelist George R. Brunk I. (Photo courtesy of Mennonite Church U.S.A. Archives-Goshen, Ind.)
Carol Ann Weaver, left, Dorothy Jean Weaver and Kathleen Weaver Kurtz at the Chester K. Lehman family piano in 1952 in Harrisonburg, Va. (Photo courtesy of Carol Ann Weaver)
Chester K. Lehman and his sister, Elizabeth Kurtz, playing piano in 1952 at Kurtz’s house in Harrisonburg, Va. ( Photo courtesy of Carol Ann Weaver)
Carol Ann Weaver at the Chester K. Lehman family piano, which was donated to EMU, Harrisonburg, Va. (Photo by Wayne Kurtz)
October 22 was a normal Sunday. I had just arrived at Rockway Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont., when Conrad Brunk approached me. He is a fellow Rockway member, a former colleague at Conrad Grebel University College and a former next-door neighbour in Harrisonburg, Va. when we were very young. He wanted to talk about “the piano issue.”
Readers write: March 13, 2023 issue
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
Convenient pacifism
Driving Miss Darcie
(Photo by Markus Spiske/Unsplash)
A few weeks ago I sent a text to a friend who I hadn’t seen for quite some time. Although we’d been in touch several times throughout the pandemic, we were long overdue for a face-to-face visit. I had no idea that the timing of this text would set my schedule askew for the next few weeks in the way that it did.
My friend has lived through some significant life experiences.
La Crete river landing
(Photo: The Canadian Mennonite / Mennonite Archives of Ontario)
“How did the North become the North?” asks historian Gerald Friesen.
By the Second World War northern Canada was experiencing an influx of “new technology, money and people.”
Belonging comes first
(Photo by Tim Mossholder/Unsplash)
I remember a difficult church meeting at my fiancé’s congregation when I was an active participant in the young adult group. I don’t recall the topic, but I do recall that I did not speak up during the meeting, but just listened.
Practising for tragedy
(Photo by Anneli Loepp Thiessen)
(Photo by Anneli Loepp Thiessen)
It’s no secret that there are gaps in our congregational song. In particular, gaps in the kinds of words we have available for moments of crisis, despair and loss. Voices Together sought to speak into this opening, and features many resources that offer new words for these moments.
The pendulum, Hegel and Christ
(Photo by Sunder Muthukumaran/Unsplash)
Some have described history as a series of pendulum swings, oscillating from one extreme to the other, between tyranny and freedom, conservatism and liberalism, progress and tradition. It has also been said, the pendulum always swings too far, meaning when we find ourselves in one extreme, there tends to be an overcorrection that takes us too far in the other direction.
Goodbye ‘model minority’
‘I refuse to be your model minority,’ tweeted actor Simu Liu, pictured here on ‘The Beaverton’ in 2019.
“I refuse to be your model minority,” Simu Liu tweeted.
Liu played Jung Kim on the award-winning Canadian sitcom, Kim’s Convenience. This drama portrays a Korean immigrant family’s life in Canada. Liu’s character is the estranged eldest son of the Kim family.
Is it time to cancel cancel culture?
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
At first I thought cancel culture was a good idea.
The phenomenon, which emerged a handful of years ago, refers to “ending (or attempting to end) an individual’s career or prominence to hold them accountable for immoral behaviour.” That’s according to University of Cambridge psychologist Rob Henderson.
Invitation to freedom: A lenten practice
(Photos by Carol Penner)
Who wants to talk about sin? Not me, that’s for sure. Most people I know are pretty stressed out; they want good news, not something that makes them feel worse.
As I write this my autocorrect keeps changing the word “sin” to “sun.” My computer can’t even believe I want to talk about it.
Affirmation of new executive minister highlights B.C. AGM
Shel Boese, front row, center, was affirmed as the new MC B.C. executive minister on Feb. 25.
The affirmation of a new executive minister highlighted the annual meeting of Mennonite Church B.C. at Peace Mennonite Church in Richmond on Feb. 25.
MC Canada executive minister visits Saskatchewan
Doug Klassen shows no fear despite Mark Bigland-Pritchard’s mallet swinging. Bigland-Pritchard shared an object lesson to talk about the ‘theological pillars’ of the Climate Emergency Response Team’s mission. (Photo by Emily Summach)
In an effort to strengthen communication and relationships between the nationwide and regional churches, Doug Klassen, Mennonite Church Canada’s executive minister, paid a visit to Saskatchewan last month.
Museum curator brings Mennonite identity and research to role
Roland Sawatzky at The Manitoba Museum, where he works. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
Roland Sawatzky by the Prairies Gallery section on Mennonite settlement. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
As Roland Sawatzky gives a tour through The Manitoba Museum, his eyes light up and his hands animatedly point out the highlights and features of each gallery. It’s clear he’s passionate about his work.
Tips for foster and adoptive parents
While parenting can be a struggle, parenting through foster care or adoption has extra challenges, says Jenn Hook in Thriving Families. Her experience as a counsellor with a foster-care agency, and as the founder of a non-profit organization that supports foster and adoptive families gives her a solid understanding of these challenges.
MC Canada climate action update
(Photo by Vlad Shapochnikov/Unsplash)
In a meeting on Jan. 30, 2022, Mennonite Church Canada’s governing body, Joint Council, affirmed climate action as a nationwide ministry emphasis.
