Political dialogue 101 for Mennonites
This spring’s federal election rekindled my interest in Canadian politics after I’d experienced disillusionment with the whole process. Several elections changed nothing and the candidates I voted for always seemed to lose. But this election seemed different; there was energy and enthusiasm, especially among people my age. Many of you probably heard about—or joined—the “vote…
Cooking for peace
“Will the fellows like my cooking?” wondered Nettie Redekopp in 1954 as she arrived at the Pax post-World War II rebuilding project in Wedel, Germany. That question haunted her for years, but finally in 2010 she dredged up the courage and began to call those whose phone numbers she could find. Her nephew, John Thiessen,…
New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale goes ‘green’
One of the stated goals of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is creation care, to the point of MCC Ontario hiring Darren Kropf part-time to spearhead this effort in congregations. But activities like the New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale, now having completed 45 years, are run by grassroots organizations and are not part of MCC proper.…
Baking is a privilege
Lynette Froese is reluctant to call her unique career a business, or even a career. “I was raised to consider work as a form of service, so I try to see this work not just as a business, but as a way of offering a service,” she says. Froese has a degree in nutrition and…
Readers comment
You are doing a wonderful job at this point of time. I see you change ideas as times change. Good! Have the confidence that you are aware that endeavours like this can remain static. Would it be possible to print and mail from Saskatoon for Saskatchewan readers. By the time we get a copy, much…
The survey says . . .
Despite a small survey sample—only 215 out of more than 14,000 subscribers took the time to send back the two-page questionnaire in our Feb. 21 issue—it is clear that readers still believe Canadian Mennonite “should be a primary source of information about Mennonite Church Canada”; 89 percent agree or strongly agree with this sentiment. More…
Evacuation
“Where have you been today?” the customs officer at the Edmonton International Airport asked. My wife Winifred named the places: “Meridian, Miss.; Atlanta, Ga.; Minneapolis, Minn., and here.” “What have you heard about Slave Lake?” “We haven’t heard anything since we left home eight days ago.” “Slave Lake is on fire.” “You mean a forest…
Slave Lake burns while Valaqua road is flooded
In the past month, wildfires in northern Alberta devastated the community of Slave Lake, with the resulting losses coming to the attention of both Mennonite Mutual Insurance (MMI) and Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), while in the south the swelling Little Red Deer River cut off access to Camp Valaqua from the north. Although Alberta’s Mennonite…
Paying the price to keep Winnipeg dry
While Winnipeggers remained dry and free from the worry of flooding this spring, this is not the case for farmers living near the Portage Diversion, including Tony and Astrid Peters and their family. Up to 75 percent of the Peters’ 405-hectare potato farm is engulfed by water. This is because the move was made, more…
