A life of commitment and challenge
Farming and education were two lifelong passions for Aaron Klassen, according to his daughter Sherri, who shared parts of her father’s life story and the “twists and turns” of his work life at his funeral in Kitchener on April 23. “Even more important than his work identity,” she said, “was his life in the Mennonite…
Moving forward
The last Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) annual meeting likely to be held in Canada addressed issues related to the implementation of the New Wineskins strategy, a three-year process nearing its end. The restructuring will see MCC Binational replaced by MCC Canada and MCC U.S. Linking the two bodies will be a joint ministry council comprised…
Life lessons in a garden
When I was asked to reflect on the joy of serving the church, the word “joy” stuck in my throat. My thoughts immediately turned to the recent challenging conversations and difficult decisions those of us who serve on the General Board of Mennonite Church Canada had to make this year. Instead of “joy,” words like…
Peace of mind money can’t buy
You and Mary run a lemonade stand as 50/50 owners. You opened for business on a handshake. Mary dies. Do you still have a business? Mary’s husband or child may be your new business partner. Do you have the opportunity, obligation or resources to buy them out? If so, at what price and what are…
Drawing a line
The decisions we make as parents have long-term implications. This obvious reality made itself even more clear to me one night recently when we hosted our young adult son and several of his friends. The topic under discussion was wrestling, the made-for-arena-over-the-top-kind, that drives fans to squeal and non-fans to ridicule or bemusement. One young…
Readers write
Following the wrong drummer to Parliament Hill The first in Dick Benner’s elections editorials, “Vote your core beliefs,” April 18, page 2, should have spoken to our constituency clearly. It should have delineated the political issues relating to our faith. “A political lament,” May 16, page 2, summarizes the tragedy of our Mennonite (Conservative) orientation…
For discussion
1. Have you ever attended a worship service where you didn’t understand the language? What was your emotional response? For how many months or years would you be willing to worship in a setting that included a mixture of languages or simultaneous translation? 2. What language or cultural issues has your congregation struggled with? Has…
‘New’ Mennonite congregations face same issues decades later
In the late 1950s and early ’60s, the Conference of Mennonites in Canada saw the inauguration of English-only churches across the country. These were often difficult transitions, as those left behind in the “mother” congregations felt that the new congregations were leaving behind something of the faith as they left behind language and culture. Today,…
A teachable moment
Have we learned anything about resolving church conflict in the past 50 years? After reading the painful account of the German/English language dissension resulting in several congregational splits (“Changing the language of worship is a test of love,” page 4), our faith community should take a contemplative look at how to redeem this blot on…
