Living a philosophy of education
“Learning is not education. It is about seeking the common good.” This philosophy of education has guided John Wiens in his 46 years as an educator. His passion and enthusiasm for education comes through as he reflects on his numerous roles and experiences. He retired this summer as dean of education at the University of…
Gifted for this time
As Susan Schultz Huxman settles into her role as president of Conrad Grebel University College, the school of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada at the University of Waterloo, Ont., Canadian Mennonite settled in for a conversation about her and the university college. CM: We know that you have roots in Kitchener-Waterloo, but have spent many years…
A Christ-figure for a new generation?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (DH2), the final instalment of the hugely popular eight-part Harry Potter film series, was released this summer to overwhelming acclaim. Like the first two Narnia films, DH2 focuses unnecessarily—and disturbingly—on a climactic epic battle between good and evil. Apparently, filmmakers are convinced that this is what filmgoers…
Family from around the world and across the ages
Jinhee Paik and Margaret Fehr are from different worlds, yet have found family with each other at First Mennonite Church, Calgary, Alta., through their shared love of children. Paik is a young mother from Korea; Fehr is 76 and moved to Calgary from Red Deer in 2007. “It’s a big age span, but it is…
Level Ground wins communications award
Annual church general business meetings are not usually occasions of inspiration or excitement, but one Mennonite Church B.C. congregation found a way to make it both—and won an award for it. Level Ground Mennonite Church recently was named the small church runner-up for the Church Juice Communications Church of the Year, an initiative of a…
Life in the Postmodern Shift
One Saturday afternoon I was deep in thought driving home on mental “autopilot.” When I returned to awareness of my surroundings, I was disoriented, as I had inadvertently driven to work instead of home. I have driven up the street I work on hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times. To say it is familiar would be…
Big Bird on philanthropy
That provocative question came not at a church revival meeting, but from a researcher speaking to a mostly secular audience about trends in Canadian philanthropy. Regular congregants give a disproportionately large share of all charitable donations, Penelope Burk told hundreds of fundraisers from across Canada at a national conference in Toronto, Ont., this spring. Not…
Family Ties
After the long and sometimes exasperating car trip with her husband, Martha joked to her friends, “Anytime I got mad at him, I just climbed in the back seat with my book and stayed there till I cooled off.” Those who have been trapped in a car for extended hours with a frustrating companion—not to…
From Our Leaders
The Mennonite Church Canada assembly this summer in Waterloo, Ont., and delegates’ engagement with the Being a Faithful Church process have provided me with many reasons to be grateful: Clearly, people love the church. Even though society questions the value of church structure, Mennonites across Canada claim their corporate identity as a Canadian Anabaptist community.…
