MAX Mutual Aid Ministries enters new era
Mutual Aid eXchange (MAX) Canada Insurance Company is increasing the support for its Mutual Aid Ministries program. “Mutual Aid Ministries is the heart and soul of the MAX enterprise,” says Tim Wagler, president and chief executive officer of MAX Canada. “MAX would be just another insurance company without Mutual Aid Ministries. This being the case,…
Poetry, paintings bring Old Orders to life
Peter Etril Snyder is known the world over for his sensitive paintings of Old Order Mennonites in the Waterloo Region. Although he had just retired from his gallery and painting for health reasons, he was intrigued when Tundra Books came to him with Nan Forler’s poems of an Old Order girl’s life over the course…
Sudermans find a gift in return to AMBS
Robert J. (Jack) and Irene Suderman say it was a gift to spend five weeks at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), where they studied almost 40 years ago. Jack was a student at AMBS in the early 1970s, earning a master of arts in religion degree with a focus on peace studies. Irene audited classes…
‘Kill the bill’
The federal government’s Bill C-10—part of a wider crime omnibus bill—had already met opposition in Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia by the time Manitobans rallied in opposition. The Nov. 8, 2011, rally organized by the John Howard Society was sparked in part by comments from Andrew Swan, minister of justice and Manitoba’s attorney general,…
Women of four faiths share on suffering
I had the opportunity to participate in a symposium hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community women in Surrey, B.C., late last year. The meeting took place in a store-front temple in a strip mall, where we all had to remove our shoes because it had been consecrated as a place of prayer. I was one…
Tree plantings mark deepening of Menno-Lutheran relations
Mennonites planted two trees in the Luthergarten in Wittenberg, Germany, in early October to mark the deepening of Mennonite-Lutheran relations. The project, initiated by the Lutheran World Federation, is being developed in anticipation of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 theses on a church door in Wittenberg in 2017. Churches from…
Who’s in charge of the house?
One of the things that I enjoy most about winter is that it’s curling season. Each Monday morning I join our local clergy curling club for some spirited fun on the ice. Curling is a great sport. All that vigorous sweeping helps me to stay physically fit, and the “chess on ice” aspect of the…
Less brag-worthy wisdom
In my last column, “Yet another outspoken white man,” Nov. 14, 2011, page 10, I tried to indicate my struggle with male dominance among us Mennonites. I listed 21 white men that have influenced my thinking as a social-justice, activist-oriented follower of Jesus. It was one good man after another. Indeed, the men helped my…
Start with why
On a rainy Lower Mainland Friday night my son and I hit the slopes. It turned out to be a beautiful evening on the mountain, where the rain turned to snow and the coniferous trees hung with powder. The line-ups were short and the runs long. I ski. My son snowboards. As the night drew…
