Holy recklessness
I recall saying in my youth that “Christianity does not come equipped with standard airbags and anti-lock brakes,” features commonly advertised for cars at the time. I felt society’s fixation on safety and security should not be adopted by Christians. Faith is risky. I was young and idealistic then. Some older folks said I’d get…
Reclaiming Ethiopia
Manitoba correspondent Evelyn Rempel Petkau journeyed to Ethiopia last fall as part of a Canadian Foodgrains Bank-sponsored learning tour and reports her findings of the NGO’s work with Mennonite Central Committee, Meserete Kristos Church, and other relief and development agencies Thirty years ago, the world was gripped by images of people ravaged by hunger in…
‘Sky pilot’ lands in Black Creek
In the 1800s, church clergy were often called “sky pilots,” in part in reference to their heavenly themes from the pulpit. Aviator Gerry Binnema has recently become the new pastor of United Mennonite Church in Black Creek, B.C., Mennonite Church Canada’s most westerly congregation, and brings a contemporary meaning to this old nickname. He is…
Normal people doing normal things
When filmmakers get around to showing their work to their family and community, it is usually a past project for them. Such was the case for Rosco Films, whose principals—Jon Steckley, Ken Ogasawara and Trevor Hunsburger—grew up at Shantz Mennonite Church, Baden, Ont. They showed The Volunteer at the Princess Twin Cinema in Waterloo last…
‘What kind of fanatics worship such a God?’
Nine months after Darren Aronofsky’s biblical spectacle, Noah, we get Ridley Scott’s biblical spectacle, Exodus: Gods and Kings. I wasn’t a big fan of Noah, but at least it was original and made some effort to bring a 21st-century perspective to the familiar Sunday school story. No such luck with the disappointing Exodus. Despite the…
40 years of canoe tripping
The trickling of an indoor waterfall in the room where Ric Driediger sits evokes images of a northern stream while he reflects on 40 years on the waterways of northern Saskatchewan as a canoeing guide. His career began in 1972 when, at 19, he was invited to help guide a group of Mennonite students on…
An ode to this printed page
I used to be the circulation and fulfillment manager for a small, independent, faith-based magazine. Ever-increasing postage rates and pressure to increase online presence were constant concerns. I regularly received e-mails from people who wanted to know if we offered digital subscriptions. Their inquiries often included some version of the following: “I’m trying to save…
Readers write: Jan. 20, 2014 issue
Nelson Mandela: We all love a hero Politicians and celebrities need saints to lean on. And so it was this time around, that after Nelson Mandela died all the most important politicians and celebrities of the world lined up for interviews to say they had met him, had had coffee with him or had been…
Living with mental illness in the bleak of mid-winter
Living with illness in the bleak of mid-winter By Elizabeth Wall
Crossing the (pipe) line
I never expected that Enbridge—the Calgary-based pipeline company best known for its contentious Northern Gateway proposal and a nasty spill from one of its U.S. lines in 2010—would push its way so far into my life. It started with a trip last August to B.C. first nations along the route of the proposed Gateway project,…
