Movie not true to Mennonite life
Small Town Murder Songs is an independently produced Canadian movie with a Mennonite connection, first shown at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. The story, set in what is supposedly a small Mennonite town in Ontario, deals with a local police chief who tries to solve a distressing rape and murder case. The movie was…
A thousand hallelujahs
“For God is great and worth a thousand hallelujahs!” proclaims the psalmist (The Message). On Jan. 23, a mass Faith and Life Male Choir united to celebrate more than 25 years of ministry and to proclaim this message with the psalmist. Treacherous driving conditions and heavy snow did not deter more than 2,200 concertgoers who…
Testimonies strengthen cross-generational bonds
Relationships between youths and seniors within congregations are often strained, as neither group understands the other. Sometimes both groups are content not to know one another at all. This was the case at North Kildonan Mennonite Church in Winnipeg prior to a bonding activity that the church’s youth pastor devised. In-home testimony nights involve a…
MCC revisioning loses connection with people in the pew
Sixty-two executive directors, board chairs and senior staff from Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and MCC member churches met for a summit in Akron, Pa., on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. The topic of this rare gathering was MCC’s New Wineskins revisioning process. Our leaders talked about four things: The proportion of…
Ernie Regehr receives Pearson Peace Medal
Ernie Regehr, cofounder of Project Ploughshares and longtime peace advocate, was honoured with the 2010 Pearson Peace Medal at a special ceremony in Ottawa last month. Established by the United Nations Association (UNA) in Canada, the medal annually honours a Canadian who has personally contributed, through working and volunteer commitments, to the causes that the…
Identity, leadership and Mennonite World Conference
“Our children and young people have no idea what it means to be Anabaptist or Mennonite. What is MWC going to do about that?” This concern, forthrightly expressed, came from a congregational leader in India during one of dozens of teaching sessions in which I participated last fall in India and Indonesia. The leader’s challenge…
What are we afraid of?
I am increasingly convinced that most unsavoury behaviour in our world, particularly unkind and violent behaviour, can be traced back to fear. It is not surprising that biblical literature contains much instruction not to fear. This counsel is important in every aspect of life. At each level of church structure we frequently find ourselves expressing…
Was Jesus tough on crime?
Our government’s attitude towards offenders is clear. It wants to see them punished. It wants tougher laws, longer sentences and bigger prisons. Ottawa recently announced 3,000 new corrections staff as part of a $2 billion plan to expand prisons. But the main champions of this approach, Britain and the U.S., are now changing their “tough…
Skating in another’s sledge
Where were you on Feb. 28, 2010? For Canadians, that was the glorious day of the golden goal: St. Sidney’s slick shot that eluded American goaltender Ryan Miller. Not only did Canadian water consumption ebb and flow with the intermissions of that game as fans left Sidney, Roberto, et al to visit “John,” but the…
