Buffalo shout, Mennonites discuss
They met in the library at Rosthern Mennonite Church, a good place for a book discussion group to meet. It wasn’t a typical book discussion group, but then they weren’t discussing a typical book. The book they discussed was Buffalo Shout, Salmon Cry, a collection of essays, poems and readings by both indige-nous and settler…
Remembering Mandela
Nelson Mandela passed away a year ago last December, at the age of 95. Although we knew this time was coming, it does not alleviate the sorrow experienced by South Africa and indeed the world. Mandela—or Madiba, as he was lovingly called—lived as an incredible example of forgiveness and reconciliation. He inspired a nation and…
Do not store up treasures in pensions
I like the Bible verse that says, “Do not store up treasures on earth,” but I also like the thought of a few treasures on the side for the sake of financial security. That tension gripped my soul as I opened the Mennonite Church Canada pension package I received when I joined the staff of…
Chiara House officially opens
“When one of our members suffered from untreated mental illnesses and committed suicide quite publicly five years ago, we realized how critical it is to provide community supports and affordable housing in order for people to have a chance at healthy living,” said Jamie Arpin-Ricci, pastor of Little Flowers Community in Winnipeg’s downtown West End,…
‘Stores are closed. There is shooting’
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is appealing for donations to significantly scale up its humanitarian assistance in eastern Ukraine. Continued violence and armed conflicts have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes to seek safety in neighbouring countries and within Ukraine. Tens of thousands of people have been killed or wounded. “Every person…
Carpe diem
In his “Remembering Jack” soliloquy at Jack Dueck’s memorial service, the famous Mennonite novelist and writer, Rudy Wiebe, termed his friend, “a very large and complex human being,” and rendered this story as an example: “One day he was teaching Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s novel [at Goshen College, Ind.] about the Soviet Union Gulag, One Day in…
Join the fight
Directed by Francis Lawrence. Screenwriters: Peter Craig and Danny Strong. Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. A Color Force/Lionsgate release, 2014. Rated PG-13. “Stop the senseless violence. This isn’t the path to change or justice.” According to the rebels in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Pt. 1), the third and weakest film in the Hunger Games…
Catching Fire turns up the heat
Directed by Frances Lawrence. Written by Simon Beaufoy and Michael deBruyn (screenplay); Suzanne Collins (novel). Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson and Donald Sutherland. A Color Force/Lionsgate Entertainment release, 2013. Rated PG. Last year’s first instalment of the blockbuster four-film Hunger Games series was a relatively weak film, with under-developed characters and plot, and…
Scripture in the postmodern shift
There are numerous schemas that map out differing views of Scripture. One of the most straightforward suggests everyone believes the Bible is either: fully divine, or
New president believes value in Bible-based education
Bryan Born, the new president of Columbia Bible College sees his goal as equipping and encouraging the students to become “fully devoted followers of Jesus,” and that means more than classroom instruction. “If we look at how Jesus trained his disciples, He just spent a lot of time with them,” says Born. “I think we…
