Death of a cousin
As of the end of 2015, the Mennonite Brethren Herald, the 54-year-old periodical of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, will cease to exist. This untimely death calls for a eulogy and some lessons learned, some warnings implicit as it goes through its dying throes. Most of all, we are mourning because, when such…
Journeying towards reconciliation
The journey towards reconciliation is not easy. Attempts to repair wrongs involve time and intentionality. Healing broken relationships takes longer still. In 2009, Canada began a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process that followed the example set by South Africa after the fall of apartheid. Given Canada’s desire to learn from South Africa’s creative model…
Pushing back with colour
What do you do in the face of hatred, a hatred so immense that it drives people to pillage, beat and even kill others? What do you do when that hatred is simultaneously “out there” and in your own backyard? How do you show love, kindness and hospitality in rejection and defiance of such wanton…
Readers write: June 8, 2015 issue
‘What a blessing’ the Bible is Re: “Bible reading meant less Canadian Mennonite reading” letter, March 30, page 13. The Bible cannot be read like any other book. The truths of the Bible are scattered from beginning to end, and revealed only through the Holy Spirit little by little. The book is hard to understand,…
New mission frontiers
How to plant a church is not a big mystery. Any good Mennonite gardener knew how to take a clump of bulbs from her front garden, split them up and transplant them into the bed at the side of the house. In the spring, the new garden proudly displayed the same brilliantly coloured daffodils and…
My renewed confession: Jesus Christ is Lord
I’m in a beautiful and sorrowful place. My travels have brought me to a stunning seaside within a country that significantly restricts the proclamation of Jesus as Messiah and Lord. Here, unless you were born Christian, you can’t abandon the national religion to follow Jesus. Those who change their mind in that way are not…
Led to a team of fixers and helpers
I am, and always have been, a “doer,” and my late husband was the same. If people needed help, we found a way to help them. If something was broken, we found a way to fix it. I guess God decided we should meet a large team of fixers and helpers known as the Mennonites.…
More study on homosexuality and the Bible sought
Winkler Bergthaler Mennonite Church wants Mennonite Church Manitoba to organize a conference to study “what Scripture clearly states on the matter of homosexuality and the definition of marriage,” and Ken Warkentin, executive director of the area church, says, “I think that’s a great idea.” In a prepared statement, Winkler Bergthaler states: “Being a Faithful Church…
Here’s to old white guys and everyone else
I stopped short when the ’70s picture of a serious-looking white-haired man in a suit and tie popped up on my screen. I had started an article about a Mennonite thinker and institution builder who died before I had a chance to meet him. Part-way through my research I stumbled upon his photo. It was…
