What do we take away from the TRC?
The ripples from the final Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearing and report held in Ottawa early this month after five years of hearings across Canada are far-reaching and damning. Almost no one in the religious and political establishment is left untouched. During this process thousands of victims recounted stories of cruelty and abuse at the…
Asking passively, seeking aggressively
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” (Matthew 7:9-10). I have never eaten a stone, but if given a choice between the offerings of a fish or snake, I think half the members of my church…
Readers write: June 22, 2015 issue
Integrity doesn’t hinge on the name ‘Mennonite’ Re: “ ‘Mennonite’ name should stay” letter, March 30, page 10. My friend Albert Isaac used the former Niagara Credit Union as an example of what happens when you open the membership beyond just Mennonite, as the new proposal suggests for Mennonite Savings and Credit Union (MSCU). I…
A graduation blessing
’Tis the season of graduations. Society recognizes graduation as an important transition in the lives of young people and so we ritualize the event with special ceremonies. At a typical ceremony young people hear various words of encouragement: A whole world of opportunity lies before you. Pursue your passions and dreams. Become whatever you want…
Is that driving you to lust?
Looking out the café window on a warm spring day, I watched as a short, rotund man pulled off his shirt and bared his quite large tummy to the friendly rays of the sun. “There’s a man sitting at the bus stop who’s just taken off his shirt—” I started to tell my companion, a…
Communication is key
A will is your last communication with your family. Many of us are uncomfortable planning for our death, but the chaos, confusion and potential for conflict in families where there is no will should offset your discomfort. A properly written will explains how you want your assets distributed. I would argue it is equally important…
Moving thinward (Pt. 5)
The brilliant Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said, “The world is in truth a holy place.” He was echoing the words of the prophet Isaiah who wrote, “the whole earth is filled with God’s glory.” God’s presence and glory can be perceived anywhere if we have “eyes to see and ears to hear.” Yet…
Children taught to hate themselves says TRC report
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian Residential Schools released its final report on June 2, 2015, after five years of conducting hearings and gathering thousands of witness statements from former students and their families across Canada. In front of a packed ballroom at a downtown hotel in Ottawa, Commissioner Justice Murray Sinclair twice used…
Strengthening our connections
Eighty people gathered in Ottawa Mennonite Church (OMC) on the evening of May 31 for a time of worship and storytelling. Ten were indigenous people, survivors of Indian residential schools, who had travelled from various locations in Ontario to attend events surrounding the release by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of its summary report…
