Reconsidering sacred symbols
I have had a recurring dream that began after a trip to Italy. During my time there I visited at least 50 churches and was struck with the fact that many claimed to be the home of sacred relics—especially bits of the cross of Christ. After reporting this to my historian friend, he responded with…
Humility over hubris
A modern-day wannabe prophet calling himself a “marginal Mennonite” audaciously predicts that this year’s Mennonite World Conference gathering will see a “mass exodus” from that body and maybe the end of the assembly, depending on the outcome of the polarizing sexuality debate at the Mennonite Church USA assembly this month in Kansas City. Say what? …
The Sermon on the Mount: living it out in mind and heart
I was down in Mississippi, at a small African-American church. My parents were volunteering there with a ministry that had many different programs going. They had a farm, a clinic, a law office, a school, sports activities for the youth of the community, a resale shop, among other worthy endeavors. I was surprised, and dismayed,…
Readers write: July 6, 2015 issue
If Christ is not the head, the church suffers dementia My wife has Alzheimer’s disease and is presently in long-term care. While visiting her I have observed other residents suffering from various forms of dementia and thought of the persons they had likely been before illness robbed them of their ability to think rationally. Some…
You must die
On our deck there sits a small pot. It has been sitting in much the same spot for over a year. My youngest son is a budding gardener, and in the pot that sits on that spot, he dropped an apple seed. Yes, one of his middle names is John. For a year that seed…
Winds of change
In a couple weeks, my family and I will move to my hometown, Regina, where I’ll start school next fall. Maybe it’s because I’m in a time of transition in my personal life—books packed up, clothes and toys in boxes, cleaning buckets everywhere—but I’m sensitive to winds of change around me. It started with our…
Oka: 25 years later
It’s been 25 years since the military faced off against Mohawk Warriors in the pine forest between the village of Oka and the community of Kanehsatake, 53 kilometres west of Montreal. The 78-day armed siege was the most violent and consequential clash between indigenous people and the Canadian state in modern times. What has changed…
More on Oka
In the summer of 1990 the Canadian military faced off against Mohawk Warriors between the village of Oka and the community of Kanehsatake, 53 kilometres west of Montreal, Que. This led to a 78-day armed siege, the most violent and consequential clash between indigenous people and the Canadian state in modern times. See the main…
Hope is a gift friends can give each other
What do Martha Stewart and Yvonne Johnson have in common? They both spent time in prison. Stewart, wealthy and famous, served five months for manipulating stocks, while Johnson was charged with first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. This is where the similarities end. Stewart recently spoke at Leadership Conference for Women in Calgary…
