New Year’s resolutions
About a week after New Year’s Day 2014, my friend Keith asked me what resolutions I’d made. Keith is an insightful, non-conformist “Red Letter Christian” in his mid twenties. I looked at him suspiciously, assuming he’d look down on this mainstream practice. Most non-conformists I know roll their eyes at the passé ritual of setting…
Isaiah for 2016
The year was 587 BC. Our spiritual ancestors, the Israelites, were deported to Babylon, where they felt like refugees in a foreign land. Their place of worship, the temple, had been destroyed. They sat by the rivers of Babylon. . .and wept. (Psalm 137:1). They were dispirited and tempted to think Yahweh had deserted them.…
Clean or unclean?
I was driving from Calgary out to Rosemary, Alta., to attend Bill and Bob Janzen’s mom’s funeral. As I drove I recalled hearing of times when everyone lived in large homes in long rows in Russian villages, each on five-acre plots. The farming was done all around the village and the Mennonites became very prosperous.…
Readers write: January 4, 2016 issue
Lolita fashion article ‘marks a significant shift’ in church discussions Re: “Solace in a subculture,” Nov. 9, 2015, page 28. I want to express appreciation for Katrina Brooks’s article. Not only did it educate me in a cultural expression I was unaware of, but in so doing allowed me to approach the realities of gender,…
Blessed interviews
Interviewing guests for more than 100 episodes of Mennonite Church Canada’s radio podcast, Church Matters, has blessed me with the opportunity to learn and grow from the stories of others. Anostocio (a pseudonym), a Mennonite pastor, teacher and Colombian refugee, described the painful picture of life in Colombia: hungry children, victims of warfare with lost limbs,…
It takes a village
“It takes a village to raise a child,” we’ve often heard. Does it also take a village to grow old? I wondered after a phone call with a friend who is a generation older than me. We talked of her move from independent living into a small seniors’ apartment, and the pleasures and challenges she…
God loves a cheerful receiver
Most of us are not very good at receiving compliments. A friend had just delivered a fine sermon, so I gave him a heartfelt compliment. His deflective, “humble” response was to give all credit to God. I replied, “I could swear I saw your lips moving!” Perhaps even more striking is our inability to be…
CO Bunkhouse
Second World War conscientious objectors (COs) were often sent to provincial parks for manual labour, as part of their alternative service assignments. This photo, taken between 1941-45, depicts Mennonite men getting dressed in their winter clothes around the warmth of a wood stove. Smoke from the stove, with laundry hanging from the rafters, can be…
Being a Faithful Church (BFC) Task Force
The final document of the BFC Task Force, including its four-part recommendation to the Mennonite Church Canada Assembly 2016, is now available for review and response. It has been sent to all MC Canada congregations and is available on the MC Canada website. The document is called “Being a Faithful Church 7: Summary and Recommendation…
