A living death
She is more than my spouse and partner of 54 years. She was my soul mate; the person whose love and devotion never faltered; the one to whom I turned for counsel, for wisdom and for comfort. But now those dynamic dimensions are gone. My wife Marlene was diagnosed with dementia more than two years…
Guard your heart and mind
I memorized Philippians 4:4-9 more than 20 years ago when I was on bed rest during my pregnancy with my son Aaron. I had lost three babies before him—and one after him—so pregnancy for me was an obvious cause for anxiety. If truth be known, I am actually a professional worrier, so passages like this…
Readers write: May 23, 2016 issue
Intent of Star Wars review is to criticize culture of violence Re: “Star Wars review promotes violence against women,” April 11, page 11. Thank you to Bev Hunsberger for alerting me to the different ways my article on Star Wars and Hollywood feminism can be viewed, even by likeminded people. She has helped me reconsider…
Cultivating imagination
During the Second World War, guided by the leadership of Pastor André Trocmé, the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and surrounding regions hid Jews who were fleeing from the Nazis. A less well-known story of that era comes from the small Muslim country of Albania, where both the people and the government protected their own Jewish…
Tending our mothers’ gardens
I am writing this column on Mother’s Day weekend. As I weed flowerbeds, memories of my hardworking mothers and their gardens dance in my head. Gram Miller—Anna Estelle—grew up in the mountains of West Virginia, in a large family that was intimately acquainted with poverty. Growing food was necessary for survival. I remember her planting…
What are you planting this spring?
May. It’s the time of year when many of us who have, or aspire to have, a green thumb turn our minds to gardening. Some may have already been nursing self-propagated seedlings for weeks, waiting for the right time to transplant them outside. Others make the trip to the local garden centre for flower or…
Neu Kronsthal
This is a photo of the privately run Mennonite school in Neu Kronsthal, Man. John Kroeker (1910-82) is front row far right, and his brother Klaas Kroeker (1907-92) stands behind him. Mennonites coming from Russia in the 1870s were promised freedom of education as well as freedom of religion, believing it was the role of…
The pursuit of truth (Pt. 5)
The first prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, once said, “I always tried to be correct, not politically correct.” Sometimes the pursuit of political correctness and the pursuit of truth are at odds with one another. The heart of the politically correct (PC) movement is good. It is a call to extend compassion, dignity…
One way your church can stop hiding mental illness
Mental illness is not as obvious as a broken leg, but it’s just as real. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 20 percent of Canadians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. In one study, 84 percent of clergy say they have been approached by a suicidal person for help. So mental illness…
