A new conversation about dementia
When the diagnosis of dementia hits you up close and personal, as it has me with the decline of my spouse Marlene due to the disease, it sends you on a grief journey that clouds your perspective on life. The questions come fast and furious. Why did this happen to her, a person so dynamic…
A walk in the dark
In the northern hemisphere, Advent comes to us in the darkest time of the year. Christmas is advertised and celebrated as the happiest time of the year, and for some it is just that. But for others, Christmas is indeed the darkest time, where loneliness seems lonelier, when separation feels more separate, and despair calls…
Readers write: November 21, 2016 issue
Reader supports Mennonite call to ‘speak up’ Re: “Mennonites should speak up about Muslim head coverings” letter, Oct. 10, page 10. This letter is right on. We have had a business in a non-Mennonite area for many years. Our customers came from every origin. Our employees never distinguished between the ethnic dress of anyone. Growing…
On being Martha
Hospitality makes my heart sing. Preparing a comfortable space, serving up new dishes, conversing with guests and attending to their individual needs: these are among my greatest joys. Maybe that’s why the story of sisters Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42 has always troubled me. I confess that, as one who loves to host, it’s…
Healthy citizens
My husband and I decided to live in the United States this fall. Flexible work made it possible to move temporarily to a small town near where we grew up, with a primary goal of providing support to my 85-year-old mother. Belatedly, we realized that meant we would be immersed in a presidential election, a…
Thinking outside the gift box
As our family sat around the Thanksgiving dinner table discussing our plans for Christmas and the virtue of giving gifts, someone piped up and said: “We already have too much stuff. Please don’t buy us anything for Christmas this year. We don’t need anything!” Have you heard this statement before? When people complain that individuals…
Goodbye Berlin
Gordon Eby captured the moment when families in Berlin, Ont., said goodbye to local troops at the start of the First World War in 1914. In 1916, concerned that its Germanic name was bad for business, the city would say ‘goodbye’ to Berlin and ‘hello’ to Kitchener. The Berlin Mennonite Church faced a dilemma. Should…
Wisdom, where art thou? (Pt. 2)
A school teacher asked her class of first graders, “What colour are apples?” Some children said “red!” Others exclaimed “green!” A few said “yellow.” Then one little boy raised his hand and said, “Apples are white.” The teacher patiently explained that apples could be red, yellow or green, but never white. However, the boy insisted.…
Extending the table
English is still the dominant language in Mennonite Church Canada as a whole, but worship also happens every Sunday in Cantonese, Lao, Tigrinya, Oromo and 14 other languages. Unfortunately, links between Euro-Canadian Mennonites and Mennonites of other backgrounds remain limited. Of the 225 MC Canada congregations, 29 are not Euro-Canadian, a number that has doubled…
