Levelling the playing field
The saying goes, “There are two gifts we should give our children: one is roots, the other is wings.” My husband and I encouraged our children to fly and prayed we gave them roots. One day in a sermon my husband said, “I believe in what Christian Peacemaker Teams [CPT] does, but I also fear…
Stations of the Cross on Broadway
On Good Friday, April 14, 2017, pilgrims from Winnipeg and beyond gather at Broadway Disciples United Church to walk the Stations of the Cross on Broadway, one of Winnipeg’s oldest and most historic thoroughfares. Before observing the first station at the church, and setting out against the day’s damp cold, guests are invited to warm…
‘A downstream solution to an upstream problem’
When the first food bank was created in Canada in 1981 in Edmonton, it was seen as a short-term project that would be unnecessary when the economy improved. Fast-forward to 2017 and Kitchener’s House of Friendship’s emergency food program that distributes food to 1 in 20 people living in Waterloo Region. Previously in a cramped,…
Learning cycles of peace
“I needed to go through what I did because that’s what helps me understand the people I work with,” said Jorgina Sunn. The indigenous singer/songwriter was the featured speaker at Parkland Restorative Justice’s Banquet in the Woods, held April 22, 2017, in Prince Albert. Sunn, who is also a recipient of the Aboriginal Order of…
Translating the Bible into the visual
A unique art installation graces Rosthern Mennonite Church’s stage these days. Created by the Rosthern Junior College (RJC) worship arts class, it depicts themes found in biblical texts for the six Sundays of the Easter season. The collaboration of the class and the church began with a conversation between teacher Jill Wiens and Craig Neufeld,…
Transformed life leads to Transfigured Town
Some might wonder about a Mennonite elder running public events about Hogwarts, a school for witches and wizards. But Nathan Swartz of Kingsfield-Clinton Mennonite Church in southwestern Ontario has thought about this deeply. People need to “see the distinction between imagination and practice in regard to witchcraft,” he says. J.K. Rowling, the author of the…
Laying it on the line
Bruxy Cavey is unapologetic about particularism. In his new book, the pastor/author sums up the good news in one word (Jesus), three words (Jesus is Lord) and 30 words (Jesus is God with us, come to show us God’s love, save us from sin, set up God’s kingdom and shut down religion, so that we…
Adventures in the Middle East
It was while she was in Bethlehem, spray painting a black heart onto the Israeli West Bank barrier, that the reality of the Israel-Palestine conflict truly began to sink in for high-school student Jaymi Fast. “I found it was easier to understand [the political situation] when I was there,” she says. “It was still confusing—there’s…
Messages to the Class of 2017
Canadian Mennonite spoke with the 2017 valedictorians from the three Canadian post-secondary institutions affiliated with Mennonite Church Canada, to find out who they are, what their undergraduate experience has been like, and what wisdom they hope to impart on their peers. Jenna Song and Ryan Newman Columbia Bible College Abbotsford, B.C. At Columbia Bible College,…
Four ways MCC is caring for creation
Around the world, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) partners with people who are negatively affected by climate change. In response to increased droughts, storms and other disastrous weather patterns, MCC is taking steps to better care for creation. Gardening Calgary’s northeast side is a largely industrial area that has very little green space, but on MCC…
