Farewell, my friends
It’s been a good eight-year ride, my friends, with a few bumps along the way. I will miss this biweekly meeting with you on the second page of Canadian Mennonite. While it’s been a monologue, I have felt it had the makings of a dialogue, of one friend sharing thoughts with another friend. I have…
Dependent on God’s mercy
A Pharisee and a tax collector This parable of Jesus seems self-evident. It compares the attitude of two men’s prayers: a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee’s seems rather arrogant, while the tax collector’s only petition is of God’s mercy. The Pharisee’s self-centred prayer is all about his supposed place in God’s favour. The…
Readers write: March 27, 2017 issue
That’s not who we are . . . as Mennonites or Muslims Re: “A not-so-pure depiction of Mennonites,” Feb. 13, page 20. I read with interest the various online responses by Mennonites concerned about how Mennonites are depicted in the CBC drama series Pure. I spent several years working in the tour program in the…
The power of imagination
When communicating about the ministries of Mennonite Church Canada Witness, my former colleague Al Rempel used to tell me, “Help your listeners imagine the work that is being done.” Imaginations are powerful, liberating gifts of God. Through our imaginations, God meets us. God helps us draw from current realities, Scripture and history to paint possibilities,…
Unveiling secrets
One day my normally cheerful, no-nonsense coworker surprised, or I should say shocked, me. She suddenly and briefly opened the door to her past, a dangerous time of war and famine. “Those days were horrible,” she said fiercely in a low voice. “Things were so bad, they ate people. We never speak of them.” Just…
Giving as protest
Does the headline for this article pique your curiosity or does it irritate you? The word “protest” often evokes strong positive or negative emotions. Like it or not, we seem to be in a time marked by protests of one kind or another. Beyond giving as duty, the Bible offers us an array of metaphors…
Coaldale Nurses
This photo of six nurses from Coaldale, Alta., and the surrounding area was taken in the 1950s. Pictured from left to right: M. Willms, H. Toews, M. Dick and H. Reimer of Coaldale, with M. Janzen of Pincher Creek and M. Dyck of Grassy Lake. Can anyone provide first names of the people pictured? The…
Wisdom, where art thou? (Pt. 6)
Fourteen years ago, I asked my handy friend, Carm, if I could hire him to do a flooring renovation. He said, “No. But I’ll teach you how to do it for free.” I laughed. The idea was absurd. The only tools I owned at the time were books and guitars. The extent of my…
It’s time to do ‘something constructive together’
Evangelical Anabaptist Partners (EAP) is a loosely affiliated group of pastors and lay people from Mennonite Church Eastern Canada who have been gathering regularly for worship, mutual encouragement, fellowship and discussion about their mission in the world. At a recent monthly Sunday evening gathering at Community Mennonite Fellowship in Drayton, Ont., Craig Frere, the host…
