Environment matters today and tomorrow
I often hear people describe the church as being behind the times. What this means is that by the time the church addresses issues that were important to society last year, or last decade, most people have already moved on to more pressing issues that the church will be sure to deal with in…
Suicide isn’t painless
No one saw it coming. Not family, not friends, not anyone at the university he attended. On March 23, 2018, after babysitting his nieces and nephews, 18-year-old Nicholas (Nick) Penner Brandt returned to the apartment he shared with an older brother and twin sister, drank poison and died. In one horrible instant, the entire Brandt…
Meeting the mental health needs of students
Are more students struggling with mental health issues these days, or are they just better able to articulate their struggles than students once were? Jim Epp doesn’t know the answer to this question. As principal of Rosthern Junior College (RJC), one thing he does know is that his students are not immune to mental illness…
‘Poetry and art for mental health’
Depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and eating disorders may not sound like subjects for art, but a recent exhibit at the Reach gallery proved that art is a powerful medium for educating and talking about mental illness. Hear and See: Poetry and Art for Mental Health featured the work of 14 poets and the same number…
Resilience Road leads to mental health for women
Society is witnessing mental health struggles increase at an alarming rate, and the push for women’s voices to be heard grows stronger. At the same time, Mennonite Women Manitoba decided to travel the “road to resilience” this year for their annual retreat. The committee chose the topic of resilience because, when they asked participants at…
‘Connected: Striving side by side with one mind’
The theme of this year’s Mennonite Church Eastern Canada annual church gathering—stated in the headline—had many facets, both inspiring and challenging, for those gathered at Redeemer College in Ancaster on April 27 and 28, 2018. Impassioned plea to stay connected Executive minister David Martin urged four congregations considering leaving the regional church—Milverton; Maple View, Wellesley;…
‘We have to begin by crying out for justice’
“We have to begin by crying out for justice. You build peace on justice.” Naim Ateek uttered this plea on April 25 2018, before more than 150 people gathered at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg to hear him speak about his new book, A Palestinian Theology of Liberation: The Bible, Justice, and the Palestine-Israel Conflict.…
MC Eastern Canada welcomes two new congregations
Two new congregations were welcomed into emerging membership during Mennonite Church Eastern Canada’s annual church gathering at Redeemer College on April 27 and 28, 2018. • The Assemblée de la Grâce is a Créole-speaking congregation made up of Haitian refugees, located in Montreal. Pastor Westerne Joseph hopes to invite many more Haitian diaspora congregations into…
Not a ‘mirage’
Karen Scott Booth, head of Rockway Mennonite Collegiate’s Grade 10-12 visual arts program, exudes pride in the work of her students. “Mirage: An exhibition of visual art,” held at the school on April 24, 2018, showed why. Working in many media—acrylic on canvas, watercolour, printmaking of many kinds, multimedia, industrial design and drama—the evening was…
From church to yoga studio
For many years the church provided me with a place where I felt like I belonged. I was 14 years old when I “decided” to get baptized. Coming from a Mennonite/Anabaptist background, I always respected the time in people’s lives when they would announce their dedication to the Christian faith and get aligned into a…
