Johnny Kehler
Johnny Kehler, left, with his plane and George Groening, at Matheson Island, Man. Groening grew up near Lowe Farm, Man., and served the Mennonite church community for decades. As a long-serving leader, he not only witnessed change but instituted changes as well. He started his preaching at Lowe Farm Bergthaler Mennonite Church, was the pastor…
From grief to gratitude
Moments in time can change the course of history. Decisions made in Russia in the years following the Russian Revolution in 1917 changed life for thousands of Mennonite families. On Oct. 13, 2018, an evening of remembering and thanksgiving took place at St. Catharines United Mennonite Church. Those who took part and those who attended…
Modern ghosts of a horse-drawn scandal, Part 3
Eight men went to prison, the media gaze moved on, and colony life resumed. But the saga of mass rape in the Bolivian corner of our family of faith is far from over. When word of a serial rape crisis on the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia emerged in 2005, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) faced pressure…
‘Leaving behind what wasn’t healthy’
Zoar Mennonite Church in Langham has a new home—and a new name. When the congregation discovered black mould growing in the basement of its old church building some years ago, it didn’t immediately decide to build a new church building. Instead, it gutted the basement and had it cleaned and disinfected. But the problem persisted,…
‘It’s not too late’
Public recognition of the traditional territory of First Nation groups that were signatories to specific treaties is a fairly new concept in Canada. Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, a panellist at the Oct. 10, 2018, Canadian Mennonite University Face2Face discussion on “Treaty One and Mennonite Privilegium,” described treaties as “vessels of family making.” The assistant professor of…
Congratulations, Simon Eng
Every Tuesday, the bell at the front desk of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Alberta headquarters in Calgary dings incessantly, whether a receptionist is sitting there or not. “Hi, Simon!” someone says, and Simon wanders off to get a coffee and a snack, and then he ambles down the hall to the material resources warehouse.…
Journey with Alzheimer’s takes humour and resilience
Bird-Bent Grass truly is a “memoir, in pieces” as it explores the lives of Kathleen Venema and her mother, with anecdotes from the past, excerpts from old letters and reflections on the present, all mixed together. But the strength of the book is that the pieces fit together to tell the story of a mother-daughter…
Lost and found
We love boundaries. These boundaries may help us to define who we are, but they also can lead us to assume we know others based on appearances. Most of the time, if people aren’t like us, we consider them lost. Are you conservative or liberal? Are you pro-life or pro-choice? Are you LGBTQ-affirming or traditional?…
Avoiding avoidance
Do you ever find yourself starting something and not completing it? If so, then you’re familiar with avoidance behaviours. Avoidance is the set of things we do to distract ourselves from the current task—the one that really needs doing. Perhaps your form of avoidance is cleaning your room, going out with friends, looking at social…
In spirit and in truth
It was a rich night of worship as a diverse group of people gathered at the third annual intercultural worship service at Kitchener First Mennonite Church on Oct. 20, 2018. Yoel Masyawong, the regional church’s mission associate and pastor at Grace Lao Mennonite Church, also in Kitchener, guided participants as they feasted on a smorgasbord…
