What kind of Mennonite?
In January 2017, a TV show drew attention to Mennonites in Canada. The CBC crime series Pure portrayed fictional Mennonite communities in Ontario and Mexico that were running a large illegal drug operation. A Mexican Mennonite drug lord controlled the operation through intimidation and violence. Mennonite viewers posted their opinions on social media, pointing out…
Readers write: February 12, 2018 issue
Anabaptist Essentials ‘a quintessential travesty’ The following letter was abridged from one originally sent to Herald Press, the publisher of Palmer Becker’s Anabaptist Essentials. I’m writing to express amazement that you would have published Anabaptist Essentials, when what it presents is highly simplistic and seriously uninformed. Consider that there is no mention of the…
Dying well
Every living thing eventually dies, including churches. Just as people who do not plan for death may complicate things for their families, churches that do not plan for eventual closure can leave a mess for congregants and their surrounding communities. A ‘stolen’ legacy The story of the Pineridge Christian Fellowship is complicated and still somewhat…
Receiving is important
The tale “The Christmas Guest,” as told by Johnny Cash on his album Christmas with Johnny Cash, is a fable about an old man, Conrad, who receives a message from an angel that the Lord will appear to him on Christmas Eve. Conrad readies his place, expectant for Jesus to knock at his door. But…
‘Those who are in Christ will live forevermore’
I love doing funerals. As a young pastor, I now have nine under my belt. It seems I enjoy them more with each one. To be honest, I haven’t had any difficult funerals to do yet. No tragic circumstances or painful dynamics to deal with. Each one being a dear old saint, ready to be…
On meeting St. Francis
‘The Ecstasy of St. Francis of Assisi,’ by Blas Muñoz, painted circa 1683-86. (Google Art project photo) I wouldn’t normally invite a stranger to stay in our house, but there was something about Jane (a pseudonym) that changed me. I was waiting for my son to finish a late hockey practice when she approached. She…
Learning to let go
It takes me a long time to learn a lesson. The book Necessary Losses by Judith Viorst was required reading when I was in seminary, and my lasting impression of its message was that life is a series of losses. Right from birth, life is a process of letting go. My instinctive response was that,…
Hauling strawberries
In February 1928, the first trainload of Mennonite farmers from the Prairies arrived in Yarrow, British Columbia, with prospects of farming the newly accessible land in the Fraser Valley. The introduction of raspberry and strawberry farming in the early 1930s increased the viability of these farms. The photo shows Len Doerksen (b. 1936) with his…
The in-between years
Emerging adult: it’s a relatively new category to describe the life stage between adolescence and the adult they will become. They are no longer teens but are not yet fully independent adults. The term “emerging adults” usually describes young adults who don’t have children, who don’t have their own home, probably have not determined their…
