‘Fun in the Son’ keeps ’em coming back
Spring break comes and students are home from school. What are parents to do to keep them occupied? Crossroads Community Church of Chilliwack, a Mennonite Church B.C. congregation, has the answer: a week-long day camp. Fun in the Son (FITS), a community service program for youngsters in Kindergarten through Grade 6, has been going for…
Bridging Borders in the ‘City of Bridges’
A new television documentary series featuring the work of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Saskatchewan is currently airing on City-Saskatchewan TV. Bridging Borders is a six-episode series produced by Wavelength Entertainment, a Regina-based production company. Set in Saskatoon, the “City of Bridges,” each episode depicts a relationship formed through MCC’s private refugee sponsorship program. From a…
MC Alberta celebrates a ‘church born anew’
At the last minute, Lethbridge Mennonite Church had to scramble to host the 2018 Mennonite Church Alberta delegate assembly. Already working hard to finish entrance and meeting room renovations, a burst water pipe flooded the church basement just a week before the March 16-17 gathering. The Lethbridge congregation was able to host the March 16…
Barnyard philosopher on hope for the future
Life at the End of Us Versus Them is an unconventional critique of the postmodern world from the perspective of a youngish father who lives off the land. Part theologian, part philosopher, Marcus Rempel examines contemporary culture from the perspective of someone who takes the message of Jesus seriously. Rempel believes in being honest about…
Spring 2018 List of Books & Resources
Theology, Spirituality I Corinthians: Believers Church Bible Commentary. Dan Nighswander. Herald Press, 2017, 403 pages. Like other commentary writers in this series, Nighswander provides explanatory notes as well as describing the text in the biblical context and in the life of the church. He also points out which parts of I Corinthians do not appear…
A peace that ignores Jesus’ atoning work
Some years ago, in the book The Body and the Blood, reporter Charles Sennott of the Boston Globe lamented the Middle East’s vanishing Christian population, many leaving because of the bitter conflicts there. They were needed, Sennott argued, because they represented a mediating force, even those not committed to pacifism. Naim Ateek, an Anglican…
Singing into the future
Music is an integral part of Mennonite worship. Whether it’s in church, at camp, at school or in everyday activities, songs have been faithful companions to Mennonites for centuries. They can get so invested in music that it can be a point of unification but also a dispute that causes tension and division. The importance…
Different stages
Most people know Johnny Wideman as a playwright and the artistic director for Theatre of the Beat, the social justice-oriented troupe behind plays like This Will Lead to Dancing and Yellow Bellies. Now Wideman has released To Aid Digestion, a collection of 26 original short stories and poems. Canadian Mennonite called the 30-year-old at his…
Converting to Catholicism
It’s not every day you meet a Mennonite whose faith journey has led him to the Catholic church, but that’s James DeGurse’s story. Baptized as an infant in the Anglican church, DeGurse spent his formative years at Douglas Mennonite Church in Winnipeg. After worshipping at an Anglican church for a year or two, he began…
