‘I have no say . . .’
Leah is a lifer, and I like her. She is middle-aged and is at the beginning of her sentence. She is educated and insightful, and has a good sense of humour. But what I am impressed by is her heart. She cares about the young women with whom she shares the crowded maximum-security space in…
Conscientious objectors tree planting
During the Second World War, Canadian conscientious objectors (COs) planted 17 million trees in British Columbia between 1942 and 1944. Some COs questioned the use of working in the “bush.” Pictured from left to right: Frank Dyck, Jacob Wiebe, Menno Wiebe and Rudy Regehr returned to Campbell River, B.C., in 1966 to see the trees…
Pastors prepare to become climate leaders
Hopelessness. Denial. Grief. Guilt. Despair. Pastors face these emotions in their congregations as they walk with people suffering from personal losses. Through a series of retreats funded by the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions in Harrisonburg, Va., church leaders are beginning to transfer these skills to climate change. The non-profit and its partner, Mennonite Creation…
Reaching out together
It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Many people will remember seeing the picture in September 2015 of the three-year-old Syrian refugee, Alan Kurdi, whose body was washed up on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. And for a minute, or maybe two, many wondered what they could do. Three…
Historical Society quietly contributes to national identity
Historian Laureen Harder-Gissing does not want to be heard saying, “You should know your history,” the way someone might say, “You should eat your vegetables.” She does not want people to feel badly if they do not know their history; she just wants it to be available at those “points in our lives when the…
Training peacemakers through ‘Tough talk’
“It’s called Deeper Life Days for a reason,” says Grade 11 student Shaelyn Nordmarken. Deeper Life Days give Rosthern Junior College (RJC) students opportunity to engage with challenging topics. The topic was “Tough talk: Conversations about the Bible, peace and violence.” The event was held over four days in late October and early November 2018.…
Three little words that open doors
A standing joke among pastors is that if they want to end a conversation, they only need to tell the other person they are a pastor. But this hasn’t been Ric Driediger’s experience. Driediger, who lives in Rosthern, is pastor of Langham Mennonite Fellowship during the winter months. From May to the middle of October,…
Band of brothers
When Isaac Schlegel and Nathan Rogalsky noticed that their friendships with men lacked the same depth as their friendships with women, they decided to do something about it. Last March, they gathered a group of men together with the purpose of fostering deeper friendships by intentionally talking openly and honestly with each other. The group…
‘A picture of his grandmother’
Gerald Neufeld and his father Henry share a passion for linking families from First Nation communities within the Berens River watershed in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario with archival photographs of their ancestors. Their collection of about a thousand digitized pictures includes photographs from the University of Philadelphia archives that were taken in the summer of…
Conductor. Father. Farmer. Christian.
Abner Martin was born at his parents’ farm in Waterloo Township, Ont., the seventh surviving child of Annanias and Susannah (Steckle) Martin. His family, until the time of Abner’s birth, were members of the Old Order Mennonites that met at Martin’s Meeting House. Later, they attended St. Jacobs Mennonite Church, and Abner had opportunities to…
