The zucchini principle
A woman who was raised in both the Lutheran and Catholic churches is now a member of my congregation. When Shannon described what led her to the Mennonite church, she observed a few differences between how Mennonites and other traditions she knew practise their faith. She said that one difference was that “Mennonites hold on…
Giving in the digital age
We are now living in a full-blown digital world. With just one click or voice command we can ask Google for a chicken recipe, order office supplies or give to our favourite charity online. The 2017 Canada Helps Giving Report states that, “while the number of Canadians making charitable donations seems to be on the…
Money and the Menno millennials
As a kid, I grew up with the ritual of walking to the front of my church and dropping a few coins in the donation box every Sunday. But as I was sitting in church several months ago, a hymn playing on the piano and the offering basket passing through my hands, I realized that…
Readers write: September 16, 2019 issue
Reader gives biking story a ‘wow’ Re: “Cycling into the future,” July 22, page 30. I enjoy Canadian Mennonite very much. This story really impressed me. Philip Martin had the smarts to see the need for bike safety for his school pupils; he realized how important it was for young people to learn this, and…
A collaborative leadership approach
We have a lot of pastoral transitions happening at the moment in Mennonite Church British Columbia. It is a time that has given me pause to think about how we do church ministry and what our pastoral ministry positions look like. Our church polity manual, A Shared Understanding of Ministerial Leadership, mentions the importance of…
Peter Regier
In 1894, Anna Enss (1855-1914), left, and Peter Regier (1851-1925) moved their family from Prussia (now Poland) to Tiefengrund, Sask., where Regier was the founding leader of the Rosenorter Gemeinde and the Conference of Mennonites in Canada. His sermon collection includes “odd” names for sermons such as “Sexagesima.” Upon further research, we learn that this…
Parable of the ‘phone’ incident
A woman I’ll call Adelle stops by the church from time to time, looking for food or for a ride to another part of the city. My congregation has supplied me with non-perishable food, toiletry items, and, in colder seasons, toques, socks and mitts, for just such occasions. There was a time when Adelle hadn’t…
Help for reading the Old Testament
Many conversations about the Old Testament are determined by questions of modernity. What are the facts? What really happened? The facts are then loaded as ammunition in the culture wars of “liberal” and “conservative.” Other questions bring faith to the shoals of doubt on matters of a potentially violent and misogynistic God. Melissa Florer-Bixler’s Fire…
‘Camps make church come alive’
It’s 10:30 on a sunny August morning and the lodge at Camp Koinonia, near Boissevain, Man., is bursting with shouts and harmonies. People dance and laugh together. The group radiates energy. If the church is the body, then camp is the heart that pumps life into every corner. I spent a week this summer volunteering…
