Going deeper together
If you have been paying attention to what the regional churches are up to recently, you may have noticed a common question and a common longing. A question expressed at both regional and nationwide levels: What is God calling Mennonite Church Canada to do, as a church? And the longing: We desire to go deeper…
‘Taste and see that stuff is good’
The human struggle has always been—and always will be—between worshiping the God who made us or worshiping a god that we have to make for ourselves. Secularism is a myth because there is no such thing as not worshipping. Advocates of the secularization thesis believe that as science and technology advanced into the future, religion…
Readers write: November 11, 2019 issue
‘This is our church’ Re: “How to talk about money at your church,” Sept. 30, page 10. I read this Viewpoint piece, which I thought may give me insight into the responsible use of my resources. But Lori Guenther Reesor was actually serious about the church bragging about supporting the church preschool class, the…
I smile because I’m grateful
There’s canola in my bed and it makes me smile. Perhaps I should explain. Currently, harvest is in full gear. I see my husband at mealtimes (maybe), and when he crawls into bed after combining fields well past the middle of the night. Last night, some canola seems to have crawled in with him, and…
Speed sprayer
Readers raised on fruit farms—including this archivist—may remember the high-pitched whine of an orchard pesticide sprayer in action. Pictured, Peter J. Sawatzky of Ruthven, Ont., is operating a “speed-sprayer” in his apple orchard. This photo accompanied an article in The Canadian Mennonite from September 1959 about the costs of transporting apples to market. The newspaper…
Allow a little child to lead you
My good memories of Thanksgiving 2019 will be focused on children. On Oct. 13, I preached a sermon at Grace Mennonite in Prince Albert. Church culture has me arriving an hour before the service. It’s a 100-kilometre drive. I will encounter four or five folks creating bulletins, making coffee, setting out cookies, trying out offertories…
Confronting a drastic future
It’s been a month since Greta Thunberg—the 16-year-old climate activist from Sweden—came to my town for a climate rally. The Edmonton reception was decidedly mixed. One reception was evidenced by around 10,000 people who gathered at the Alberta legislature. Most were young people, since her main message is that global environmental change, including a changing…
A plausible, persistent passion
On a spring morning in 1970, Henry Regier walked out of the residence assigned to guest lecturers at the University of Wisconsin and turned east. Student riots related to the Vietnam War had broken out on campus, and the night before National Guards with bayonets had deployed tear gas. Wanting to avoid the brewing violence…
‘Jesus Christ is present here’
“Jesus Christ is present here. Alleluia!” sang enthusiastic worshippers in many languages to begin the fourth annual Mennonite Church Eastern Canada multicultural Mission Festival, held on Oct. 26 at First Mennonite Church in Kitchener. Worship leader Yoel Masyawong, the pastor of Grace Lao Mennonite Church in Kitchener, expressed his delight to see “all the nations…
