Church publications: Which way to go?
I know an intersection with three street signs: Eastglen, Westglen and Northglen. Delivery trucks sometimes end up at the wrong house for failing to notice which Glen they need. Making it worse, Eastglen and Westglen are semi-circles that connect to form one circle. You can turn East and get to West or vice versa. Sometimes, a…
Empower children . . . end poverty
This year marked the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Fittingly, the theme of the 2019 Universal Children’s Day, held on Nov. 20, was “Acting together to empower children, their families and communities to end poverty.” Despite decades of progress, millions of children remain trapped in poverty. According…
Readers write: December 9, 2019 issue
MCC recommendations for new federal government The following is a shortened version of a Nov. 8 letter sent from the Mennonite Central Committee Ottawa Office to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with copies to the leaders of the four opposition parties. As we look ahead, we suggest a few areas where we see opportunities for growth…
Freedom of speech for Christian media?
What is our responsibility as followers of Jesus to media outlets? Secular media outlets have a freedom-of-speech right to publish whatever their editor thinks will draw consumers to them. However, do Christian media outlets have the same right to freedom of speech? Or are Christian media outlets obligated by their personal walk with Jesus and…
Ted Regehr
At the Public Archives in Ottawa in 1968, Ted Regehr, head of the Government Records Section, standing, helps research assistant Ernie Dick locate government files related to Mennonites. The two were assisting historian Frank H. Epp with a monumental history of Mennonites in Canada project. Regehr remembers, “When previously Mennonite historians had relied mainly on…
Hope and optimism
Christmas is the season when we talk about how the birth of the baby Jesus brings hope. Hope implies some sort of betterment to come. So Jesus is our hope. But hope for the future is a crucial question for many people in these days of political polarization, rising global inequality, global ecological degradation and…
‘Tell God I say yes’
They come through the church door into the foyer. My limited vision can make out only their forms, but I recognize them, desperate folks who stop by on occasion to check out the food supplies available that day. “Felix” and “Norma” (pseudonyms) accept my invitation to sit in my office. Felix, as usual, squats nearest…
Student launches Macrina Magazine
At only 21 years old, Micah Enns-Dyck is the founder and editor-in-chief of a new online Christian philosophical journal. Macrina Magazine, which he launched on Oct. 26, features written work covering topics in the realm of philosophy and theology. Among the team of editors working on the project is a doctoral candidate and teacher in…
Girls Club meets monthly because ‘God is fun!’
In 2001, Holyrood Mennonite Church sponsored four men who were living in a refugee camp in Ghana with their families due to a 14-year civil war in Liberia. Over time, the number of Liberian families in the church has grown. At present, almost all the children in the church are West African, including four teenage…
