Moving beyond ‘climate grief’
Last December, unbeknownst to each other, my daughter-in-law and I bought each other bamboo toothbrushes as Christmas presents. Earlier in the year, she had heard me lament the plastic toothbrushes I was regularly contributing to the local landfill. In the larger scheme, those toothbrushes didn’t seem very important, but the long life of those plastic…
Reflections of creation
God’s creation is now facing unprecedented destruction brought on by human activity. Attentive hunters know this just as well as vegan environmentalists. Caring for the ecosystems that God created doesn’t need to be a divisive or partisan issue. Yet it has come to feel that way. Conversations related to energy have become especially contentious. This…
Readers write: March 4, 2019 issue
Author Miriam Toews a ‘two-trick’ pony Re: “Modern ghosts of a horse-drawn scandal: Pt. IV,” Nov. 26, 2018, page 18. Unfortunately, Miriam Toews has only two themes she writes about: fundamentalist Mennonites and the mental illness that runs in her family. I read A Complicated Kindness when it was first published and presented it…
Dreaming of possibilities
As we explore new possibilities in our journey with a new church structure, the Mission and Service Committee of Mennonite Church Alberta has been dreaming about possibilities in a variety of areas. Some of these dreams will remain dreams, while others, hopefully, will come to fruition. Our most significant Mission and Service program in Alberta…
Canadian Women in Mission
These Saskatchewan ladies are hovering over baked goods at a sale circa 1964. “Ladies groups” have been significant organizations that have contributed to the social and spiritual well-being of women, their families, communities and beyond. Over time, the organizational structures grew to include local, regional and nationwide organizations. In 1988, the Canadian Women in Mission…
Can we talk about suicide?
A few months ago, a preacher at our church included suicide in his sermon. Philippians 1 was the text, where the Apostle Paul sets out his dilemma between preferring life or death. “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for…
The beautiful chaos of kids at church
As a mother of four little ones, I find church can be pretty chaotic. For six years while living in Manila, our Filipino church gathered in our home while my kids played around the family room. I usually cooked dinner for everyone, ensured the kids were being fed, and then later I’d put all the…
Worship as an act of loving God
I’ve run into a number of people who are “spiritual but not religious,” who have recently started attending church. They told me they skip the opening worship and just show up to hear the message. When I asked why, one person said, “The music doesn’t resonate with me or the world I live in. It…
Prepare for something new and yet familiar
Over the past three months, in my role as communications officer for Mennonite Church Canada, I have been busy preparing for Gathering 2019, the first event of the “new” nationwide church. This work is challenging because, much like trying to envision summer in the dead of winter (Regina is under an extreme cold warning as…
