Reporting on #ChurchToo
Over the years, Canadian Mennonite has reported on sexual misconduct within the Mennonite context. As a member of the church press, we have tried to carry out our ongoing commitment to report on such stories with journalistic integrity, respect and sensitivity. Yet, sometimes the reports have stirred up pain and objections among readers. Occasionally, readers…
Encountering the gifts of a global church
The world is getting smaller. Peoples, places and cultures that in the past existed in distant lands may today be just around the corner. Here in North America, because of migration, many neighbourhoods have become mosaics of people of a variety of skin colours, languages and cultures. Some of the newcomers are Christians and they…
Readers write: January 6, 2020 issue
Silver Lake, MC Eastern Canada apologize for not speaking up sooner Re: “Decades-old sexual abuse comes to light.” On Aug. 24, 2018, Canadian Mennonite published a story about the long-term sexual abuse experienced by Ruth-Ann Klassen Shantz over 30 years ago by then Silver Lake Mennonite Camp director Lawrence Pentelow. Shantz had bravely come forward…
An incessant demand
“Where are you, Mennonites?” A colleague and I are in a Winnipeg café discussing the current land struggles of many Indigenous peoples. I listen intently as she speaks of the Unist’ot’en, Muskrat Falls and the Tiny House Warriors. I nod my head in understanding and offer affirming murmurs. But then, halfway through tea, she looks…
Westgate students at rally
In 1968, 115 Westgate Mennonite Collegiate students joined 2,000 members of Students for Educational Equality and Democracy (SEED) for a rally at the Manitoba legislature in Winnipeg. These students of private and parochial schools were seeking provincial funding, as recommended by a royal commission in Manitoba a decade before. This photo was cropped to appear…
To the river
After the hour-long drive home from my sister’s with my four very energetic kids, I had had enough! Trying to quiet down hyper kids while driving is not an easy feat. Not wanting to yell at them over and over, I gave up and succumbed to their antics, eagerly longing for our driveway. I called…
Canadian turkey and Salvadoran turkey
“The turkey tasted just like my mom’s turkey.” So said Sandra, a recent newcomer to Canada from Colombia. She was part of the First Mennonite Church (Kitchener) annual Christmas dinner. Our congregation’s tradition is to have both Canadian turkey and El Salvadoran turkey, mashed potatoes and rice, gravy and sauce. And tables full of special…
‘Random acts of generosity’
Henry “Sherlock” Friesen is a long-time Abundance Canada client. He follows a well-thought-out generosity plan that includes making regular charitable donations from his gifting fund. This methodical approach to charitable giving suits his analytical nature. He’s the first to admit that he rarely added an additional dollar to his grocery bill at the checkout nor…
Paradoxical faith
I’ve become aware of various patterns and cycles in my life. One of them is a regular oscillation between two different “kinds” or phases of faith. Sometimes I remain in one phase for years and sometimes I alternate between the two phases multiple times a day. The first phase is what I call pragmatic faith.…
