Good conversations
A flurry of online comments on a recent sexual misconduct story, an email from a reader despairing of having meaningful dialogue through letters to the magazine, and my congregation’s first online business meeting—these got me pondering how we, in the church community, struggle to have good conversations. Part of Canadian Mennonite’s mission statement reads: “foster dialogue…
New hymnal will be ‘part of the fabric of our lives’
It’s the result of an idea proposed over a decade ago and the culmination of more than four years of intense work. It includes close to a thousand hymns and worship resources that were chosen from a body of work more than 10 times that number. It represents the efforts of hundreds of Mennonites from…
Readers write: November 9, 2020 issue
Columnist has ‘a gift’ Re: “Two stories clamour to be shared” column by Ed Olfert, Oct. 12, page 10. Ed is the current pastor of Grace Mennonite Church in Prince Albert, Sask. During the strict coronavirus lockdown here in Nashville Tenn., during March to July, I would spend Sunday mornings viewing online services from my…
Expert, doubt thyself
Ever since the arrival of the coronavirus, there have been segments of the church that have been criticized for not taking the pandemic seriously. Christian sceptics and those who criticize them are well-represented on my social media feed. Large religious gatherings, as well as individual congregations, have recently made the news for meeting in defiance…
Festival of Peace
Participants in a Festival of Peace at Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont., embrace during a small group session. On Peace Sunday 1993, the congregation abandoned its typical Sunday morning routine to follow the Mennonite Central Committee Ontario Peace Sunday Packet workshop, “A commitment to Christ’s way of peace.” When a photograph such as…
Two ‘rough’ men and a gravel hauler
It can probably be said, with a reasonable helping of truthfulness, that the family that I was born into didn’t put big energy into teaching social niceties. Certainly we were taught respect, but “No, no, you take the biggest piece,” didn’t figure prominently. Interestingly, the family influence did model to us that people considered by…
See all of me
We don’t talk about mental health much in the church. When we do, we tend to see it as deviation from a presumably healthy “normal.” This is deficit thinking. Maybe our standards of “normal” are a problem. Maybe we could see the diverse ways that minds and bodies function as gifts. As I wrote this…
God as our inheritance
In late August, my wife and I became first-time homeowners. There had been many times we wondered if we would ever be able to afford a house, ever save up enough for a down payment, or if we even wanted to do the traditional homeownership thing. But, after 16 years of marriage, we bought a…
Does the church have varicose veins?
The Oct. 24 Mennonite Church Canada study conference asked the question: “Does the church have legs?” The consensus of conference presenters, based on mini-interviews posted prior to the event, was “yes.” I’m trying to tame my cynicism, but that answer seemed too easy. I know people who would say “no.” I don’t usually participate in…
