Precious lives
The unmarked graves of several hundred Indigenous children. A deliberate act of violence against a Muslim family out for a stroll. In recent weeks, new reports have again shown how entire groups of people suffered because of their ethnicity or beliefs. (Sadly, by the time you read this, there may have been more.) In response,…
Creating a cultural shift
Abuse. It’s one of those topics that can stop a conversation dead in its tracks. Yet those who work in the area of abuse response and prevention say that talking about it—before it happens—is precisely what the church needs to do. When there are no known cases of abuse demanding a church’s attention, it may…
Readers write: June 21, 2021 issue
Columnist thanked for his ‘encouragement and inspiration’ Re: “Are you okay with okay?” April 26, page 11. What a fantastic reflection by Troy Watson. I am glad that he assumed this message was for someone, and that he let all of us who read Canadian Mennonite consider it for ourselves. It certainly was an encouragement…
A pastor’s struggle
I’m surrounded by a legion of internal voices telling me I am not the pastor I should be. I’m not enough of a leader, not caring enough, not informed enough, not clear, not decisive, not doing enough. My soul cowers at the possibility that the roaring cacophony in my head is correct. Our current moment…
Hula hoop
Breaking with its usual formal style, The Canadian Mennonite decided to print a candid photo of church leaders in 1958. While lining up for the typical serious group photograph, men gathering at St. Catharines United Mennonite Church in St. Catharines, Ont. were interrupted by a young girl unselfconsciously swinging a hula hoop. The caption cheekily observed that…
Lament and love
Once again news headlines are about how the church has failed. News about residential schools fill our newsfeeds, schools generally run by churches and funded by the government, with decades of separating families and leaving wounds of trauma for seven generations. Mennonites want to know, “Were we involved?” (See 2010 CM article online at https://bit.ly/3gjm2uL.)…
Being, doing and becoming
I’m sure you’ve heard the sayings, “We are not human doings, we are human beings,” “Just be,” or “Stop doing and start being.” I appreciate the sentiment behind these statements, but what do they mean? What does it mean to stop doing? Stop doing what exactly? Everything? Your lungs breathe, that’s what they do. Your…
More than just a walk in the park
Just days before the Walk in the Spirit of Reconciliation began, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation discovered the remains of 215 children at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The news made the walk all the more poignant for those who participated, including me and my husband John. Walk in the…
The Damascus Road Initiative
This year marks a devastating milestone. It is the 10th anniversary of the war in Syria. This dreadful war has resulted in the deaths of a half-million people and is the largest displacement crisis since the Second World War. More than half of Syria’s pre-war population has been forcibly displaced. To put that into perspective,…
