Peace on the screen
A rant is taking shape in your brain, anger is seething in your gut, your finger is poised over the “post” button. What could possibly go wrong? One option is to step away from your device, take a deep breath, and think “reconciliation.” That is the advice offered in the new book, Posting Peace: Why…
What is the loving thing to do?
There is no question that COVID-19 has been disruptive. We, like the Israelites, found ourselves wandering in the wilderness, anxious to get back to normal. We have realized that “normal” will not happen anytime soon so, like the Israelites, we made our home in this new place, building houses (carving out offices) and planting gardens…
Expanded belonging
I’m not naturally a morning person; it usually takes a lot to get me started at the beginning of my day. But this last Wednesday, I set my alarm a little earlier and bounced up from bed like a child on Christmas morning. I wish I could tell you that the reason for my excitement…
MCC responds to bombing in Gaza
Nighttime was the hardest for Mahmoud Alhalimi. With the electricity cut and bombs falling, the hours were dark and loud, as he tried in vain to help his two young children fall asleep. “They asked me all the time, ‘What are these sounds? Are they coming to our home?’” he says of their time during…
MennoCon21 goes hybrid to amplify message of peace, inclusion
Mennonite Church U.S.A.’s smallest and first hybrid convention, “Bring the peace!” drew more than 1,000 people—608 at Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and at least 495 online —over five days in early July, with programming to strengthen the denomination’s peace witness. Church revitalization was a goal of MennoCon21, shifting the 20-year-old denomination’s attention…
Conference on aging and spirituality broadens international participation
This past June, scholars, practitioners, support workers, health-care experts and interested parties from across the globe gathered together virtually over the course of three weeks to advance the connections between spiritual practice and the effects of aging, at the ninth International Conference on Aging and Spirituality. Many health-care support workers and religious/spiritual practitioners recognize the…
Seven ways to worship without singing
What can services look like without music? Mennonites express their unity and diversity through singing together. The coronavirus pandemic silenced many voices for the sake of public safety. As congregations cautiously welcome more people back into their buildings for in-person worship, here are some suggestions from the Anabaptist Worship Network to enliven services without congregational…
MCC volunteers worked at boarding school being probed
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) supported an Indigenous boarding home that is under investigation by the Saskatchewan RCMP. The Mounties say a complaint was made in 2020 about a death that potentially occurred at the Timber Bay Children’s Home at Montreal Lake, Sask., in 1974. At the time, the home was operated by the Brethren in…
Grassroots podcast aims for connections across nationwide church
The MennoCast, a new podcast aimed at connecting Mennonites across Canada, launched on June 23. “It’s been a dream for years. I’m just so happy that it’s out!” says Moses Falco, pastor of Sterling Mennonite Fellowship in Winnipeg, and one of The MennoCast hosts. “It’s like we accomplished the goal! But it’s just the beginning.”…
