Learning together, apart
Whether you call it Sunday school, faith formation or Christian education, one aspect of a congregation’s life together is how we nurture faith in people of all ages. Last spring, with the coming of the COVID-19 restrictions, many churches saw drastic changes in their faith education programs. I chatted recently with folks who have responsibilities…
Colombian Mennonites report violence, call for solidarity
Despite a landmark 2016 peace deal that held the promise of ending more than 50 years of violence in Colombia, Mennonites in South America’s second most populated country report that the conflict that affected more then eight million people—through killings, disappearances, threats and displacement—continues to claim more victims. During a video call with seven senior…
Readers write: January 18, 2021 issue
Seeking a call to discernment Re: “Credentials terminated for theologian-academic-pastor,” Nov. 9, 2020, page 18. Last October, John D. Rempel joined John Howard Yoder, Karl Barth and numerous other theologians in the company of men whose personal wretchedness stained brilliant intellectual legacies. Out of respect for victims, their families and friends, it is understandable that…
Gesangbuch
Why go to all the trouble of producing a new hymnal? The Gesangbuch commission of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada faced this question in 1961. The 1942 version, it was felt, lacked readability and a variety in tunes. Furthermore, the world of the early 1960s “demanded a broader witness,” with more vocational, youth and…
The kingdom of heaven now
At the end of the infamous year 2020, I retired from pastoral ministry. Again. We’ll see if it “takes” this time. Looking back, I am reminded that, at different times in my ministry, I have been impassioned by different scriptural concepts. The passion that drew me into ministry was shaped by Isaiah 58:1-9, about a…
The practice of faith
The Buddhist nun looked across the table and asked me if Christians were taught how to practise faith. “Is Christian faith only beliefs that you try to internalize? Or do you do anything to help people more deeply develop themselves?” she asked. I knew what she meant. Buddhists—especially of the western tradition—engage in meditation and…
Launched into oblivion
My youngest daughter Ruth can be a little firecracker. We say that she’s sweet and spicy. Sometimes she can get into a real funk, though, and I can feel lost as to how to help her. I am thankful for my wife, who often sweeps in to save the day when my strategies are failing…
Good graces
As human beings, we’re generally pretty lousy at grace. We long for it in our deepest and truest moments, and we desperately need it, God knows. But we often struggle to receive it. We’d prefer to earn, to justify, to merit. Grace is for the weak, and that’s not us. At least this is the…
Churches work together to serve curbside Christmas dinner
On Christmas Day, 137 free turkey dinners were served up for people who needed some Christmas cheer in the Wilmot and Wellesley townships of Waterloo Region. The curbside Christmas dinner was organized by the Wilmot Family Resource Centre based in New Hamburg, and supported by more than 10 local churches. It was aimed at anyone…
MWC Executive Committee approves expansion plan
In online Mennonite World Conference (MWC) meetings in mid-November 2020, the Executive Committee approved expansion of MWC’s structure to include new specialized networks. Deliberation of the proposal to accept new emerging networks into MWC’s structure occupied much of the meetings. The peace, health and education networks would expand MWC by creating an official relationship with…
