Senses open new doors
First, a disclaimer: I love books. With a father in the bookstore and publishing business, I grew up in a household that always had books available. I’ve volunteered and been employed in a library. I currently own cards to two local libraries. For me, books have been a source of learning, inspiration and connection to…
Evangelism that heals
On July 30, my brother was getting married in Williston, N.D., and I was the officiant. It was a lovely celebration, with little kids taking over the dance floor at the reception, and I’m delighted to have my brother’s partner join the family. But the wedding meant I couldn’t take part in the nationwide…
Lament for Sunday school
Sara Garnet and I were cleaning out the Sunday school classrooms of Faith Mennonite Church in Leamington, Ont., with heavy hearts one Wednesday afternoon. We had put it off for a long time. It felt like we were cleaning out a home after a death had taken place. I went home at lunch time and…
‘We have no safe area under the sky’
For much of my life I associated Ethiopia with famine. I’m just old enough to recall the searing scenes from Ethiopia in the mid-1980s: windswept, dull-beige landscapes; skeletal cattle; distended bellies; flies; people crowding trucks laden with sacks of food; and charitable rock concerts. It was the most famous famine of modern times, made so…
Believers Church Bible Commentary series nears completion
After almost 40 years of writing and editing, the Believers Church Bible Commentary (BCBC) series is nearing completion. The collection of commentaries covers every book of the Bible, written by various biblical scholars across North America. Herald Press has published 35 volumes since 1986, and almost all of its final nine are currently in progress.…
Zooming with God through the Psalms
Several British Columbia pastors cooperated this summer by preaching sermons on the Psalms and sharing them with each other’s congregations on Zoom. At a Mennonite Church B.C. pastors gathering last winter, a conversation arose about the difficulty of getting dynamic speakers to preach when pastors take summer holidays. Several mentioned that it would be good…
Urban farm not just about growing veggies
Lifetime experiences and vegetables are being harvested at Winnipeg’s urban farm, Metanoia Farmers Workers Cooperative Ltd., located on the campus of Canadian Mennonite University (CMU). What started as the CMU Farmers Collective in 2011, Metanoia Farms has been recruiting people of various backgrounds and experiences from the university it is partnered with. This season’s farmers…
Celebrating a half-century of MCC Thrift
The first Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) thrift store opened in March 1972 in Altona, Man. In 2022, the thrift stores are celebrating the 50th anniversary of this first store in Canada. Celebrations are taking place at various times in different locations. There are 47 thrift stores in Canada, and 39 stores in United States. A…
Bridgefolk asks how to repair harm to Indigenous Peoples
Participants in the Bridgefolk movement for dialogue and greater unity between Mennonites and Roman Catholics have long made the phrase, “Proceed through friendship,” their byword. Celebrating their 20th annual conference under the theme, “Standing at the crossroads,” as they met at Saint John’s Abbey in late July, Bridgefolk found reason to hope that the…
