Sam Steiner’s memoir reflects on life
While working on his book In Search of Promised Lands: A Religious History of Mennonites in Ontario, Sam Steiner began writing a weekly online blog about his research, and occasionally he would include personal stories. In this memoir, A Mennonite Draft Dodger in Canada, he has expanded and updated those personal blog stories. He was…
Author explains why he wrote ‘To Antoine’
How does one go about writing a novel? For author Erwin J. Wiens, the idea for his book To Antoine came to him about 30 years ago and haunted him for about 10 years before he began to do some serious research. The first draft was finished nine years ago. In the 1950s, Wiens’s parents…
Ron J. Sider
Ron J. Sider was an inspirational Canadian-American leader in the Christian community. It was his sermon at the Mennonite World Conference assembly in 1984 that spurred the formation of Community Peacemaker Teams in 1986. His sermon called Anabaptists to be formed by their persecution history to bring hope to the world by being ready to die…
Novel examines Mennonite ethics in Second World War
E.J. Wiens has written a powerful story that explores the question of Mennonite collaboration with the Nazis during the Second World War. Hesets this question within the broader context of Mennonite history and helps the reader to understand the nuances and moral discrepancies faced by Mennonites who fled Russia (present-day Ukraine) in 1943. The book…
‘Bring your best self’
In the final days of October, Holly and I reached an anniversary. Recently a relative reminded us that, in 1972, five cousins headed to five altars with their partners. Marie, a widow, pointed out that Holly and I would be the only ones to reach the 50-year milestone. In my years of pre-marriage conversations as…
Bridges over fences in Saskatchewan
Bridges Over Fences provides in story form an impressive portrayal of first-hand experiences of non-Indigenous populations interacting with, and living next to and among, Saskatchewan’s Indigenous populations located on historically established reserves. These are first-hand accounts of people who met, conversed, negotiated property and farming arrangements, and contracts with Saskatchewan’s Indigenous and Métis neighbours. Author/editor…
Writing for the foyer
This month’s column is precipitated by two written events. In the recent article announcing Will Braun’s appointment as Canadian Mennonite’s new editor, Braun says he “views the magazine as less a pulpit and more a foyer bustling with spirited discussion.” Yes indeed! The other event was an email from CM staff suggesting I look at…
Listening to the Spirit, with John
At an Anglican church I know, the congregational response after the reading of Scripture is: “Listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.” This response captures the dynamic nature of Scripture that respects the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the lives of the many authors in the biblical…
Pastors meet for coffee and books
“We marked up our books like crazy with the things we wanted to talk about,” says Tany Warkentin, pastoral leader at Springridge Mennonite Church in Pincher Creek. A group of five pastors in southern Alberta have been meeting at quaint coffee shops to discuss books on topics of interest. The group consists of Caleb Kowalko,…
Priests of what are not gods
Abijah, fifth king of Judah, is standing with his 400,000 men on the cusp of battle, badly outnumbered. Jeroboam, king of Israel, confidently stands with his 800,000 men, ready to get this battle started. But first, Abijah has a speech. “Don’t you know,” he says, “that the kingship belongs to David’s line?” He goes on…
