Of beets and chainsaws
If integrity is the currency of change, the Wiederkehr family of Mildmay, Ontario should have a chunk of change to spend. In a world of compromise, greenwashing and homesteaders Instagramming their idealism, the Wiederkehrs have done far more than most to actually extract themselves from the consumerist machine that treats earth as waste bin and…
Humans and Humus
On a hundred hilly acres near Mildmay, Ontario, the Wiederkehr family is quietly pushing the limits of human energy, spiritual integrity and disconnection from the consumerist web. The following is the first in a series of bi-monthly dispatches from their family. If you were to visit my family’s home and stroll about with a sharp…
Readers write: July 28, 2023 issue
In defense of dandelions I feel compelled to suggest, in a brotherly fashion, that Brother Buddy Andres re-examine his “different strokes for different folks” stance vis-a-vis dandelions, in which he wishes for a heaven without dandelions (June 30, letters). Is there a more splendid example of Compositae inflorescence than the dandelion? Is there a more…
Executive road trip
It was a tour to remember: three days, seven venues, spanning Manitoba from east to west. Recently, Mennonite Church Canada Executive Minister Doug Klassen and I travelled around the province to meet with 45 pastors and other congregational leaders from 24 of our Mennonite Church Manitoba congregations. We wanted to know: How are our congregations…
The three blessings of June 17
As I swing my legs out of bed, with a hip-to-heel grumble from a sciatic nerve, I experience a moment of curiosity: What new thing will the day bring, what blessing will come? Saturday, June 17th, was such a day. It began a little sooner than most. Shortly after 6 a.m., I pulled into my…
Thinking about leisure
It’s summer and many of us have thoughts about vacations and so-called down time. What do these things mean for your spiritual practice? Knowing that I was about to launch into a 12-day bike tour, someone suggested I write about leisure and Christian spirituality. Someone else suggested that 12 days on a bike saddle would…
Mightier than the mountains of prey
I love the outdoors, but I’ll admit I’m far from being able to call myself a legitimate outdoorsman. I romanticize the idea of living out in the bush, being off the grid, being self-sustaining, focusing on survival. But I know it’s not as lovely as I make it out to be in my imagination, nor…
Million-dollar fraud hits Winnipeg church
Members of a Winnipeg church are feeling shocked and bewildered after the revelation that multiple households in the congregation were defrauded of a total of more than $1 million. Leaders at Bethel Mennonite Church informed the congregation last month of the case of affinity fraud—an investment scam based on assumed trust that targets members of…
Bus tour visits Stó:lō sites in B.C.
A nine-hour bus tour gave 30 participants a taste of the history of places that Indigenous people had inhabited for 10,000 years prior to the arrival of Mennonites in B.C. in the 1930s. The July 14 tour was guided by Sonny McHalsie, a cultural advisor and historian at the Stó:lō Nation’s Research and Resource Management…
