Peace and popularity
I thank God for moments when people share their hearts. In the pages that follow, you may find such moments: committed volunteers in a basement archive, an inspired welder, a new twist on quilting, a gathering that puts the cross in cross-cultural, and insight from King Hezekiah on mid-grade worship services. In addition, Jonathan Neufeld…
Guardians of the past
Through an easily overlooked side door and down two flights of stairs at Bethany Manor Senior Living Complex in Saskatoon one will find the archival rooms of the Mennonite Historical Society of Saskatchewan (MHSS). The cozy basement space holds thousands of Mennonite historical materials including Bibles, maps, newspapers, school yearbooks, Mennonite song books, vinyl records…
Readers write: January 30, 2023 issue
Tell your story of faith The article “Eyes to see” (Nov. 28, 2022) discussed, “how to help members talk about faith and God’s work in their own lives.” Many of us would rather talk about Mennonites in the past or present, thus evading talking about God in our lives. As followers of Jesus, we are…
Gift for the Queen
Fifty years ago, in June 1973, Queen Elizabeth II visited the Waterloo region. What gift could she be given to represent the area? These two bronze figures of an Old Order couple by Waterloo artist Renie Ellis were chosen. At the time, Mennonites constituted about 10 percent of the area’s population. For more historical photos…
Embracing diversity
One of the identified priorities for Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC) is embracing diversity. With this priority, we articulate our intention to: “Invite and challenge the church to explore the variety and richness of God’s people. This will require transformation of our hearts, minds, policies and structures as we live out our calling to be…
Welding a Mennonite reality
In January I was tasked with providing a meditation on Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday at a local church. As I peck out this column, that day has not yet arrived and I’m spending my time welding up a sermon. I’m not an historian, nor a learned interpreter of our faith heritage, so I am grounded…
Say no to moralistic therapeutic deism
A major sociological study of American youth concluded that their understanding of faith could be called “moralistic therapeutic deism.” On page 16 of the magazine, Ryan Dueck makes a related observation about “therapeutic church” and says it’s a problem. From their study of youth, Christian Smith and Melinda Lindquist identified a constellation of common beliefs:…
When inadequate is enough
Scripture credits King Hezekiah for reestablishing Passover. Apparently, the temple had been shut down and it had been a while since any regular worship routines had been practiced. So, good king Hezekiah decided to turn things around and get Passover back on the menu. Except there was a bit of a problem: because it had…
To set a soul aflame
One of my abiding critiques of the progressive church circles I inhabit is that they often lack what I call existential urgency. God is, we think, very interested in our positions on social issues and is very eager to affirm our journey through various constellations of identities, but God is not so much interested in…
