Survey says . . .
Starting in April, this magazine will be printed 12 times per year instead of 22. Many readers encouraged the change. In the Canadian Mennonite (CM) survey, carried out from July to October, we heard from nearly 350 people. In addition, CM board members and I spoke directly with pastors, church leaders and others across the…
Readers write: December 15, 2023
Advent in light of current events Will Braun’s December 1 editorial (“What kind of peace church are we?”) asks what Palestinian Christians would think of our various statements and actions related to the Gaza war. That question gets to the heart of what we as a church need to grapple with. It may be helpful…
Needlework from the Middle East
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) worker Alice Snyder (right) shows needlework done by rural and refugee women in Jordan and the West Bank to Esther Weber at the MCC Ontario offices in Kitchener in 1964. The Overseas Needlepoint and Crafts Project would become SelfHelp and later, Ten Thousand Villages. —With files from GAMEO.org For more historical…
The church cannot be silent
We have entered the days of Advent. It’s usually one of my favourite periods in the church calendar, but this year, the waiting is heavy. The candle is a tiny flicker in a world of darkness, and Christmas music rings false with its promises of joy and celebration. Advent hymns, like “Comfort, Comfort, O My…
Highlights from CM’s online event with young pastors
On November 29, Canadian Mennonite hosted “Answering the Call,” an online event featuring three young pastors: Curtis Wiens of Aberdeen Mennonite Church in Aberdeen, Saskatchewan; Kennedy Froese of Sterling Mennonite Fellowship in Winnipeg; and YElshaday Baraki of Meheret Evangelical Church in Kitchener, Ontario. The following highlights of the event have been edited for length and…
The gift of Greg
It’s that season where gifts are received, admired, beheld. When thinking about gifts, my thoughts turn to my friend, “Greg.” Greg is interesting for many reasons. He has spent close to 30 years incarcerated and will be on parole for the remainder of his life. He lives with mental illness, which results in him being…
‘You can’t keep everything you love’
Welcome to “Life in the 80s,” a semi-regular series in which we ask people in their 80s or 90s to share their wisdom. Ed (85) and Louise (84) Janzen met as students at Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI) in Abbotsford, B.C. Both grew up in the Mennonite Brethren Church. Ed has worked in human resources and…
The best non-Christmas Christmas song
Christmas is the celebration of the Incarnation. Christmas says that Jesus became a human; a baby who went through the terrible twos, puberty, the teen years and a carpenter’s life. In the words of what might be my favourite song about incarnation, “What if God was one of us?” The song is a terribly catchy,…
‘Custodians’ makes a clean sweep
The film Custodians: A Story of Ancient Echoes won big at the Saskatchewan International Film Fest (SIFF) in October. The documentary explores the work of local landowners, volunteers and municipal government officials in conserving the many signs of historic Indigenous presence in the Herschel, Saskatchewan, area. The judges awarded Custodians top prize for Best Full-Length…
