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Jewish author proposes one-state solution
Israeli-Jewish author and organizer Jeff Halper spoke at a June 25 lunch gathering organized by the Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC) Palestine-Israel Network (PIN). Halper heads the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and is the author of Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism, and the Case for One Democratic State. Halper said that while it…
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Living my land acknowledgement
I was nervous the first time I offered a land acknowledgement in church, wondering how people would respond. Afterwards, one person thanked me while another questioned whether a land acknowledgement had any place in a worship service. I took the question at face value and considered why I believe it has a place in a…
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A recipe to reverse the economy
The Mennonite more-with-less ethic is something I have always connected with. Shopping for clothes at the thrift store, commuting by bicycle and eating simple, tasty food are practices that have defined my life in the Mennonite community. These values ultimately steered me toward work in environmental policy, and today I work at one of the largest…
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Living in peculiarity, embracing Anabaptism
In the history of Ethiopia, Christianity was first introduced into the royal court around the 4th century, gradually spreading among the common people from there. Unlike the spread of Christianity in the Greco-Roman world, which remained confined to the lower levels for three centuries, the introduction of Christianity as a state religion marked a significant…
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Making connections
Hello to everyone from the new Mennonite Church Alberta moderator. I believe that who I am influences my approach to serving as moderator, so let me introduce myself. I am, first and foremost, a follower of Christ. Beyond that, I am son, husband, father, brother, uncle, engineer, manager and now, moderator. I grew up on…
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Readers Write: August 2024 – Responses to ‘Involuntary’
From resigned MCC’ers For 17 of the past 32-plus years, we worked with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in four countries. MCC was instrumental in forming the values we try to live by today. We are grateful for this. On our last assignment, during which Dave served as an interim representative (overseeing programing in a country),…
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In praise of restraint
I have too much stuff and it’s not good for my soul. But let’s barge through whatever guilt we may lug around about material excess and look deeper. At a winter meeting of the More-with-Less Revival group I’m part of, one person said she could feel the “less” but not the “more.” Another person echoed…
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A view to worldly culture
“You’ve given in to the culture.” I’ve heard this plenty as a Christian – in churches, schools, on social media. From what I can make of it, it is ultimately an allegation of compromise or failure. One Christian party charges another with abandoning the faith to embrace “cultural” (“worldly”) ways. Accusations of giving in often…
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Strawberry communion at Six Nations
On July 6, more than 160 people from a variety of denominations and organizations gathered in Ohsweken, Ontario, for a Strawberry Thanksgiving and Communion hosted by Six Nations Polytechnic and co-organized by Mennonite Central Committee Ontario (MCCO) and Adrian Jacobs, also known as Ganosono, of the Turtle Clan, Cayuga Nation of the Six Nations Haudenosaunee…
