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Never Alone
As a child, I had a deep sense of faith and a strong connection to God. I benefitted from being the fourth generation of my mom’s family to participate in Waterloo-Kitchener United Mennonite Church. But as I grew older, I began to struggle with organized religion and the hate that came from many involved in…
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Gifts for the church
Gloria* communicated with loud and disruptive noises. Her face was disfigured. Everything about my mother’s cousin revealed her disability—and yet one gesture reflected her ability to love. Gloria was born at a time when people with developmental disabilities were ostracized from society. I rarely saw her, even though her father went to the same church…
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Life in the 90s
Angus Martin, 96, is a retired mechanic and teacher. He was married to Florence Martin, who died in 2016, and is the father of Bryan Martin and the late Bonita Martin (who died in 1982). Angus Martin has attended Hamilton Mennonite Church since 1964. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. What is your earliest…
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The edge of meaning
I once read a history of the phenomenon of war. The author said that, though we have archaeological evidence of wars many centuries ago, often we don’t know who was involved or what they were fighting about. Thousands of people like me— with families and friends, dreams and desires, laughter and tears— fought over things…
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Readers write: February 2025
Sacred in front of youI enjoyed reading Theo Wiederkehr’s article (“A localized pilgrimage,” January 2025). It asked the question of what a pilgrimage is and whether we have to travel far to meet God. If we define pilgrimage as a journey to a sacred place, it does seem to imply a fairly long trip to…
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The Sixties Scoop brothers: A conversation
Mark: Our parents were extremely loving, amazing people. I remember a time I asked Mom why they had adopted kids. My mom’s response was so simple: because there was a need. I remember when we were still living on the farm, becoming very aware that Kelly and my other brothers’ ancestors had been on the…
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Beyond inspiration
I have a budding conviction about preaching. My conviction is that the goal of preaching is not inspiration; the role of the sermon is not to inspire those listening. (There’s a chance people from my congregation may think, “That explains a lot.”) In our current cultural climate, inspiration seems to have become a vocational cliché.…
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Feature Film Documents Migration
Toronto filmmaker Dale Hildebrand has lots on the go. In late November, he was preparing for a hospital series, had just shot a TV pilot for an Indigenous cop show and was looking ahead to work on a Western and a horror–sci-fi–thriller “type of thing.” “I’m all over, but I just love the idea of…
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An intense editorial in three parts
Part I. Divine embraceOn pages 22-23, Melody Steinman writes about her relationships with people with developmental disabilities. With tenderness and vulnerability, she shares about a warm, though awkward, human embrace and a profound, transformative divine embrace. Melody’s stories of friendship, vocation and holy belonging touch the heart of Christianity. This is a gift. The article…
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The art of living
I was recently at a conference that required me to spend time commuting by train. One day, I noticed a strange thing: a young man reading a book. With a cover and pages and everything. The bare fact of this fascinated me. Who reads books anymore? Almost everyone else was either staring at their phones…
