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Disability is not always what it seems
No one said life would be easy. And it certainly has not been for Wanda Litwiller of London, Ontario, although she makes her life of 63 years look easier than it is. But as the details of her life are laid bare, one can appreciate the grace and ability Wanda has shown in dealing with…
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Welcome Kathryn Lymburner
We are delighted to announce that Kathryn Lymburner will become the next publisher of Canadian Mennonite. We’ll include the announcement in our May issue, but I wanted you to know now. With my term as publisher wrapping up, I look forward to moving on to new endeavours, but I will miss the cross-Canada connections we…
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Gospel for the poor
Antonio González’s book, The Gospel of Faith and Justice (Orbis Books, 2005), is a fantastic resource for Christians who know intuitively that faith and justice are two sides of the same coin and who are unsettled when the church demonstrates just one side. It is also a book for people who are curious about how…
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Enough grace
We’ve had several people reach to us, excited to join in fasting with our digital detox. Their reasons are many. Some spend too much time “doomscrolling.” Others always want to be in the know, or have a life filled with noise. People are planning to read a daily devotional or send notes of appreciation to…
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Leading with care
In the 15 years he was the executive director of Community Justice Initiatives (CJI) in Kitchener, Ontario, Chris Cowie felt it was important to lead the organization with the same relational and restorative justice principles CJI uses with clients. Doug Klassen, executive minister of Mennonite Church Canada, describes a similar model of operating. “We have…
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Pulling back the curtain
You’ve probably noticed over the last year that Canadian Mennonite has moved to having a theme to the feature of most issues. As we begin each new issue, we share the theme with our correspondents and columnists, although sometimes they instead pursue articles connected with their region or another story. Once we start to get…
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Church worker overboard
A few years back, I invited a new acquaintance to help with a hayloft restoration project. He was handy and between jobs. As we worked with old wood, we talked about our experiences of church. He had done church work for most of two decades. At one point, a light began to dawn. I stopped…
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Three responses to the conundrum of conflict
When I tell people whom I’ve just met that my job includes working with congregations in conflict, typically they respond in one of two ways. Either, “Really? Churches have conflict?” or, “Oh dear. That must be hard.” With that, I know if the person attends, or has attended, church. Sometimes, those who say “That must…
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Pain, apologies and repair following 2017 MC Canada restructuring
Jeanette Hanson, director of International Witness for Mennonite Church Canada, began a Zoom call last spring with an apology to members of the Anabaptist Network in South Africa. “I told them I was sorry for the way MC Canada broke relationship with them,” she said. “Two people on the call cried, talking about the hurt…
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Does the Carver model suit Mennonites?
A retired veteran of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) management put it bluntly (off-record): “MCC is not a priesthood of all believers.” I don’t know if any Mennonite organizations are. Most, like this magazine, are hierarchies, and many use some version of the Carver model of governance. While such matters may be boring for many readers,…
