Viewpoints

On leaving home and coming home

The Barkmans say their final goodbyes to their Peace Church friends in Manilla this past spring. (Photo courtesy of the Barkman family)

Saying goodbye to a friend that’s more like a big brother. (Photo courtesy of the Barkman family)

Five months ago, when we were packing up our lives in Manila, I wanted so badly to just stay. I didn't think I could handle any more tearful farewells and I felt horrible tearing our kids away from our Peace Church family who helped to raise our kids. I am still filled with tears when I think back on those painful goodbyes.

Gathering and sharing seeds of faith

Shirley Redekop, the president of Mennonite Women Canada, is pictured with a Maasai student from Monduli Village from Monduli Village. (Photo courtesy of Shirley Redekop)

Shirley Redekop crushes roasted coffee beans at the St. Catharine monastery in Karatu while Sister Norellen looks on. (Photo courtesy of Shirley Redekop)

‘Mama’ Milka, left, and another Monduli Village woman teach the Maasai way of beading to Liz Koop of Ontario and Linda Rush from Oregon during their TourMagination excursion to Tanzania this summer. (Photo courtesy of Shirley Redekop)

Arusha Mennonite Church women process into their Tanzanian church. (Photo courtesy of Shirley Redekop)

Arusha Mennonite Church women at a Sunday morning worship service. (Photo courtesy of Shirley Redekop)

North American women examine the handmade crafts by women of Arusha Mennonite Church. Sale of the crafts helps support the Tanzanian congregation. (Photo courtesy of Shirley Redekop)

An Arusha Mennonite Church woman sews crafts to sell in aid of congregational projects. (Photo courtesy of Shirley Redekop)

Norene Kanagy reads with a Maasai student in Monduli Village, Tanzania. (Photo courtesy of Shirley Redekop)

Some years ago, a seed was planted in my heart to take a group of intergenerational North American Mennonite women to share faith and life stories with other Mennonite women in an international setting.

Peace Factory

Photo: MCC Ontario/Mennonite Archives of Ontario

“Groups keep pleading for Peace Factory,” said a Mennonite Central Committee memo in 1996. An interactive exhibit, Peace Factory was a cooperative Mennonite project. Its goal was to “help all Christians connect their faith in God with a life of peacemaking.” In 1997, it toured southwestern Ontario.

Can we talk politics?

“I encourage you, Gentle Reader, in your attempts to talk with, and listen to, someone whose political views are at variance with yours.”—Melissa Miller

Some years ago, when Canada was in the midst of a federal election, my husband proposed that our church “talk politics.” Specifically, that we set aside time in the adult Sunday school class to examine the issues and the options being offered by different parties and candidates.

A wise decision

Sherri Grosz

From the time we are young, most of us are taught that decisions about money are not to be taken lightly. Through experiences like saving up to buy a new bike, purchasing our first car and choosing a new home, we become familiar with budgeting, saving and praying about the big financial decisions in our lives.

Lonely creek

Photo from the Jake Peters Photograph Collection / Mennonite Heritage Archives

A lonely bridge over a creek near Winkler, Man., in 1907. A humble structure, but so very important. Bridges connected farmers to markets, children to schools, families to church, and pregnant women to midwives. Many of the everyday things that we use are humble pieces that someone has expended effort to make.

Following my mother’s example

Diana Shaw’s mother, pictured in her kitchen making sugar rolls, still expresses her concern for others through her baking. (photo by Diana Shaw)

Growing up in a Mennonite home, I cherished baking and cooking as integral parts of my life. As a young girl, I was often surrounded by the smells of delicious homemade baked goods—bread and zwieback, perishky and platz (rolls, fruit pockets and fruit squares, respectively).

Diana’s Sugar Rolls

Diana’s Sugar Rolls (photo by Barb Draper)

Diana Shaw grew up watching her mother express love and caring by preparing and sharing food. Diana says, “This recipe from my mother is easy to make; it can be frozen, thaws quickly, and is easy to eat!” It makes approximately 90-100 sugar rolls, depending on the size.

George Neufeld’s letters

Photo: George Neufeld Collection / Mennonite Heritage Archives

George Neufeld worked in England, France and Germany after the Second World War, from 1946 to 1948. He wrote in his diary on Monday, Jan 7, 1946: “Received letter from Helene dated Dec. 6. I wonder what all has happened since then.” Sunday, Jan; 13: “Wrote a 20-page letter to Helene. Am lonesome for her.” Monday, Jan.

Waiting watchfully ends well

Flowers hang in the former backyard of Peter and Leona Dueck Penner in Winnipeg. (Photo by Leona Dueck Penner)

‘Heidi’ enjoys the flowers in the former backyard of Peter and Leona Dueck Penner in Winnipeg. She made the move to Waterloo, Ont., and now enjoys the view from the balcony. (Photo by Leona Dueck Penner)

“Wait watchfully,” wrote Rainer Maria Rilke in a prose poem he penned around 1895, which my husband and I read on an autumn morning during our quiet time a couple of years ago.

Experiencing God

Sharon Schultz

When my youngest son “graduated” from Grade 5 in June 2000, his class took a special year-end trip to Toronto. I was working as a school bus driver at the time—we lived in Ontario then—and I drove the bus. The highlight of the trip was attending The Lion King live at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

Can we talk?

“I recognize discomfort comes with such difficult topics and sometimes wish they would just disappear. That is not going to happen, and so we need to find firm ground on which to stand and the means to connect with each other in the midst of the complexities.”—Melissa Miller

Are you finding yourself divided from loved ones in your family, church or neighbourhood on any number of challenging issues? Are you finding fewer opportunities to talk with others across differences? Are the chasms leading to heightened stress and fractured relationships? Do you wonder if this is the best we can do in our families and churches?

Sexsmith dormitory

Photo: Der Bote Collection / Mennonite Heritage Archives

This is a photo of the dormitory duplex at Sexsmith Bible Institute in Alberta. The building used to function as the meeting house of the Krimmer Mennonite Brethren at Bear Lake and the General Conference Mennonites at Wembley Ranch. What was the official name of the Bible institute that used this building and the church that used it?

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