Readers write: October 13, 2014 issue
Love our enemies because we worship the same God
Re: “‘Global caliphate’ a Muslim goal, not a myth'” letter, Sept. 1, page 15.
Viewpoints
Improving church communications
When it comes to graphic design and communications, everyone has an opinion. It’s nearly impossible to please everyone, but we live in a day and age when we must engage in design on some level or another; whether it’s weekly church bulletins, yearly directories or websites, churches have information to communicate.
When time becomes the right time
The New Testament speaks of time in two ways: there is chronos (chronology, the movement of time by clock and calendar), and there is kairos (the opportune time, the right moment).
Life is full of chronos. We wake up at a certain time. We eat at certain times. We go to work, school and appointments according to the calendar. Every day is chronos.
Identifying, investing, installing
One of the many challenges that are common to most new churches is leadership. Those who have decided to be part of Mennonite Church Canada’s area churches are not immune. This challenge can be both an excellent opportunity and highly demanding for the welcoming area churches. It’s an excellent opportunity because one of the visions of MC Canada is growing leaders.
Readers write: September 29, 2014 issue
Reader addresses what he believes are ‘inaccuracies’
Re: “From milk and honey to a land of rubble,” Aug. 18, page 4. There are a several inaccuracies in this article that need to be addressed:
Bill’s dating advice for churches
It’s disturbing that the “religious industrial complex” is cashing in on the desperation of many churches today. It’s common for struggling churches to look to more “successful” churches for the answers. What’s their secret formula? Will it work for us?
Generosity is in the eye of the giver
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light” (Matthew 6:22).
Purple hair
Perhaps it was inspiration from Jenny Joseph’s poem “Warning”: “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple.” When I first heard it decades ago, I didn’t imagine it would apply to me at any stage of my life. Interestingly, Joseph wrote the poem when she was just 29 years old.
Sharing the faith
“Why don’t Mennonites believe in evangelism?” asked my breakfast partner. This was the question of the appointment. With small chat out of the way, the purpose of the invitation became clear.
Readers write: September 15, 2014 issue
Church needs to learn to ask the ‘right questions’
I wasn’t at Assembly 2014, so I enjoyed reading the summaries in the July 28 edition (pages 4 to 17) and the sharing of the experience by members from St. Jacobs (Ont.) Mennonite Church, who attended.
Camp is only the beginning
Is it camp that needs its staff or is it the staff that need camp? Time and time again I have heard teens tell their faith story by beginning with, “I grew up in a Christian home, but camp is where it really all started.” I have a hunch that the people who choose to work at a summer camp really need the community in order to grow, whether they are aware of that when they apply or not.
Do you know you know God?
How do you know if you know someone?
My environmentalism is my spiritual ethic
A couple weeks ago I participated in an e-mail conversation with two friends about justifying the choice to have children in the wake of the earth’s environmental crisis. I know. A heavy topic with difficult questions. Luckily these friends and I are close enough that we can wrestle with uncomfortable questions and share our opinions openly and honestly with one another.
Ways we warm each other’s hearts
Lora Braun, a music therapist and member of Morden (Man.) Mennonite Church, standing with guitar, sings her ‘Wild Hope’ song at the Mennonite Women Canada annual general meeting in Winnipeg on July 4, as part of MC Canada’s Assembly 2014.
Liz Koop
On July 4, following the Mennonite Women Canada annual business meeting in Winnipeg, more than 80 women gathered for a program of choral music and inspirational talks by three Manitoba women, Sandy Hung, Anne Heinrichs and Lora Braun, who focussed on the Mennonite Church Canada assembly theme, “Wild hope: Faith for an unknown season.” The program was a highlight for many and featured an origina
Creating child-friendly worship
As your advocate for children in the life of the church, I continually encourage others to offer child-friendly worship services. Assembly 2014 worship planners offered a fine example of doing just that by inviting children to help out with the closing service on July 3, and making them feel at home.
The deadly sin of greed
On a perfectly lovely summer day last month, I joined a couple hundred people for a worship service on the edges of a wheat field. The crop on the field is dedicated to the work of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Each year, individual farmers from Catholic, Lutheran and Mennonite churches join with local seed, fertilizer and insurance businesses to produce a crop.
Beware of ‘undue influence’
Back in 2011, I met with an elderly person to assist her with will and estate planning. “Maggie’s” intentions were to name a couple of friends as executors and give her entire estate to a lone surviving family member with whom she didn’t have much contact.
‘New Coke’ church
In the spring of 1985, Coke decided to change the recipe of its flagship beverage for the first time in 99 years. The intensity of consumer rejection was unprece-dented. Protesters took to the streets.
Readers write: September 1, 2014 issue
‘Whatever happened to forgiveness?’
Re: Pastor’s credentials withdrawn,” July 7, page 23.
Readers write: August 18, 2014 issue
Young Voice paints true picture of life in Israel/Palestine
Musings on creation’s final groan
Will the day ever come when I will be able to look at the beauty of a flower in its original home without feeling the urge to pluck and pull and cut until it is firmly forced into a contrived bouquet, and nature is left bereft of its glory?
We need to regain our sense of wonder
We’re at a fun and befuddling stage of life. We have little children, our youngest is just six months, and teenagers. I enjoy both, and the opportunity to escape one for the other at times.
Take time to listen
Canada has conscientiously gained a worldwide reputation as a donor country to a variety of humanitarian and beneficial causes. Private enterprises like nongovernmental organizations, churches and charities, as well as government institutions, steadily strive to make a difference in a variety of acute human crises that demand action around the world.
More than meets the eye about conflict
Conflict is a normal human phenomenon. We become aware of conflict when there is a clash between individuals or groups. Differences butt up against one another. The clash may be over positions taken, things, ideas, relationships, events, actions, interpretations, policies or norms.
As long as the rivers flow
One repeated theme at the conference was an abysmal lack in the regulatory system. Would a slowdown or moratorium be in order while nature is given a chance to ‘catch its breath’?
A map of the Alberta oil sands.
When Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Alberta asked Adrienne Wiebe and me to attend the May 31-June 1 conference on the Alberta oil sands and treaty rights in Fort McMurray, it was with mixed feelings.
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