The carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem” paints a Christmas card picture of the ancient town of the Nativity: sparkling stars lighting quiet streets, a Holy Baby resting in a manger... Read More
Opinion
December 16, 2020 | Editorial | Virginia A. Hostetler
(This Viewpoint piece was inspired by Christina Bartel Barkman’s recent “ Marriage and conflict ” column.) Conflicts seem to occur even in the best marriages, and sometimes even... Read More
December 16, 2020 | Opinion | Helmut Lemke
By everything that is right and good, Helen Penner's life should have been celebrated with singing. Singing was a passion for her and her late husband John, and they ensured their... Read More
December 16, 2020 | Opinion | Carl DeGurse
Let me tell you a story. A couple of years ago, our church council did some brainstorming around how to begin reaching out to our neighbours. Because our church is located in a... Read More
December 16, 2020 | Opinion | Anna-Lisa Salo
As Christmas approaches, many of us are thinking about gifts. The beautifully wrapped packages under the Christmas tree, of course. Also other types of gifts—the kind that we can... Read More
December 2, 2020 | Editorial | Virginia A. Hostetler
Liberals let off easy in Tommy Prince feature Re: “ Expanding the reconciliation tent ,” Oct. 12, page 4. This unnecessarily politicized article comes across as a subtle... Read More
December 2, 2020 | Opinion |
In the early 2000s, I sat in the church office of Pastor Wang in southern China. He was lamenting the fact that 300 people from his congregation had signed up to take baptismal... Read More
December 2, 2020 | Opinion | Jeanette Hanson
The Rosedale Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (also known as Holdeman) is in the community of Crooked Creek, Alta. This photo is from the 1970s, but the community began in 1928... Read More
December 2, 2020 | Opinion | Conrad Stoesz
I have a friend. Her name is Samantha (a pseudonym). I called Samantha last night and invited her to a church service next Sunday. It will be an Eternity service, during which... Read More
December 2, 2020 | Opinion | Ed Olfert
Advent is the season of waiting for the gift to come. Advent moves into the season of Christmas, which ends at Epiphany, when the Magi—possibly Zoroastrians—famously gave gifts to... Read More
December 2, 2020 | Opinion | Randolph Haluza-DeLay
What do you do when you maybe don’t believe the Bible—or at least a particular part of it? Amos 3 has a list of rhetorical questions from God: “ Does a lion roar in the thicket... Read More
December 2, 2020 | Opinion | Joshua Penfold
My grandfather smoked, but I didn’t know it. Grandma didn’t want us to see him smoking and pick up the habit, but they agreed he could continue as long as it was out of sight. I... Read More
December 2, 2020 | Opinion | Matthew Froese
When the death of George Floyd sparked race-related demonstrations across North America earlier this year, one of our deacons asked, “What can we do in response to this?” My... Read More
December 2, 2020 | Opinion | Donna Schulz
Throughout this year, readers may have noticed a regular item appearing in the print version of this magazine: historical photos and vignettes highlighting aspects of 100 years of... Read More
November 18, 2020 | Editorial | Virginia A. Hostetler
Responses to termination of John D. Rempel’s ministerial credential Re: “ Credentials terminated for theologian-academic-pastor ,” Nov. 9, page 18. I am disappointed that this... Read More
November 18, 2020 | Opinion | Various Contributors
“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us” (Mark 9:38, NIV). John’s exclusionary attitude remains... Read More
November 18, 2020 | Opinion | Ken Dueck
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) began work in Thailand in 1960, but from 1963 to 1975 it had no programs there. In 1979, MCC started working with Indochinese refugees coming... Read More
November 18, 2020 | Opinion | Conrad Stoesz and Mennonite Central Committee
My husband and I have been married for 13 years; long enough to have weathered some difficult seasons. We’ve walked alongside other couples in turmoil lately, causing us to... Read More
November 18, 2020 | Opinion | Christina Bartel Barkman
I’ve been a “church-goer” my whole life. I remember my dad polishing our shoes on Saturday evening so we would all look bright and shiny for church on Sunday morning. I remember... Read More
November 18, 2020 | Opinion | Arli Klassen
What does Jesus mean when he says “Do not judge”? How do we respond to injustice, oppression, racism, sexism and prejudice without judgment? I’ve contemplated this for years, and... Read More
November 18, 2020 | Opinion | Troy Watson
A flurry of online comments on a recent sexual misconduct story, an email from a reader despairing of having meaningful dialogue through letters to the magazine, and my... Read More
November 4, 2020 | Editorial | Virginia A. Hostetler
Columnist has ‘a gift’ Re: “ Two stories clamour to be shared ” column by Ed Olfert, Oct. 12, page 10. Ed is the current pastor of Grace Mennonite Church in Prince Albert, Sask... Read More
November 4, 2020 | Opinion | Various Contributors
Ever since the arrival of the coronavirus, there have been segments of the church that have been criticized for not taking the pandemic seriously. Christian sceptics and those who... Read More
November 4, 2020 | Opinion | William Loewen
Participants in a Festival of Peace at Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont., embrace during a small group session. On Peace Sunday 1993, the congregation abandoned... Read More
November 4, 2020 | Opinion | Laureen Harder-Gissing
