I am an immigrant. After serving with Mennonite Central Committee in Canada, I chose to stay in this amazing country. The Canadian way was closer to the “thousand points of light... Read More
Opinion
July 15, 2020 | Opinion | Randolph Haluza-DeLay
It’s outlandish really, what God asks Hosea to do. To think that someone known for his holiness and intimate relationship with the divine would take up residence with a woman... Read More
July 15, 2020 | Opinion | Joshua Penfold
When the conversation is lagging in social situations, one of my favourite questions to ask is, “What are you reading?” This inquiry often leads to an interesting interchange of... Read More
June 30, 2020 | Editorial | Virginia A. Hostetler
Many years ago now—I’m getting a bit long in the tooth—I took what I thought would be a bird course in my second year at what was then known as Waterloo College. It turned out to... Read More
June 30, 2020 | Opinion | Art Sheil
Since the middle of March, when church buildings closed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, I’ve been visiting many churches. Not in person, of course, but on the internet... Read More
June 17, 2020 | Editorial | Virginia A. Hostetler
‘A wise investment’ in the future of church camps Re: “Testing the ties that bind,” April 27, page 2. It hit me when I read in the editorial that the financial fallout from COVID-... Read More
June 17, 2020 | Opinion | Various Contributors
On June 1, CommonWord launched a new website at commonword.ca that is mobile-friendly, easily searchable and beautifully designed. Our goal is to make Anabaptist and related... Read More
June 17, 2020 | Opinion | Arlyn Friesen Epp
Len Bechtel, front, is pictured with a portable saw he and other conscientious objectors (COs) designed near Vancouver during the Second World War. As oil supplies dwindled due to... Read More
June 17, 2020 | Opinion | Laureen Harder-Gissing
I was in Whistler, B.C., last week with my husband and kids, and we joined a Black Lives Matter protest in the village. My eight-year-old reminded us that we used to do this often... Read More
June 17, 2020 | Opinion | Christina Bartel Barkman
When I preach I often reference verses in the Bible that talk about God’s intention that all nations, languages and tribes are called to worship God through Jesus. The Book of... Read More
June 17, 2020 | Opinion | Arli Klassen
I was 7 when Rushi (a pseudonym) and his family moved into our neighbourhood. They were the first people of colour to move into the community, and nobody rolled out the welcome... Read More
June 17, 2020 | Opinion | Troy Watson
Following current physical-distance guidelines, the fifth annual Walk in the Spirit of Reconciliation was held in various parts of British Columbia over the final weekend of May... Read More
June 17, 2020 | Opinion | Marlene Friesen
At the end of May and into June, as news outlets reported on demonstrations in cities across North America, we witnessed something more powerful than tear gas hanging in the air... Read More
June 3, 2020 | Editorial | Virginia A. Hostetler
‘Expect the unexpected’ When asked a few months ago what advice they would give about aging, a group of seniors responded, “Expect the unexpected.” That advice is relevant to all... Read More
June 3, 2020 | Opinion | Various Contributors
As we emerge from our cocoons of self-isolation, what revelations will inform us as we move through the stages of our collective pandemic response? This pandemic time has had far-... Read More
June 3, 2020 | Opinion | Gerry Grunau
In 2001, evangelist George Brunk II, left, reflected on his 65-year-long ministry. Brunk’s style of revival meetings disrupted Mennonite communities. In a public talk at Conrad... Read More
June 3, 2020 | Opinion | Laureen Harder-Gissing
Ed Olfert remembers his father, George Olfert (left), and his father-in-law, Harold Edmonds (right).
June is the month when we honour fathers. My pa was George, born in 1921, died in ’94. Pa loomed large. I spent childhood years believing that I was a disappointment to him. The... Read More
June 3, 2020 | Opinion | Ed Olfert
Probably no father should risk writing a Father’s Day column. Obviously, one’s family is the first to say “Dad’s not perfect.” I hope I’ve been good enough. Parenting is a lesson... Read More
June 3, 2020 | Opinion | Randolph Haluza-DeLay
I’m reading through the Chronicles of Narnia with my girls at bedtime. We recently finished Prince Caspian and then watched the movie. Narnia has definitely influenced my... Read More
June 3, 2020 | Opinion | Joshua Penfold
Mother’s Day is past, and Pentecost and Father’s Day are still ahead. In this in-between time, I’ve been considering the ways in which we describe God. Humans long to know, to... Read More
May 20, 2020 | Editorial | Virginia A. Hostetler
CM writers are fitting followers of innovators in religious toleration Re: “ Out of holy weakness, mysterious power arises ,” March 2, page 4, and “ Making things right ,” March 2... Read More
May 20, 2020 | Opinion | Various Contributors
If you’ve travelled in central or eastern Europe, you may have come across a plague column holding a prominent place in a town square. Plague columns were constructed in the 17th... Read More
May 20, 2020 | Opinion | Brenda Tiessen-Wiens
J.J. Thiessen of Saskatoon served in many leadership roles at the congregational, provincial, national, and binational levels most of his adult life. He is quoted in A Leader for... Read More
May 20, 2020 | Opinion | Conrad Stoesz
Church is about to start and the Zoom link doesn’t work! For some reason it keeps sending me to a YouTube video of “Seek Ye First,” and I can’t find my church! I quickly text my... Read More
May 20, 2020 | Opinion | Christina Bartel Barkman
