Opinion

Readers write: March 18, 2019 issue

Should Thrift Store purchases be ‘designated’ to First Nations communities? Re: “ MCC Canada cuts Canadian programs to focus on advocacy ,” Feb. 4, page 14. This article raises... Read More
March 13, 2019 | Opinion | Various Contributors

'To hear from each other about what ignites our imaginations is a great idea.' (Photo courtesy of Pixabay)

Welcome to Gathering 2019

Mennonite Church British Columbia is excited to welcome the nationwide Mennonite church to Gathering 2019 in Abbotsford, B.C. The imagination of the church is still unfolding and... Read More
March 13, 2019 | Opinion | Garry Janzen

Photo: Klaas Brandt Photo Collections

Swords into ploughshares

“They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” These famous... Read More
March 13, 2019 | Opinion | Conrad Stoesz

'Donny’s life had obviously not been easy, as he displayed in her room with great anger and frustration... He hated school, he hated kids, he hated teachers, he even hated his own name.' (Photo by PDPics/Pixabay)

A friend tells a story

My friend Catherine* teaches at a community school in the core of our city. Given her experience and her skill set, she manages a classroom that is not so much age- or grade-... Read More
March 13, 2019 | Opinion | Ed Olfert

'As we seek to love our earthly home and the neighbours God has given us, maybe our task is not as impossible as we think.' (Photo courtesy of Pixabay)

Moving beyond ‘climate grief’

Last December, unbeknownst to each other, my daughter-in-law and I bought each other bamboo toothbrushes as Christmas presents. Earlier in the year, she had heard me lament the... Read More
February 27, 2019 | Editorial | Virginia A. Hostetler

Readers write: March 4, 2019 issue

Author Miriam Toews a ‘two-trick’ pony Re: “ Modern ghosts of a horse-drawn scandal: Pt. IV,” Nov. 26, 2018, page 18. Unfortunately, Miriam Toews has only two themes she writes... Read More
February 27, 2019 | Opinion | Various Contributors

'We pray that a significant number of our dreams come to be fulfilled,' Vince Friesen writes. (Illustration courtesy of Pixabay)

Dreaming of possibilities

As we explore new possibilities in our journey with a new church structure, the Mission and Service Committee of Mennonite Church Alberta has been dreaming about possibilities in... Read More
February 27, 2019 | Opinion | Vince Friesen

Photo: Der Bote Photograph Collection

Canadian Women in Mission

These Saskatchewan ladies are hovering over baked goods at a sale circa 1964. “Ladies groups” have been significant organizations that have contributed to the social and spiritual... Read More
February 27, 2019 | Opinion | Conrad Stoesz

'If we are unable to speak of the crushing struggle that compels someone to end his or her life, we give it even more power,' Melissa Miller writes. (Photo courtesy of Pixabay)

Can we talk about suicide?

A few months ago, a preacher at our church included suicide in his sermon. Philippians 1 was the text, where the Apostle Paul sets out his dilemma between preferring life or death... Read More
February 27, 2019 | Opinion | Melissa Miller

Church can be a beautiful way to be still and meet with the Lord, but it can also be a place where kids are fighting, stealing way too many cookies and running laps through the sanctuary, Christina Bartel Barkman writes. (Courtesy of Pixabay)

The beautiful chaos of kids at church

As a mother of four little ones, I find church can be pretty chaotic. For six years while living in Manila, our Filipino church gathered in our home while my kids played around... Read More
February 27, 2019 | Opinion | Christina Bartel Barkman

'When we come together to collectively recognize and respond to God’s presence in our midst, something happens that we don’t experience on our own,' Troy Watson writes. (Photo courtesy of MC Canada)

Worship as an act of loving God

I’ve run into a number of people who are “spiritual but not religious,” who have recently started attending church. They told me they skip the opening worship and just show up to... Read More
February 27, 2019 | Opinion | Troy Watson

Can church be more like camp?

Every winter, I hear a radio advertisement for a back-to-the-woods summer children’s camp in Ontario. The ad closes with the tagline, “You send us your child, and we’ll send you... Read More
February 13, 2019 | Editorial | Tobi Thiessen

Readers write: February 18, 2019 issue

Colombian reader moved by CM feature article Re: “ Holding hands with the FARC ,” Jan. 7, page 4. I read this story with tears and with profound sentiments. I’m part of a... Read More
February 13, 2019 | Opinion | Various Contributors

'Throughout the biblical story there is a direct correlation between our love of God and our call to love each other,' Ryan Siemens writes. (Photo courtesy of Pixabay)

Deepening our walk with each other

During this past year, Mennonite Church Saskatchewan has focused on the theme of “Deepening our walk with Christ,” in the hope of increasing our openness to encounters with God’s... Read More
February 13, 2019 | Opinion | Ryan Siemens

Photo: David L. Hunsberger / Mennonite Archives of Ontario

Chesley Lake accordion

An accordionist serenades a literary society meeting at Chesley Lake Camp in Ontario, in 1949. Chesley Lake was the first Mennonite church camp in Ontario and one of the first in... Read More
February 13, 2019 | Opinion | Laureen Harder-Gissing

‘I think I saw yellow’

I drove to the nursing home to visit a dear old friend. She was sleeping when I entered her room, so I pulled up a chair to wait. Waiting would not be a chore. As I gazed at her... Read More
February 13, 2019 | Opinion | Ed Olfert

Bible commentary geared for younger readers

Reading the Bible can be challenging; it is a complex collection of books written thousands of years ago in different cultures. The Bible Unwrapped has easy-to-read explanations... Read More
February 13, 2019 | Opinion | Barb Draper

MW Manitoba committee members Larissa Pahl, left, and Elsie Wiebe were active participants in the Conversation Circles last fall. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Giesbrecht)

‘Conversation Circles’ offer encouragement, hope

Last fall, ignited by curiosity about what we would hear if we invited women to share their experiences of life within Mennonite Church Manitoba congregations, Mennonite Women... Read More
February 13, 2019 | Opinion | Kathy Giesbrecht

Another edition of ‘Once Round the Barn’: pigpen pundit Will Braun challenges you to get the feet a-stompin’ with some good old country music. See the video below.

Once Round the Barn: Twang Edition

Grab your cowboy hat and don’t mind the barn smell! Join Will Braun, Canadian Mennonite’s resident ranter, once around the barn on his southern Manitoba farmyard. This time he... Read More
February 7, 2019 | Web First - Opinion | Will Braun

The adventure of leadership

I got my first taste of journalism at a Mennonite school. As a second-year English major, I began writing for The Weather Vane , the student newspaper at Eastern Mennonite College... Read More
January 30, 2019 | Editorial | Virginia A. Hostetler

Readers write: February 4, 2019 issue

CM, Miriam Toews criticized for exploiting Bolivian rape case Re: “ Moderns ghosts of a horse-drawn scandal ,” Oct. 8, Oct. 22, Nov. 5, Nov. 26, 2018, issues. I feel that Miriam... Read More
January 30, 2019 | Opinion | Various Contributors

Relational engagements outside the church

This past week I attended a cluster meeting with a small group of pastors from southern Manitoba to talk about mission and church engagement in their communities. The pastors... Read More
January 30, 2019 | Opinion | Dorothy Fontaine

“How could one space, one building, one yard, one mountainview, hold so much love, truth, forgiveness and conviction?”—Christina Bartel Barkman

The love it held

When we pulled up the steep driveway of my grandparents’ old house, I was overcome with tears of nostalgia and tears of loss for the love that this space once held. My beloved Oma... Read More
January 30, 2019 | Opinion | Christina Bartel Barkman

“I wondered if pacifist Christians, who hold a strong commitment to preserving life, had the capacity to consider the possible merits, even mercy, in assisting someone to die. I wondered about how a theology of suffering, redemptive suffering even, so basic to Christianity, would inform the choices we make.”—Melissa Miller

Can we talk about MAID?

In June 2016, the government of Canada enacted legislation that enabled eligible adults to seek medical assistance in dying (MAID). At the time, I followed some of the debate with... Read More
January 30, 2019 | Opinion | Melissa Miller

“As we grow spiritually, the tribe we share life with continues to grow. Ultimately, we discover our tribe is humanity. We eventually experience our interconnectedness with all people and creation.” —Troy Watson

Sharing life with your tribe

In 2013, I embarked on an ancestral pilgrimage to Scotland. The first site I visited was Lochmaben Castle, where, according to my Aunt Faye’s genealogical research, one of our... Read More
January 30, 2019 | Opinion | Troy Watson

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