How do we understand the “new” in this New Year? That which is new isn’t always new, at least in the sense of having never existed before. Anyone who has worn a sibling’s hand-me-... Read More
Opinion
As a people of hope, what should we, as a Mennonite faith community, expect on the road ahead in 2011? If the past is prelude, as the adage goes, there are road signs, some of... Read More
January 5, 2011 | Editorial | Dick Benner
Nightwatch is a gentle and introspective book, written by an outsider who has chosen to live within a Hutterite community. This outsider perspective reveals different facets of... Read More
December 15, 2010 | Web First - Opinion | Review by Eckhard Goerz
I’m not good at faking my way through situations. That goes for Christmas, too. I can’t pretend that the tender mystery of Emmanuel—God with us—somehow rises above the glittery... Read More
December 15, 2010 | Viewpoints | Mourning for a lost Christmas
The most unsettling participants in the “Christmas story” are the most biblically literate. Asked by magi where the king of the Jews was to be born, King Herod turns to expert... Read More
December 15, 2010 | Viewpoints | Phil Wagler
Somewhere along our journey with youth ministry I believe many of us took a wrong turn. We headed in a direction that had us increasingly isolating our youths from the life of the... Read More
December 15, 2010 | Viewpoints | Kathy Giesbrecht
Two Advent themes should bring us to our feet this season: surprise and waiting. In our hurried, harassed lives, we are probably prepared for neither. With WikiLeaks heaping a... Read More
December 15, 2010 | Editorial | Dick Benner
Just released in Canada Chanting Denied Shores by Tariq Malik is a book I have been waiting for. This is an historical novel based on the true story of the Komagata Maru, a ship... Read More
December 6, 2010 | Web First - Opinion | Book Review by Sultan Somjee
I am not exactly a fan of the Christian Right. I was therefore surprised at my growing negative reaction as I read McDonald’s engaging description of the rise of the Christian... Read More
December 6, 2010 | Web First - Opinion | Review by Elmer J.Thiessen
In a culture that places a high premium on the consumer marketplace, U.S. churches have become too willing to embrace a "market mentality" in trying to attract followers, says a... Read More
December 3, 2010 | Web First - Opinion | By Chris Herlinger
About Those Reimers vividly demonstrates how much of one’s life is determined by factors outside one’s control. Elizabeth Reimer Bartel begins her memoir, not with her birth, but... Read More
November 24, 2010 | Web First - Opinion | Dora Dueck
The daily bombardment of advertising from radio, billboards, newspapers, the Internet, fliers and TV leaves me discouraged and fatigued. Relentless messages urge me to cling to an... Read More
November 24, 2010 | Viewpoints | Janet Plenert
On the first Sunday of Advent, many of us will hear the proclamation, “ The Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour ” (Matthew 25:44). Advent worship resources from The Leader... Read More
November 24, 2010 | Viewpoints | Melissa Miller
Preparing your personal will in light of the Lord’s Prayer makes a lot of sense if you seek to do God’s will on earth as it is done in heaven. As Christians, we acknowledge that... Read More
November 24, 2010 | Viewpoints | Arnie Friesen
It’s too bad the New Wineskins consultations of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), that covered a four-year period and got Mennonites together from all over the world, didn’t “... Read More
November 24, 2010 | Editorial | Dick Benner
Every year at this time I feel some anxiety. I’m talking about Christmas and it has to do with shopping. Well, to be exact, my anxiety has to do with “not” shopping. For almost a... Read More
November 10, 2010 | Viewpoints | Aiden Enns
The silly season will soon arrive when you will hear, “What do you want for Christmas?” Endlessly creative lists of desires will follow. Others will go all high-horse and not ask... Read More
November 10, 2010 | Viewpoints | Phil Wagler
I don’t think clearly when I’m anxious. I need to be reminded to slow down and breath deeply. Doing so creates the space wherein I can regain a sense of clarity, so that whatever... Read More
November 10, 2010 | Viewpoints | Jeff Steckley
What will the typical Mennonite Church Canada congregation look like in three years? That’s the question on the minds of my fellow congregants at Waterloo North Mennonite Church,... Read More
November 10, 2010 | Editorial | Dick Benner
Late in his life, Guy F. Hershberger reflected that 1944 had been a watershed year for the Mennonite Church. That year Hershberger’s book, War, Peace and Nonresistance , was... Read More
November 9, 2010 | Web First - Opinion | Barb Draper
The document that helped lay the foundation for the historic reconciliation in July 2010 between Lutherans and Mennonites is now available as a downloadable document. The 120-page... Read More
October 28, 2010 | Web First - Opinion | By Byron Rempel-Burkholder
Up until a few days ago, there were three different kinds of toothpaste in our bathroom, one belonging to each of the three people living in our home. My husband and I have long... Read More
October 27, 2010 | Viewpoints | Melissa Miller
I was privileged to participate in the 2010 International Mennonite Pastors Coming Together (IMPaCT) program this year in British Columbia. It proved to be a very valuable... Read More
October 27, 2010 | Viewpoints | Barry Lesser
“Christians are particularly vulnerable to con artists,” a retired Ontario accountant says. Sadly, Bruce Karcher’s comment is more than just speculation. For the past five years,... Read More
October 27, 2010 | Viewpoints | Mike Strathdee
In a world rich with Christian re-sources, the Anabaptist perspective offers a prophetic voice that is both refreshing and disturbing. It can challenge and it can affirm. It can... Read More
October 27, 2010 | Viewpoints | Willard Metzger