Relationships, screen free
Last week, Makai started Kindergarten at the same school in Metro Manilla as his older brother, Cody, who is now in his second year. Although we are very happy with the school—and Cody loves it—a complaint arose for me within Makai’s first three days, after his teacher played a television show during the 30-minute recess…
They call it ‘couple-love’
A season of weddings. That’s what I see as I look ahead to the next few months. Many of the children born in the 1980s are now young adults falling in love, pledging their troth and bravely preparing to marry. Several invitations for these weddings dot our family bulletin board, some of which include photos…
Three stories of throwing
In March 2017, I spent 10 days in Hebron and observed three throwing situations that showed a microcosm of the occupation in that Palestinian city. Hebron, a major city in the southern West Bank, is where some 800 Jewish settlers, protected by hundreds of Israeli soldiers, have moved into the old city, among the Palestinian…
Readers write: December 12, 2016 issue
Is the Doctrine of Discovery yesterday’s news? Re: “Discovering humility” column, Sept. 26, page 7. It seems Pope Paul III may have spoken to the Doctrine of Discovery already, in his 1537 papal encyclical: “We define and declare . . . that, notwithstanding whatever may have been or may be said to the contrary, the…
One way your church can stop hiding mental illness
Mental illness is not as obvious as a broken leg, but it’s just as real. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 20 percent of Canadians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. In one study, 84 percent of clergy say they have been approached by a suicidal person for help. So mental illness…
Rubble and land in Ethiopia
Note: The following is an excerpt from a prayer letter/newsletter distributed by Joanne De Jong , a Mennonite Church Canada Witness worker in Ethiopia, on August 8, 2024. I’ve been so sad. While we had our coffee this morning, under a make-shift tent on the street, we watched five young men help tear down their friend’s…
MC Canada leaders promote National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Today marks Canada’s second-ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a federal statutory holiday that recognizes the impact of residential schools on the country’s Indigenous people. Mennonite Church Canada’s executive ministers have made a statement encouraging people to make Sept. 30 a day for listening, learning and seeking reconciliation. Released yesterday afternoon, the statement was…
Looking back with MCC
Kim Thiessen’s rendition of “Give Yourself to Love” was a perfect thematic opening to the Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta’s (MHSA) 2015 fall conference. The gathering highlighted the history of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Canada. Love for God’s people underlies the work Thiessen, associate director of MCC Alberta, helps the organization accomplish. In…
Freedom on two wheels
If you ever see a candy-apple-red tandem bicycle cruising through the streets of Winnipeg, you can be sure it’s the Dueck family. “We go out pretty much daily, weather permitting, from as early in spring as we can go out until as late fall as we can,” says Linda Dueck. “We are well-known in our…
Readers write: November 17, 2023
Clarification Dying With Dignity Canada would like to add to and clarify some of the information shared in Conrad Brunk’s letter to the editor (“Readers write,” November 3). In the Government of Canada’s 2022 annual report on medical assistance in dying (MAID), it was reported by clinicians that 77.6 percent of patients who received MAID…
