Moses Mugisha’s gift of song to God
Born in the African country of Rwanda, Moses Mugisha and his family moved to Tanzania, because of poverty and other circumstances. They lived there as refugees for almost six years. “I always loved to sing. I would find myself walking long distances just to get to church to practise, and then again the next day…
Khortitsa oak art installation
I sat in the shade of an oak tree on the first day of summer outside Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo and listened to a recording of the sounds of a spring morning at the site of that oak tree’s parent in Ukraine. A bird I couldn’t identify called repeatedly, dogs barked, vehicles rushed…
Every tribe and language
I expect everyone has forgotten what I had to say when I spoke at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate’s chapel a few years ago. But I know some remember that I asked students to read Scripture in their own languages. For a few international students it was the first time they heard the Bible read in their…
Overcoming the siren diversions of our digital age
What was your response the last time a good friend asked you how you were doing? If you said with a laugh or a moan, “Too busy,” or just offered an eye roll, this book might be for you. In The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction, author Justin Whitmel…
A tale of two ethnic groups
To start, a little bit of history. The Mennonites evolved out of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. As Anabaptist pacifists who practised adult baptism, they often held themselves apart from the surrounding communities, and in turn often had trouble finding safe havens. They were persecuted by Catholics and Protestants alike, but in this persecution they found…
Former soldier leaves legacy of Christian pacifism
Siegfried Bartel, the former German army officer who became an ardent advocate for peace and an influential Mennonite figure in Canada, died at the age of 101. Siegfried Wilhelm Bartel was born in Prussia, now Poland, into a successful Mennonite farming family. Pacifism had ceased to become important to the Prussian Mennonites, and Bartel voluntarily…
Anglican church plays central role in British royal wedding
An estimated two billion people around the world tuned in on Friday, April 29, to watch the wedding of Prince William, grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey, a ceremony infused with British pageantry and steeped in elements of Anglicanism — past, present and future. The streets of London bulged with…
From hand to hand: the journey to North Korea
It’s been a long trek for eight small bags of medical supplies. They have been packed and re-packed, crossed an ocean, passed through three countries and numerous airport security checks. On this day, the bags have reached their destination—a small medical clinic on a farm near Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. As I watch…
In another skin
Brander McDonald is soft-spoken. He moves about the room with quiet dignity, avoiding eye contact while he presents a workshop exploring indigenous worldviews at Native Assembly 2014. He admits to being a shy youngster, but there is more to his demeanour than being reserved. “My grandmother taught me that I shouldn’t look someone in the…
