Making space might save someone’s life
Notice: This article mentions addiction, rape and abortion. “I never thought I would set foot in another church.” These were the opening words from Grace Ibrahima’s sermon at Rockway Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ontario on June 2. “Churches can be somewhere warm and comforting and reassuring and accepting, with a lot of hope and aspiration.…
A safe-ish consumption site
This spring it dawned on me that our front yard occasionally functions as a safe-ish consumption site. Almost 10 years ago we bought a small church in Winnipeg’s West End and renovated it to be our home. The exterior looks basically the same, so from the beginning a trickle of people have assumed it is…
Churches partner to help residents in recovery
Twenty years ago, two men attending Vancouver’s Sherbrooke Mennonite Church desperately needed a safe place to live so they could find their way out of the world of addiction. Considering what could be done, Garry Janzen, Sherbrooke’s then-pastor, proposed the idea to his congregation of helping people in addiction recovery. “We did a feasibility study…
Who is my neighbour?
The language is stark: crisis, epidemic, tragedy. The facts are startling. According to a Government of Canada website, opioid-related overdose has become the No. 1 cause of death for people under 50. In 2016, there were 3,017 such deaths in Canada; in 2017, there were 4,034; and in the first nine months of 2018, there…
Opioid crisis: A view from the inside
Timothy King found himself addicted to opioids when complications after surgery led to intense pain and serious illness. In Addiction Nation, he describes what it feels like to be trapped in a cocoon of addiction and how he was able to achieve recovery with the help of a kind doctor and a supportive family. Although…
Finding worthiness in weakness
In II Corinthians 12:9, Paul shares a message he received from God in response to his personal struggles: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” It’s no small thing to trust that God’s grace is sufficient for us regardless of what we’re going through. To accept that God’s grace…
