Historical society apologizes to Semá:th First Nation
“The draining of [Sumas Lake] and our settlement on your ancestral lands was devastating and demoralizing and disrespectful.” That was part of an apology offered to Semá:th First Nation Chief Dalton Silver and his people by Richard Thiessen, president of the Mennonite Historical Society of B.C. The statement was part of a July 24 event…
The piano ban
October 22 was a normal Sunday. I had just arrived at Rockway Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont., when Conrad Brunk approached me. He is a fellow Rockway member, a former colleague at Conrad Grebel University College and a former next-door neighbour in Harrisonburg, Va. when we were very young. He wanted to talk about “the…
Swiss official offers apology for Anabaptist persecution
It can’t change the past, but it can impact the future. In surprise comments delivered in early November 2017, a government official in Bern, Switzerland, requested forgiveness for persecution by the church and state of Anabaptists centuries earlier. The request was issued Nov. 11 by Bernese government councillor and director of churches Christoph Neuhaus at…
