Surely there are more of us
“If I’m here, surely there are more of us, and one of us just needs to start it.” With those words in mind, Rachel Reid decided to reach out to all the churches in Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC) in hopes of starting a young adult network. Her home church—Hamilton Mennonite in Hamilton—doesn’t have a…
Getting passionate about the bible
Sunday school has been approached differently by different people. At times, the church has taken a defensive posture: It’s scary out there and we’re going to shelter you and teach you what’s right so you can stand fast. In this approach, the goal is to present answers, remove ambiguity and convince others to think along the same…
Springridge Mennonite considers the birds of the Bible
Who knew that ostriches are mentioned multiple times in the Bible? Job 39:13 says: “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and the feathers of the stork.” Springridge Mennonite Church began a six-week series on “Birds of the Bible” in June. The ostrich session was entitled, “Comedy and…
Bible study works at decolonizing scripture
A Bible study in Winnipeg is asking the questions, “How is our faith shaped by our history?” and, “Can we decolonize how we read the Bible?” Kelsey Enns leads the group in reading, examining and discussing scripture, with the help of resources like Unsettling the Word: Biblical Experiments in Decolonization, edited by Steve Heinrichs, director…
Shaped by our essential book
The name Arab Christians use for the Bible translates literally as “The Holy Book,” and they often shorten it to “The Book.” Article 4 of the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective states: “The Bible is the essential book of the church.” What does it mean if we see the Bible as the book…
Paying attention to the invisible
Every month, several women from Charleswood Mennonite Church in Winnipeg go to jail. But unlike the women they meet with behind bars, they get to walk out of the barbed wire fences and go safely to their homes at the end of the night. Six women from Charleswood lead a Bible study for the inmates…
Wrestling with challenging texts
Most upper-level university classes end with a final essay, not a photography project, prayerful meditations or a “yarn-bombed” tree. Sheila Klassen-Wiebe, however, took the road less travelled for Feminist Perspectives on Bible and Theology. Last fall, Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) offered this feminist theology class, which was taught by Klassen-Wiebe, an associate professor in biblical…
