Remembering Rachel Held Evans
When Rachel Held Evans died on May 4 at the age of 37, it shocked the thousands of people who follow her work. Through her four books, blog, social media presence, speaking events and podcast appearances, Evans “challenged conservative Christianity and gave voice to a generation of wandering evangelicals wrestling with their faith,” as the…
CommonWord shares books by the dozen
Still a hidden gem for some, CommonWord Bookstore and Resource Centre is a well of resources for the Mennonite community and beyond. One of the ways it shares these materials and guidance is through its “Cheaper by the dozen” program. This bulk-loan initiative lends 12 different resources to a church for an extended six-week period,…
Readers ‘zoom’ to discuss Unsettling the Word
In a large city like Toronto, attending a church small group or Bible study may not be feasible for those with families or busy schedules. But Toronto United Mennonite Church has found a technological solution. Congregants recently completed a six-week book study based around Unsettling the Word: Biblical Experiments in Decolonization and conducted remotely by…
Translation valuable to Swahili-speaking pastors
In mid-February, 50 Tanzanian Mennonite Church leaders, under the guidance of Palmer Becker, a Canadian Mennonite author and teacher, studied spiritual leadership, pastoral care and Anabaptist essentials using a translation of Becker’s book Begin Anew: Christian Discipleship Seminars. The training sessions were hosted by Bishop Chris Kateti of the Shirati Diocese of the Tanzanian Mennonite…
From power to pathos
Peter M. and Susanna Friesen. “The story of Mennonites in Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and the Soviet successor states is relatively short, beginning only in 1789. Despite this brief history, our memories of Mennonite life in this region are etched with deeply contradictory images. “On the one hand, we remember a resplendent culture marked…
‘Called to be a church for others’
The August sky was an eerie brownish-orange as the morning news warned Edmontonians not to exert themselves outside. Thick smoke smelling of charred forests blanketed the city, and the air quality was so poor that even healthy young people stayed indoors. On a family vacation, we drove through heavy smoke in southern British Columbia, never…
From anger to action
Shawn Klassen-Koop never thought he would write a book before his 30th birthday but that’s exactly what he’s done. The Winnipegger is the co-author, with Montana-based permaculture expert Paul Wheaton, of Building a Better World in Your Backyard Instead of Being Angry at Bad Guys. Due out later this year, the 200-page book offers practical…
Mennonites talking
Mennonites are talking about Women Talking, Miriam Toews’s latest novel. What are your thoughts? Feel free to comment below or send letters to letters@canadianmennonite.org. Though I am still trying to figure out why the book troubled me—despite my admiration of Toews—some of my thoughts on the book are contained in Part 4 of “Modern ghosts…
Journey with Alzheimer’s takes humour and resilience
Bird-Bent Grass truly is a “memoir, in pieces” as it explores the lives of Kathleen Venema and her mother, with anecdotes from the past, excerpts from old letters and reflections on the present, all mixed together. But the strength of the book is that the pieces fit together to tell the story of a mother-daughter…
A challenge to give loving attention to life
Meghan Florian’s name surfaced in the small circle of Mennonite pastors and friends I know in the United States. Because this is how I found this book, I assumed it would be a “churchy” (or religious, or theological, or spiritual) collection of essays. What I found was a case for better writing in the church.…
