Young asylum seekers showcase art
“I’m always amazed at how quickly people dismiss the arts,” says Steve Norton, a pastor and film critic at Connect City Ministries, which is part of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada. He joined young artists from families seeking asylum for the Resonate Art Exhibition at The Don on Danforth in Toronto on June 23. A group of…
Two things not up for debate
This editorial is not about abortion. Or maybe it is. I write this on the day after Mother’s Day, at a time when conversations are intense about the rightness or wrongness of ending a woman’s pregnancy. There is a lot to be said about the medical, legal and religious aspects of abortion, but not by me…
Graduating class
This adorable, and very formal, group is the “graduating class” of the Steinmann Mennonite Church Kindergarten in Baden, Ont., in 1964. The Kindergarten was started in 1962 by the married couples fellowship at Steinmann. Enrolment in the first year was 23; by 1964, it was 58. Groups for young couples, youth and children flourished in…
Growing community, one song at a time
At a time when many churches and their choirs are dwindling, music teacher Kim Friesen Wiens created something amazing in Edmonton with the potential to help reverse both trends. Inspired by the legacy of a church kids club and using funds donated in her grandmother’s memory, Friesen Wiens brought together children from her church, First…
Me vs. Aunt J.
Life has been… hectic. I am reluctant to use the word “busy” because I hate how society has come to embrace the word like a badge of honour, or throw the term around as an excuse for everything. And I find that the more people use the term, the more empty their schedules, and lives,…
And the Child Will Lead Them
A highlight of the worship on the fourth Sunday of Advent for me was the children’s story. Well, actually, after the children’s story when the storyteller asked four of the children to ask someone in the congregation to light one of the Advent candles. Children calling adults’ attention to the Advent candles? How appropriate. Really,…
