Pressed into the ground
“It’s nice to get to choose our humility,” my father reflected recently. Sometimes, however, we don’t get to. What do we do when we feel forced to be humble—what we often call humiliated? Our dictionary says the words humble, humility, humiliate, human, homage and humus all share a common etymological root relating to earth and our…
Alberta event explores wild hope for creation
Don’t get “stuck in rage or paralyzed by fear,” said Joanne Moyer. “[Be] defiantly hopeful, despite the odds.” Moyer, associate professor at The King’s University in Edmonton, was presenting at a Mennonite Church Alberta event called “Wild Hope for God’s Garden.” The May 28-29 event was held at First Mennonite Church in Calgary. Approximately 25…
In the current of wavering defiance
I want to know how to pray. It’s December 2021. Advent. A season of waiting. Everything is waiting. Waiting for the pandemic to be over. Waiting for our leaders to start acting like we’re in a climate emergency. Waiting for our hemisphere to tilt back into the light. We are hunkered down for our second…
MC Canada climate action update
In a meeting on Jan. 30, 2022, Mennonite Church Canada’s governing body, Joint Council, affirmed climate action as a nationwide ministry emphasis. Eight days later, MC Canada published a document prepared by the executive ministers entitled, “Taking Action on Climate Change: The Eco-Mission of the Church in a Critical Time.” The document outlines six initiatives…
MC Canada issues call to eco-mission
Leaders of Mennonite Church Canada are calling on the members, congregations and regional churches of the nationwide church to respond to the climate emergency. “We must act, we must act together, and we must act urgently,” write the executive ministers of Mennonite Church Canada, in a four-page document published on Feb. 7. The document, entitled…
Defending peace, defending the climate
Leadership from 18 Anabaptist organizations in the United States and Canada convened at the Anabaptist Collaboration on Climate Change (ACCC) on Jan. 26 and 27 to address what many consider a moral emergency. Those gathered drafted a statement that was later signed by the majority of the participating organizations: “As organizations founded on Christian faith…
How do churches practise creation care?
A global survey conducted by Mennonite World Conference (MWC) shows that Mennonite-Anabaptist congregations around the world are being impacted by environmental issues such as climate change in diverse ways, are feeling anxious and sad due to those impacts, and are talking about creation care in their churches. To find out how churches are responding, the…
Series will explore responses to climate crisis
Mennonite Church Canada is hosting a new online community learning series. “Creator’s Call in a Climate Emergency” starts on Jan. 20 and lasts eight weeks. Co-hosted by the national church’s Indigenous-Settler Relations office and Sustainability Leadership Group, the series is open to anyone wishing to learn about decarbonization and decolonization as ways forward for the…
Warm but not fuzzy in 2050
Climate change has been on the agenda of our global village for a generation. The science, the discourse and the mood have shifted over time. As has reality. What was once a dark cloud in the distance has become an atmospheric river overhead. At this particular moment, with the so-called “last chance” UN climate conference…
A Rocha Manitoba worker reflects on COP26
Kari Miller is the environmental education coordinator for A Rocha Manitoba and attends Home Street Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, Man. She attended COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, from Nov. 5 to 12, 2021, as part of the Christian Climate Observers Program. I spoke with Miller about her experience at COP26, what she witnessed and what role…
