Communion and community during COVID-19
For many congregants, the invitation to receive communion at Edmonton’s First Mennonite Church on Sunday, Sept. 27 would mark the first time they had physically set foot in the building for six months. For Maggie Martens it was “an invitation I wasn’t going to pass up.” Martens lives alone and finds that Zoom communion via…
Come to the table
For two evenings in March, Sarah Kathleen Johnson led an Anabaptist Learning Workshop focused on the ritual of communion, at Rockway Mennonite Church in Kitchener. Johnson, who is the worship resources editor for Voices Together, the Mennonite worship and song collection currently being developed, led participants from several churches in exploring communion from a variety…
Remembering my baptism
I was baptized on an Easter Sunday morning, in the midst of a beautiful service celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. By the first rays of morning light, we greeted each other with the familiar refrain, “He is risen!” and “He is risen indeed!” We sang the big, old Easter hymns. We heard the good news…
Response to ‘From belief to belonging’
Update: In October 2020, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada announced the termination of the ministerial credentials of John D. Rempel, on the basis of ministerial sexual misconduct. To learn more, see ‘Credentials terminated for theologian-academic-pastor.’ In her article “From belief to belonging” (July 2, 2018, page 4), Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe describes how open communion is on the rise…
From belief to belonging
“Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for…
Gifts of the table
Recently, my husband and I sat with friends at a table in an Ethiopian restaurant. As we dipped pieces of injera (sourdough flatbread) into the tasty sauces, we reported on our lives: a new business, a new grandchild, past school experiences, current professional realities. Consider what happens when people gather around the table: We…
A memorable remembrance
It took me a while to find my poppy and peace button this year. I couldn’t remember where I’d stored them last November. “I guess I don’t have very good ‘remembrance,’ ” I joked to myself. “Remembrance” is an unusual word. There are only two occasions I hear it used. The first involves two minutes…
Raspberries and communion
On Holy Week we gather to celebrate communion along with the Christian church throughout the world, as Jesus invited us to do. As we do so, we remember how Jesus shared the last supper with his disciples in the intimacy of the upper room; all dipping in the same dish with him, without knowing the…
Bread, acceptance and covenant
Update: In October 2020, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada announced the termination of the ministerial credentials of John D. Rempel, on the basis of ministerial sexual misconduct. To learn more, see ‘Credentials terminated for theologian-academic-pastor.’ Table fellowship is seen by some as a primal expression of hospitality, with the offer of food an opening of hand and…
