In search of the holy grey
With the worst of the pandemic behind us—hopefully—how can the church help address the division left in its wake? Those divisions were highlighted rather starkly by the truck convoys. And though the trucks have gone home, the fervour lives on. On both sides. Lines are drawn. Officially, our denominational leaders were 100 percent onboard with…
Steinbach pastor Kyle Penner named ‘fascinating Manitoban’
WINNIPEG—A Mennonite pastor known for his vocal support of COVID-19 vaccinations has been named one of the “top 100 (plus) most fascinating Manitobans for 2021” by Winnipeg radio DJ Ace Burpee. Kyle Penner, assistant pastor at Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach, was included in the list, which the Winnipeg Free Press published at the end…
No religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccines: MC Canada
Mennonite Church Canada’s executive ministers released a statement earlier this week responding to inquiries from constituents regarding exemption from COVID-19 vaccines. The message, signed by Doug Klassen (Mennonite Church Canada), Garry Janzen (MC B.C.), Tim Wiebe-Neufeld (MC Alberta), Ryan Siemens (MC Saskatchewan), Michael Pahl (MC Manitoba) and Leah Reesor-Keller (MC Eastern Canada), states the following:…
Goshen alumni contribute to Pfizer vaccine efforts
Two alumni from Indiana’s Goshen College played important roles in the development of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19. Robert Lerch, Ph.D., head of lab and site management and business operations at pharmaceutical company Pfizer, and Mark Wittrig, senior director of quality assurance at Pfizer, both graduated from the college in 1984. Robert Lerch. Early days…
Onscreen adventures
This past year, I followed a honey gatherer up Macedonian hills, watched a recording session with a legendary jazz singer, witnessed the political turmoil within Denmark’s parliament, and traveled throughout Canada to the strains of Handel’s music. All these adventures happened while I lounged on the living room sofa. A favorite pastime for my husband…
On being a musician during COVID-19
For some musicians during COVID-19, the landscape of music making, performance and choir conducting transformed into environments for community resilience. As a recent graduate from Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto, with a master of sacred music degree, Matthew Boutda reveals the ways musicians are conductors of human connectedness. He says that “online communities…
Is church online for good?
“We’re all going through the same storm, but we’re not all in the same boat. Context is everything.” These words, spoken by a North American pastor, address the divergent responses to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Many congregations in Canada and the United States continue to experience restrictions on in-person meetings, while others have had the…
After the pandemic, churches look to move forward
Congregations will resume some sort of gathering after the major concerns about COVID-19 are minimized and regulations are relaxed. Talk of getting “back to normal” is common. What will the new normal look like? “There is no way of going back, only forward to a new reality,” said Joel Thiessen, in addressing a recent Zoom…
Small size makes Mennonite school adaptable in COVID-19 reality
Last year was supposed to be full of celebrations for the 75th anniversary of UMEI Christian High School (formerly United Mennonite Educational Institute). Instead, the pandemic shut things down right after the first big event, a coffee house of music and drama by staff and alumni of the small Mennonite school. The 2020-2021 student body…
Rituals for reconnecting as we emerge from the pandemic
Each year in the Christian worship: Theory and practice class at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, students spend a couple of weeks considering rituals. “Classic” rituals like baptism, communion, weddings and funerals, while important, don’t exhaust the need for ritual action, so students are asked to create new rituals that emerge at the intersection of a…
