Swords into ploughshares
“They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” These famous words from Isaiah 2:4 have been enacted in various ways over the years. Sculptures have been created, jewelry made and roads built with former military…
Contemplative journal an expression of creative process
April Yamasaki and Lois Siemens have collaborated across the miles on a second creative project. In 2014, the women, who are pastors of Mennonite Church Canada congregations in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, respectively, joined forces to produce the My Sacred Pauses Daybook, combining text from Yamasaki’s book Sacred Pauses with Siemens’s photographs. This year, they…
On theological writing
It’s interesting being a Mennonite and an academic. Sometimes I find my Anabaptist-Mennonite sensibilities grating against the norms of academia: my “priesthood of all believers” mentality against intellectual elitism, my discipleship/faith-without-works-is-dead mentality against the divorcing of theory from practice, and especially, my appreciation for the “plain sense” and the poetry of Scripture (in the vernacular!)…
Squash!
It’s full on fall and what a lovely season it is. We spent last weekend browsing the stalls at our local farmer’s market, stealing samples and purchasing way too many baked goods. I love farmer’s markets. They make me feel healthy, even if the only purchases I make are cinnamon buns and homemade donuts. However,…
YERT: Small Acts of Resistance and Resilience
“When you being to see nature as a mentor rather than a warehouse, your emotions to the rest of the natural world become one of respect.” This quote comes from a unique documentary I watched recently called “Your Environmental Road Trip” or YERT. In this entertaining and informative film, three young adults decide to travel…
