Blue Christmas
Walk into any store during this season and the message is clear: it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Sometimes, however, the message to be of good cheer creates its own pain for those who are struggling. That includes the bereaved, those with mental health challenges and the increasing number of people struggling to make ends meet. It’s also the time of year with the least amount of daylight and long, cold…
Catholic-Mennonite gathering planned for Winnipeg
One could say Anabaptism began as a rebellion against Catholicism. Our forebears bled and died so we could be not-Catholic. Time does not erase the past, but intervening centuries have led some to a sort of Reformation reconciliation. Differences remain, but a good number of people now travel bridges between Mennonite and Catholic worlds.…
Building unity in the body of Christ
There are hundreds of denominations within Christianity, and it can be easy to focus on the differences between them all. But a group of Mennonites and Anglicans is breaking through those walls. A group of 12 people from both denominations gathered from May 24 to 26 at the University of Manitoba’s St. John’s College in…
Italian adventures in inter-religious dialogue
I have spent the last week in the beautiful Alps of Italy, at the Agape Ecumenical Center, gathering with an international community to delve into interreligious dialogue. I am the only Canadian and the only Mennonite. But considering how often this happens when I travel abroad, I have stopped being surprised by this. Speakers and…
