Remembering the saints
Almost 13 years ago my family said our final goodbye to my mother. Grace Magdalene Bender Schwartzentruber lived a full life on two continents, always actively participating in her extended family, church and larger community. I once observed that she and my dad “collected” friends everywhere they went. Our family’s dining room table always had…
Something old and new
On the weekend of Oct. 13 to 15, Mennonite church delegates and others took part in Special Assembly 2017 in Winnipeg. More than 400 of us gathered from across the country to consider the direction we, as Mennonite Church Canada, should take in the years to come. We were 292 congregational delegates from 128 congregations,…
In praise of reading
A formative experience for my childhood faith was the reading of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series. Set in the fictional land of Narnia, the seven books tell stories of children from our world who are transported to a land of mythical creatures and cosmic struggles. The main characters deal with temptations and self-doubts but…
Nurturing a shared identity
In the Future Directions conversations, many people expressed a lingering concern that the proposed regional network forming Mennonite Church Canada could cause us, as a church family, to lose a nationwide sense of shared mission and identity. The fear is that each region will be preoccupied with its own local agenda and, therefore, will pull…
Making space for the Spirit
Fourteen months have gone by since the conclusion of the Being a Faithful Church (BFC) process and the decision congregational delegates made at Assembly 2016. At the end of that seven-year process, a large majority of the delegates voted in favour of “creating space” for congregations to differ from one another when it comes…
Ramadan delights
It’s been a couple years now, but the experience stands out in my mind as if it were yesterday. Engin Sezen, executive director of the Waterloo, Ont., Intercultural Dialogue Institute, invited my wife Marlene and me to share a meal with his and his brother’s families after dusk during Ramadan. Even though Engin was a…
A historic moment
The irony couldn’t have been more self-evident. Here were 7,500 modern-day Anabaptists celebrating the beliefs and convictions that hold them together in 65 countries around the world, following on the heels of a troubled assembly of Mennonite Church USA which appeared to be coming apart at the seams over sexuality. The unfettered joy and inspirational…
Changes coming to CM
Some significant changes are occurring at Canadian Mennonite. First, we are bidding farewell to one of our expert regional correspondents, Evelyn Rempel Petkau, after 18 years of her serving, with distinction, as our Manitoba correspondent (see the story here). Her 600 stories, written to the highest standard of journalism, had a unique style. She seemed…
A new Mennonite archetype
I have never met César García, but I am impressed with his story as told by Meetinghouse freelancer Kathy Heinrichs Wiest on page 4. García is the general secretary-elect of Mennonite World Conference. He seems to have a special narrative, one which might make him the new Mennonite archetype for the 21st century. He just…
Assembly’s afterglow
Maybe it was the downright gorgeous summer weather before the heat wave swept into central and southeastern Canada. Maybe it was the powerfully inspired music led by Paul Dueck and his gifted musicians in University of Waterloo’s Humanities Theatre. Or the 20-minute walk from the dining hall to Assembly sessions that helped digest the food…
