Interest in women’s stories leads to novel about Mary
Getting into the mind of Jesus’ mother inspired a retired psychiatrist to write a novel about what Mary might have experienced during her son’s life. Lorne Brandt, who attends Peace Mennonite Church in Richmond, has always had an interest in women’s issues and women’s theology. A Sword Shall Pierce Your Soul is his first novel,…
Fall 2021 List of Books & Resources
Theology, Spirituality The Baby and the Bathwater: Aspiration and Reality in the Life of the Church. Robert J. Suderman. Privately published with Tellwell, 2021, 120 pages. In this little book, Suderman speaks to concerns about the future of the church. He examines what the church is meant to be, saying we must be careful…
Retired church workers archive MC Canada history
Thousands of files languish in the basement of Mennonite Church Canada’s Winnipeg office, holding decades of history but forgotten by many. Irene and Jack Suderman are bringing these records to light, reviewing and organizing them to be stored in the Mennonite Heritage Archives (MHA). The Sudermans live in Ontario, where they attend First Mennonite Church…
Writer’s struggles offer reassurance to young mothers
When it comes to motherhood, Shari Zook asks, “Why don’t we get more training for the hardest job of our lives? Why do we feel that we have to do it alone?” Because she is so open and honest about the challenges of raising young children, this book can provide comfort and reassurance for others…
Recommended reads
“Rainy days,” Calvin and Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson once wrote, “should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.” As part of Canadian Mennonite’s biannual Focus on Books & Resources section, the magazine spoke with 14 people about the novels, poetry collections and non-fiction works that have impacted them. Consider…
Finding connection through communion cups
What does one do with a cracker box full of used communion cups? This was the dilemma facing Lois Siemens as she drove from Saskatoon to Winnipeg in July 2016. Siemens had just attended the Mennonite Church Canada assembly in Saskatoon. She recalls how, in the small group she was part of, a pastor had…
Spring 2021 List of Books & Resources
Theology, Spirituality The End of Religion: Encountering the Subversive Spirituality of Jesus, Expanded Edition. Bruxy Cavey. Herald Press, 2020, 375 pages. Cavey has updated and added five new chapters to his original book by this title, published in 2007. Jesus challenged the religious institutions of his day, says Cavey, and our spiritual connection with…
Shaped by our essential book
The name Arab Christians use for the Bible translates literally as “The Holy Book,” and they often shorten it to “The Book.” Article 4 of the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective states: “The Bible is the essential book of the church.” What does it mean if we see the Bible as the book…
A challenge to give loving attention to life
Meghan Florian’s name surfaced in the small circle of Mennonite pastors and friends I know in the United States. Because this is how I found this book, I assumed it would be a “churchy” (or religious, or theological, or spiritual) collection of essays. What I found was a case for better writing in the church.…
Reading together in an uncertain world
A widely published poet, a retired professor, a farmer, a recent graduate and an engineer regularly discuss literature and theology together. Hard to imagine? The sight is more likely than you might think. Take and Read is a theological book discussion group run annually by Paul Doerksen, associate professor of theology and Anabaptist studies at…
