Awakening to the Church’s true vocation
“God has been at work from the beginning to form a covenanted people of God to help bring about God’s plan for reconciling the world to its intended purposes.”– From The Baby and the Bathwater, by Robert (Jack) Suderman When I heard that Jack and Irene Suderman were visiting Winnipeg this fall, I reached out…
Resourcing the Anabaptist church
Over 500 years, the Anabaptist community has grown to be a diverse and global expression of faith. The resources of Anabaptism reflect this diversity. Mennonite World Conference (MWC) represents most Christian churches rooted in the Anabaptist movement. In addition to the ongoing resourcing work of its commissions and networks, MWC has several significant resource titles:…
Big tent, small centre
Here in British Columbia—the West of the West, where West and true East meet in North America—we sometimes tend to look more toward the traditionalist faith of the church in Asia than to the progressive, whiter, older Mennonite lands of eastern Canada. We also continue to be influenced by the neo-reformed fundamentalism of our dear, and…
Making connections
Hello to everyone from the new Mennonite Church Alberta moderator. I believe that who I am influences my approach to serving as moderator, so let me introduce myself. I am, first and foremost, a follower of Christ. Beyond that, I am son, husband, father, brother, uncle, engineer, manager and now, moderator. I grew up on…
Navigating pastoral transitions
My interview with the pastoral search committee was wrapping up when one of the members asked me if I had any questions. They were not expecting the one question I had: “When my ministry at the church is finished, how do I leave?” By the surprised looks on their faces, I’m certain they were thinking,…
Indigenous relations are not science fiction
It has been more than eight years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report, including 94 Calls to Action that various levels of government and religious communities committed themselves to implementing. Indigenouswatchdog.org is one of the sources I turn to for a thorough and current assessment of the implementation of the Calls.…
Gathering matters more than you think
I am a huge advocate for the local church. It is the gathering of people around the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus that frees our imaginations and forms our hearts to be a different kind of nation on the earth. Yet, it seems we often are pulled into the sexy idolatry of the…
Lessons from the medicine wheel
Each year, A Common Word Alberta brings Muslims and Christians together in Edmonton to plan an annual interfaith dialogue. As the facilitator of Mennonite Church Alberta’s Bridge Building network (a re-imagined role that continues the good work of Donna Entz, who retired in 2022), I have played a significant part in planning the last two…
Responding to God’s call
New Year’s Day is often a time we reflect on the events and experiences of the past year. It is also the time we look forward to what might lie ahead. At the beginning of 2023, I received an email from Terry Stefaniuk, who was then the moderator of Mennonite Church Saskatchewan. Terry asked if…
The state of community in 2024
Last year was a tough one. Global concerns raged around us, including images of climate crisis and state-led violence that continued to swirl. I watched my church community formally come apart, by vote, in a deeply divisive scenario. Of course, there are many dynamics at play in such situations, but the element I find most…
