No longer predictable
The church we inhabit today is a lot different than the one I grew up in. Whether it was an English congregation or a German one, the worship services tended to have a familiar look and feel. “Mennonite” was somewhat predictable. No longer! The worship debates of the 1970s and ’80s pale in comparison to…
An incessant demand
“Where are you, Mennonites?” A colleague and I are in a Winnipeg café discussing the current land struggles of many Indigenous peoples. I listen intently as she speaks of the Unist’ot’en, Muskrat Falls and the Tiny House Warriors. I nod my head in understanding and offer affirming murmurs. But then, halfway through tea, she looks…
Freedom of speech for Christian media?
What is our responsibility as followers of Jesus to media outlets? Secular media outlets have a freedom-of-speech right to publish whatever their editor thinks will draw consumers to them. However, do Christian media outlets have the same right to freedom of speech? Or are Christian media outlets obligated by their personal walk with Jesus and…
‘Where there is no vision…’
“Not another visioning process” was a common reaction when I presented the idea of a year of visioning and discernment at Mennonite Church Alberta’s 2018 annual delegate sessions. The restructuring of MC Canada meant a shift in responsibilities for MC Alberta, and a focus on congregations as the centre of mission. What do these changes…
I smile because I’m grateful
There’s canola in my bed and it makes me smile. Perhaps I should explain. Currently, harvest is in full gear. I see my husband at mealtimes (maybe), and when he crawls into bed after combining fields well past the middle of the night. Last night, some canola seems to have crawled in with him, and…
Speak Jesus
In the mid-1960s, Peter Berger and Thomas Luckman coined the phrase “the social construction of reality.” The phrase emphasizes that the world of power and meaning is created through the careful management and manipulation of social symbols. This is done intentionally in a community in order to arrange power and value in certain ways, aimed…
Just say ‘hi’
We live in a fearful world. People persecute, slander, ignore, bully and oppress other people. It can be depressing catching the news of yet another hate crime, whether it’s on the other side of the globe, the other side of the border or the other side of town. It’s difficult to know how to respond…
Where heaven and earth meet
The Temple of Heaven is one of my favourite places in China. It was the place where the emperor went several times a year to offer sacrifices and receive wisdom from the spiritual realm, in order to rule wisely. The temple, with its three-tiered, round, blue roof representing heaven, is surrounded by a square courtyard…
A collaborative leadership approach
We have a lot of pastoral transitions happening at the moment in Mennonite Church British Columbia. It is a time that has given me pause to think about how we do church ministry and what our pastoral ministry positions look like. Our church polity manual, A Shared Understanding of Ministerial Leadership, mentions the importance of…
Valaqua: A place where people express God’s love
I have worked at Camp Valaqua for a total of six summers, and this summer I am back on staff after being away for a few years. Valaqua is a place where I learned many things. It was my first job. I learned how to work with a large group of people cooperatively. Valaqua is…
