Readers write: June 4, 2018 issue
It’s not easy being single in the church There were never many girls my age at the Mennonite church in Scarborough, Ont., prior to my adolescent years, nor did my becoming a teenager make much difference. There were many personable Upper Canada College girls at the high school I attended. But Mom said, “No!”…
Readers write: May 21, 2018 issue
‘Just one more example of a privileged western interpretation’ Re: “A peace that ignores Jesus’ atoning work” review of A Palestinian Theology of Liberation, April 9, page 24. While I have high respect for reviewer Harold Jantz and his work within the Mennonite church, I can’t help thinking that he has provided just one…
Readers write: May 7, 2018 issue
Resurrection feature re-opens old wounds Re: “Is belief in Jesus’ resurrection necessary?” feature, March 12, page 4. The final sentence in Michael Pahl’s feature notwithstanding, both the title and content turn out to be an occasion to re-open wounds from the splitting apart of congregations over the very question of the resurrection. I have myself…
Readers write: April 23, 2018 issue
Spiritual directors thanked for their Lenten prayer guide Re: “Lenten prayer sheet reflects Lululemon spirituality” letter, March 12, page 7. The references to the Lenten prayer guide as “scriptural soundbites, social-justice propaganda and Lululemon theology” that is “hacking away at the roots of faith” are inflammatory rhetoric that is unproductive, not to mention deeply…
Readers write: April 9, 2018 issue
Feature writer breaks faith with Paul’s word to the Corinthians Re: “Unity of the Spirit,” Feb. 26, page 4. I found the adapted presentation of Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld disappointing and unhelpful. I cannot detect any engagement by him with parts of I Corinthians. This omission severely, if not completely, undermines this piece of…
Readers write: March 26, 2018 issue
It’s important to listen well Re: “The skill and soul of listening,” and “What kind of Mennonite?” (Feb. 12, pages 16 and 2, respectively). The Bible refers often to listening; Proverbs expounds the value of listening and so do Jesus, Paul, Peter and James. But social media bombards us with all sorts of information so…
Readers write: March 12, 2018 issue
Lenten prayer sheet reflects Lululemon spirituality A friend recently sent me the new “Lenten Guided Prayer Experience,” issued by the Mennonite Spiritual Directors of Eastern Canada. It is a curious document, symptomatic of what regularly circulates in the pages of Canadian Mennonite and passes for theology in many congregations. I mean here a sort of…
Readers write: February 26, 2018 issue
God’s graciousness is ‘prior to our faith and love’ Re: “We know who we are,” Jan. 1, 2018, page 8. I find myself agreeing with Willard Metzger but wishing he had said more. I would say that God’s love for us precedes our love for God as the basis of the church’s unity; love for…
Readers write: February 12, 2018 issue
Anabaptist Essentials ‘a quintessential travesty’ The following letter was abridged from one originally sent to Herald Press, the publisher of Palmer Becker’s Anabaptist Essentials. I’m writing to express amazement that you would have published Anabaptist Essentials, when what it presents is highly simplistic and seriously uninformed. Consider that there is no mention of the…
Readers write: January 29, 2018 issue
When community discernment leads to a golden calf Re: “Recognizing potential in an uncertain future,” Dec. 11, 2017. When I read, at the very end of the article, that “the church is experiencing a shift away from the Bible as authority, to community discernment,” curiously a picture of Moses coming down the mountain came…
