A donkey ride to Texas
“This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice …” These words came to me in the quiet, early hours of November 6. The day after. Before I turned to any news. The night before, I waited until 8:30, then 8:45 pm, to check the election news the world was hanging on. I…
A bullet point editorial
This issue of CM contains much intense material. I want to take this opportunity to not add to that, (though I had started writing about an unanswerable question I inherited when I took this job). Instead, I offer quick thoughts on a bunch of elements in the following pages (with page numbers in parentheses). I…
Practicing peace in a polarized world
Polarization was on the agenda as Mennonite Central Committee Alberta hosted its first-ever peace conference earlier this month. Held November 3-4 in Calgary, “In Tune: Finding Harmony in a Polarized World” attracted participants from across denominational and professional lines. “The idea for this conference came out of our world emerging from the pandemic,” said Ryan…
Abbotsford forum explores disagreement in the church
How to disagree well with fellow Christians was the topic of a forum held at Columbia Bible College (CBC) in Abbotsford, B.C., last month. The Sept. 21 event, titled “Polarization and Disagreement in the Church,” was sponsored by the Faith in Today’s Church task group of Mennonite Church B.C. The first presenter was Jesse Nickel,…
The sweet solace of polarization, Part 2
Caleb Brown was a lead organizer of the Freedom Convoy protest outside the Manitoba legislative building last winter. I asked how he responds to people who dismiss all protesters as white nationalists. I asked how he felt about people who drove by and gave him the finger, as one of my friends did. To back…
The sweet solace of polarization, Part 1
I knew I would eventually have to interview my neighbours who staunchly resisted COVID-19 mandates and proudly supported the Ottawa trucker convoy. Actually I have many such neighbours. But it took a year of working through my pandemic enmity until I was ready to listen to them. Some readers will see more danger than value…
In search of the holy grey
With the worst of the pandemic behind us—hopefully—how can the church help address the division left in its wake? Those divisions were highlighted rather starkly by the truck convoys. And though the trucks have gone home, the fervour lives on. On both sides. Lines are drawn. Officially, our denominational leaders were 100 percent onboard with…
‘In the end, we’re all neighbours’
How do people respond to the strong rhetoric of polarization that is gripping the world? How can they listen and talk to people that are different from them? And why does it matter if they do? More than 180 people gathered in the Marpeck Commons at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) on Feb. 10 to discuss…
Watch: How did we become so polarized?
Why does polarization so frequently characterize our discourse? How can people find common ground? Those were two of the questions at the heart of “Us and Them: How did we become so polarized?”, a panel discussion held at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) earlier this month. “So many people today live in their own echo chambers,…
Lower the pointing finger
Several months ago, our editor heard complaints from someone who wanted Canadian Mennonite to stop carrying letters to the editor because letters often cause too much friction. A small confession: We like to hear from our readers. As the main conversation venues for members of Mennonite Church Canada, our printed magazine and online presence offer…
