Praying with their feet
On the afternoon of Saturday, October 5, approximately 60 people gathered in the shade of Holy Trinity Church in Toronto to support the Palestinian Youth Movement one year into the Gaza war. Organizations represented at the gathering included Christians for a Free Palestine, Christians for Just Peace, Bathurst United Church and Mennonite Action. “A number…
Public and protests pressure decision-makers in the war against Gaza
Following community pressure, in early July, the University of Waterloo (UW) in Waterloo, Ontario, dropped all legal charges against a group of students and concerned community members who were calling on the university to divest of any company that supports Israel as the war against Gaza continues. Occupy UW is part of a significant movement…
Faith and public life: Back to basics
As protests continue in our nation’s capital, there are many things I would like to see less of (intimidation and hate symbols, for instance), but there are also a few things I would like to see more of. One thing I would like to see more of is the use of that very Canadian phrase,…
Winnipeggers take to the street in support of Nakba survivors
Around a hundred people gathered at a busy intersection in Winnipeg on May 15, 2018, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic. The Nakba refers to the dispossession of more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands that followed the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.…
Questions of conscience
Last month, a Canadian Mennonite was arrested—for following his conscience. In the tradition of our 16th-century Anabaptist ancestors, civil disobedience was an expected path. But nowadays, we don’t see things so clearly. A recent discussion concerns the April protests at the Kinder Morgan pipeline in Burnaby, B.C., where Steve Heinrichs took part in an…
Mennonites join in Kinder Morgan pipeline protest
Three Mennonites were among the faith leaders who blockaded the entrance to Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, B.C. for several hours on April 20, protesting the planned expansion of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline system. Among them was Steve Heinrichs of Winnipeg, originally from Burnaby, who was arrested on criminal and civil charges for…
Canadians join Women’s March on Washington
Canadian Mennonite women were among millions who peacefully made their voices heard for justice, equality and a host of social causes at the Women’s Marches that took place across Canada and every continent on January 21, 2017, the day following the Donald Trump inauguration. Some even made it all the way to Washington, D.C., where…
