Justice in the name of Jesus
Some Mennonites raise their hands when they sing. Others don’t. Some attend climate rallies and examine decolonization. Others don’t. Some Mennonites hear sermons focused on the Word and personal relationship with Jesus. Others hear sermons that draw on Pete Enns; Mary Oliver, a modern day mystic; or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. My point,…
‘Staging change’
Twenty-six times since November, audiences have had the opportunity to participate in changing the story of gender-based violence. That is how many times Theatre of the Beat, a Canadian touring theatre company, has staged Unmute: The Impact of a Pandemic on Gender Based Violence, a forum theatre piece performed entirely through the video-conferencing platform, Zoom.…
Providing a place to call home
Affordable housing “changes lives.” It is a “human right that enables individuals and families to flourish.” These convictions motivated Anne Nicholson and other members of the Markham Inter-church Committee for Affordable Housing (MICAH) to persevere with a recent building project despite the “unique challenges” presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Mike Clare, MICAH’s president,…
Regional churches of Mennonite Church Canada call for prayer
As rallies and protests continue across the United States and Canada in response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, the five regional churches of Mennonite Church Canada released a statement yesterday asking congregations to set a specific time of prayer this coming Sunday, June 7. The statement asks…
Death toll
I started Sunday morning in tears as I read through the heartbreaking list that blanketed the front page of the New York Times. To mark the deaths of (at that point) nearly 100,000 American citizens, the paper listed the names of a thousand of them. Short phrases accompany each name, things like “a veteran who excelled…
The climate context of a global virus
At first, I was irritated that travel plans were interrupted. Then I was frustrated that the markets leaked stored wealth. And finally, I was angered that separation from family and friends was mandated. Eventually I was weighted with the depressing context of self isolation. Quite a journey within a few short weeks. This sudden change…
Citizens for Public Justice hosting cross-Canada tour ahead of federal election
Ahead of the 2019 federal election, Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is hosting a series of free, non-partisan events across Canada. The tour will provide the electorate with information to better understand important policy issues related to CPJ’s core policy areas: poverty in Canada, ecological justice and refugee rights. Additionally, the tour serves as an…
‘My place is right here’
It was all about working together for the good of the local Cambridge community when Preston and Wanner Mennonite churches partnered with a local theatre group to support the work of the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank. The two churches hosted a performance of My Place is Right Here: Hugh Burnett and the Fight for a…
Sourdough spirituality
Baking bread is more than just a business for Joel Kroeker. It’s also a way to further important conversations. With a deftness that comes from repetition, he slides another two loaves of bread into the oven. By the time he finishes for the day he will have baked 20 loaves and mixed another batch of…
Watch: “77-76” by Royal Canoe
Winnipeg’s Royal Canoe have released a politically-charged music video for a song off its latest album, Waver. “The new video for ‘77-76’ is about history repeating itself,” the band states on its Facebook page. “We felt compelled to make a video that matched what this song is about—the alarming political shift in the past few…
