Faith Before Flags
I spent my mid-twenties holding my disability flag high, confident that I’d found my calling. This was my cause. These were my people. Wholly devoted to the disability community and its quest for equality, I wrote and spoke, adding my voice to the throng of those already raising the battle cry. This was where I…
Theology students learn to value varied perspectives
Faculty and students in the master of theological studies (MTS) program at Conrad Grebel University College have found that conversations between those with different approaches to Christianity are a valuable learning experience. Class discussions about the Bible, Christian theology, ministry and church history are all enriched due to diverse approaches to Christianity from both students…
God or coincidence?
Four weeks ago, just over 40 volunteers returned to Winnipeg from a week of service, learning and community engagement in Cross Lake, Man. This marked the 10th year that our church, Sterling Mennonite Fellowship, has taken an eight-hour trek to spend a week in the Cree First Nation, also known as Pimicikamak. Every time I…
Imagining a new world at Women Doing Theology 2018
“Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.” Over 200 people from across North America filled the Chapel of the Sermon of the Mount with these lyrics, singing and dancing the “Canticle of the Turning” at the third biennial Women Doing Theology (WDT) conference. The conference, which…
Reading together in an uncertain world
A widely published poet, a retired professor, a farmer, a recent graduate and an engineer regularly discuss literature and theology together. Hard to imagine? The sight is more likely than you might think. Take and Read is a theological book discussion group run annually by Paul Doerksen, associate professor of theology and Anabaptist studies at…
Menno theology in light of feminist critique
In their appreciative foreword to Mennonite theologian Lydia Neufeld Harder’s retrospective essay collection, Kimberley Penner and Susanne Guenther Loewen write of the time, hospitality and encouragement that Harder provided to both of them during their PhD studies and dissertation writing. The care and attention that she has shown to the task of cultivating theological vocation…
Studying the Bible through a feminist lens
Around 10 women and female-identifying people sit in a circle at Erb Street Mennonite Church in Waterloo, every week, drinking tea and discussing biblical texts through a feminist lens. Jessica Reesor Rempel, 29, a member of Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church in Kitchener, started Feminist Bible Study to create a space for women to discuss issues…
Who’s winning at church?
Over the past while, a number of people have inquired about my thoughts on a recent “Theology matters” study conducted by Canadian scholar David Haskell that draws a strong connection between theological conservatism in Canadian mainline Protestant churches and church attendance. According to the study, mainline Protestant churches that interpret the Bible more “literally,” hold…
More-with-Less for toddlers
Being a parent, I’ve found, can be profoundly clarifying in terms of what aspects of faith one finds most meaningful, and therefore most worthy of teaching to one’s children. One aspect of the Mennonite tradition that has shaped my faith profoundly is the ethic of simple living, of living in ecologically-sustainable and socially-just ways, of…
Theology for toddlers
Here’s an unusual question: Do the children in your life read theology books? It might seem odd to combine a big, academic word like theology (the study of God, or God-talk) with young children, but I wanted to talk about a book that combines these two worlds seamlessly. Around my son’s first birthday, I found…
