Violence in Myanmar, prayers in Canada
What for many of us may be a fleeting headline about strife on the other side of the world is for others within our faith family a heartbreaking reminder of a painful past and ongoing hardship for relatives in their country of origin. Such is the case with news from Myanmar, limited though it has…
‘For God all things are possible’
In late October, Iglesia Cristiana Menonita de Colombia (IMCOL—Colombian Mennonite Church) issued a public statement declaring that there have been 60 massacres (killings of five people or more at a time) so far in Colombia in 2020. Victims include young people and small farmers, as well as 200 civic leaders. The violence stems from a…
Broad prayers in a time of fear
It has become a routine yet still shocking news report: another shooting in a quiet neighbourhood or at a shopping centre, nightclub, school or place of worship. Then come the familiar offers of “thoughts and prayers” for the victims and their loved ones. Sadly, there have been too many opportunities to pray these prayers recently. …
MC Canada addresses Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
The five regional churches comprising Mennonite Church Canada have issued an invitation to “all congregations to join in a nationwide call to prayer for comfort and strength for our Jewish faith communities, particularly those here in Canada and the USA. In the wake of the Pittsburgh massacre of Jewish worshippers this week, all congregations in…
‘I need to go to school’
Ten-year-old Kanku Ngalamulume fled from his home in the village of Senge after armed groups beheaded his mother and father and his siblings too. He was among 1.4 million people in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have been forced from their homes as violence among local militias and the…
A Prayer for the Danforth
Oh God of Love, Maker of human neighbours and neighbourhoods, Hear our prayer from the Danforth, for the Danforth. Hear our cry of anguish and disorientation; Our sidewalk cafes are shattered and scattered; we are suddenly lost in our own home town. Calm us! Hear our cry of fear, we run, we hide, from…
Open letter on Syria
“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it” (I Cor. 12:26). In February, we were part of a Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) delegation to Syria, including Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo. We witnessed the devastation of war and heard testimonies of faith from people who have been living in difficult circumstances now for seven…
Psalms of lament in times of violence
What do we do with Psalm 137? While “Sing us one of your songs of Zion” (verse 3) rings in Christian minds as a sign of deep grief, the accompanying “Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!” (verse 9) strikes most as exceedingly difficult. Don E. Saliers,…
Words worth considering
Although many brave young people have spoken up in the aftermath of last month’s school shooting in Parkland, Fla., to advocate for tighter gun regulations in the U.S., it’s words spoken by a man in his 40s that I keep coming back to. On Ash Wednesday, Christian podcaster and author Mike McHargue (a.k.a. Science Mike)…
Generous love amid war in DRC
Loving the generous people of the Democratic Republic of Congo is not difficult, but evil happening in the rural Kasai region of that lush country is hard to comprehend. In December 2017, survivors of civil war there told a delegation from the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Deacons Commission of surprise attacks on their villages from…
