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…
On harmony
I’ll be honest right from the beginning: when it comes to music in worship, I’m a hymn-person. Always have been. Especially as a youth, when everyone assumed that because of my age I must be a fan of praise-and-worship music! It’s one of the things that I love about worshipping in a Mennonite congregation: the…
Singing with the Spirit
“I will sing with the Spirit, but I will sing with understanding.” These words, from I Corinthians 14:15, formed the basis of Marilyn Houser Hamm’s recent music workshop at Nutana Park Mennonite Church in Saskatoon. Houser Hamm, who hails from Manitoba, is well known within Mennonite Church Canada as a musician, music educator, composer and…
Mennonites to compile new hymnal and more
Meeting the week of April 13 in Minneapolis, representatives from MennoMedia, Mennonite Church Canada, and Mennonite Church USA laid the foundation for a new Mennonite song collection that is anticipated to be released in 2020. The new song collection will be more than a printed hymnal, and will certainly include an electronic version as well…
Unforgettable days in Chile and Uruguay
A lot has happened since I last wrote. The ten days in Chile were especially unforgettable! Chile, with seven climate sub-types, is 4,300 km (2,670 miles) long and 350 km (220 miles) wide. I was almost down to Antarctica! Chile leads Latin American nations in rankings of human development, income per capita, globalization, transparency, and state…
“You lost me”? Young adults in/and/of the church
Earlier this month, I was one of many who gathered in the new Marpeck Commons building at Canadian Mennonite University to hear from a panel of “young adults” on their age group and the church. [1] Judging by the size of the audience (they had to go get extra chairs!), and a feature article on…
Patterns of Empire
While living in the United States, I thought a lot about J. Nelson Kraybill’s “Apocalypse and Allegiance: Worship, Politics, and Devotion in the Book of Revelation” and I’ve referred to it here and here on this blog already. I read it shortly after it came out while I was on a personal retreat in Pennsylvania.…
Changing the language of worship a test of love
Faith Mennonite Church, Leamington, Ont., is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, but its memories are tinged with sorrow as the new congregation grew out of a painful church split. In the late 1950s, Leamington United Mennonite Church, like many other Mennonite congregations, was experiencing deep division about whether the language of worship should continue…
End-of-Summer Worship
After the summer of people coming and going, holidays, and uncertain schedules, we finally returned to worship. Although it felt strange coming back up the hill after so many weeks away, entering the space of worship and exciting greetings of old friends and a few new faces, I sensed familiarity, warmth, and rejoicing in community.…
