Thought-provoking pop
Looking for new music? Check out these singles from three exciting Canadian acts: “RAYZ” by Royal Canoe Paper Bag Records (royalcanoe.com) Royal Canoe’s fourth full-length recording, Waver, doesn’t come out until the end of January, but the Winnipeg-based sextet has already put out the album’s first single. Released during the dog days of summer, “RAYZ”…
Evening the score
When Jessa Braun observed a dearth of media coverage for professional female athletes, she decided to do something about it. Braun is the founder of SheScores.ca, a website that aims to raise gender equity in sports and empower women in sports by shining a light on female athletics. “I was just becoming infuriated at the…
Following the signs
When Canadian students learn an additional language, it’s typically French or Spanish. Not Rachel Braul, though. As a student at Queen Elizabeth High School in Calgary, she learned American Sign Language (ASL). In addition to its program for students who are deaf and hard of hearing, the school offers ASL courses to the hearing population…
Learning to be human
When I was first hired as a disability support worker at enVision Community Living in Steinbach, Man., I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know many people with intellectual disabilities and I certainly didn’t know what it meant to support someone with intellectual disabilities. Not only did I have no idea what…
Rethinking the Safe Third Country Agreement
Did you know that Canada is a signatory to the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States? It is an agreement based on the idea that both countries are equally safe places to seek asylum, something clearly disproven by recent world events. When I learned of this, I was shocked. Canada’s participation in the…
Words to the wise
At the age of 18, most young people are making the transition from high school to whatever comes next. It’s a formative time with many possibilities. So Canadian Mennonite asked eight people: “If you could give your 18-year-old self some advice, what would you say?” This is how they responded. • Rebecca Steiner, 28, is…
The end in mind
How will people remember you when you die? That’s the question at the heart of “Stone Cutter,” one of the key tracks on Etch Your Own Stone, the new album from Saskatoon bluegrass quartet Sparky and the Plugs. In the song, written by banjo player Curtis Wiens, the singer contemplates how he will spend his…
Encountering hospitality in rural India
For the past year, Sara Wyngaarden of Elmira, Ont., has been in India, participating in the Serving and Learning Together program (SALT) of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). This reflection originally appeared on her blog. Last week I had the privilege of visiting Jharkhand, a state in eastern India where MCC has partnered with local Mennonite…
The gospel in seven words
As part of the discussions at the pastoral care team meetings at the church I pastor, we often talk about what the journey of faith is like. How can we walk with people? What does it mean to evangelize? What is faith really about? How would we even describe this good news (gospel) message of…
The courage to be vulnerable
Most of us don’t like to be in vulnerable spaces. The uncertainties of those spaces leave us with butterflies fluttering around in our stomachs. Conceding power is uncomfortable. Yet, Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) is a place that exemplifies and guides us into those vulnerable spaces. CMU students are not only treated to professors who interact…
