Caught in the tension between belief and fear
Time is a significantly gracious yet controlling dynamic. It’s a dimension from which we cannot escape, but our experience of it varies depending on our context. We move from day to day, month to month, year to year, growing older and hopefully wiser, sometimes caught off guard by the realization that time doesn’t wait for…
‘More significant than my age’
Five years ago, Thomas Coldwell knew very little about Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Today, he’s the executive director of MCC Alberta. “I’ve been told multiple times, ‘Be yourself in this role,’ so that’s what I’m trying to do,” he said via Skype from his office in Calgary last month, three weeks after starting the job.…
More than a label
For Steph Chandler Burns of Kitchener, Ont., talking about her faith journey means talking about coming out as a queer individual. “I am a bisexual woman and I am a woman created in God’s image, and knowing those two things alongside each other has taught me a lot about who I am in God,” she…
A space odyssey
For most people who dream of exploring outer space, the dream dies before they reach adulthood. That’s not the case for Taryn Haluza-Delay. The 20-year-old Edmonton resident, who attends First Mennonite Church and is currently a third-year engineering physics student at the University of Alberta, hopes to one day become an astronaut. “It would be…
‘I’m aware of my sin and my need for a Saviour’
2017 was a big year for Matthew Kopperud. The 25-year-old guitarist toured across North America and Europe with his band Close Talker in support of its most recent album, Lens. One particular show in the Netherlands saw the group, which is rounded out by singer-guitarist Will Quiring and drummer Chris Morien, play in between two…
Finding shelter from the cold
I remember the day well. It was Nov. 8, 2016. Donald Trump, whose behaviour as a sexual predator has been widely reported, had just been elected as president of the United States. I felt the wind knocked out of me and, honestly, it felt like the world was ending. At work the next day, at…
Winding down
A group of young adults who formed in response to proposed changes to Mennonite Church Canada (now dubbed the nationwide church) has disbanded. The Emerging Voices Initiative (EVI) announced its closing in a statement posted to its website on Oct. 31, two-and-a-half weeks after MC Canada’s Special Assembly 2017 in Winnipeg. “As [MC] Canada delegates…
Fifteen years after inspiration struck
Attention, music fans: Next month marks the 15th anniversary of the release of an album you’ve likely never heard of. Let me tell you about it. On Dec. 8, 2002, at Douglas Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, we began selling copies of Far Beyond Inspired, a CD featuring original compositions by nine musical acts from the…
‘We want these connections to continue’
On a mid-October weekend, 13 youth from across Canada weren’t on the field playing soccer, at their desks studying or settling in with Netflix. Instead, they were helping decide the future of Mennonite Church Canada. These youth from Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario joined more than 400 others of all ages for MC Canada’s Special Assembly…
Ready to take the next step
Madeleine Wichert, 23 Volunteer When she missed the deadline to register for Mennonite Church Canada’s Special Assembly 2017, Madeleine Wichert found another way to get in the door—as a volunteer. “I was originally a little disappointed that I wasn’t going to be a delegate . . . but I’m really enjoying being a volunteer,” she…
