Dreaming of a better life
The American dream is just that for many—a dream. For Latin Americans facing violence in their home communities, the journey to make that dream a reality can be a nightmare.
young voices
Mennonites raise awareness about welfare rates
Kyle Penner had one apple in his fridge and some leftover potatoes from his meagre meal the night before for lunch. After nearly a week of living on about five dollars worth of food a day, he says he started to look at his food differently.
Vigil for Nigerian Girls : How to Participate
This Saturday at 6pm, the #HopeForOurGirls All Night Vigil will take place in Assiniboine Park. Attendance by all is welcome, for the entirety of the night, or just an hour.
We gather to offer solidarity and love to the families of the 200 plus girls who were stolen from their schools in Nigeria.
Beyond Trinity
The Trinity is the central way that Christians throughout history have expressed who God is to us: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Are we ‘the worst generation’?
Just a few days ago I graduated with a master’s degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC). My future? It’s a terrifying thought.
This is 30
I was anxious in the weeks leading up to my 30th birthday. I didn’t expect an encounter with a tall, lanky Winnipeg musician I barely know to give me peace of mind about the situation.
Vigil for Kidnapped Nigerian Girls to be Held
One of the gifts the church has attained in the modern era is the ability to interact with the global church in an ease of access never before seen. Communication, travel, and access to world news has never been easier. For those in the church akin to reading world news, you may have heard about the girls kidnapped in Nigeria just over a month ago.
A constant, terrifying threat
During a visit in Occupied Palestine, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) representative Joanna Hiebert Bergen, along with a group of visitors, witnessed a group of military jeeps and bulldozers on a public road. She immediately knew what was going on.
Sport is not our saviour
If I could eliminate one thing from the lives of church-going teenagers today, it would be sports. This might come as a surprise to people, since I love sports and am incredibly competitive. There is almost nothing that can’t be turned into a competition when I’m in the room. Still, sports have become a problem—a big problem.
Dreaming for Extinction: FASD and Generational Trauma
Now, as I am quite sure is realized, I am by no means a fulltime blogger. What do I do with the rest my time? Well, I am studying for my masters degree, and I work with a restorative justice program. My study and my practical work inform one another in ways that are gifts - and yet I still have a dream that what I study and what I work with will one day no longer exist.
Learning to listen
At the end of March 2014, Canada’s final Truth and Reconciliation Commission event took place in Edmonton. While the commission is legislated reconciliation between Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian government, many go freely to participate and stand in solidarity with those who have suffered injustices.
The great music debate
There is great debate over church music these days. What was once a fight over traditional versus contemporary tunes and how they are played has blossomed into something more. It’s no longer a simple traditional versus contemporary dichotomy.
Getting back on track
This whole Year of Reading Biblically (YORB) was a bad idea.
It seemed like a good idea last October, but today I’m questioning what I was thinking when I concocted this scheme.
Recipes for life
The student diet rarely gets a three-star review, unless you consider peanut butter and beer to be gourmet. Students who cook for themselves are often limited by skinny budgets and thin slices of time.
On the Trinity
I’ve been thinking lately about the Trinity, the central way that Christians throughout history have expressed who God is to us – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. From recent conversations both at church and in academic circles, I’ve come to realize that for many Mennonites, the Trinitarian nature of the divine is crucial. One such person was my uncle, the late Mennonite theologian A.
Online daters, don’t be embarrassed!
Match.com, OkCupid, eHarmony, Plenty of Fish, ChristianMingle: These are just some of the sites that more than 25 percent of all Canadians are using to meet new people and start relationships.
‘A really cool thing’
A converted ballroom in Winnipeg’s Exchange District served as home for Mennofolk 2014, the annual showcase of visual art, music and spoken word stemming from southern Manitoba’s Mennonite community.
Mary at the Foot of the Cross
As we experience another Holy Week leading up to Easter, I’m thinking of Mary, the mother of Jesus. I know, she’s not the first biblical figure who comes to mind at this time of year – we tend to associate her almost exclusively with the church seasons of Advent and Christmas – but if we look to the Gospel narratives of Jesus’ life we find that Mary reappears at the end of her son’s life. And I really do mean that she reappears.
Important reminders
How would I act differently if I carried a Bible in my hand everywhere I went?
Since A Year of Reading Biblically began, I’ve kept my Bible in my bag along with my notebooks, pens and whatever magazine or book I happen to currently be reading, so that I can do my daily Bible reading on the bus or during lunchtime at work if I don’t manage to do it first-thing in the morning.
Young Mennonites demonstrate ‘spirit of generosity’
The Mennonite Foundation of Canada (MFC) recently awarded 17 youth and young adults for work they did in the spirit of generosity.
A recipe for success
Recipes are typically the key ingredient in a cookbook, but when Ellery Penner and Rachael Peters put together one to celebrate their church’s anniversary, including stories was equally important.
Daily guide for A Year of Reading Biblically: Part II
Young Voices co-editor Aaron Epp is reading through in Bible in 2014. This is his plan. Read more about this project at A Year of Reading Biblically and join him in the challenge!
Being a light wherever you are
Ask Cara Baergen what an average workday looks like for her, and she replies that there is no such thing as “average” these days.
Where are the young worshippers?
What are your church attendance patterns like? Special occasions only? Once every couple of months? Every other week? Every Sunday?
If your church attendance patterns have become less frequent over the last few years, you are not alone. Statistics show young people aren’t attending religious services as frequently as they did 20 years ago.
It’s God’s story
Reading the Bible is fun. I’m mid-way through Deuteronomy as I write this, and I’ve really come to look forward to my daily Bible reading.
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