Opinion

God on the line

‘I recently became the owner of an orange rotary telephone,’ writes Ryan Dueck.

In this new joint column, the four writers will take turns writing the primary column, with the other three offering replies.

God on the line
By Ryan Dueck

I recently became the owner of an orange rotary telephone. This artifact came to me via a Christmas gift exchange for which guests were instructed to repurpose something from their homes.

Beyond boxes

Photo by Jesse Orrico for Unsplash

Most of you have heard, and likely agree with, this statement: “You can’t put God in a box.”

Of course, this means you can’t be put in a box either, for you are made in the image of God. If God doesn’t fit in a box, neither do you. Yet we often put ourselves in boxes. We limit ourselves and confine our identities.

Needlework from the Middle East

(Photo: The Canadian Mennonite/Mennonite Archives of Ontario)

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) worker Alice Snyder (right) shows needlework done by rural and refugee women in Jordan and the West Bank to Esther Weber at the MCC Ontario offices in Kitchener in 1964.

The Overseas Needlepoint and Crafts Project would become SelfHelp and later, Ten Thousand Villages.

—With files from GAMEO.org

A strange act of fealty

(Unsplash photo by Randy Tarampi)

I was on the cusp of starting a family, engaged to an honorable girl.

It is one of the commands of scripture to “be fruitful and increase in number,” so marriage and then children (in that order) are a critical part of being obedient to God and fulfilling my purpose.

Bethlehem Bible College

(Photo: Kathy Bergen/Mennonite Heritage Archives)

Bishara Awad stands outside Bethlehem Bible College in Bethlehem in 1985. Awad, a Palestinian Christian, founded the school in 1979. He had previously served with Mennonite Central Committee in a Palestinian school and attended Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno, California, in 1981-82.

Cultural or biblical?

(Unsplash photo by Priscilla du Preez)

It is exactly 100 years ago that my congregation, First Mennonite Church in Kitchener, divided over

the issue of women’s head coverings. Two-thirds of the congregation left

because they did not want women to be forced to wear head coverings. They moved one block up the hill to create Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church.

The rally call

(Unsplash photo by Mario Gogh)

Curiosity is a powerful spiritual discipline.

Curiosity has blessed me with many opportunities to spend time with kind, intelligent and reasonable people, in many different social, political and theological camps. I’m grateful for the privilege of hearing the typically calm and logical explanations they have for the positions they hold.

The shoofly pie question

In her new book, Marlene Epp addresses the question of whether there is such a thing as ‘Mennonite food.’ (Image courtesy of Facebook.com/MennoniteStudies)

In her new book, Eating Like a Mennonite, Marlene Epp addresses the question of whether there is such a thing as “Mennonite food.” She assumes there is, and declares it should be celebrated, disagreeing with those who say “Mennonite” is a religious label that should not be used as an adjective for food.

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