(Image by Couleur/Pixabay)
I’ve become aware of various patterns and cycles in my life. One of them is a regular oscillation between two different “kinds” or phases of faith. Sometimes I remain in one phase for years and sometimes I alternate between the two phases multiple times a day.
The first phase is what I call pragmatic faith.
(Image by freestocks.org/Flickr.com)
10. Accomplish more by scheduling longer and more frequent committee meetings.
9. Make the world a better place by pointing out how everyone else needs to change.
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
MCC recommendations for new federal government
The following is a shortened version of a Nov. 8 letter sent from the Mennonite Central Committee Ottawa Office to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with copies to the leaders of the four opposition parties.
'Christian media outlets would do well to respect Paul’s wisdom in Galatians and keep the divisive and destructive issues within trusted church leadership.' (Image by moritz320/Pixabay)
What is our responsibility as followers of Jesus to media outlets?
Photo: The Canadian Mennonite / Mennonite Archives of Ontario
At the Public Archives in Ottawa in 1968, Ted Regehr, head of the Government Records Section, standing, helps research assistant Ernie Dick locate government files related to Mennonites. The two were assisting historian Frank H. Epp with a monumental history of Mennonites in Canada project.
'If God’s birth into the person of Jesus is a beacon of hope, then the light beam is the human beings who are the followers of Jesus. Those human beings are to fill others with hope...' (Image by Gerd Altmann/Pixabay)
Christmas is the season when we talk about how the birth of the baby Jesus brings hope. Hope implies some sort of betterment to come. So Jesus is our hope. But hope for the future is a crucial question for many people in these days of political polarization, rising global inequality, global ecological degradation and growing issues of mental health.
'I am reminded of the Mary who stands at the foot of the cross in tears...' (Image by Free-Photos/Pixabay)
They come through the church door into the foyer. My limited vision can make out only their forms, but I recognize them, desperate folks who stop by on occasion to check out the food supplies available that day.
Planting forests versus fearing the future
(Image by Sharon McCutcheon/Pixabay)
“Not another visioning process” was a common reaction when I presented the idea of a year of visioning and discernment at Mennonite Church Alberta’s 2018 annual delegate sessions. The restructuring of MC Canada meant a shift in responsibilities for MC Alberta, and a focus on congregations as the centre of mission.
(Photo: Mennonite Heritage Archives / Lawrence Klippenstein photo collection)
Mennonites lived in Prussia/Poland for more than 400 years, but our understanding of the Mennonite experience in this area requires further study. This is the former Mennonite church at Rosengart (now Rozgart), near Elbing (now Elblag). Peter Klassen (1930-2019) has worked hard at shedding light on the Mennonite experience in Prussia.
'Many of us carry deep pain and find forgiveness to be quite impossible. There are hurts that feel like they’ve cut to the very heart of our being.' (Image by mohamed Hassan/Pixabay)
In my work with single, high-risk mothers and women who experience abuse in intimate relationships, many conversations about forgiveness have arisen. I recently shared about choosing the path of forgiveness and I could instantly feel the tension rise. Their bodies shifted, their breath became short, their brows furrowed.
'Being church together beyond our local congregation has to be more than recognizing someone from school or family gatherings.' (Image by Gerd Altmann/Pixabay)
It was Sunday morning on a Mennonite Church Canada Joint Council meeting weekend. We divided up into three groups to visit three different congregations and then we regrouped over a late pizza lunch to hear about the visits.
'It might surprise you how many people are interested in hearing about your faith journey and your God experiences when you share them honestly, clearly and humbly.' (Image by athree23/Pixabay)
“Christianese” is what some people call insider jargon Christians use to talk about God and faith. One of the primary problems with Christianese is that it doesn’t make sense to outsiders. Someone once compared it to legalese, which has its place and purpose, but is confusing and meaningless to people who aren’t lawyers.
(Image by Natalia Lavrinenko/Pixabay)
There’s canola in my bed and it makes me smile.
Perhaps I should explain.
Photo credit: The Canadian Mennonite / Mennonite Archives of Ontario
Readers raised on fruit farms—including this archivist—may remember the high-pitched whine of an orchard pesticide sprayer in action. Pictured, Peter J. Sawatzky of Ruthven, Ont., is operating a “speed-sprayer” in his apple orchard.
'Pay attention to a child close to you. Give thanks for holy lessons available nowhere else.' (Photo courtesy of flickr.com/Lance Shields)
My good memories of Thanksgiving 2019 will be focused on children.
(Image by Tumisu/Pixabay)
It’s been a month since Greta Thunberg—the 16-year-old climate activist from Sweden—came to my town for a climate rally.
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
Point:Counterpoint—Differing views on AMBS hiring
Re: “Boshart next AMBS president despite expressed concerns,” Sept. 30, page 27.
(Image by Thomas B./Pixabay)
In the mid-1960s, Peter Berger and Thomas Luckman coined the phrase “the social construction of reality.” The phrase emphasizes that the world of power and meaning is created through the careful management and manipulation of social symbols.
Photo: By Rudy Regehr / Mennonite Heritage Archives
Can you help identify these three men at Bethel Bible Institute (BBI)? Is John Poettcker in the centre? The formation of Bethel in Abbotsford, B.C., was proposed in 1937 at the ministers conference of the Conference of United Mennonite Churches of B.C.
'We can forgive and trust God’s healing power to transform our broken hearts.' (Image by succo/Pixabay)
My two-year-old has developed a habit of throwing his bowl across the kitchen when he’s finished his food. Sometimes it clears the dining area and we find it in the playroom with a messy trail of porridge!
Every time I tell him not to do it, he says, “I sorry, Mommy. I won’t.”
'Who is a Canadian Mennonite?' Arli Klassen asks in the first instalment of her new column, The Church Here and There. (Photo courtesy of Arli Klassen)
Who is a Canadian Mennonite?
'People who are sceptical of organized religion are actively seeking out insights on Jesus and spirituality from people who aren’t overtly affiliated with the church. People like Deepak Chopra, Oprah Winfrey, Russell Brand (pictured) . . . to name a few.' (Photo courtesy of Facebook.com/RussellBrand)
“People are no longer interested in religion or church, but they are still interested in Jesus.” This is a statement many Christians, including myself on occasion, proclaim confidently.
Marlene Friesen of Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Abbotsford, B.C., enjoys a sunrise view of the Dead Sea during a walking tour of the West Bank last spring. (Photo by Albert Friesen)
Out for a late afternoon hike in the desert with a Bedouin host from our camp, we happened upon their camel herd. (Photo by Albert Friesen)
Hikers pass Mar Saba, a Greek Orthodox monastery founded in AD 483 and now considered one of the oldest inhabited monasteries in the world that still maintains many of its ancient traditions. (Photo by Albert Friesen)
Many of the valleys we walked through were carpeted with wild flowers. (Photo by Albert Friesen)
One of our fellow hikers speaks with a local shepherd comparing walking sticks and hiking poles! (Photo by Albert Friesen)
When we first started telling people we were going to hike the Masar Ibrahim Trail in the West Bank, Palestine, they were incredulous.
“You’re going where? You’re doing what?”
