Opinion

When Sarah Kathleen Johnson was an undergraduate student at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ont., she wrote a hymn text based on Psalm 139. More than a decade later, Len Enns, her former choir director at Grebel and a prominent Mennonite composer, would set the text to music, and the pairing would become Voices Together No. 200: “Darkness is not Dark to You, God.”

Once upon a time, there was a belief in the Canadian Mennonite church that if it welcomed new people of colour, immigrants and refugees, these newcomers would eventually join and integrate into the church. This was an illusion.

Have you ever heard of the 4 Cs? In education, the 4 Cs refer to 21st century learning skills including critical thinking, creative thinking, communicating and collaborating. In my role now, I have been thinking about how Jesus connects to the 4 Cs, and how they can connect to our work in the church and the world around us.

A recent weekend was exhausting, delightful, enlightening, hilarious, touching . . . and exhausting.

The stars lined up in such a way that we kept our youngest grandchild, seven-year-old Jaxon, here for the weekend. Usually when he’s here, he is accompanied by his two older brothers, but they were busy doing other things.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).

Despite regular self-reminders of my abundance, I want.

Despite the ongoing conversations with my children about our relative wealth, they want.

Despite overflowing shelves of books and games, and complaining about lack of storage space, and instruments that barely see the light of day, I want.

How much can we learn from a list? This image is from a list of Mennonite immigrants from the Soviet Union (Russlaender) living in Vineland, Ont., in 1924. We can see family groupings along with church affiliations. In these early years, Mennonite Brethren and United Mennonites worshipped together. We can also note their housing situation, with many living on the farms of their employer.

I am always interested in the impact of culture on faith, and vice versa. Western culture places a high value on personal agency, the ability to make individual decisions that impact one’s future. Other cultures understand that there are many forces beyond one’s control that limit autonomy, such as extended family needs or unjust political and economic contexts. Of course, both are true.

In my eyes, Pauline (a pseudonym) is a more faithful and mature Christian than I am. She embodies the servant-hearted love of Christ. Her life and faith inspire me.

Alvin Baroro

Gilbert Snider stokes his wood-fed, maple-syrup evaporator in rural Waterloo County in 1954. The photographer, David L. Hunsberger, took many photos of working life in Ontario’s Waterloo Region. How much do you know about the working lives of your fellow churchgoers?

Normally I hearken closely to the words of Jesus. But although he advises that we consider the sparrows of the field, I’d rather pay attention to chickadees.

“Are we too progressive for our own good?” That was the title of an online panel discussion Canadian Mennonite hosted on March 8.