(Photo by Markus Spiske/Unsplash)
A few weeks ago I sent a text to a friend who I hadn’t seen for quite some time. Although we’d been in touch several times throughout the pandemic, we were long overdue for a face-to-face visit. I had no idea that the timing of this text would set my schedule askew for the next few weeks in the way that it did.
My friend has lived through some significant life experiences.
(Photo: The Canadian Mennonite / Mennonite Archives of Ontario)
“How did the North become the North?” asks historian Gerald Friesen.
By the Second World War northern Canada was experiencing an influx of “new technology, money and people.”
(Photo by Tim Mossholder/Unsplash)
I remember a difficult church meeting at my fiancé’s congregation when I was an active participant in the young adult group. I don’t recall the topic, but I do recall that I did not speak up during the meeting, but just listened.
(Photo by Anneli Loepp Thiessen)
(Photo by Anneli Loepp Thiessen)
It’s no secret that there are gaps in our congregational song. In particular, gaps in the kinds of words we have available for moments of crisis, despair and loss. Voices Together sought to speak into this opening, and features many resources that offer new words for these moments.
(Photo by Sunder Muthukumaran/Unsplash)
Some have described history as a series of pendulum swings, oscillating from one extreme to the other, between tyranny and freedom, conservatism and liberalism, progress and tradition. It has also been said, the pendulum always swings too far, meaning when we find ourselves in one extreme, there tends to be an overcorrection that takes us too far in the other direction.
‘I refuse to be your model minority,’ tweeted actor Simu Liu, pictured here on ‘The Beaverton’ in 2019.
“I refuse to be your model minority,” Simu Liu tweeted.
Liu played Jung Kim on the award-winning Canadian sitcom, Kim’s Convenience. This drama portrays a Korean immigrant family’s life in Canada. Liu’s character is the estranged eldest son of the Kim family.
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
At first I thought cancel culture was a good idea.
The phenomenon, which emerged a handful of years ago, refers to “ending (or attempting to end) an individual’s career or prominence to hold them accountable for immoral behaviour.” That’s according to University of Cambridge psychologist Rob Henderson.
(Photos by Carol Penner)
Who wants to talk about sin? Not me, that’s for sure. Most people I know are pretty stressed out; they want good news, not something that makes them feel worse.
As I write this my autocorrect keeps changing the word “sin” to “sun.” My computer can’t even believe I want to talk about it.
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
Complexities of pacifism
Below are four responses to “Conscientious” (Jan. 30), which critiqued the Canadian government purchase of fighter jets.
(Photo by Tegan Mierle/Unsplash)
The smell of pancakes on the griddle, the roar of laughter while trying new activities, and the joyful noise of campfire singing are forever etched in my heart.
(Photo: Conrad Stoesz)
The Konferenz der Mennoniten in Canada—now Mennonite Church Canada—was formed in 1902. In 1928, the conference started publishing an official Jahrbuch (yearbook) which documented proceedings and decisions at the annual gatherings.
(Photo by Alden Jewell, Flickr)
In this new-ish year, I find myself searching out new-ish challenges.
(Photo by Claudio Schwarz/Unsplash)
The fellows at the next table were running on and on about refugees. So many false statements! I gritted my teeth as I sipped my coffee that morning. “No!” I wanted to holler, millions of refugees were not going to overrun Canada. Then the fellows changed topics. It got worse. The new topic was climate change.
(Photo by Rob Oo, Flickr)
What keeps you up at night? Do the anxieties of your day taunt you as you lay awake?
(Readers write graphic by Betty Avery)
Making God manageable
(Photo by Alex Shute/Unsplash)
Reflecting and reshaping is what I have been witnessing congregations doing in the ministries of formation. Across the board, in ministries that engage adults, youth, seniors and children, people are ready to venture into new territory. There seems to be a desire, perhaps prompted by new realities, to flex muscles that were awakened during the past few years.
(Photo: Conference of Mennonites in Canada collection)
Henry Gerbrandt (far right) in Mexico ca. 1947. Henry and Susan Gerbrandt began their mission work with the fledgling Mennonite Pioneer Mission, arriving in northern Mexico on Dec. 21, 1945. Because money was scarce, their first Christmas dinner was macaroni and salt.
It is the time of year when churches—whether local, regional or nation-wide—set their annual budgets. I’ve had interesting conversations in this process.
Many churches are experiencing declining and/or aging participation. A decline in revenue comes with that.
“God of Every Place” is an invitation to bring our whole selves to worship, no matter what space we’re in.
“When we gather for worship, we bring all of ourselves, though some experiences or emotions might feel harder to name. Or maybe we feel pressure to keep them tidied away,” explains Alissa Bender when describing her worship resource in Voices Together. Found at #859, “God of Every Place” is an invitation to bring our whole selves to worship, no matter what space we’re in.
“If you watch an orchestra tune at the beginning of a performance, you’ll notice the musicians don’t all try to tune to one another. That would be chaos...” (Photo by Larisa Birta/Unsplash)
Understanding how to pray and work towards unity with all “Christians” has been a struggle for me. How do I seek unity with people who call themselves Christian, but embody attitudes, values, behaviours and beliefs that, in my opinion, are diametrically opposed to the teachings, character and heart of Jesus.
This struggle is by no means new, or unique to me.
Niklaus Mikaelson, Valerie Tulle, Lizzie Saltzman, Stefan Salvatore . . . do you know who these folks are? If not, maybe that’s because they are not from the Mennonite heritage but from a supernatural world featured in the TV series, The Vampire Diaries. These beings are “hybrids,” born out of the cross-breeding of supernatural species such as werewolves and vampires.
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
Tell your story of faith
The article “Eyes to see” (Nov. 28, 2022) discussed, “how to help members talk about faith and God’s work in their own lives.”
(Photo: David L. Hunsberger/Mennonite Archives of Ontario)
Fifty years ago, in June 1973, Queen Elizabeth II visited the Waterloo region. What gift could she be given to represent the area? These two bronze figures of an Old Order couple by Waterloo artist Renie Ellis were chosen. At the time, Mennonites constituted about 10 percent of the area’s population.
(Photo by Clay Banks/Unsplash)
One of the identified priorities for Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC) is embracing diversity. With this priority, we articulate our intention to:
Unfinished, food bank-inspired bookends on Ed Olfert’s workbench. (Photo by Ed Olfert)
In January I was tasked with providing a meditation on Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday at a local church. As I peck out this column, that day has not yet arrived and I’m spending my time welding up a sermon.
I’m not an historian, nor a learned interpreter of our faith heritage, so I am grounded in nothing . . . but reality.
