I have a few observations to make about the open letter from the Mennonite Church Canada network of regional working groups on Palestine and Israel (“MC Canada working groups call for sanctions against Israel,” May 21, page 28).
Bladimir teaches his son Bladimir Jr. to plant yucca. (CPT photo by Caldwell Manners)
Rubiela, left, outside her house during her last visit with Hannah Redekop. (CPT photo by Caldwell Manners)
The lush green hills of Dos Quebradas, Remedios, Colombia. (CPT photo by Caldwell Manners)
Dora Guzman of the Organización Femenina Popular talks about a new mural representing the organization as a phoenix rising out of the ashes. (CPT photo by Caldwell Manners)
Five years ago I set out on a journey with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), providing international accompaniment to human rights defenders in Colombia.
‘Just one more example of a privileged western interpretation’
Re: “A peace that ignores Jesus’ atoning work” review of A Palestinian Theology of Liberation, April 9, page 24.
I like to think Canada is a progressive country, and discrimination is on the decline, but I’ve had a reality check.
I recently visited with my mother in the small room that is now her home. After travelling hours by airplane and car, my foot was swollen and sore. Having few options for relief, I lifted it and placed it beside her. She reached out, softly touched it, and asked how my foot, which had an injury, was healing.
I am so glad that summer is on the horizon. Spending time outdoors was a huge part of my childhood. My family shared many weekends at a small one-room cabin on a river, fishing, swimming, canoeing and just enjoying the beauty around us. We would watch the beavers make their way up and down the river, hope to see a deer come out at dusk for a drink, and listen to the wolves howl at night.
Photo: Mennonite Archives of Ontario
This is the view that greeted Amish Mennonite farm boys Dan and Willie Brenneman when they were apprehended by military police and detained at the Carling Heights Military Camp in London, Ont. Despite their conscientious objector status, they were taken while working in a field in East Zorra Township in May 1918.
I often hear people describe the church as being behind the times. What this means is that by the time the church addresses issues that were important to society last year, or last decade, most people have already moved on to more pressing issues that the church will be sure to deal with in 17 years or so.
Resurrection feature re-opens old wounds
Re: “Is belief in Jesus’ resurrection necessary?” feature, March 12, page 4.
Ryan Siemens
This past weekend, I was invited to one of our small rural congregations to help it discern the future. The concern, as expressed by the congregation, is that if the status quo remains, the church will have to close its doors in a couple of years.
Ryan Jantzi
It is truly remarkable that through hell and high water, the good news of Jesus has arrived to me, today, in 2018, in Canada. This is a miracle of God.
This is the traditional way to serve these pancakes. Each person takes a pancake from the stack, sprinkles on cinnamon and sugar (or fruit such as applesauce or rhubarb sauce) and rolls it up. (Photo by Barb Draper)
A stack of pancakes ready to be consumed. (Photo by Barb Draper)
Pancakes played a role in the story told in “Mennonites connect over pancakes.” Here is a tasty recipe.
Shimeles Retta, a former refugee, teaches Ethiopian church leaders with the support of Mennonites in Germany. (Photo courtesy of Carl Hansen)
It was more than 20 years ago when two Mennonites from Germany travelled to Ethiopia to explore the possibility of doing mission work with the Mennonite church there.
Photo: MCC Ontario / Mennonite Archives of Ontario
Under the watchful eye of a Kitchener, Ont., store owner, a teenager browses the record collection. Shortly, she will slip one into her bag, and the owner will catch her in the act of shoplifting.
Spiritual directors thanked for their Lenten prayer guide
Re: “Lenten prayer sheet reflects Lululemon spirituality” letter, March 12, page 7.
At our annual Mennonite Church Manitoba delegates meeting in Winnipeg in March, I concluded my time as a member of the regional church board. I served on this board as a rep from the southern area of Manitoba for six years (two full terms).
Melissa Miller
Many years ago, a boyfriend who subsequently became my husband gave me a book about touch and its essential place in human well-being. At the time, touch was a delightful dynamic in our new relationship. Within the boundaries of our Christian ethics, we explored physical intimacies, one of the expressions of our deepening love.
After years of my gym membership not bearing fruit, I switched to a gym where a fitness coach leads each workout. It’s been a little over a year now, and I’m in better shape than I’ve been in 20 years. I had no idea how important a good coach is.
Feature writer breaks faith with Paul’s word to the Corinthians
Norm Dyck
How comfortable are you with change? Change seems to be the most consistent “unchanging” reality of our lives. We are always experiencing change. Thankfully many, or even most, of the changes we experience are small or gradual, like the steady change in my hair colour to ever-more grey!
I’ve had a bit of a road rage problem. It peeves me when I need to throw on the brakes because another vehicle pulled out in front of me. Sadly, too often my reaction has been to tailgate, eventually pass and possibly toot my horn. I tell myself that I’m helping the other motorist see his error so he might become a better driver—or she, as the case may be. My dear wife is not convinced.
Photo from Mennonite Archives of Ontario
Families of the Kitchener-Waterloo House Churches sing hymns around a piano in 1974. This particular house church began services in 1969. North American Mennonites rediscovered the house-church model, first described in the New Testament, in the 1950s.
Members of the Mennonite Women Manitoba working group, from left to right: Laura Funk, Elsie Rempel, Larissa Pahl, Elsie Wiebe and Kathy Giesbrecht. (Photo courtesy of Elsie Rempel)
From time immemorial—as the biblical story of Ruth and Naomi illustrates—developing friendships and tending relationships have often been a woman’s “go-to, our have-to, our live for,” especially during times of stress. In the current season of stressful change within Mennonite Church Canada, tending relationships may be especially important to the health of the church.
It’s important to listen well
Re: “The skill and soul of listening,” and “What kind of Mennonite?” (Feb. 12, pages 16 and 2, respectively).
