Volume 16, Number 9
Uncovering our first roots
In order to write this book, Barb Draper did a lot of digging among her roots. She performed an excellent job of searching out the reasons for some of the traditions and practices of the Mennonites of St. Jacobs and Elmira, Ont.
Exploring complexities of peace
The way Mennonites talk about peace has changed in the past 100 years. While our grandparents talked about “nonresistance,” today we are apt to relate peace to “justice.” Stutzman, executive-director of Mennonite Church U.S.A., takes a careful look at what was written, especially in church periodicals, to trace how and why these changes happened.
Policing: A form of nonviolence?
In this wonderfully crafted booklet, the last before his untimely death, A. James Reimer gives his readers a gift with his succinct summary of a topic that has preoccupied much of Christian theology. The genius of Christians and War lies in a careful and eminently fair portrayal of how warfare has been understood in church history.
Acknowledging a sinful past
In the eyes of the watching world the Christian church is often seen for its mistakes, and as the church looks upon itself it must acknowledge this sinful past. While the church is not defined solely by these wrongs, the body of Christ must take responsibility for sinful actions committed in the name of Christ.
Too busy for life’s priorities
'Living Into Focus' by Arthur Boers.
I wish e-mail took up less of my life. I wish I could remember the last time I savoured a sunset. I wish I prayed more.
“I do not understand my own actions,” wrote the Apostle Paul, “for I do not do what I want.” Arthur Boers explores this conundrum in his new book, Living Into Focus: Choosing What Matters in an Age of Distraction.
From tragedy to triumph
Willems
More than a year after being diagnosed with lung cancer, Howard Willems is in the mood to fight. He’s not fighting the disease as much as the cause of his cancer, an illness that he believes could have been prevented.
MCC programming control shifts north
The four-year, $2.5-million Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) review process is over, and the single most significant outcome is a power shift from MCC’s Akron, Pa., office to its office in Winnipeg.
MCC partners aid Afghans suffering from war, poverty
To deliver nutritional care to young children and expectant mothers in remote areas of Afghanistan, the staff of Medair, a Swiss faith-based nongovernmental organization and a Mennonite Central Committee partner, have to travel by horseback in the winter.
Despite war’s obstacles and disruptions, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) partners in Afghanistan continue to provide life-enhancing and empowering services to Afghans.
Embracing the absurdity
“How can so much evil and suffering exist in a world created by an all loving, all knowing, all-powerful God?”
Learning generosity
Generosity doesn’t just happen. It can be learned.
ZenithOptimedia projects that advertisers in Canada will spend $11.3 billion in 2012, hoping that consumers will learn to spend money on their products. Rather than just succumbing to this tide, why not commit to engaging with at least one generosity resource this year?
Worship as drama
Occasionally, because of my background in dramatic arts and pastoral ministry, I have been asked how well worship and drama mix. The query often assumes a disconnect between the two, or, at best, a sense that if the “dramatic element” is missing, it can simply be added to an existent worship outline with a skit, reading or other piece.
Readers write
Aid funding redirected to international trade
Food safety bureaucracy proves a minefield for MCC Relief Sale
Anne Wiens is determined to avoid food safety inspection hassles like those experienced the last time the annual Mennonite Central Committee Relief Sale was hosted in Didsbury, Alta., in 2009.
Big box churches
Springtime was in full theatre as we travelled back from Virginia on a Sunday morning recently after a week’s break. Viewing the redbud, dogwood and lilacs providing the backdrop for lush green meadows was as much worship as meeting with the saints in song, scripture and sermon. We turned off the radio and drove in silence, soaking in all the beauty.
