Volume 27, Number 15
Of beets and chainsaws
(Photo by Will Braun)
If integrity is the currency of change, the Wiederkehr family of Mildmay, Ontario should have a chunk of change to spend.
In a world of compromise, greenwashing and homesteaders Instagramming their idealism, the Wiederkehrs have done far more than most to actually extract themselves from the consumerist machine that treats earth as waste bin and soul as credit card.
Humans and Humus
The Wiederkehr family applying compost to a dry corn breeding experiment. (Supplied photo)
The woodworking shop. (Photo by Will Braun)
On a hundred hilly acres near Mildmay, Ontario, the Wiederkehr family is quietly pushing the limits of human energy, spiritual integrity and disconnection from the consumerist web. The following is the first in a series of bi-monthly dispatches from their family.
Readers write: July 28, 2023 issue
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
In defense of dandelions
Executive road trip
(Photo by Haydn Blackey, Flickr)
It was a tour to remember: three days, seven venues, spanning Manitoba from east to west.
The three blessings of June 17
Micah Project fishing trip, 2019. (Used with permission)
As I swing my legs out of bed, with a hip-to-heel grumble from a sciatic nerve, I experience a moment of curiosity: What new thing will the day bring, what blessing will come?
Thinking about leisure
Randy’s touring bike. (Photo by Randy Haluza-Delay)
It’s summer and many of us have thoughts about vacations and so-called down time. What do these things mean for your spiritual practice?
Mightier than the mountains of prey
The cast of Alone, Season 8, which was taped around Chilko Lake, B.C. (Photo by The History Channel)
I love the outdoors, but I’ll admit I’m far from being able to call myself a legitimate outdoorsman. I romanticize the idea of living out in the bush, being off the grid, being self-sustaining, focusing on survival. But I know it’s not as lovely as I make it out to be in my imagination, nor do I have the skills needed, or maybe the will, to do it.
Million-dollar fraud hits Winnipeg church
Adelia Neufeld Wiens is a deacon at Bethel Mennonite Church, where 35 households were defrauded of more than $1 million. (Photo by Aaron Epp)
Members of a Winnipeg church are feeling shocked and bewildered after the revelation that multiple households in the congregation were defrauded of a total of more than $1 million.
Bus tour visits Stó:lō sites in B.C.
Sonny McHalsie (in red) tells stories of Kawkawa Lake, or Q’owqewem Lake, to Mennonites on an Indigenous tour in B.C. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
A nine-hour bus tour gave 30 participants a taste of the history of places that Indigenous people had inhabited for 10,000 years prior to the arrival of Mennonites in B.C. in the 1930s. The July 14 tour was guided by Sonny McHalsie, a cultural advisor and historian at the Stó:lō Nation’s Research and Resource Management Centre located in Chilliwack, B.C.
High school students visit Middle East
Westgate students on the roof of the Ecce Homo Convent in Jerusalem. (Photo by James Friesen)
On the last night of Westgate’s 2023 Middle East trip, students and staff met on the rooftop of the Ecce Homo Convent in the Old City of Jerusalem to reflect on their experiences. Fittingly, their gathering was interrupted by the call to prayer echoing across the city. No one seemed to mind.
CMU launches master’s program in spiritual care
(Supplied Photo)
Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) has added a new master of arts degree to its Graduate School of Theology and Ministry (GSTM) programming. As of fall 2023, students will be able to earn a Master of Arts in Spiritual Care, in addition to the three pre-existing master’s options: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Theological Studies and Master of Arts in Christian Ministry.
Songwriters’ retreat creates new music for churches
Nichelle Bauman (left) and George Makinto work on a new song. (Photo by Anneli Loepp Thiessen)
Nichelle Bauman (right) along with Emily Ralph Servant (left) and Nathan Grieser, at an Anabaptist songwriters’ retreat. (Photo by Anneli Loepp Thiessen)
Nichelle Bauman felt pressure going into a weekend retreat of Mennonite songwriters. What would she come up with? What could she contribute? She also had a strong desire to learn.
Is the theory of inerrancy inerrant?
Godbreathed: What it Really Means for the Bible to be Divinely Inspired
Zack Hunt was shocked when his Old Testament professor slammed a Bible against the chalkboard and shouted, “Stop worshipping this book!”
Foodgrains fundraiser in Leamington
Women prepare food for a Canadian Foodgrains Bank fundraiser in Leamington. (Photo by Denis Wiens)
The 10-acre corn field owned by Tiessen Acres near Leamington, Ontario, has a purpose. The proceeds of the field will be donated to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB), as part of the Sun Parlor Growing Project.
