(Photo by Mathieu Stern/Unsplash)
“Who says they have enough money? We’ve never heard such a thing!” blurted the students at a Christian college at which I used to teach. I had just told them that I was going on an international human-rights delegation. After asking about funding, they vocalized their surprise that I was paying my own expenses. “I have enough money,” I had said.
(Photo by Rod Long/Unsplash)
Occasionally, if my wife Rebecca doesn’t get home when I was expecting her, my mind will become morbidly creative.
Meheret Evangelical Church in Kitchener, Ont., looks normal from the outside. As the church has now reopened, it has adapted to the pandemic and has made changes along the way. (Photo by Yeabsera Agonfer)
There is no question that COVID-19 has been disruptive. We, like the Israelites, found ourselves wandering in the wilderness, anxious to get back to normal.
We have realized that “normal” will not happen anytime soon so, like the Israelites, we made our home in this new place, building houses (carving out offices) and planting gardens (noticing and practising what is life-giving).
“There is a form of belonging and connection that is intended to not only transcend our capacity to imagine it, but also the boundaries of exclusion that are so fundamental to all these other ways of imagining belonging. . . .” (Photo by Mireia B L from istock.com)
I’m not naturally a morning person; it usually takes a lot to get me started at the beginning of my day. But this last Wednesday, I set my alarm a little earlier and bounced up from bed like a child on Christmas morning.
Visio divina involves the use a photo, sculpture or work of art to walk through ‘divine seeing’ in four stages of pondering how God is speaking to the community. (Photo by Mim Wenger)
What can services look like without music?
Mennonites express their unity and diversity through singing together. The coronavirus pandemic silenced many voices for the sake of public safety.
Kyle Penner, assistant pastor of Grace Mennonite in Steinbach, Man., is also the Mennonite poster boy for vaccinations in the province. Literally. Penner is on the advisory committee for Protect MB, the provincial government’s COVID-19 outreach initiative.
The correlation is unavoidable. Some of the areas with the lowest vaccination rates in Canada are areas inhabited by lots of Mennonites.
The Globe and Mail reported on vaccination resistance in the Aylmer area of Ontario, with special mention of Mennonites.
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
‘Big’ farmers can be ‘Christians with a conscience’ too
Re: “Germinating conversations,” June 7, page 16.
(Image by Alexandre Bricio/Pixabay)
He discretely looked to the left, then to the right and said quietly, “Why don’t we talk about evangelism in this denomination?”
I grinned and replied, “Ever seen the movie A Thief in the Night?”
“No”, he said.
I briefly described the 1970s era Christian film depicting a rapture, tribulation and the second coming of Christ.
(Photo: Mennonite Heritage Archives / Henry T. Klassen)
The German-language periodical Der Bote was begun in Rosthern, Sask., in 1924, to connect Mennonites in Russia, Canada, the United States and Latin America. It had generations of faithful readers, like Mrs. Lepp, pictured. Der Bote recorded the pain and loss of home and loved ones. It provided advice on how to improve farming practices in times of drought.
(Photo by Debby Hudson/Unsplash)
Church is not the building. We’ve heard that often over the last 18 months. But now that some congregations are back in their building, with the rest trying to figure it out, I wonder who will come back? And what will we come back to?
I have heard a variety of opinions around me, which may be a microcosm of many of our congregations.
(Image by eommina/Pixabay)
I was about to take a shower, and for some reason, I looked at myself in the mirror. Rookie mistake. You see, I’ve gained 5.5 kilograms in the last year and, without access to my local gym and trainer for the past 13 months, I’ve lost some muscle mass.
(Pixabay.com image by Couleur)
A long time ago I told God that I was his, and that I would follow him wherever he led me. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to decipher God’s leading!
Does that still small voice belong to God, or is that just my own will whispering loudly? Closed doors and open windows are often a sign but, sometimes, as you crawl through the window, you wonder if this is really the best way.
(Photo by Pawel Czerwinski/Unsplash)
On a cold wintry night in the middle of February around a decade ago, I arranged five chairs at the table for our committee meeting. One person came in looking wretched; she blew her nose and sneezed through the whole meeting. I felt like moving my chair away, as I was sitting next to her, but I didn’t want to be rude.
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
Beware of pulling up the crop with the weeds
Re: “Author, bookstore owner dispute ‘censorship’ claim,” June 7, page 21.
(pixabay.com photo by congerdesign)
“It is so good to connect with each other.” In my role as executive minister of Mennonite Church Alberta, I have heard this sentiment expressed many times in many different ways. It is a feeling I heard expressed again on a Monday evening in late June as I met with the church chairs from the congregations of the regional church.
(Photo: Mennonite Heritage Archives / CMC photo collection)
Hochstadt, Man., near Altona was the location of the first delegate meeting of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada (CMC) in 1903. A cairn was unveiled in July 1978 at that location to mark the 75th anniversary. On the left is Peter J. Hamm, but who is the man with the beard on the right?
(pixabay.com photo by Norman Bosworth)
It’s Friday. I drive to Rosthern, Sask., and pull in at the Good Neighbours Food Centre, where I will spend the day volunteering. My task, besides praying before the doors are opened, is to deliver groceries to cars, and to offer relationships to everyone I encounter. It’s a good fit.
(flickr.com photo by Thomas Hawk)
What is a bike to you: Exercise? A commuter vehicle? Opportunity for a family outing? Tool for close-by errands? A connection to simple living? Related to your spirituality?
(flickr.com photo by Mike Sayfang)
I remember singing in various youth-group settings the once popular, and now dated-sounding, worship song, “Refiner’s Fire.” Admittedly, I never really took the time to ponder the metaphor of being refined in the fire. The words “Purify my heart, let me be as gold and precious silver” sounded nice, accompanied with lyrics desiring holiness.
(Photo courtesy of Kirsten Hamm-Epp)
“So . . . what’s next??”
The dreaded question for every graduate.
It’s been a few years (plus a few more!) since I graduated from high school and university, but I still remember this sense that, come graduation, I needed to have a roadmap of my future aspirations ready to explain in one easy sentence. No problem, right? Should be easy enough! (Insert “zany face” emoji here.)
(flickr.com photo by GoToVan)
Following the discovery of the remains of 215 children on the grounds of the former Kamloops (B.C.) Indian Residential School by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) laments the loss of these young lives.
Justin Sun is a pastor of Peace Mennonite and Peace Chinese Mennonite Churches in the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam Indian Band (Richmond, B.C.).
José-Luis Moraga is pastor of discipleship at Springfield Heights Mennonite Church in Winnipeg.
Members of a Mennonite Church Canada delegation attended the virtual conference hosted by NAIITS—An Indigenous Learning Community from June 3 to 6.
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
Columnist thanked for his ‘encouragement and inspiration’
Re: “Are you okay with okay?” April 26, page 11.
(Photo by arash payam/Unsplash)
I’m surrounded by a legion of internal voices telling me I am not the pastor I should be. I’m not enough of a leader, not caring enough, not informed enough, not clear, not decisive, not doing enough. My soul cowers at the possibility that the roaring cacophony in my head is correct. Our current moment in history has laid bare my insecurities, deficiencies and anxieties of being a pastor.
(The Canadian Mennonite / Mennonite Archives of Ontario)
Breaking with its usual formal style, The Canadian Mennonite decided to print a candid photo of church leaders in 1958. While lining up for the typical serious group photograph, men gathering at St. Catharines United Mennonite Church in St. Catharines, Ont. were interrupted by a young girl unselfconsciously swinging a hula hoop.
