One of the striking things about Voices Together , the new Mennonite song collection, is that it includes 12 pieces of visual art. Images reach into our lives in a different way... Read More
Features
In a piece titled “Migrant Journey,” artist Rafael Barahona explores a universal story that includes many perils but also a sense of hope. The art was inspired by Jeremiah 29:11 and Hebrews 11:1 and appears in the hymnal collection Voices Together, published by MennoMedia. (Artwork used with permission of Rafael Barahona)
March 16, 2022 | Feature | Carol Penner
Following provincial protocols for meetings during the pandemic, members of Sherbrooke Mennonite Church in Vancouver gather for an outdoor service, in the summer of 2020. (Photo by Garry Janzen)
Justin Sun has never known pastoring other than during a pandemic. A year-and-a-half into his first pastorate, he says, “It’s been rough. How do I even do this job? I didn’t even... Read More
March 2, 2022 | Feature | Randolph Haluza-DeLay
(istock.com photo by Anne-Marie Miller)
Although some Mennonite churches in Canada have wrestled with whether to accept LGBTQ+ people in their congregations, the conversation around queer issues is rapidly expanding in... Read More
February 16, 2022 | Feature | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
Dan and Esther Epp-Tiessen have found joy even in their long journey with cancer. (Photo courtesy of Dan Epp-Tiessen)
My family does cancer in a big way. In my immediate family of five members, there have been 10 occasions when a doctor told one of us that we have cancer, or that, despite the... Read More
February 2, 2022 | Feature | Dan Epp-Thiessen
Annie Janzen and Mira Hoover enjoy rosehip tea at Janzen’s apartment last fall. (Photo courtesy of Tanya Hoover)
Annie Janzen earned no degrees and was never elected chair of a church council. She did not start a church, write a best-seller or perform for large audiences. She did cook at... Read More
January 19, 2022 | Feature | Will Braun
(istock.com photo by Gutzemberg)
Did you know, there are over 650 occurrences of the word “power” in the Bible? Dunamis , a Greek word for power, occurs 120 times in the New Testament and means “strength” or “... Read More
January 5, 2022 | Feature | Kimberly Penner
A sketch of the meetinghouse used by the Moyer Mennonite congregation, in Vineland, Ont., before 1897. The church was later renamed The First Mennonite Church. (Photo: L.J.Burkholder collection, Mennonite Archives of Ontario)
What do we do when we disagree with people in our church? There are lots of reasons to disagree. We can disagree about how we talk about salvation, about who we should include or... Read More
December 1, 2021 | Feature | Carol Penner
(Christmas artwork by Justin Neufeld, a Grade 11 student at UMEI High School in Leamington, Ont.)
Mary’s story comes to us this year, maybe in a new way, at a time when we welcome some really good news. We could use an encouraging, empowering and heart-warming story right now... Read More
November 17, 2021 | Feature | Anita Retzlaff
(photo © istock.com/fauk74)
The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year, so it would be appropriate to greet each other with the recognition that a new year has begun. Advent is the... Read More
November 3, 2021 | Feature | Chris K. Huebner
(istock.com photo by JosephJacobs)
A public apology is one of many ways that a church may address past wrongs and those persons who have been harmed. Right now, for example, even following the apology by the... Read More
October 20, 2021 | Feature | Jeremy M. Bergen
After entering the Men Can Cook competition, Jawanda Clemence discovered a love of cooking. Now he helps train new competitors and has developed a number of his own recipes. Here he’s teaching a recipe for mashed lablab to a group of women. At the time this photo was taken, COVID-19 measures in Zimbabwe only included a recommendation for mask use. (Score Against Poverty photo/Obert Payenda)
All of Joseph Gudo’s hard work was summed up in one small plate of food. He’d laboured for months in the field and uncountable hours in the kitchen all in service to this dish—a... Read More
October 6, 2021 | Feature | Jason Dueck
The Winnipeg Police Service sparked outrage in April 2020 when one of its officers shot 16-year-old Eishia Hudson following a robbery, car chase and collision. Hudson died in hospital. (Photo by Aaron Epp)
On March 11, 2020, the day before Manitoba reported its first infection of the coronavirus, Bronwyn Dobchuk-Land stood up in a multipurpose room at First Mennonite Church in... Read More
September 22, 2021 | Feature | Aaron Epp
(photo: © istockphoto.com/princessdlaf)
Do Mennonites believe there is something intrinsically, inherently important about our denominational institutions? If you think not, then you can skip this article and pick up... Read More
September 8, 2021 | Feature | Jon Brandt
One of the three chairs represents the directee, or client, who is seeking support on their spiritual journey. The second chair represents the spiritual director—the one who is listening in three directions: Out, to their client; up to God; in, to notice their own responses. The third chair is a reminder that the real spiritual director is the Holy Spirit. (Photo by Ralph Brubacher)
When I was taking part in the Ontario Jubilee program in soul care and spiritual direction, one of the principles that guided our time together was that everything we did as a... Read More
August 11, 2021 | Feature | Janet Bauman
(istock.com photo by Ken Drysdale)
Recovering a lost language or learning to speak a language doesn’t happen overnight. But a desire to learn will unbolt the door—swinging it wide open—and fill our lungs with... Read More
July 14, 2021 | Feature | Sara Wenger Shenk
“How we talk to and treat each other matters and communicates the love of God. Sometimes in church we have to be willing to have hard conversations—to talk about what healthy relationships look like—not just about how we sexually relate, but how we speak to each other, and how we treat those on the margins.” (istock.com photo by Steelalevi)
Abuse. It’s one of those topics that can stop a conversation dead in its tracks. Yet those who work in the area of abuse response and prevention say that talking about it—before... Read More
June 16, 2021 | Feature | Donna Schulz
‘St. Paul in prison,’ by Rembrandt, in the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro (cc-by-sa/4.0))
Last September, at the school where I teach, the director noted the many restraints and restrictions staff and students were experiencing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It... Read More
June 2, 2021 | Feature | Brenda Epp
The five ‘amigos’—members of the Global Community of Young Anabaptists—joined hands at St. Jacobs (Ont.) Mennonite Church in early 2005. The hands belong to Sarah Thompson (North America), Amandus Reimer (South America), Elina Ciptadi (Asia), Khohlwani Moyo (Africa), and Barbara Kärcher (Europe). (CM file photo by Ross W. Muir)
By Doug Klassen During times of crisis or struggle, I study Scripture, praying that the Holy Spirit nudges me with a word, a phrase . . . anything. A few months ago, I came upon... Read More
May 24, 2021 | Feature | Doug Klassen and Joon Park
(Photo by DrAfter123/flickr.com)
Amidst the darkness and uncertainties of the past year, there have been some gifts in this pandemic time. One of these gifts has been increased acknowledgement of the existence of... Read More
May 5, 2021 | Feature | Wanda Wagler-Martin
Saint Phoebe the Deaconess. (Source and date unknown.) (pngkey.com image (public domain))
The Epistle to the Romans has been called the Apostle Paul’s great masterwork, the summing up of all his thought. It is a rich, dense and complex work of theology that has... Read More
April 21, 2021 | Feature | Alison Li
(Photo by Aaron Epp)
“Rainy days,” Calvin and Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson once wrote, “should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.” As part of Canadian Mennonite’s biannual Focus... Read More
April 7, 2021 | Feature | Aaron Epp
It’s as if we are on a ship heading straight for the rocks in spite of warning buoys, lighthouses or even the jagged shoreline looming ahead. Individual efforts seem insignificant, a choice between rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and trying to turn the ship with our bare hands. (Photo by Wollox / Creative Commons Licence (bit.ly/3rLhdz4))
Every time you walk into the church building, that threadbare carpet stares up at you. Everyone agrees it’s time for a change, but how do you replace a worn-out carpet without... Read More
March 24, 2021 | Feature | Tim Wiebe-Neufeld
(Image by Albrecht Fietz from Pixabay)
Easter is a time to speak a message of lavish grace, of love personified and of unending hope. This is a day to leave guilt, shame and fear tangled up with the linen strips inside... Read More
March 10, 2021 | Feature | Emily Summach
(Photo by YWAM Orlando on Flickr)
When you consider Jesus’ three-year ministry, which specific events come to mind? Which of his actions inspire you the most? When I was in seminary, one assignment was to pick one... Read More
February 24, 2021 | Feature | Joon Park
Apart from communities in the eastern United States, where the song was previously known, Mary Oyer and her committee colleagues had presumed the song would appeal primarily to church choirs looking for a challenge. (Photo by Merrill Miller)
When hymnologist Mary Oyer travelled from Uganda to Oregon to attend the 1969 Mennonite Church general assembly, she was surely filled with anticipation. She arrived in the second... Read More
February 10, 2021 | Feature | Bradley Kauffman