Volume 18, Number 14
Let’s celebrate!
Gertrude Nickel (nee Janzen) admires her beautiful birthday cake on May 31, 2014.
There were 144 women who joined in the festivities celebrating the 75th anniversary of Mennonite Church B.C. Women’s Ministry Inspirational Day on May 3 at Emmanuel Mennonite Church, Abbotsford, B.C.
‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matt. 19:19 NIV)
Coming off the ‘high’
By the time this editorial sees the light of print and the Internet, some 500 delegates attending our national assembly in Winnipeg will have discerned, debated, parsed and probably tired of the theme for the event: Wild Hope, faith for an unknown season.
Jesus taught equality, regardless of sexual identity
Probably the two most divisive issues in the church at the moment are women’s status and rights in the church, and the moral legitimacy of same-sex covenant relationships. The parallel passages of Matthew 19:3-22 and Mark 10:2-12 have implications for both of these questions.
‘They will know we are Christians by our love’
During the 2013-14 academic year, Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) was engaged in intense conversations on and off campus regarding its hiring policy concerning individuals in covenanted same-sex relationships. Research professor Lisa Schirch sent the following letter to the university’s student newspaper, The Weather Vane, representing some of that conversation.
For discussion: Jesus taught equality, regardless of sexual identity
1. Does your church give equal status and rights to women and men? How did earlier generations explain their assumption that powerful roles were reserved for men? How much does our culture affect our attitudes when it comes to what is right or wrong in the church?
Readers write: July 7, 2014 issue
Keep national, area churches out of LGBTQ decisions
Trouble with summer reading
I write this from what must be one of the most beautiful places on earth. We’re on a family holiday on one of the small Gulf Islands in British Columbia’s Strait of Georgia. I know; you’re already feeling sorry for me. I’m enjoying rest, playing with my kids, conversation with my wife and, sandwiched in small bites on this full table of grace, a good book.
Diversity 101
This past spring, from March to May, I attended a series of classes at Spirit of Life Lutheran Church in Vancouver. The classes or “gatherings,” as they were called, were part of a program titled Caring for All Creation: Land, Water, and Our Communities. My partner Glenn was attending for class credit and since it was free for the public, I thought I’d go, too.
Mennonites learn about hospitality and living for others
The Goreme open air museum near Cappadocia, Turkey, includes rock-cut chapels that are part of an ancient Byzantine monastic settlement. A group of Ontario Mennonites visited the site in May as part of an intercultural learning tour.
The group who visited Turkey in May appreciated the warmth and hospitality of their host family, the Dogans. (From left): Mandy Witmer, Phil Witmer, Pat Manske, Josie Winterfeld, Leon Kehl, their host’s brother and his wife, the Dogan family with their daughter, the grandfather, a friend, guide Sezai Yeter, Steve Manske, Ross Weber and Carol Weber. Also included in the tour were: Fred Martin, Wanda Wagler-Martin, and Will Winterfeld.
On May 5, a group of eleven Mennonites from Kitchener-Waterloo area churches embarked on a ten day intercultural study tour of Turkey, sponsored by the Intercultural Dialogue Institute (IDI). The tour was co-led by Leon Kehl of Floradale Mennonite Church and Sezai Yeter, a member of the Turkish community in Kitchener.
Authority and influence
Cultural norms and values from one generation to the next are a moving target. While this isn’t a new concept, there are many challenges associated with the increased rate of change. Perceptions of authority and the shifting realities of influence are important as we consider the present and future church.
Metzger meets with Harmony Group
Erwin Warkentin, a member of the Harmony Group and Willard Metzger, executive director of MC Canada.
Members of the Harmony Group, formed six years ago by Mennonites seeking inclusion of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) in Mennonite Church Canada, recently engaged in earnest dialogue with Willard Metzger, executive director of Mennonite Church Canada.
Dust settles on prison chaplaincy controversy
Chaplain Hank Dixon
After a series of bumps and scares in recent years, a new system of federal prison chaplaincy has emerged, with a single company, rather than individual denominations, holding the chaplaincy contracts.
MCC Summerfest Relief Sale
Hannah Martens (left), Cindy Klassen, and Rebecca Janzen enjoy each other’s company at the “GO” booth where Martens and Janzen earned money for MCC by running and biking on the stationary equipment.
“Mustache friends” Natalie Rosenberg (left), and Bronwyn Bergen had their faces painted by professional face painter, Val Martens.
Alberta Mennonites have few opportunities for large fellowship gatherings. While the annual Mennonite Central Committee relief sale is a huge amount of work, when the weekend arrives, the atmosphere is decidedly celebratory.
Retelling the Story
In his new book Rewriting the Break Event, Robert Zacharias identifies a major theme running through four works of Canadian Mennonite literature. The author is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo and is connected to Conrad Grebel University College.
Diverse voices speak out
In recognition of National Aboriginal Day in Canada, on June 21, 2013, Herald Press released Buffalo Shout, Salmon Cry: Conversations on Creation, Land Justice and Life Together, a new book edited by Steve Heinrichs, director of Mennonite Church Canada Indigenous Relations.
Killing her softly
It’s Sunday morning, and you greet Sandy* and Bob* as they sit in the pew behind you. You smile and shake hands. What you see is a nice couple, good parents who are active in the church. What you miss are the emptiness and pain in Sandy’s eyes because her husband is abusing her.
MCC has ‘a place for everyone’
Here are multiple stories of how Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) began. One tells of Clayton Kratz, a young man who went to Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, to attempt to distribute aid to starving people in 1920, but disappeared and was never found.
Another details how Mennonites worked with the U.S. government to finally deliver relief supplies beginning in 1922.
