On television, in the publications that we read, on the web, and even in our games, violence and injustice are highlighted without antidote. Seldom are we given the chance to see action for peace and justice as a dominant theme.
Enough with trying to save the world – that’s an impossible and thankless job. Our real task is to save Baby Jaguar. As I sit on the living room couch with my youngest child nestled on my lap and a “Dora the Explorer” book in my hand, I’ve concluded that we can accomplish this task with God’s help. Then there will be some peace in the world.
An employee of the APPBOSA co-operative prepares bananas for shipping to customers in Europe and North America.
If you buy a bunch of fair trade or organic bananas, you may get a product with a hidden stamp from Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA).
MEDA has helped co-operatives in Peru to streamline their certification procedures to maintain the rigorous requirements of fair trade and organic distributors, and thus gain a premium price.
The 45th anniversary New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale will take place on May 27 and 28 in the historic arena, grandstand and fairgrounds. Join the more than 15,000 people of all ages who attend annually; there is so much to do, buy and eat!
Silver Lake Mennonite Camp’s dining hall was gutted by fire on Feb. 7. Camp director Dave Erb hopes to have a refurbished or new building set to open by June.
The word spread quickly on Feb. 7 and the days that followed: Silver Lake Mennonite Camp’s dining hall had burned . . . again.
The camp, near Sauble Beach on Lake Huron, suffered a fire in its third year of operations, back in 1968. The present building has been a favourite of campers and off-season users because of its wide open space and large stone fireplace.
Campers who play stringed instruments—including Saskia van Arrangon, Jordan Klassen and Daniel Penner, pictured—as well as brass, woodwinds and piano, or those who sing, are all welcome at the Ontario Mennonite Music Camp, held each summer at Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo, Ont.
Singing around the piano is a popular activity at the Ontario Mennonite Music Camp in Waterloo, Ont., each summer, as Heather Imrie, Marlo Young-Sponga, Taya Kehler and Kiana Epp can attest.
It’s 11 p.m. We’ve been treated to the final program—a full, original musical about recycling prepared in two short weeks—and heard dozens of songs done by wind instruments, strings, brass, vocal quartets and pianists. We’re in awe, tired just thinking about what went into the show. Now the only one thing left to do is get the performers—our kids—home!
Archery is one of the many activities offered by Camp Squeah that can be enjoyed by all age groups at this summer’s inaugural family camp.
Summer camp is not just for children any more.
For one week this summer, Camp Squeah will be alive with the sound of voices of all ages as the camp tries something new: a multigenerational family camp, to be held from July 25 to 29.
Canoeing is one way Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp gets campers to understand the need to nurture creation.
Camp is the perfect place for environmental principles to be brought to life. An Arctic glacier slowly melting may be too far removed for children to fully grasp the significance of, but a caterpillar in hand, a hike in a forest or a camp-out under the stars are real and immediate demonstrations of the importance of caring for God’s creation.
In 2009, the high percentage of Canadian participants in the pastoral studies distance education program at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) left program administrators scratching their heads. Ten of the 16 students were from Mennonite Church Canada, with eight of these coming from MC Eastern Canada.
Last year, six of the eight continuing students were Canadians.
Christy Anderson, second from the left, shares her experience at Canadian Mennonite University with fellow students.
“Most universities are good at academics,” says Sue Sorensen, who teaches English literature at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg, adding, though, “If you turn up on our campus, people are going to care about you, whether you want them to or not!”
Solar Grebel students are thrilled to watch their green dreams take shape as they stand on the roof at Conrad Grebel University College with a partially installed solar thermal collector.
It started as an altruistic dream, but almost two years later a vision for a cleaner and greener Grebel has been realized.
Different people have different problems with the Bible, but what has troubled me the most over a few decades of reading the Bible and preaching regularly is that a lot of the Bible is not practical. Make it relevant, they taught me when I was a seminary student. But most of the Bible is hard to make relevant.
There is nothing like a new addition to the family to get parents and grandparents looking ahead to the future. Much of what lies ahead is unknown, but there are things like life insurance that can help secure your child’s financial future.
The mission of MAX (MutualAid eXchange)—creating and sustaining wholeness through preserving and restoring property, lives and communities—was very much in action during 2010, both in terms of MAX Canada’s Mutual Aid Ministry programs and its insurance operations.
The 10 members of the Canadian Association of Mennonite Schools (CAMS)—located in every province between Ontario and British Columbia—can all trace their lineage to a Mennonite conference or group.
‘Westgate . . . is a school grounded in the Anabaptist tradition. It is the mission of the school to provide a well-rounded education, which will inspire and empower students to live as people of God.’
Dave and Karen Mast have traded their home in Ephrata, Pa., for a trailer that they take with them on their assignments with Service Opportunities for Older People (SOOP), a Mennonite Mission Network ministry.
A year ago, Dave and Karen Mast traded their 240-square-metre home in Ephrata, Pa., for a 12-metre-long travel trailer.
Dave, 51, and Karen, 48, now travel across the eastern U.S. as volunteers for Service Opportunities for Older People (SOOP), a Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) volunteer opportunity throughout the U.S. and Canada for adults and families.
Heidi Wagler, a registered nurse, and her husband Brian were all set to travel to Haiti with a medical team in February when the devastating earthquake there threw a wrench into their plans. With the increased need and danger, Brian, who is not a medical professional (but works for Mennonite Savings and Credit Union), was not allowed to travel there because of the emergency.
John Bell, a leader in the Iona Community and a major contributor to the Wild Goose Resource Group, often notes that Christians need to leave the safety of their favourite psalms and allow the difficult words and emotions of other texts to minister to and through them.
Ecclesiastes. Douglas B. Miller. Herald Press, 2010, 300 pages.
This is the 23rd volume of the “Believers Church Bible Commentary” series. Miller is professor of biblical and religious studies at Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kan.
If she were alive today, would Doris Janzen Longacre, author of the More-With-Less Cookbook and Living More With Less, have a Facebook account?
“What I didn’t expect was the sense I suddenly had that author Doris Janzen Longacre and the contributors to Living More With Less were peering around the shelves at Target, watching me finger those plush crimson towels I really didn’t need. . . .”
Editing a book about living simply has a way of throwing one’s own hypocrisy into stark relief. When I began work on the 30th-anniversary edition of Living More With Less for Herald Press, I knew that I’d have to face the many ways that I failed to make choices that were mindful of global poverty and climate change.
Starting next summer—the year of celebration for Dutch Mennonites—Mennonite Heritage Tours will offer four new heritage tours for Mennonites from all over the world.
During a stop of the Lehman homestead in the Jura area of France, TourMagination travellers check out a family chart.
While we each appreciate different aspects of travel, many people assume travelling with a tour group is not for them. They associate tour groups with older people or a lack of flexibility.
While this may sometimes be the case, there are times when joining a tour group is a great fit for nearly every traveller.
Conrad Grebel University College has long tried to keep a blend of first-year and returning upper-year students in its residence program, but this year the balancing act became more complicated when the University of Waterloo insisted Grebel reserve 100 percent of its residence beds for first-year students.
Grebel said no.
