Viewpoints

Navigating change

On Jan. 11, I joined an Idle No More event initiated by Mennonites in Winnipeg on the same day aboriginal chiefs met with the prime minister. One driver who was temporarily stopped by the marchers enthusiastically shouted out her car window, cell phone in hand: “I’ve just tweeted your event!” Within minutes, another voice from a passing car yelled, “Get a job!”

Church in the streets

Religious life in Canada continues to change dramatically from previous generations. A new Forum Research Poll recently commissioned for the National Post indicates that two-thirds of Canadians say they are spiritual, but only half say they are religious. Among younger-age groups, fewer are attending church or engaging in religious practices.

The Bible is theological

In our denomination we give less and less attention to the practice of theology. One wonders why. Perhaps it is because we falsely believe theology to be a strictly “academic” activity separate from church life (when in fact churches have been sorting out what it means to follow God from the beginning). Almost certainly the reason falls out of a false dichotomy between head and heart.

New eyes

When my friend told me she was knitting a scarf for her husband, I foolishly exclaimed, “But you don’t knit!” Foolish, I say, because she should know if she knits or doesn’t. She corrected me, and let me know she’d actually been a knitter for decades. Similarly another long-time friend confessed she bites her nails, something I would never have imagined, given her calm and serene manner.

Beyond politics

I’m a sucker for politics. I read the papers, stay up late on election nights and get far too emotionally involved. But at the same time, I maintain a fundamental suspicion of partisan politics. While I know and respect people in the political sphere, I will never buy a party membership, go door-to-door with pamphlets, or bang a sign into my front lawn.

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