Volume 19 Issue 22

Jesus poses a problem

How do questions bring you closer to God?

The Bible includes several hundred instances where Jesus poses a question to an individual, a small group of followers or a large crowd. Rarely looking for information, he often asks questions in order to challenge, encourage, invite or inspire.

Sister Care comes to Canada

During my first year as a member of the Women of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (WMCEC) executive, I was fortunate to be invited to an information session about the possibility of Sister Care (a women’s empowerment program created by Mennonite Women U.S.A.) coming to Canada. Being quite the “newbie” in 2014, I had no idea what to expect.

1960s radio broadcast of a men's quartet

This photo is of a men’s quartet singing for a radio broadcast in a Vancouver Mennonite church basement circa the 1960s. Advances in mass communication such as radio were first met with suspicion and in some cases were banned in Mennonite communities warning about worldly influences entering the home and community. Committees were established to consider the best response to these innovations.

Church geeks serve PiE

Board member Caleb Redekop, centre, cuts the PiE pie with Chris Brnjas and Jessica Reesor Rempel at Pastors in Exile’s kick-off on Sept. 27, 2015, at the Queen St. Commons Café in Kitchener, Ont. (Photo by Dave Rogalsky)

Both Jessica Reesor Rempel and Chris Brnjas are fond of puns, as perhaps only geeks are.

Self-professed “church geeks,” they kicked off their new ministry, Pastors in Exile (PiE) at the Queen Street Commons café in downtown Kitchener on Sept. 27, 2015, with many pies being consumed by the 85 people who attended.

Walking together . . . rather than around each other

She is a novelist and world traveller, speaks Mandarin and has a brown belt in karate. Shaimaa Kraba also wears a hijab and is a Sunni Muslim. At the third annual Christian-Muslim dialogue in Edmonton on Oct. 17, 2015, emcee Miriam Gross humorously addressed the issue of stereotyping when she quipped, “There is more to her than a ‘scarf-clad’ girl. After all, it’s a hijab, not a halo!”

Solace in a subculture

It takes Anna Chemar almost two hours to dress in her favourite style. The elaborate makeup alone requires 45 minutes. Carefully slipping into the clothes—bell-shaped skirt, blouse and corset—takes another 20 minutes. The rest of the time is devoted to final touches: wig, headdress and painted lips. When finished, she looks like a Gothic-styled doll.

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