Most humans really do not like conflict. We often see it as the brokenness of a relationship. Especially as the church, we desire relationship, we desire wholeness. And conflict... Read More
Opinion
My life is great viewing. Tonight I watched my one-year-old meticulously pick through a small box of knick-knacks looking for something she could treasure. I wanted to interrupt,... Read More
March 11, 2015 | Viewpoints | Phil Wagler
I’m in the thick of it. I had my second child earlier this year and life is still in the process of reordering itself. The predictable schedule went out the window and is slowly... Read More
March 11, 2015 | Viewpoints | Katie Doke Sawatzky
There is so much to be done. Extra demands at home and at work. More time with the family. Keeping up with an exercise program. Planning the next holiday. Time out with friends... Read More
March 11, 2015 | Viewpoints | Elsie Wiebe with Kathy Giesbrecht
“Many members are not happy with the direction and general content of the magazine,” writes a Mennonite pastor, in a solicited follow-up note after one of his members cancelled... Read More
February 25, 2015 | Editorial |
‘A biblical and better way’ is neither Re: “ A biblical and better way ,” Jan. 19, page 4. I was saddened and disappointed with Ronald J. Sider’s feature article. I have much... Read More
February 25, 2015 | Viewpoints |
Summer is an exciting time, and one that most of us tend to look forward to. Warm temperatures, long weekends at the lake or on the porch, summer sports, and, for many in the... Read More
February 25, 2015 | Viewpoints | Kirsten Hamm-Epp
I mostly managed to ignore it the first time it came around. But now when I go to the movies, there are huge, impossible-to-miss posters blaring the news that a film has been made... Read More
February 25, 2015 | Viewpoints |
A number of people glanced over as they passed the elderly woman working in her front lawn. She had finished planting flowers in the garden and was now struggling to plant a... Read More
February 25, 2015 | Viewpoints | Harold Penner
I’ve always been intrigued with “thin places” long before I ever heard the term “thin place.” Since childhood, I’ve been curiously drawn to old churches, temples, cathedrals,... Read More
February 25, 2015 | Viewpoints | Troy Watson
While personally rejuvenated from my four-month sabbatical, I am saddened to come back to a faith community that seems wounded and immobilized with what one of our interim editors... Read More
February 11, 2015 | Editorial |
Conscience Canada offers ‘peace tax’ alternative to taxpayers Current global events feel overwhelming. Here we are on a globe that seems to be rolling down a mountain, swelling... Read More
February 11, 2015 | Viewpoints |
The Pharisees were Jesus’ nemesis, his constant sparring partners, fellow citizens who conspired eagerly against him. The Pharisees (spit) are the bad guys in the story even as it... Read More
February 11, 2015 | Viewpoints | Phil Wagler
As I scan the directory of pastors and congregations in our area church, I am inspired and immensely grateful. I know that very fine pastoral leadership is happening. I know that... Read More
February 11, 2015 | Viewpoints | Jerry Buhler
Before things “broke badly” for the actor Bryan Cranston, he was in a great family TV show called Malcolm in the Middle. If you’ve seen it, you will remember the catchy theme song... Read More
January 28, 2015 | Editorial | Henry Krause
When I first started hanging out with Mennonites in the 1990s, I noticed a lot of them talked more about the Sermon on the Mount than the cross. They seemed to have a different... Read More
January 28, 2015 | Viewpoints | Troy Watson
This past December I learned that many Catholic churches designate the Sunday following Christmas as “the feast of the Holy Family.” It’s a relatively new designation, officially... Read More
January 28, 2015 | Viewpoints | Melissa Miller
The practice of regularly passing the collection plate in churches has only been around for about 100 years, and thankfully it replaced church revenue streams such as the annual... Read More
January 28, 2015 | Viewpoints | Dori Zerbe Cornelsen
My recent project, a downloadable study booklet called “Come Lord Jesus, be our Host,” inspired me to dig more deeply into the table manners of Jesus. I’m not referring to how he... Read More
January 28, 2015 | Viewpoints | Elsie Rempel
More support for Conscience Canada efforts needed Re: “ Fight, fight, fight the madness of war ” letter, Dec. 15, 2014, page 13. With respect to the madness of war, I agree... Read More
January 28, 2015 | Viewpoints |
Since the 1980s, the Mennonite church has been debating how it should relate to those who are same-sex attracted. It has been a long and difficult debate, and it isn’t over yet... Read More
January 14, 2015 | Editorial | Barb Draper
A few years ago, when I prayed for a greater sense of social responsibility and deeper bonds with fellow Christians, I had no idea God would answer my prayer as creatively as he... Read More
January 14, 2015 | Viewpoints | By Gloria Laurence
If there was one book in 2014 that had me despairing and cursing, but fired up to hope, it was Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything (Knopf Canada). Klein is a journalist-activist... Read More
January 14, 2015 | Viewpoints | Katie Doke Sawatzky
Whom are you battling? Can you picture them or it? Everyone is at war, some on numerous fronts. “Be kind,” wrote Philo of Alexandria. “Everyone you meet is fighting a great battle... Read More
January 14, 2015 | Viewpoints | Phil Wagler
Twitter informed me this morning that Bethany College in Hepburn, Sask., is closing in 2015 after 87 years of teaching. Ron Toews, director of the Canadian Conference of MB... Read More
January 14, 2015 | Viewpoints | Brent Charette