October 2021

For Bradley and Virginia Walker, livestock farmers in Endeavour, Saskatchewan, this year’s weather was a disaster.  “The rain was so patchy,” said Bradley. “Some places got good rain, we got nothing.”  The lack of rain meant they couldn’t grow enough hay to feed the 350 head of cattle on their organic beef farm.   “Normally we grow enough,” he said, noting that wasn’t the case this year—there isn’t enough hay to get the herd through the winter months.  

While I have been a proud member of the Mennonite Brethren (MB) family since 1984, I no longer count the number of times I have heard colleagues, friends, and various leaders confidently state that biblical inerrancy is “not our thing.”

In March 2020, during the first pandemic lockdown, I found myself teaching from home (on Zoom), and feeling alone, adrift, and angry. A week or two later, I had a conversation with my seminary colleagues. It was my first conversation about the pandemic in the light of scripture and theology. That conversation renewed my hope…

As a young disciple of Jesus, I lived in B.C.’s Fraser Valley in the 1970’s and 80’s. At that time there seemed to be a church on every corner; a faith community from almost every denomination. The spiritual ‘buffet’ included a dramatic spectrum of worship styles and theological bents. The ecclesiastical options seemed endless.

“We need to listen to one another and engage charitably with others’ positions,” says Fitch, keynote speaker at the Equip Mini 2021: Engaging in Healthy Conversations Around Difficult Topics in the Church, the November 19-20 event for pastors and church leaders.  

Effective October 1, 2021, Ken Esau will serve CCMBC in the interim role of National Faith and Life (NFLT) director. Ken commits to a six-month term while current NFLT director Ingrid Reichard is on a leave of absence.