As is typical of most family get-togethers, the 80th convention of the Ontario Conference of MB Churches called attendees to “Remember, Reflect and Renew.” And like most family gatherings, the Feb. 18–19, 2011 meeting of leaders and 156 delegates at Waterloo MB Church included encouraging celebrations and tough conversations.
Like a number of others who have sat in the “driver’s seat,” I got my MB Herald driving lessons from Harold Jantz. I came to work for him in 1973, as his first assistant editor. I was absolutely thrilled at the opportunity, for I’d long had the desire, inarticulate as it was, to work in the area of writing.
A training day for ministry workers started under the auspices of the B.C. Mennonite Brethren conference in 2004 is now drawing pastors, administrators, and volunteers from a broad set of denominations. Held at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, B.C., this year, ChurchWorks added partners.
Mennonites have some dark marks in history, and for the most part they don’t like to talk about them, but Patrick Friesen’s play The Shunning brings one of those dark marks to the light. Based on a narrative poem published in 1980, the play was first performed in 1985. While Friesen weaves cultural aspects of Mennonite heritage into the play, it stands as a dark story about one of their harshest punishments.
When it comes to stories or movies with good endings, I confess I can’t help but be a critic. Something about tales ending “happily ever after” leaves me questioning whether the author or filmmaker conceived of four-year-olds as their audience. “Get real!” I chime. What brought on my “realism”? Experience – a life in which I am both witness and recipient of the consequences of a fallen world.
I’m not sure which was more stressful: the fact that I was 35 years old and connected to an electrocardiogram machine, or the dawning realization that my body was …
I lift mine eyes unto the ceiling. Above the cacophony of banter and drums grinding chords and grimacing voices the music begins to flow. Great slender lamps hang in …
I’ve been hearing more and more people talk about “holidays with meaning.” It seems folks want to make a difference while travelling the world, so they use their time off …
Choral singing has been a beloved Mennonite activity for more than 100 years, and Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) will commemorate its 10th anniversary with two spring concerts: Mar. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in Westminster United Church, Winnipeg, and Mar. 27 at 3:00 p.m. in Mennonite Collegiate Institute’s (MCI) Buhler Hall, Gretna, Man.
A number of years ago, my seven-year-old nephew invited a friend over to play. When asked if he would like some pop to drink with lunch, he responded, “No.”