Viewpoint

Last summer, I invited a friend along to supper with several Christian acquaintances. Within half an hour, they were asking her if she was a Christian. When she replied “no,”…

I once held a hummingbird in the palm of my hand. I cradled it until I could release it at the open door of the boathouse. It was one of the holiest moments of my life. And there have been many more like it.

Church growth is a very popular topic. Church death? Not so much.

Through nearly 60 years of ministry I’ve enjoyed fellowship with diverse groups of believers. Based on this experience, I believe Anabaptist denominations are too small, too exclusive and too institutional.…

Many of us, when we look back on our student days, remember certain professors who, through their teaching ability or personal character, left an indelible and formative impression that lasted a lifetime. For me, one of those professors was Dr. Henry Krahn, president of Winnipeg’s Mennonite Brethren Bible College from 1974–82.

Have you ever had something hit you so hard, hurt so much, that you felt like someone “blew a hole” through you?

Cape Town, South Africa, is a 12-hour flight from London, England. It’s a long, long way from Canada. Nevertheless, nearly 100 Canadians travelled that distance to take part in the Oct. 17–25 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. I was one of them, part of a group of 50 official Canadian “participants.” The rest were there in various capacities as guests, organizers, or volunteers at this monumental event.

Who is welcomed at the Lord’s Table? I was challenged by this question at a communion celebration while visiting a church during my time at seminary.

This is a story about children, but it is not a children’s story. It is a story about the horrors that we, as a society, too often visit upon the most vulnerable.

Last November, in my role as interim Herald editor, I wrote an editorial urging Mennonite Brethren to participate in Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The Commission was formed as a provision of the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement between government, church entities, and former students. Its mandate was to work at healing the personal damage and broken relationships caused by the residential school system.

I write because I breathe. God saw fit to create me, and out of that knowledge comes a desire to be creative myself. It makes sense that – made in the Lord’s image and loved as his creation – I would also love creating. I may not have the ability or imagination to conceive of the vastness of space or the intricacies of the human cell, but that will not stop me from using what I have been given.

The tragic end to an international flotilla’s attempt to break the blockade of Gaza brought the territorial dispute of Israel-Palestine to the headlines in early June. The conflict in the region is multifaceted, deep-seated, and long-running, so it’s tempting to ignore the deluge of reports as so much bad news from far away.

Does your faith have anything to say to your investment decisions? Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) recently embarked on an informational campaign about the practices of Canadian mining companies which may appear in your investment portfolio.

A decade ago, I wrote an article for the Herald on homosexuality, Welcoming and yet not affirming (Nov. 5, 1999), which attempted to assess the impact of this issue in the life of the church and culture, and, if possible, provide some direction to the church as we sought to live faithfully as followers of Christ.