This article focuses on the people calling themselves Mennonite who came to Manitoba from Ukraine in the 1870s and later. Lest anyone think I am engaging in an ethnic slur, let me say at the start that my mother was of those people and I will be sharing some of the things she told me. … Continue reading How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one
History
Have we forgotten what we were supposed to say?
Without going into details, we must recognize that, in the course of history, Mennonites have lost much of this missionary zeal. Without wanting to excuse this development too easily, we can offer some historical explanations. In some places (e.g. Berne) the original vigour of the movement was lost due to persecution. Elsewhere (as in Ukraine), … Continue reading Have we forgotten what we were supposed to say?
It all began on Mount Sinai
Summit of Mt. Sinai, photo by Mohammed Moussa, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Western thought patterns are highly abstract, compared with Eastern. There developed in the West, and only in the West, a group of innovations that constitute the basis of Western thought. These include (in addition to the alphabet) … Continue reading It all began on Mount Sinai
Moses learns to read and write
God had a message that was essential to the well-being of all people, throughout all time. The starting point was to take a group of people and teach them a phonetic alphabet, a set of characters where each character represents a specific sound and those characters can be put together to form words. Nothing like … Continue reading Moses learns to read and write
Anglicans: the glory and the shame
The Church of England has provided us with some of our most glorious hymns. For example:John Newton – Amazing Grace and Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken;William Cowper – There is a Fountain filled with blood and Oh! For a closer walk with God;Charlotte Elliott – Just as I am and Thy will be done;Henry … Continue reading Anglicans: the glory and the shame
Requiem for the Anglican Church of Canada
When I was a teenager and member of the Anglican Church of Canada worship services began with this exhortation: Dearly beloved brethren, the Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; and that we should not dissemble nor cloke them before the face of Almighty God our heavenly … Continue reading Requiem for the Anglican Church of Canada
The virus of division
Two hundred years ago John Nelson Darby, a minister in the Church of England, became thoroughly disillusioned with that church, all churches in fact. He began to teach a doctrine of the ruin of the church. "The church lies in ruins and cannot be restored, revived or rebuilt." From there he moved to teaching that … Continue reading The virus of division
Quaking Dover – book review
Quaking Dover: How a Counterculture Took Root and Fluorished in Colonial New Hampshire, by Jnana Hodson. The first thing I learned from this book was that New Hampshire has frontage on the Atlantic Ocean. I have often studied the neighbouring states in the road atlas. During the 20 years that we lived in Ontario and … Continue reading Quaking Dover – book review
The solution for the Indian problem
I first wrote this article some years ago. Indian is no longer a politically correct term for Canada's indigenous population but due to the historical context I thought it best to leave it as I wrote it. Starting in 1701, the British government made treaties with the Indians living in Canada. They were open-ended arrangements, … Continue reading The solution for the Indian problem
In the world but not of the world
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (Gospel of John 17:15-17) Neville Chamberlain returned to London September 30, … Continue reading In the world but not of the world
Flatlander Faith 