Trying to trace the origin and history of the Mennonite faith by ethnic or genealogical lines leads to confusion and error, much like those who trace the lineage of their church through a continuous line of ordination from the days of the apostles. One might be able to establish a historical connection from person to … Continue reading The Origin of the Mennonites
Mennonite
How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one – Part four
My mother left the Mennonite church of her parents when it sunk in that the German language was more important than the faith. My father’s parents had been Wesleyan Methodist, but that church got swept away with the Social Gospel and ened up as part of the United Church of Canada. When I was 11 … Continue reading How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one – Part four
How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one – Part three
By 1870, there were close to two million Germans living in Russia. For the most part they lived in self-governing colonies, exempt from taxation, military service and other obligations of Russian citizenship. They had their own German language schools, regulated their own affairs and kept apart from the Ukrainian and Russian people. Is it any … Continue reading How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one – Part three
How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one – Part two
The two most prominent leaders of the church that came to be known as Mennonites were Dietrich (Dirk) Philips of Flanders (now part of Belgium) and Menno Simons of Friesland (northern part of Netherlands). These leaders did not establish a new faith, or a new church, but simply gathered together the remnant of the Waldensians … Continue reading How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one – Part two
An exuberant storyteller
Joe Wheeler was frequently found at a table in the coffee shop in Saskatoon's lone Christian bookstore. He had accumulated a wealth of Bible knowledge and a wealth of experiences over his lifetime and loved to share this wealth with others. Sometimes I was one of those others. Image by Alfred Derks from Pixabay Joe died 16 months … Continue reading An exuberant storyteller
I Owe the Lord a Morning Song
Amos Herr (1816-1897) lived on a Lancaster county, Pennsylvania farm that had been in the Herr family since 1710 when his ancestors fist arrived from Europe. In addition to being a farmer, he was a minister of the local Mennonite congregation. One wintry Sunday morning about 150 years ago, he awoke to a raging blizzard … Continue reading I Owe the Lord a Morning Song
Scriptural use of the sacramental signs
The Bible instructs us to observe two sacraments: baptism and communion. They are the essential means for gathering a church of born-again believers and for maintaining the unity of that church. There is a lot of confused thinking about both of them. As a boy, I learned from the Anglican catechism that a sacraments is … Continue reading Scriptural use of the sacramental signs
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That is my age, as of today. I saw my doctor for my annual physical checkup yesterday. He told me that I am fine and that arthritis is normal for someone my age. In other words, arthritis, like old age, is incurable. I got to thinking about a couple of Bible verses relating to old … Continue reading 80
Are we still walking on the old paths?
“The believer, in his baptism, is baptized into the body of Christ, the church, 1 Cor. 12:13,27. And then he puts on Christ and unites himself to him to follow him truly and constantly, and bearing his cross after him. And should the believer be called on to suffer for the name of Christ and … Continue reading Are we still walking on the old paths?
Defenceless Christians?
As Anabaptists/Mennonites we call ourselves nonresistant, or defenceless, Christians. Let’s take a moment to examine ourselves in one small aspect of what this means, or should mean. The question is, how should we relate to persons in our congregation whose ethnic, social or cultural identity differs from that of the majority of the members? Do … Continue reading Defenceless Christians?
Flatlander Faith 