A Menno Minute

How Will We Respond

A small group in my church created our Advent series called “From Fear to Peace: The Christmas Journey”. In the series outline, they state that things in our world are difficult: “Financial instability. Food insecurity. Polarization. Disconnection. Strikes. Aging. Health concerns. Grief. Pressure. Uncertainty. Anxiousness.”

How Will We Respond?

Do You Watch Good Cinema?

Can I ask you this; Do you watch good cinema? 

Who is Linda?

My name is Linda Dickinson, and I’m the new Communications Coordinator for Mennonite Church Alberta. In other words, I’m the new Ruth Bergen Braun - very large shoes to fill!

A Retirement Reflection

Some months ago, I was given a suggestion for this final-Menno-Minute-as-staff. "Write out a list of your innovations." My first thought was “What?? What innovations?”  I just did “stuff” as “stuff’ was needed. But, I guess there were a few “innovations" with the qualifier that I did have a foundation to start with.

 

A Gift of Time and Noticing

We watch as the fading sun bathes the hills of painted forest leaves in a moving evening display. My companions and I have spent the day immersed in spiritual reflection and prayer. Individually and collectively we have shared faith callings, personal struggles, and inner stirrings of the Spirit. It is a Holy Moment, this last light of the fading day, proclaiming the movement to night, heralding a shift to the gift of rest and providing a moment of connection with God, with others, and with all of God’s creation.

Defenseless Identity

Not too long ago, I cracked open the Martyr’s Mirror for the first time in a while. I flipped through the first sixty pages of the prefaces and introductions (as well as the page of original language poems) and took a look at the first page of the actual narrative. If you’ve ever seen that opening page, you might remember the editing nightmare of titles, subtitles, headings and subheadings that is staring you down. 

Duty in its Place

Jesus did not come to pile burdens on already burdened people. He came to lift them. He came to give rest to the weary, mercy to those who keep on doing what they don’t want to do, liberation to the captives, and welcome to the prodigals. He came to proclaim and embody news that was genuinely good—that God’s love for sinners is the strongest, deepest, and truest given in the universe. God help us if we reduce this to some version of “do better.” Duty has its place. But its place is and must only be the response of love to Love.

2025 Student Bursary Application Reflection

To an extent, I’ll never really understand Canadian Mennonite University. Of course, I understand the value of living in dorms, the proximity to new people that facilitates rapid development of relationships. Of course, I understand the wide breadth of courses that invites so many people with so many different dreams.

2025 Student Bursary Application Reflection

I took a class this past year called Art of Worship. In this course, we deconstructed various aspects of Christian worship—such as singing, preaching, imagery, community, and prayer—to examine how these practices either aid or hinder our ability to connect spiritually.

In Kind

In the summer of 2024, we began to receive in kind donations of fresh fruit and vegetables. These donations have made a huge difference on our camp grocery bills. And we as camp staff have felt supported by the donations themselves, and by the many, many people who chipped in to grow the produce, receive and store it along the way, pick it up, deliver it, prep and serve it, and later, return the empty bins.

I'm back!

As a Valaqua Staffer, of 20 years now, summer means something different for me than it does for most people. Camp summers are intense, chaotic, and awesome. However, they hold very little time for sitting in the shade with a book or enjoying a quiet evening with friends.   

What does the Lord require of us?

Picture a hot and muggy morning in Kitchener, Ontario – you’re at the threshold of the basement entrance to First Hmong Mennonite Church. It’s 9:15 am and the sound of many voices emanates from that doorway. You hesitate; it’s loud, and you know it will be louder when you step inside. But you also smell coffee and you have the sense that people are eating something delicious… you’ll just have to take a deep breath and go find out for yourself.