Archive

Diligent Sabbath

November 27, 2018 Celeste Kennel-Shank

For six days a week, we labor to make the world as it should be. On one day, we accept the world as it is. Kennel-Shank A friend and ministry colleague repeated this comment from one of his students about what it means to keep Sabbath. Acceptance is difficult for each of us, since we are the kind of people who continually see injustice around us and feel driven to do something about it. Sabbath to him is less about absence of work and more about the active discipline of acceptance and its most robust form — gratitude. It presents […]

Reinvigorating trust in the midst of displacement

November 16, 2018 Charles Kwuelum

As the dry season set in, Modibo Ado* migrated from his home in Bauchi State, Nigeria, leading his herds of cows and sheep to neighboring Plateau State. There the grass is still green, and water is available for his livestock. In Plateau State, farmers like Emmanuel Davou* tend their crops and wait to harvest them for food and income. For migratory herdsmen like Ado, growing his herds necessitate a search for vegetation and water. Encroachment into grazing routes for farmers like Davou often become a cause for conflict and violence. Such encounters break down relationships and trust among farming and […]

Shoplifters

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November 16, 2018 Vic Thiessen

Arriving in U.S. theatres next Friday (November 23) is this year’s winner of the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Shoplifters was written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, my favourite active Japanese director (Kore-eda has made such memorable films as After Life, Nobody Knows, Like Father, Like Son and After the Storm). Kore-eda’s films are invariably thought-provoking and deeply humanizing, two of my favourite film attributes. Shoplifters, which has been compared to Dickens’ Oliver Twist, tells the story of a poor family living in a tiny bungalow on the outskirts of Tokyo. Surrounded by apartment buildings, […]

The Hate U Give

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November 9, 2018 Jerry L. Holsopple

All of that changes with a car ride. From the beginning of the film, when her father gives her the talk, we know these worlds will touch and she will be caught in the middle. Jerry L. Holsopple Many of us grow up with our real life, and the imaginary life we play in with our friends. In the movie and novel The Hate U Give, Starr, lost most of her imaginary life when her best friend was shot in a gang execution gone awry. However, she still lives two very different lives; her home in Garden Heights, a predominantly […]

A Gathering of Sisters: A Year with My Old Order Mennonite Family

November 9, 2018 Melodie Davis

Another Way for week of November 9, 2018 A Gathering of Sisters Darla Weaver is an Old Order wife, mother, expert gardener, and author. She and her husband have three children, but she grew up in a family of five sisters and four brothers. The sisters all live in the hills of southeastern Ohio near her parents’ house where they grew up. Darla and her sisters have the marvelous tradition of spending each Tuesday with their mother (their father joins them for lunch, from his work in their home-based greenhouse). And the little ones of these sisters absolutely love Tuesdays […]

The Old Man & the Gun

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November 2, 2018 Gordon Houser

David Lowery is unique, a director to watch. He’s made four films, all of them receiving critical acclaim but all of them different from one another—at least on the surface. His first, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, is a romantic crime drama a la Bonnie and Clyde. Pete’s Dragon, a remake of an animated musical, is a moving fantasy adventure tale. A Ghost Story made my top 10 list last year. Though different, his films have a relaxed quality and use misdirection. These are on display in his latest film. The Old Man & the Gun is based on a 2003 […]

Methane: A key to our changing climate

November 1, 2018 Thirdway

A recent study published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a bleak future if nothing is done by governments and individuals to curb climate change. Vulnerable communities around the world are already experiencing the negative impacts of a changing climate, including drought, flooding, famine and increased natural disasters, all of which also contribute to migration and violence. Climate change is caused by the greenhouse effect, which is usually associated with carbon dioxide. However, methane traps 86 times more heat than carbon dioxide. As of 2017, methane comprised 10 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and 60 percent […]

First Man

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October 26, 2018 Matthew Kauffman Smith

July 21, 1969 is an important day in Smith family history. My parents were watching Apollo 11 perform the first lunar landing. When astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon and later walked, my brother Kent, then 14 months, started walking across the room, marking his first steps on earth. The moon landing carried cultural significance as well and elevated Armstrong to superstar status. My parents experienced the event and its aftermath firsthand, and I heard about it and studied it in school. My kids, however, have studied little about space travel and the lunar landing. So when my parents, […]

And then there were three

October 25, 2018 Thirdway

By Monica Scheifele In 1968 Mennonite Central Committee took the bold step of opening its first advocacy office in Washington DC. In 1975, a second advocacy office was opened in Ottawa to be followed by a third advocacy office in 1991 in New York to relate to the United Nations. The offices initially opened as listening posts, but now monitor and analyze policies, facilitate meetings for MCC staff and encourage constituents to be advocates themselves. While each office is situated in a different context with unique challenges requiring unique strategies, they all share the same primary purpose of advocacy which […]

A Star is Born

October 19, 2018 Carmen Andres

A Star is Born is a well-worn entry in film lexicons, with the fourth remake of the original 1937 film hitting theaters earlier this month. This latest version of the tragic love story—which Bradley Cooper produced, directed, shares screenwriting credit for and stars in—premiered to overwhelming critical acclaim and praise for everything from the performances and music to the screenplay and direction. Cooper’s A Star is Born is not only an outstanding remake worthy of its Oscar buzz, but also a thought-provoking exploration of the power of art, and revelation of self and truth through it. Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) […]