It can be difficult to make new friends. Especially if you are an adult. Especially if you are seeking to befriend a Mennonite. Admittedly, many people never face this problem. There are plenty of non-Mennonites out there who are amenable to friend seekers. I can only imagine that friend seekers who need to resort to … More How to Make Friends with a Mennonite
Once upon a time, a group of Ontario Low-German speaking Mennonites with ties to Mexico broke off from their home Church denomination and decided to start a new sub-sect, calling themselves The Edenthaler Mennonites. All this happens before the action opens in the first episode of CBC’s Pure but it is crucial for all that … More Pure S01E01 and S01E02: Who are these Edenthaler Mennonites?
Personally, I’m more of a hat kinda gal than a bonnet one. Not that I have any problems with the Mennonite women out there who choose to wear bonnets and find them spiritually meaningful. I’m not calling for a bonnet ban. I think, you know, that women should wear whatever they want on their heads. It’s … More A Mennonite Hat Trick
This post was first published in September, 2015. It discusses a news item that’s a little less timely now, but the overall issues remain. Pour yourself a stiff drink. That’s right – start drinking now. Don’t wait this time until the end of the post. You need something to bolster your strength. A little bit … More The Priesthood of all Power Wielders
The Mennonite Church has many opportunities for lay leadership. That’s how we like to frame it. It can also be framed as – once you’re in the door, you won’t get out again without putting in your hours of service. But no, let’s go with the “opportunities for lay leadership” thing, instead. In my short … More The Moral of the Leadership Story
It has recently come to my attention that there are those among us who feel that the Mennonite Church leadership is not truly diverse. You know who you are. Faced with such criticism, I cannot help but think that these people have allowed themselves to become worldly and have forgotten – or, worse, never learned … More Talking about Diversity
Not everyone knows this, but Mennonites are a lot like Wizards. Just without the magic. It’s been almost two decades since the first Harry Potter book was published and over the course of these years, various Mennonites have heaped both scorn and praise on the franchise. We’ve looked at the values taught through the books … More Mennonites and Muggles
(Or How I learned to stop worrying and love the potluck) One of the first indicators that I would have a rocky relationship with the Mennonite Church was surely my early abhorrence of the venerable institution known as the Church potluck. While most of the well-adjusted Mennonite adults of my acquaintance have fond memories of … More Dr. Strangefoods
The Mennonite world was not overwhelmingly delighted when Rhoda Janzen’s Mennonite in a Little Black Dress was published in 2009 and began climbing the NYT bestseller list. Mind, I can’t think of anything for which the Mennonite world has ever been overwhelmingly delighted. We tend not to do “overwhelming.” I mean, we were all pretty … More Black Dresses and Blue Jeans
This post was first published on the old site in 2015. I’ve reworked it a bit but the cocktail’s the same. I read Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness when it first came out in 2004. It made a bit of a stir in the Mennonite world at the time — that awkward mixture of pride … More A Complicated Cocktail
