Mennonites

A list of people who have the right to speak about Mennonites, ranked by degree of entitlement to speak.

May 10, 2019

Have you heard things about Mennonites from a possibly unreliable source? Maybe you’ve heard bits of information about us from different seemingly credible sources, people you thought ought to know what they were talking about. But those sources contradicted each other. You’re not looking for graduate-level disputations on the origins of Anabaptism or religion in … More A list of people who have the right to speak about Mennonites, ranked by degree of entitlement to speak.

How to Toast like a Mennonite

August 27, 2018

There comes a time in every Mennonite drinker’s life when they will be called upon to offer a toast. Well – not every Mennonite drinker’s — I’m not counting all the closet drinkers out there. Those who drink alone are free from this requirement and should just scroll ahead to the cocktail recipe. But for … More How to Toast like a Mennonite

Menno March Madness

March 14, 2018

I don’t know a lot of Mennonites who enthusiastically follow college basketball. That could be because of my bias towards Canadian Mennonites. But I suspect that a lot of Mennonites just disapprove of the frivolity of grown-ups sitting around and obsessing about a bunch of college kids running up and down a basketball court. Not … More Menno March Madness

Bechtel panel: Making Schputt of Mennonites on the Internet

March 3, 2018

Yesterday I participated in the Bechtel Panel at Conrad Grebel University College on Mennonites in the Media. The organizers asked us to talk about what it is like to be a creator of Mennonite content on the media today, to comment on our audience and challenges etc. Several of the other participants followed their instructions … More Bechtel panel: Making Schputt of Mennonites on the Internet

Quiz: Are You a Disaffected Mennonite?

February 7, 2018

Last week, the esteemed Mennonite satire web magazine, The Daily Bonnet,* posted a quiz: How Many of These Typical Mennonite Things Have You Done? Because Mennonites still think of internet quizzes as new and exciting, this quickly soared through the Mennoverse and sent Mennonites and ex-Mennonites around the internet into a tizzy questioning, bragging about, … More Quiz: Are You a Disaffected Mennonite?

Mennonites, Muslims and a Bad Internet Joke

November 9, 2017

We are a joke on the internet. A bad joke. “I’m betting Mennonite.” That’s the joke. I see it and variations of it in fits and bursts on Twitter, depending on the news. It’s not just a bad internet joke like a pun’s a bad joke or like so-called “Dad jokes” are bad jokes. It’s … More Mennonites, Muslims and a Bad Internet Joke

Bread of Contention

July 23, 2017

I was recently perusing the internet and discovered an appalling number of errors in Mennonite bread making. I know there were errors in the past – the historical record is replete with disputes over baking. Not, it is true, in the “mainstream” historical literature, but they’re there if you know how to look. They were … More Bread of Contention

CBC Pure S01E03 and E04: Law and Ordnung

February 2, 2017

There was a scene, back in episode 1, when Bronco Novack proudly identified himself to Noah Funk as a detective. Noah was, appropriately, unimpressed. If episodes 1 and 2 set up the difference between the Mennonite and the secular communities, episodes 3 and 4 make valiant efforts at bridging the gap through the unlikely alliance … More CBC Pure S01E03 and E04: Law and Ordnung

An Ignorance Both Deep and Wide

January 27, 2017

A number of years ago, my daughter’s grade school class was given the task of preparing and presenting a short speech to the class about their personal family history. No problem. We’ve got that covered. Or, we did until a week or so before her turn when one of her classmates presented and told the … More An Ignorance Both Deep and Wide

Oh, what fresh hell is this?

January 8, 2017

The posters have been all over bus shelters for months. The trailer’s been online and there have been a few promotional interviews. Canadians are supposed to be all atwitter in anticipation of a new CBC drama called Pure. It’s about Mennonites! Drugs! Crime! The early reviews are pretty positive. But I don’t care about them; … More Oh, what fresh hell is this?

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Tag: Mennonites