Joint Council Report back

A Menno Minute

Our Human Vulnerability

Most people who know me recognize that I am a very big basketball fan - more-so than the average Canadian, I suppose.  Although I usually thought of Kobe Bryant as a villain (he always beat my favourite teams), I found myself on Sunday in complete shock.  I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.  The sad news didn’t stop with Kobe, as it was later reported that his daughter and seven others died in the crash.

Kobe Bryant was a legend, someone that a whole generation of basketball fans looked up to - they wanted to be just like him.  He was world renown.  He made history.  So how could he die so young (at only 41 years of age)?!  How could he die like this?!  He was supposed to be beyond these kinds of seemingly random and meaningless tragedies that afflict us human beings.  It would have been less surprising to so many if Kobe Bryant stood up from the wreckage without a scratch.  Because he was more than human.  In the words of sports writer Tommy Ross, Kobe was a “basketball god.”

Far be it from me to try to make sense of this, or any other seemingly random tragedy that has taken lives.  In moments like this, I do my best to resist that ever-so tempting, yet dead-end question, “why?”  But like so many other tragedies that I have witnessed in my life or in the news, it does cause me to reflect on that quintessential feature of our humanity: our vulnerability. 

Among so many other things, humans are vulnerable.  We trip, we get hurt, we fall ill, we get into accidents, we age, and so on.  Much of what we have tried to do in the modern west has been to overcome that vulnerability because for the most part, we hate our vulnerability.  Or at least, we are taught to hate our vulnerability.  So we try to overcome it.  We try to not be vulnerable.  We try to escape our humanity.  And for the most part, we assume that what it takes to escape this very human vulnerability is to reach a status not unlike that of Kobe Bryant.

But it turns out that Kobe was still human - a creature.  Despite his status near the pinnacle of Olympus,  he was still human.  Despite the glory of his fame, championships, records and awards, Kobe was still human.  And if there is a particularly Christian way to reflect on this tragedy of that helicopter crash on Sunday, it might be as a reminder that our human vulnerability cannot be escaped. 

But rather than this recognition drawing us towards a paralyzing fear, or perhaps looking to the latest technology that will surely save us from our human vulnerability, a Christian response has been to direct that vulnerability in a life-giving direction: in turning our dependence upon our Creator.   In fact, our God did not seem to think that this vulnerability was something that needed to be escaped but actually chose to enter into it joyfully.  

Our vulnerability is not a sin - something that needs to be escaped.  We claim that God created our vulnerability and intended that it be one of the things that would draw us towards God.  This doesn’t mean we are not to be careful in our lives.  It doesn’t mean we are to be reckless.  But we acknowledge our vulnerability is an important and beautiful part of what makes us human.

God did not want Kobe Bryant or any of the other eight individuals to die in that crash.  Those nine people were God’s beloved creatures.  And our God desires life not death.  So it is right to grieve and mourn when tragedy strikes anywhere, and especially close to home.  But it is my hope that our own human vulnerability is never the thing that causes us to lose faith.  God’s work in our world is never to eliminate our vulnerability - to save us from our own humanity.  Rather, God’s work is to be the completion of that vulnerability in communion with us  -  the Creator and the creature together again.

I
n our northern climate, the changing of the seasons is a natural part of life. The season of waiting for “God with us” is followed by
 an exploration of Jesus’ manifestation and purpose, drawing us to a deeper sense of our own calling. The nudges and urges that arise in this season of new beginnings invite us to live out our call together with others, in community. “Community” is what MCA is about!

In community, our twelve congregations build a foundation for their identity and find a place of belonging. We draw on each other’s strengths and gifts to explore faith, pray, celebrate and mourn, become enlivened, practice generosity, and share resources. Community is a place to receive and to give. It’s a place to ask the question, “And who is my neighbour?” and then explore the nature and breadth of our neighbourhoods. The richness and fellowship that we experience as members of a regional, nationwide, and global church is a taste of the Kingdom of God.

See attachment below for the entire report.

A Menno Minute

with Ryan Dueck

Small Community - Large World

The man who lives in a small community lives in a much larger world…. The reason is obvious. In a large community we can choose our companions. In a small community our companions are chosen for us.

—    G. K. Chesterton, Heretics

A few months ago, I followed a rabbit trail from a blog that I occasionally read to the website of the church where the blogger was a pastor. It had been a while since I had visited the website of an American evangelical mega-church, and after a few minutes of browsing I was beginning to experience a bit of sensory overload. There was a page for every conceivable ministry under the sun—addictions, young moms, men, young adults, sports enthusiasts. On and on the list went.

Everything about the megachurch’s website and staff bios was polished, well-produced, and professional looking. There was a whole section of the website that narrated what a typical “Weekend Experience” might look like. There were slick videos and creative graphics and a whole host of other media crammed full of imagination and inspiration.  

I thought about how I might describe a “weekend experience” in our little community. Well, we straggle together around 9:45 for Sunday School… Sometimes musicians are rehearsing… Nearly always the pastor is engaged with full-on hostilities with the printer as he tries to get the sermon he finished late last night out the door… Sometimes the kids make snacks downstairs… The service starts around 11:00… We sing, we smile, we pray, we listen to one another. Sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes there are outbursts in the service, whether from kids or from L’Arche members who regularly worship with us… As far as “weekend experiences” go, I suppose you might say it’s “mixed.”

It's easy to feel small when held up beside the mega-church and all it can offer. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing. I’m not anti-megachurch. I have dear friends who are part of churches far larger than my own, and I love and respect them greatly. But even though I admire some of what the big churches are able to do, I’m a small church kind of guy.

I like it that I know people’s names, that I know a bit of their stories. I like it that the kids just call me “Ryan” with no “pastor” prefixed to it. I like it that we can bring food to church and share it with one another after the service. I like it that we have a volunteer lawn-mowing sign-up sheet. I like it that we have people who are miles apart theologically and politically, yet we can still come to same table, the same Lord.

And, in my better moments, I’m glad that my companions are given to me rather than being the ones I might naturally choose, whether in the local church, in our MCA community, or beyond. I thank God for my small community and for the large world they invite me to live in.

For Your Consideration

Pray for South Sudanese Mennonite Church in Gambella region, Ethiopia

A Menno Minute

with Arlyn Friesen Epp

What is the difference between CommonWord & MennoMedia?

In the Mennonite world we have a lot of terms and acronymns we throw around. Sometimes it is hard for those entrenched in the Menno world to sort out, much less those who are newer. In a recent email, a church admin asked "what is the difference between CommonWord & MennoMedia?" (To be honest, before I took this job as Communications Coordinator, I didn't know what CommonWord was.) I had an answer, but thought this would be a good opportunity to hear from Arlin Friesen Epp, Director of CommonWord and Mennonite Church Canada staff.

CommonWord is a physical store located on the campus of Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) and serves both CMU and Mennonite Church Canada. CommonWord is also an online store, library, and resource centre.  Did you know that you can borrow a book from CommonWord for free? Postage is paid both ways.




Back to the question, what is the difference between CommonWord & MennoMedia? Here is how Arlin concisely and clearly explains.  

A Menno Minute

by Werner DeJong, pastor Holyrood Mennonite Church

Technology and Discipleship

Doing Church

Trinity Mennonite "Together"

A Menno Minute