Genocide. An ugly name for a much uglier atrocity going back to at least Old Testament times. Coined in 1944 by author Raphael Lemkin to help the world comprehend the Holocaust of Hitler’s Germany, the word...
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Planners of a new Mennonite hymnal are dropping seven songs from the book just months before publication after learning of sexual misconduct allegations concerning a composer. MennoMedia, the hymnal’s...
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There was no escaping the wailing sirens, thumping helicopters, growling military trucks, stinging smoke and, every now and then, the hollow pop of a pistol. For a week in Minneapolis, it went on and on. And...
[read more]The African American Mennonite Association called upon fellow Mennonite Church USA congregations, which are predominately white, to be involved in healing and reconciliation amid the protests that erupted...
[read more]To the white eye, fires of protest violence might have illuminated only criminal destruction, not 400 years of oppression suffered by nonwhite people in the United States. As a result, some Anabaptists might...
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When leaders become unjust or blasphemous, people of conscience protest. Jesus once broke furniture at the temple when he saw merchants turning the place into a den of thieves. Whatever we make of that...
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George Floyd, a black man, died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for about eight minutes. Three days later, the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct building was...
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Twenty bucks started the sequence of events that led to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in the custody of four police officers. Floyd was accused of passing a counterfeit bill at a nearby store....
[read more]As dozens of cities burned across the United States June 1, the president needed a distraction. Donald Trump put down his twittering device, left his bunker and ordered police and military forces to use rubber...
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PASADENA, Calif. — No cars can get through the traffic light at Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue this afternoon because a handful of black Americans, led by a preteen named Sebastian, are dancing in...
[read more]Amid the recent events surrounding the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, the latest fatal violence against African Americans, Mennonite Church USA joins in mourning and lament. We lament that...
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BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo — The 12 new toilets at Institute Katuze Secondary School do more than prevent disease better than the two old pit toilets they replaced. They also reduce violence and...
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In 2016 and 2017, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kasai region was devastated by an armed conflict. Rebel militias gathered around a traditional chief, Kamuina Nsapu, to fight against the central...
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Peter started out as a man of delusional hope. Paul began as a man of irrational fear. Both are parables for our time. The role of tens of thousands of Christians in the election of the current president of...
[read more]Statements of regret, confession and grief for harm done to LGBTQ people punctuate the report of the Membership Guidelines Advisory Group. Mennonite Church USA policies “have done violence to the...
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Mennonites in Mexico are promoting a bright new Christmas tradition — one born of somber origins. The “Parade of Lights,” a nighttime procession of decorated vehicles and holiday party that took place on...
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In Matthew’s story of Jesus’ arrest, the most relevant part for “creating peace” is obviously when one of the disciples pulls out his sword and starts swinging. Then Jesus says: “Put your sword back...
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Violent protests and political turmoil in Haiti have prompted several Mennonite Central Committee workers to leave the country as the unrest interrupts work and causes safety concerns. MCC representative...
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Back-to-back murderous acts of gun violence left at least 29 dead and 53 injured in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, Aug. 3-4. Many Americans want to help but feel helpless to do so. One doesn’t have to...
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BRANTFORD, Ont. — How do you repair a disaster 142 years in the making? For Mennonite Disaster Service Canada and Mennonite Central Committee, it will happen one desk, one table and one bench at a time. This...
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We write as victims of violence, who know the trauma inflicted by evil people who target the “other.” As the pastor of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston and the rabbi of the New Light Synagogue in...
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A Congolese army colonel has been arrested in connection to the death of a Mennonite United Nations investigator. Michael J. Sharp and fellow U.N. sanctions monitor Zaida Catalán of Sweden were abducted and...
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BOGOTA, Colombia — The group stood in a prayer circle, holding hands. Some of the hands, figuratively, were likely bloody. They were the hands of guerrillas — high-ranking, longtime members of FARC, the...
[read more]Weapons have no place in churches, whether they are carried by someone concerned with harm or with self-defense. Followers of the God of peace are right to indicate this in a visible way. It is true that a...
[read more]In “Evangelical Evolution” (North of the 49th, Nov. 5), John Longhurst points out that evangelicals have not always opposed abortion. Their evolution on this issue is a positive thing. Martin Luther and...
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