Two seemingly unrelated conversations keep colliding. The first included an explanation of how Mennonites are racist, how they speak of peace but don’t practice it
Three and a half years ago, four of us — Barth Hague and Hannah Heinzekehr of The Mennonite and Paul Schrag and myself of Mennonite World Review — met one Saturday morning in Newton, Kan., to talk about the future of our two publications.
Tabor College is working with Mennonite Disaster Service and the city of Hillsboro, Kan., to convert some rooms of the former Hillsboro Community Medical Center into quarantine housing for Tabor students, should they test positive for COVID-19.
In 1920, the Russian Mennonites’ world was in upheaval. Civil war had been raging for three years, creating political and social chaos and leaving the country’s Mennonites impoverished, hungry and fearing for their future. Their brethren in North America responded by founding Mennonite Central Committee, putting aside their sectarianism to come together to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.
Closing churches when the pandemic hit was easy — nobody had a choice in the matter. What’s harder is reopening. That’s one of the things leaders of Canada’s four largest Mennonite conferences are finding as the country begins to emerge from lockdowns due to COVID-19.
Hurricane Hanna brought added misery to a community devastated by COVID-19 on July 25 when it hit South Texas and Mexico. For New Life Christian Center in San Benito, Texas, the damage served as inspiration to keep praying and assisting neighbors.
