What Mennonites Are Thinking

by Good, Merle

• ISBN13: 9781561483006
• ISBN10: 1561483001
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-07-01
• Publisher: Good Books

Summary

In a remote canyon in northern New Mexico the early morning stillness is broken by voices chanting praises to the Lord. And thus begins the daily cycle in the Godcentered life and search of the Benedictine monks at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert.Seeking God is a monastic tapestry. The daily life of the monks is interwoven with the seasonal changes and celebrations and the candid words of the monks as they speak of their life their hopes and doubts their hardships fears and joys their prayer. Weaving this tapestry together are the hauntingly beautiful chants songs of praise and reverence that echo through the darkness before dawn throughout the day through the solemnity of Vespers in the evening and Compline at night. The majestic beauty of the environment captured in every season reflects a peace and tranquility that becomes an integral part of this monastic tapestry. The high red rock walls of the canyon where eagles fly cradle the valley whose stillness is broken only by the flowing waters of the Chama River and the winds that occasionally funnel through. Seeking God presents the ongoing process of the monastic way through the words and activities of these Benedictine monks as they move through the day and through the seasons in their search for God through prayer work study and song.

Table of Contents

Featured Articles, Essays, and Opinions, I	3	(60)
Racism in Canada?	4	(5)
Brad Reimer
There are key differences between racism in the United States and in Canada. How should Mennonites in Canada respond?
A Third Way Between Fight and Flight	9	(8)
Richard A. Kauffman
Observations on the current debate in the Mennonite Church denominations over church membership, church splits, and homosexuality.
I Was a Mennonite Teamster	17	(6)
Rosanna Landis Weaver
Why do most Mennonites not consider the labor movement to be a worthy peace and justice arena?
In Casas Viejas	23	(10)
Shirley Kurtz
Reflections on a visit to a daughter involved in relief work in Central America-and thoughts about home-decorating.
Should Be More People Like Who?	33	(4)
Robert Rhodes
A man who joined the Hutterites is troubled by what visitors say when they visit the colony where he lives.
Why Mennonites Aren't Usually Funny (in Writing)	37	(4)
Maurice Mierau
Is it the suffering thing? And are Canadian Mennonites more funny than American Mennonites?
A Modern Saul of Tarsus	41	(4)
Jewel Showalter
A Philippine politician and school principal who bitterly opposed the Mennonite church in his neighborhood in Laguna has become a leader among the Mennonites.
The Nonswearing of Oaths	45	(6)
Harold Sensenig
A conservative Mennonite leader explores current and historic applications of an old principle.
Reading Joshua Backwards from Exile	51	(8)
James E. Brenneman
Is Joshua a story of liberation and conquest, fulfilling the promises of God? Or should the book be read from exile with a very different understanding?
Some Things I Want My Children to Know	59	(4)
Ron Adams
Heart to heart.
Short Fiction, I	63	(26)
Aunt Liz, a short story	64	(19)
Arlene Koch Holdeman
The Riotous Walls, a short story	83	(6)
Diana Reneez
By the Editors	89	(18)
Minding Us Mennonites	90	(13)
Phyllis Pellman Good
Observations, confessions, and questions about the current state and health of Mennonites.
Who's Not Borrowing?	103	(4)
Merle Good
Many Mennonites are critical of other Mennonites because they appear to ``borrow'' their ideas or theology from a non-Mennonite source.
Poetry, I	107	(10)
Man answers God	108	(2)
Rhoda Janzen
Singing at Orangefield Mennonite Church	110	(2)
Cheryl Denise
Overflow	112	(2)
Jean Janzen
Cruise	114	(3)
Jeff Gundy
Featured Articles, Essays, and Opinions, II	117	(62)
A Few Thoughts on Home and Community (and Voices from the Margins)	118	(13)
Hildi Froese Tiessen
Why do Mennonites seem to want to release the marginal, to let them go?
Peace and Unity	131	(3)
Levi Miller
Are we discrediting our peace position by privatizing it? During a time of intense fragmentation, might a modest unity of belief still be possible?
Humility Is Valuing Others	134	(3)
Ardie S. Goering
Seeing humility as less about meekness and more about empathy would change how we relate to each other.
Toward a Culture of Global Understanding	137	(4)
Pakisa K. Tshimika
A Mennonite Brethren leader from Congo (the country with the second largest population of Mennonite groups in the world) reflects on the challenges of international cooperation.
Mennonites and Music	141	(4)
Isaac R. Horst
An Old Order Mennonite from Ontario muses.
Closed on Sundays	145	(5)
Arthur Bert
A prominent businessman recounts his decision to close his popular restaurant on Sundays-and the reaction and criticism he received.
What Families Should Value	150	(9)
John D. Roth
Three suggestions to consider as we engage issues related to families and values.
A Benedictine Mennonite: Prefer Nothing Whatever to Christ	159	(5)
Arthur Paul Boers
Anabaptism has much in common with monasticism.
Micah, My Twin	164	(3)
Robert J. Baker
The embarrassment and satisfaction of making restitution.
Living on the Iceberg: ``The Artist as Critic and Witness'' 36 Years Later	167	(12)
Rudy Wiebe
Our most famous novelist re-examines an essay he wrote 36 years ago about writing, meaning, and truth. Has he changed his mind?
A Sermon	179	(12)
Who Is the Greatest in the Kingdom?	180	(11)
David Ewert
Jesus responds to a perverse question.
Humor	191	(8)
Menno Simons Shares the Podium with Myron Augsburger and Tony Campolo at the Mennonite General Assembly	192	(1)
Leonard Nolt
Menno Simons Sighs and Leans Back in His Seat	193	(1)
Leonard Nolt
Mennonites and Love, a dramatic monologue	194	(5)
Merle Good
Short Fiction, II	199	(30)
Dickie Derksen, a short story	200	(15)
David Elias
Gone, a short story	215	(14)
Kate Good
Poetry, II	229	(10)
Coat of a Visiting Nurse	230	(2)
Julia Kasdorf
God and Farmers	232	(3)
Cheryl Denise
Ice	235	(2)
Jean Janzen
Thinking of Certain Mennonite Women	237	(2)
Julia Kasdorf
A Longer Essay	239	(36)
A Traditioned Theology of Mission	240	(35)
Wilbert R. Shenk
How have Anabaptism, ``Mennonitism,'' and other sources shaped Mennonite mission activity?
Book Reviews	275	(42)
The Journey Toward Reconciliation	276	(5)
John Paul Lederach
Bernie Wiebe
Women Against the Good War: Conscientious Objection and Gender on the American Home Front, 1941-1947	281	(4)
Rachel Waltner Goossen
Kimberly Schmidt
Do I Still Have a Life?	285	(5)
John M. Janzen
Reinhild Kauenhoven Janzen
John A. Lapp
From Anabaptist Seed	290	(5)
C. Arnold Snyder
Mikha Joedhiswara
Mennonites in Canada, 1939-1970: A People Transformed	295	(8)
T. D. Regehr
Mennonites in American Society, 1930-1970: Modernity and the Persistence of Religious Community
Paul Toews
Pamela E. Klassen
Mennonite Education in a Post-Christian World: Essays Presented at the Consultation on Mennonite Higher Education, Winnipeg, 1997	303	(7)
Henry Huebner
Education for Peoplehood: Essays on the Teaching Ministry of the Church
Ross T. Bender
Theological Education on Five Continents: Anabaptist Perspectives
Nancy R. Heisey
Daniel S. Schipani
Rodney J. Sawatsky
Changing Frontiers in Mission	310	(2)
Wilbert R. Shenk
Harold D. Lehman
Golden Apples in Silver Bowls: The Rediscovery of Redeeming Love	312	(5)
Elizabeth Bender
Leonard Gross
Leonard Gross
Walter Klaassen
Film Ratings and Video Guide, 2000	317	(8)
Merle Good
Our Sponsors	325	(6)
Cumulative Indexes	331	(5)
About the Editors	336