Canadian Mennonite
Volume 5, number 11
June 4, 2001
InConversation

Facing difficult decisions:

A word from H.H. Ewert

At different times in our lives we are faced with difficult decisions. We ask ourselves: what is God's will? I am reminded of Moses. Before he accepted the call to lead Israel out of Egypt, he said "no" to God five times. We can imagine the turmoil he went through.

I also think of Heinrich H. Ewert who was born in Prussia, moved to Kansas, and was invited to be principal of the new Mennonite high school in Gretna, Manitoba, in 1891. He taught for 43 years in Gretna. He was also the provincial inspector of schools and a founding member of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada in 1903.

I have always looked up to Ewert, but recently he became a bit more human to me. While working in the archives, I came across a letter he wrote to his brother-in-law, H.P. Krehbiel of Ohio, on April 17, 1900. Following are excerpts.

Your board of directors of the new educational institution at Bluffton have given me a call to the presidency of that institution. It is a very hard matter for me to make up my mind.... I feel that I am filling my place here pretty well and I don't feel that I have all the necessary qualifications for that position. Yet possibly I could make myself more useful there than here.... With the light I have at present, it is almost impossible for me to decide. On the one hand, I am so well satisfied with my present position that I should not have dreamt of taking the invitation...on the other hand, I cannot think that it is without the direction of providence that this call is extended to me. If I should follow my inclination I would stay here, but...what if God wants me to pass through new experiences? What if he should want to humble me?

Now why do I write this to you? I really don't know myself. I feel like asking your opinion or advice, and at the same time I don't feel that any person's opinion will do me much good.... How does the whole school situation look to you? What do you think...are the expectations of the board? Would it put your school in any way to a disadvantage if I refuse the call? Don't you think they could very well get along without me? What advantages would you see for me in that position? What unpleasant experiences may be in waiting for me there? What would you do if you were in my place?

It is unusual for a writer in 1900 to show so much emotion in a letter. Many diaries or letters of that time report emotional events such as deaths simply as a matter of fact. Ewert shows the anguish of his dilemma and his vulnerability.

We as Mennonite Church Canada are on the threshold of important decisions about what our conference will look like and how it will operate. It would be interesting to know what Ewert, one of the founders, would say to this process. Maybe we have an idea.

In his biography, he is quoted as saying, "Work is done when the program is carefully read weeks in advance, when the various questions are carefully considered and prayed about, when these issues are discussed in the congregations and delegates are instructed on the position they are to take. Work is done when the most insightful people are elected as delegates. Work is accomplished at the conference when the issues under discussion are carefully scrutinized, when good advice is given, when sometimes caution, at other times encouragement, is expressed."

As Abbotsford 2001 looms on the horizon, let's remember the work and words of one of our outstanding leaders.

-Conrad Stoesz

This is from a devotional given at a February staff meeting of Mennonite Church Canada. The writer is archivist at the Mennonite Heritage Centre in Winnipeg.


Letters

How we spend our time affects globalization

I would like to add to John Longhurst's list of what he calls "stage two"-after the Quebec City protests (May 7, page 8). How we spend our time is more important than how we spend our money.

Here are some suggestions for how we could use our time to make an impact on corporate insensitivity (and do ourselves some good):

1) Turn off the television. Every ad we watch indirectly supports corporations and perpetuates the illusion that all is well in society.

2) Grow food. In addition to helping us understand Jesus' myriad agricultural parables, this will make us sensitive to a way of life that has dominated human history and which is now being industrialized by corporations.

3) Play more. Make music. Make puppets. Make your own fun.

4) Get to know our immediate communities. Let's become aware of what people and corporations are doing in our neighbourhoods.

Here are also some ways to spend money before investing it.

1) Buy organic, locally-grown food.

2) Buy any local products you can.

3) If you must buy a car (or a bicycle or shoes), ask if the manufacturer treats its workers fairly.

To me, these are the first steps to becoming aware of globalization's effect on the "developing world." I believe how we spend our time says more about who we are than how we spend our money. Ten Thousand Villages has a good name; do we live in one of them?-Timothy Dyck, Durham, Ont.

 

Free trade is self-serving and short-sighted

I appreciate the effort to cover the issue of free trade in the May 7 issue. Henry Rempel provided a general introduction but the coverage did not bring a critical analysis of the many issues.

One of the greatest weaknesses in this debate is a lack of perspective. Free trade in central America creates opportunities to exploit that region with little threat to our own security or prosperity. In fact, we promote these opportunities for our benefit and seem eager to add to the great privilege we already enjoy.

Is it any wonder that free trade is seen as a corporate agenda that will profit a few at the expense of the marginalized? Christians must identify with the poor and disenfranchised since this is what the gospel compels us to do.

To promote free trade and the virtues of corporate democratization suggests that our commitments are self-serving and based on our understanding of what is best for others and not what they understand to be best for themselves. It is this attitude that attracts mistrust and appears to be another form of colonialism.-Lawrence Braul, Calgary, Alta.

 

Impressed by magazine's focus

I am very impressed by the articles and photos the Canadian Mennonite chooses to focus on. As a former missionary to Latin America, I felt a lot of joy when you highlighted the tattoo removal service in Honduras sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee. What a wonderful example of Jesus' love poured out in a practical way. God bless your editorial staff!-Dorothy Siebert, Winnipeg, Man.

 

Upset by worship band comment

I am upset by the choice of words used in the note on the worship band for Abbotsford 2001 (May 7, page 21). "The group found that while a wealth of praise and worship music exists, little of it is theologically germane to Mennonite values."

In my experience, the vast majority of praise and worship music is directly based on scripture. Does this group suggest that the Word of God is irrelevant to Mennonite values?-Paula Neufeld, Boissevain, Man.

 

 

Letters in this section express the opinion of the writer, not necessarily those of Canadian Mennonite or the church. We publish as many as space permits, unless they attack individuals or become unnecessarily repetitious. Letters are edited for length and style. InConversation is meant to provide opportunity for discussion and discernment.


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