⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Disturbing #documentary on #sexualabuse in the #Mennonite + #Amish communities.

Showing as part of #IndependentLense on PBS

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35393499/reference/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

PLANNING AN EPIC RAIL TRIP/SPEAKING TOUR

I was able to snag a half-price #Amtrak railpass on a special, so I'm planning some cross-country travel, but I also would love to take advantage of this opportunity to get to do some speaking in different communities while traveling.

The cities I'll be at (and would have time to speak in) are: Seattle, Portland, SF Bay area, and Denver.

The topics I can present on would include:

1. #DraftCounseling - Why local groups need to start getting ready to help people who may face military conscription under the Trump administration?

2. The issue of #IllegalOrders under US #MilitaryLaw as well as #InternationalLaw

3. #Indigenous Draft Resistance - stories and reflections from the history of resistance by Indigenous Americans to being drafted

4. The joys of engaging in MRP (multi-religious practice) --- I'm a Humanistic Jew who is also an active member of a progressive #Mennonite church.

5. Something else? - I'm open to other topics related to military law, #HumanisticJudaism, and the progressive Mennonite tradition.

As far as cost goes, I'm asking for local groups who can afford it to either: (1) find me a place to a stay, ideally a private bedroom that I can get to by mass transit from the Amtrak station, or (2) pay me an honorarium of at least $100.

I'm firming up my travel plans, but it looks like the cities and dates that I would be available for speaking engagements would be:

#Seattle, WA
Wed, April 29 (evening)
Thu, April 30 (all day)
#Portland, OR
Fri, May 1 (evening)
#SF Bay Area
Sunday, May 3 (all day)
Monday, May 4 (all day)
#Denver
Tuesday, May 6 (late evening, if train is on time)
Wed, May 7 - morning or lunch

If you know any groups who want me to speak for them and/or have other ideas, please me a message or email me at girightslawyer at gmail dot com.

Thanks!

Just a last minute reminder that our Draft Counseling 201 class starts at 1 pm central.

Here is the zoom link if you have not had a chance to register: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/-jYOUaW4QUWfaNujQ-fk1w

And to learn more about the training series, please visit: DraftCounseling.org

#MilitaryDraft #MilitaryConscription #Draft #USA #War #Peace #ConscientiousObjection #Mennonite

https://jmb.mx/blog/2026/03/02/looking-for-james-mast/

I’m making this post because I don’t what else to do.

I’m looking for James Mast, a son of Moses Mast (my dear friend and mentor who recently passed away). If you are James or you know how to get in touch with him, please contact me (jmb.mx/contact) , as I want to make sure James can attend the memorial service (even if it has to be remote) but also for some other important issues.

FYI, James was last known to be in Cornwall, Ontario (see https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sixties-scoop-immigration-1.7541323 ) , but I haven’t had any luck tracking him down.

#Canada #Cree #Metis #Oklahoma #Ontario #SixtiesScoop #Indigenous #Mennonite

https://anabaptistworld.org/queen-vashti-says-no/

If you are like me and looking for an alternative way to engage with the #Jewish holiday of #Purim this year, I strongly recommend this bit of midrash (which lets us see into the mind of #QueenVashti before she bravely said no to the king) written by a professor at Eastern #Mennonite University.

Also, on a side note, I'm really happy with the number of recent articles in Anabaptist World magazine that have brought Jewish thinking and ways of engagement (such as midrash) to its pages. It obviously fits into my own bi-religious orientation, but I also think there is fertile ground for some new epiphanies when we consider concepts from different theological/philosophical perspectives.

#Mazeldon #MRP #MultiReligiousPractice

A WALK IN LAKESIDE PARK WITH JOSEPH BRANNAN

The playground at Lakeside Park in Kitchener provided a convenient meeting spot for my walk with labour organizer, library advocate and bird enthusiast Joseph Brannan, but it made for a snowy trek to the ploughed path.  

“All this snow is going to melt and go into the lake there,” Brannan said. “The projects that the Creek Collective group have done recently and Ellie Anglin’s Ribbon Zine have all made me think so much more about watersheds.” 

Our walk took us past the Greenbrook water treatment plant, a pumphouse that is still in operation, as well as the foundations of an old treatment station. It is this history and connection to nature that makes the park a special one for Brannan to visit. 

Brannan was born and raised in Cambridge and lived in Waterloo before relocating to Kitchener five years ago to be closer to work.  

“I feel like I can disparage [the tri-cities] all equally,” Brannan joked. “While I love them all for their strengths.” 

One of those strengths is Kitchener’s bike network, which Brannan uses year-round. With Lakeside Park’s proximity to Mausser Park and Meinzinger Park, as well as its connection to the trail system, Brannan often finds himself passing through the green space on two wheels. 

“The Iron Horse Trail is really the highway that connects KW,” Brannan said. “It’s not [highways] seven and eight. Kitchener’s bike network is really getting better and better. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty fantastic.” 

As an all-season rider, Brannan has a special appreciation for what biking in the snowy weather can provide.  

“There’s something really great about coming home from work in the evening on a couple of crisp centimetres of fresh snow, just the silence of it,” he said. 

Biking is also a way that Brannan experiences and engages with the community. He appreciates the way cycling provides a chance to connect with other riders and pedestrians, and to be able to respond to people in need of help in a way that being contained and isolated in a car does not facilitate. 

The desire for community and connection is also what drove Brannan to pursue a career in the public library sector. He works as a Library Services Coordinator at the Central branch and also serves as the vice president of CUPE Local 331, which represents the Kitchener Library employees. 

“It is a joy to point someone to the resources that they need,” Brannan said. “It is a joy to connect someone with a good book and see them come back and say, ‘it was fantastic.’” 

One of Brannan’s favourite parts of the job is answering patron emails, asking for book recommendations and getting into the mindset of each reader to point them in the right direction. He has also organized library programming around counter-mapping, which draws from Indigenous movements to reclaim land and examine how maps reflect use of space, power and ownership. 

“I think the library is a keystone of every community and should be protected, appreciated and resourced,” Brannan said. “When the community gives their feedback on what they need from that space, that informs the work that a library can prioritize.” 

We stopped at a roofed structure which Brannan identified as a swallow habitat. We trekked through the snow to look underneath at the artificial perches that encourage nest building. And when we walked to the lake, he spoke about the many birds and other creatures that inhabit the park. 

“You hear the city all around, but [Lakeside Park] is a real gem of something that’s been protected,” Brannan said. “This is a huge birding hotspot in the spring and fall.” 

Brannan developed a love of birds from spending time in the woods as a child and from his grandfather who passed along his appreciation and knowledge. More recently, Brannan has felt a connection to the legacy of his great-grandmother and his Mennonite heritage as he has begun to explore fibre arts. 

“The slow, mechanical, hands-on aspect of stitching and knitting is something I find very soothing,” he said. “Turning a fibre into something useful is probably one of the oldest things that people have ever done, and so it feels like connecting with the entirety of human history.” 

Quilting and knitting provide a chance for Brannan to make something tangible and usable, and to engage with his analytical brain while working through the math involved in those crafting projects. And he is quick to connect his interests back to the library, citing the programs for knitters, bikers and bird lovers that are offered regularly.  

Brannan is optimistic about the future of Kitchener, and through his work, interests and even his commute he finds ways to contribute to building a hopeful way forward.   

“One of Kitchener’s strengths is its many groups of people that are trying to build community very intentionally,” Brannan said.  

“There’s a lot of potential in Kitchener,” he said.

Even Mennonite congregations are protesting at Target, call for #ICE defunding

“#Mennonite congregations are calling on #Target to take a stronger stand against federal immigration enforcement actions.

Congregations from the Michiana area gathered outside Target’s Goshen location Saturday carrying signs, singing hymns and calling for the defunding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement”

https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/indiana-mennonite-congregations-protest-target-ice-defunding

https://youtu.be/_d1fPu9Wq0M

A message about the upcoming #DraftCounseling101 training that is happening on Sunday, February 8th, 1-3 pm Central at Joy Mennonite Church in #OKC and online.

#Draft
#Conscription
#MilitaryConscription #ConscientiousObjection
#MilitaryLaw
#Mennonite #Peace #Oklahoma