Blog – Page 4 – Living Hope Native Ministries

A Journey From Blindness

By Stuart Swartzentruber

The discovery of unmarked graves at former residential school sites has brought horror and grief to many in Canada. There is also a certain kind of vindication for the residential school survivors who have spoken of atrocities at some schools for many years.

I am non-Indigenous, but help lead an organization that is owned and controlled by a majority Indigenous board. I grieve for the loss and the pain that the residential school system brought to Indigenous people in Canada. I grieve that LHNM’s historic connection to organizations that operated a residential school still causes pain. I grieve that I participated in a government funded system designed to destroy Indigenous culture. I grieve for the students and friends that encountered pain and loss at Poplar Hill Development School where I worked. I am trying to learn how to walk in humility and repentance in regards to those years of my life.

Hopelines September 2021

New Connections in Parry Sound

By Jamie Thornton
Over the years I’ve enjoyed following the Living Hope Native Ministries (LHNM) website and looked forward to receiving the Hopelines newsletter in the mail. Rhonda and I feel blessed and humbled to be able to share our calling to serve with you in this issue.

Where we live in Parry Sound, Ontario there is only a swing bridge separating the town from Parry Island (Wasauksing First Nation). When I started school in the mid 60’s many of the students from Wasauksing were bused to Isabella school where I attended and many friendships where formed. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for our First Nations neighbours….

Tensions that Strengthen

By Stuart Swartzentruber
I have memories of baling hay as a boy on our farm in Delaware. The hay was compacted into a chamber where strands of twine were knotted around the bale. The right amount of tension was needed to produce a bale that was firm, but not too heavy. Too little tension and the bales were soft and unstackable; too much tension and the bales were heavy and the twine in danger of snapping. I remember tightening or loosening the tension on the machine.

Words like “restriction,” “stress,” “tension,” and “constraint” bring up negative emotions in many of us these days. But can there be tensions that strengthen? Is there a stress that produces beauty?

Hopelines June 2021: Staff Edition

Tensions that Strengthen

By Stuart Swartzentruber
I have memories of baling hay as a boy on our farm in Delaware. The hay was compacted into a chamber where strands of twine were knotted around the bale. The right amount of tension was needed to produce a bale that was firm, but not too heavy. Too little tension and the bales were soft and unstackable; too much tension and the bales were heavy and the twine in danger of snapping. I remember tightening or loosening the tension on the machine.

Words like “restriction,” “stress,” “tension,” and “constraint” bring up negative emotions in many of us these days. But can there be tensions that strengthen? Is there a stress that produces beauty?

LHNM Response to Heartbreaking Discovery in British Columbia

We, the Board of Directors and staff team of LHNM, stand in grief and solidarity…

Growing the Partnership

By Stuart Swartzentruber

Living Hope Native Ministries is turning fifteen years old this year. How is that idea of partnership, doing these days? What have we learned? What kind of future does LHNM envision?

The working out of ideas, even God-given ideas, can easily lose their glitter as they get dragged through the dirt and debris of what we call “everyday life”. The last 15 years have not seen the complete fruition of all that we have hoped and longed for, but God’s desire for unity is like a compass pointing us the right direction.

Hopelines April 2021: Living Hope Native Ministries Celebrates 15 Years

Beyond “Us” and “Them”

By Merle Nisly

In the year 2005, an inspiring idea became a topic of conversation that led to the birth of a new reality. Almost one year later, in January 2006, that reality was the newly-incorporated Living Hope Native Ministries of Ontario.

As I reflect on the conversations and the hopes that fueled this new conversation, I remember one inspiring phrase the founding group repeated many times in our meetings: “We’re going to stop with the ‘us and them’ language.” I haven’t forgotten that.

Faithful to Jesus

By Stuart Swartzentruber

God calls each of us to faithful living. The word faithfulness can elicit ideas of predictability, steadfastness, loyalty, and duty. These are great descriptions, but can come across as if being faithful to Jesus is unexciting and never makes waves. Faithfulness as described in the Bible meant radical living and upsetting the status quo.

The faithful men and women recounted in Hebrews 11, although loyal to God, were anything but predictable to onlookers.

Hopelines December 2020

2020: A Year of Unique Challanges

As the year comes to a close, we also come to the time of year where we celebrate that the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. As you read these reflections from the LHNM staff, notice how the Incarnation is mirrored in the hearts of these faithful workers. The characteristics of the God they serve become flesh in the communities and churches they serve with deep commitment.

The Unstoppable Kingdom

Stuart Swartzentruber

God’s kingdom is unstoppable! It has a mind of its own, and has a King who bows to no one. This kingdom will not cave to peer pressure or popular thought. In its truest form, it can never be hijacked by anyone for personal gain or status.

God’s kingdom topples other kingdoms, but not with a sword. It declares justice for all. It gives favour to the humble, the weak, and the vulnerable. It curtails and opposes the arrogant and the proud.