Towards the Light

This collection of poetry and images are fingers pointing to a truth of who this branch of Mennonites were and who they have become, since they began their epic migration from south Russia to Manitoba 150 years ago.

Following family whispers, and historical accounts, we explore this epic story of faith and identity. Each poem, each image is a portal into the collective soul of the Bergthaler people, as well as a threshold into yet unexplored realms of individual inner landscapes.

As you make your way through this collection you will meet the mysterious Greta, the ubiquitous Jacob, the open and curious Thomas, as well as some sixties and seventies folk and rock prophets. You will also encounter wisps of the collective Mennonite shadow that has been trauma etched into our unconscious, where parts of it lie waiting ready to feast upon pattern and certainty, while others linger close to the water’s edge, awaiting her stirring. Throughout you will be accompanied by the love, courage, compassion, and faith of elders who have gone before us, and those we are meeting along the way.