Steinbach, Manitoba

Cemetery Visitors:  All three of the folks pictured here date back to the original settlement of Steinbach by German-speaking Mennonites from Ukraine, which was then a part of the Russian Empire. The name on the headstone is one of the most common Plautdietsch names in these parts. Heritage Cemetery.[2012]

Morden, Manitoba

Canadian Epitaphs:  "Death is Gain": That's one way of putting a positive spin on the end of life. Yet, even though that is what all Christians believe, most would like their souls and bodies to be united on terra firma as long as possible. Morden Memorial Gardens. [2012]

Steinbach, Manitoba

Canadian Epitaphs:  The words to live by on the front of the headstone are drawn from the Bible verse on the verso. From Paul's letter to the Romans: "Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life - and place it before God as an offering." Translated into a guiding aphorism: "How we live our days, is of course, how we spend our lives." Now, look up Romans 12:1 and see if it all makes sense. Heritage Cemetery. [2012]

Landmark, Manitoba

World Teachers' Day ~ October 5:  Lots of teachers don't have their profession commemorated on their headstones. One lies buried here, but we'll have to check back later to see what's on her permanent marker. She wasn't in the classroom long, but the love of her students ran deep. They could hardly believe she was killed in a biking accident over the summer. So young, and such a loss. Prairie Rose EMC Cemetery. [2012]

Morden, Manitoba

Left Behind ~ Kid Art:  That drawing is in a frame. Has it really survived from the 1990s when Brenda might have been in grade school? Or, was it plucked from the family archives and delivered to the cemetery by a grown-up Brenda? Do the math and offer your own explanation. Memorial Gardens. [2012]

Blumenort, Manitoba

On Heaven's Menu ~ Bread and . . . :  She made a house a home and filled it with the smells of baking bread, the melodies of soulful hymns, and lots of love meant for all. Now, she's at rest in heaven. Evangelical Mennonite Cemetery. [2012]

Tolstoi, Manitoba

Getting Ready for Good Friday:  Asked to summarize Christianity in a single word, most would say LOVE. According to Orthodoxy Today, that's the message of the iconic event that inspired da Vinci: "The Last Supper is the ultimate revelation of God's redeeming love for man, of love as the very essence of salvation. And the betrayal by Judas reveals that sin, death and self-destruction are also due to love, but to deviated and distorted love, love directed at that which does not deserve love." Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church Cemetery. [2012]

Steinbach, Manitoba

To the Ocean, White with Foam:  In so much of literature, the ocean stands in for the great unknown, the edge of civilization, the limit of existence. Sand is often used to symbolize infinity and quantities that are uncountable. David tells us that God's thoughts about his creation are limitless: "they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!" (Psalms 139:18). How do you interpret the two remaining elements of this tableau, the heart and the foam? Heritage Cemetery. [2012]

Steinbach, Manitoba

Food ~ from McDonald's:  Although there is nothing to eat on this grave marker, there is a place where you could find food. Just look under the 'golden arches.' But wait: The only thing there is a maple leaf. Identities are increasingly bound to the corporations that serve us throughout life. Heritage Cemetery. [2012]

Tolstoi, Manitoba

Propinquity and the Bonds of Faith ~ Ukrainian Orthodox:  A white clapboard edifice like this made the 'new country' a little like the 'old country.' The first generation of pioneers must have felt comfortable knowing they would find eternal rest in such familiar surroundings. [2012]

Steinbach, Manitoba

Focus on Heritage Cemetery:  Musical talent is buried here, and the talent really wouldn't like the reverential silence of the cemetery. In fact, if you gathered together all of the instruments (see two?) and song you find memorialized on headstones in this neighborhood, the prairie would be alive with angelic acoustics. [2012]

Always Loved, Deeply Missed & Never Forgotten
Praise Adonai From the Rising of the Sun / To the End of Everyday

Steinbach, Manitoba

Focus on Heritage Cemetery:  Just to the north of Steinbach are Lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg (and so many more). Sailing the summers away must have been popular with the Wiebe clan and their friends. So much is captured in this simple scene: the love of place, the love of action, the love of friends, and the love from above . . . forever. [2012]

"Forever . . . Soar with Friends"

Steinbach, Manitoba

Focus on Heritage Cemetery:  Steinbach was settled by Mennonites from the Ukraine but of German origin. Starting in the 1870s, they came to farm the Canadian prairies where they and their descendants fell in love with the land. For a glimpse of the Funks' earthly heaven, look at both sides of their memorial. [2012]


Our Family Chain is Broken and Nothing Seems the Same
... But As God Calls Us One By One, The Chain Will Link Again

Steinbach, Manitoba

Focus on Heritage Cemetery:  The Steinbach community is richly traditional, but Motumbo's 'tumb-stone' is not only richly traditional, it is richly Canadian! Steinbach's main cemetery is alive with memorials that blend the sacred and the secular. [2012]

"I wonder if there is Hockey in Heaven?"