The Steinbach Arts Council’s Backyard Theatre Company (BTC) is thrilled to present its final production of the season, Uncoordinated Battles. This high-energy action comedy combines big laughs, interesting characters, and an important message about teamwork. Written and directed by Jeremy Plett, with production direction by Akecia Peters, the production will take the stage on April 14 at 7 p.m. at the SRSS Theatre. Performers from BTC’s Intermediate and Advanced theatre programs will showcase their theatre skills on stage, with special performances by BTC Musical Theatre and Dramatic Discovery students.

About the play: When three rival villains launch simultaneous attacks on the city, the world’s most confident spy team is forced to split up — and everything goes wrong. Outmatched and out of sync, the elite agents must team up with the overlooked newbies they’ve been ignoring if they hope to save the day.

Tickets are $10 for youth and adults. For tickets, visit SteinbachArts.ca or call 204-346-1077.

The Steinbach Arts Council thanks Nature’s Farm for sponsoring the Backyard Theatre Company program.

Mike Campbell, a character in the Ernest Hemingway novel The Sun Also Rises, is asked about his financial trouble and how he went bankrupt. His response was “Gradually, then suddenly.” This is an often-quoted phrase that describes how many things in life which seem to be immovable, suddenly change.

It’s a phrase that I used recently when media asked me about the chances that Manitoba would do away with changing the clocks twice a year. This is a debate that has gone on for decades. My response to the reporter was that I believed that Manitoba was on the path to do away with the twice annual time change and that this was the type of thing that happens gradually and then suddenly.

And it appears that when it comes to ending the time change, suddenly has arrived. While there have been numerous attempts over the years to pass legislation to end the time change practice in Manitoba, it has never been successful. The lack of success wasn’t because there wasn’t sufficient support for the idea, but rather because there was a desire to see those around us, and the states directly to our south, enact similar changes. For a variety of reasons, mostly linked to trade, business and travel, Manitoba has till now not made the move to stop changing the clocks. Instead, successive provincial governments have chosen to wait until neighboring parts of the U.S. or other provinces made the move. In fact, Manitoba even supported legislation that indicated that when states such as Minnesota and North Dakota stopped changing the clock, Manitoba would follow as well.

And while the United States Congress has repeatedly decided to vote against the elimination of the time changes, it was the recent move by British Columbia to stop changing the clock (and in their case stay on daylight savings time), that moved things from gradually to suddenly in Manitoba. That decision, combined with the commitment by Alberta to review whether to follow B.C. and the Saskatchewan tradition of staying on one time, means there could soon be a western block that does not change the time in spring and fall.

“God is not simply attempting to rescue individuals from their sufferings at the hands of an unjust system, but to transform the system so as to make and keep human life more human.” -Walter Wink

Today I start with a special update on a Middle East politician, whom Prime Minister Carney would consider a middle power. A politician that as March moves along is being talked about more. An astute politician, who likes to work the middle ground in government policy. He is a special envoy to the Middle East who has come under incredible stress and pressure. He moved from his home in a comfortable and affluent part of the world to represent the Western Powers in an inhospitable and hostile land, where people speak a different language. Things are vastly different there. He was hoping he could keep things quiet in the region, prevent trouble, present a good front to the people back home. He had hope that no major disaster would blow up while he completes his term there. That person - is Pontius Pilate.

Easter of 2026 dawns on April 5, shadowed by turmoil in the Middle East. Has the world changed? When shall we grasp that the violence of empires and nations births only more violence? When Jesus was led into Pilate’s palace courtyard, the stage was set for humanity’s great courtroom. Powers of the world, faith, and fear gathered in the cloak of night. Once, Jesus sweated in the garden, hesitant and burdened; now, unwavering, he stands ready to unveil a new path.

The world’s way is oft a choice of fight or flight. We witness this as Jewish leaders thrust Jesus before Pilate, stirring crowds to cry, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ We witness Pilate, perplexed and reluctant, seeking to evade responsibility. Yet Jesus offers a third way - a path that confronts evil without feeding its destruction.