News & Stories

Madalene Arias.

Like a garden maze with various starting points, the story of how I became connected to the Mennonite community is the sum of several individual stories that all led to the same... Read More
March 23, 2023 | News | Madalene Arias

Kirsten Hamm-Epp, regional church minister, and Josh Wallace, church engagement minister, lead morning worship. (Photo by Emily Summach)

David Boshart, president of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind., encouraged Mennonite Church Saskatchewan participants at this year’s annual delegate sessions... Read More
March 23, 2023 | News | Emily Summach

Garry Janzen (left), Yha Robin, Nhien Pham, Hung Doan Dinh and Kosor Tuih in Qui Nhon, Vietnam, on Feb. 14. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Barkowsky)

With 100,000 members, the Mennonite church in Vietnam is going strong, reports Nhien Pham. The retired pastor, who came to Canada from Vietnam in 1976, returned to his home... Read More
March 23, 2023 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell

Sol Janzen (left), Heidi Dirks, Marcus Rempel and Teresa Enns Zehr represented the two congregations joining MC Manitoba at this year’s annual gathering: Aberdeen Evangelical Mennonite Church and Saint Julian’s Table. (Photo by Karen Schellenberg)

The buzz of conversation and singing was a welcome sound as people filled Douglas Mennonite Church in Winnipeg for Mennonite Church Manitoba’s first in-person gathering in three... Read More
March 23, 2023 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe

Caleb Ratzlaff mingles with supporters at his campaign launch. (Photo by Jenessa Jessome Photography)

Caleb Ratzlaff has always had an interest in theology and politics. After spending time in seminary, he ultimately decided to complete a master’s degree in political philosophy at... Read More
March 23, 2023 | News | Maria H. Klassen

Colin McCartney

When Colin McCartney of Connect City, a church-planting ministry in Toronto, came to Leamington last month, members of five local congregations in Essex County were taken on a... Read More
March 23, 2023 | News | Barry Bergen

Composer and CMU student Anna Schwartz. (Photo courtesy of CMU)

With choral singing back in full swing, its community-building capacity is even more obvious to composer and Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) student Anna Schwartz. After... Read More
March 23, 2023 | News | Emma Siemens

Shel Boese, front row, center, was affirmed as the new MC B.C. executive minister on Feb. 25.

The affirmation of a new executive minister highlighted the annual meeting of Mennonite Church B.C. at Peace Mennonite Church in Richmond on Feb. 25. Ninety-eight percent of... Read More
March 8, 2023 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell

Doug Klassen shows no fear despite Mark Bigland-Pritchard’s mallet swinging. Bigland-Pritchard shared an object lesson to talk about the ‘theological pillars’ of the Climate Emergency Response Team’s mission. (Photo by Emily Summach)

In an effort to strengthen communication and relationships between the nationwide and regional churches, Doug Klassen, Mennonite Church Canada’s executive minister, paid a visit... Read More
March 8, 2023 | News | Emily Summach

Roland Sawatzky at The Manitoba Museum, where he works. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)

As Roland Sawatzky gives a tour through The Manitoba Museum, his eyes light up and his hands animatedly point out the highlights and features of each gallery. It’s clear he’s... Read More
March 8, 2023 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
While parenting can be a struggle, parenting through foster care or adoption has extra challenges, says Jenn Hook in Thriving Families . Her experience as a counsellor with a... Read More
March 8, 2023 | News | Barb Draper

(Photo by Vlad Shapochnikov/Unsplash)

In a meeting on Jan. 30, 2022, Mennonite Church Canada’s governing body, Joint Council, affirmed climate action as a nationwide ministry emphasis. Eight days later, MC Canada... Read More
March 8, 2023 | News | Aaron Epp

CMU students helped organize the Manitoba premiere of ‘Custodians.’ From left to right: Danika Warkentin, Lindsay Scott, Daisy Belec, Abimbola Onijamah, Micah Peters Unrau and Arnaud Munezero. (Photo by Danika Warkentin)

A new documentary exploring questions of land and reconciliation in rural Saskatchewan will have its Manitoba premiere in Winnipeg this weekend. Custodians: A Story of Ancient... Read More
February 28, 2023 | Web First | Daisy Belec

Kauffman family members (left to right): Roger and Rachel, Neil and Simon, Ryan and Valerie (parents of Neil and Simon).

Two Ohio families with 300 years of history in the U.S. began to consider leaving America when the two brothers and their wives faced workplace transitions in 2021. Ryan and... Read More
February 22, 2023 | News | Barry Bergen

Pastor Ian Funk stands next to art at Uplands Elementary School. (Photo courtesy of Henry Krause)

Three panels with images of bears, butterflies, salmon and eagles grace the central hallway of Uplands Elementary School in Langley, B.C. Part of a joint project by the school and... Read More
February 22, 2023 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell

Kenton Dyck and Victoria Exconde play lead roles in Maria and the Mennos. (Photo by Paul Plett)

The story of a young Filipina woman who marries into a Mennonite family and moves in with her in-laws will soon be broadcast on screens across Canada. Maria and the Mennos is a... Read More
February 22, 2023 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe

Members of Superb Mennonite Church gather for a meal at Camp Shekinah in 1987. (Superb Mennonite Church / Mennoite Heritage Archives photo)

“People used to work at camp because it was the right thing to do. They’d say things like: ‘I’d work 18-hour days, was paid very little, never got breaks, took care of kids and... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Focus on Camps | Emily Summach

Three 2022 Fraser Lake Camp staffers, from left to right—Edlyn Laneva, Zoe Suderman, Gaelle Cineus—offer fist bumps to the campers. (Photo by Shadrack Jackman-McKenzie)

A long, long time ago—way back in 1955—Fraser Lake Camp was born in the hearts and minds of three Mennonite pastors: Emerson McDowell, John H. Hess and Glen Brubacher. Their... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Focus on Camps |

Shirley John, an Indigenous elder, enjoys strawberries with Silver Lake staff. (Silver Lake photo)

When thinking of the word “faith,” Silver Lake comes directly to mind. Camp provides me with the space to integrate faith into daily life. Campfire songs, morning and evening... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Focus on Camps | Ellie Cressman with Thomas Beech

Campers enjoy the water and sun at Camp Koinonia. (MC Manitoba photo by Darryl Neustaedter Barg)

The summer of 2022 was a re-opening in a multitude of ways. After two summers in various states of restrictions, we were able to be together in all of our spaces and to provide a... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Focus on Camps | Janet Peters

Fun at Hidden Acres. (Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp photo)

Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp was excited to celebrate 60 years of camp over the past season. It was a season of seeing new things that the Lord is doing, and reflecting on all that... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Focus on Camps | Emily Taylor

Ashleigh Singleton wears her faith on her arm. (Communitas photo by Angelika Dawson)

When Ashleigh Singleton reflects on her life, she sees God’s grace in the many turning points that have brought her to where she is today. “I am so blessed,” she says. “I’m just... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News | Angelika Dawson
“We’re looking for someone who can balance spiritual leadership with executive leadership . . . someone who can hybrid those two areas.” That’s how Arli Klassen, Moderator for... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News | Emily Summach

In a scene played out countless times in countless places, Esther Wiebe plays piano as her husband George conducts, in this case in Abbotsford, B.C. in 1986. (Photo by David Loewen. Courtesy of the Mennonite Historical Society of British Columbia)

Esther Wiebe—long-time music professor, pianist and composer—died in Winnipeg on January 26 at age 90. She is survived by her husband George; children, Robert (Verna) and Peter (... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News |

Andy Fenske, a former shelter participant, shared a bit of his own journey with homelessness and addiction and his excitement over the new facility. (House of Friendship photo)

House of Friendship held an official grand opening celebration of its new ShelterCare facility in Waterloo, Ont., on Jan. 19. This renovated former hotel will provide shelter and... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News |

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