News & Stories

Abner Martin conducts the Mennonite Mass Choir’s performance of Haydn’s ‘Creation.’ (1975 Waterloo Region Record file photo)

Abner Martin was born at his parents’ farm in Waterloo Township, Ont., the seventh surviving child of Annanias and Susannah (Steckle) Martin. His family, until the time of Abner’s... Read More
December 31, 2018 | People | Kevin Martin

Shawn Klassen-Koop is the co-author of Building a Better World in Your Backyard Instead of Being Angry at Bad Guys. (Photo by Aaron Epp)

Shawn Klassen-Koop never thought he would write a book before his 30th birthday but that’s exactly what he’s done. The Winnipegger is the co-author, with Montana-based... Read More
December 31, 2018 | People | Aaron Epp

MCC's first steam well, constructed in Bidu, Afar, in northern Ethiopia. (MCC photo by Rose Shenk)

In parts of the world where the effects of climate change are severe and rains are dangerously infrequent, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is supporting innovative projects to... Read More
December 31, 2018 | Web First | Rachel Bergen

Pictured from left to right: CPA director Paul Heidebrecht, and SheCycle members Abby Loewen, Isaac Beech, Daniel Schuurman, Mykayla Turner, Anna Kuepfer and Leah Wouda. (Photo courtesy of Conrad Grebel University College)

A team of six students from Conrad Grebel University College participated in MEDAx, a conference that was part of the larger Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA)... Read More
December 31, 2018 | Web First |

Oil lamps light the sanctuary of the little church as guests arrive to experience ‘Christmas by lamplight.’ (Photo by Donna Schulz)

Old-fashioned oil lamps graced each windowsill in the tiny sanctuary, their steady flames bathing the room in warm light as people filed into the pews. The people came to... Read More
December 28, 2018 | Web First | Donna Schulz
Mennonites in Canada today are a diverse group, and the old stereotype of Mennonites as German-speaking agrarian people fits only a small part of the picture. The history... Read More
December 12, 2018 | God at work in the Church | Barb Draper

John Neudorf speaks with Betty Pries of Credence & Co. during a break in the Nov. 16, 2018, session of Mennonite Church Alberta’s first Vision 2020 gathering at Foothills Mennonite Church in Calgary. (Photo by Donita Wiebe-Neufeld)

In opening comments at Mennonite Church Alberta’s first of three Vision 2020 gatherings, Tim Wiebe-Neufeld, the regional church’s executive minister, asked people in the crowd to... Read More
December 12, 2018 | God at work in the Church | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld

Roberson Mbayamvula, left, lead pastor of Hagerman Mennonite; Paul Mo, Markham Chinese Mennonite’s pastor; and Joseph Savarimuthu, pastor of Markham Christian Worship Centre, a Tamil congregation, cut the ribbon on their renovated church building on Oct. 14, 2018. (Photo by Godfrey Cheng)

After more than three years and with a budget of $1.4 million, Hagerman Mennonite Church in Markham, Ont., has completed a significant building renovation. But more than efficient... Read More
December 12, 2018 | God at work in the Church | Joelle Kidd

Michael Sambrook guides members of the Canadian Mennonite Health Assembly in drafting a statement on medical assistance in dying based on the group’s values. (Photo by Amy Dueckman)

When members of the Canadian Mennonite Health Assembly gathered at Menno Place in Abbotsford in early November 2018 to discuss this year’s theme, “Living our values,” medical... Read More
December 12, 2018 | God at work in the World | Amy Rinner Waddell

Case descriptions for thousands of Mennonites who disappeared in Ukraine are now available online. This one shows an Abram Klassen.

Among the voluminous lists of those disappeared during the dark times in what is now Ukraine, researchers have found roughly 400 pages of Mennonite names, with five or six names... Read More
December 12, 2018 | God at work in the World | Will Braun

Eva Klaassen

Eva Klaassen lives in a seniors housing complex in Prince Albert. She doesn’t own a car, so every Sunday morning she takes a taxi to Grace Mennonite Church. Many of the drivers... Read More
December 12, 2018 | God at work in Us | Donna Schulz
Although Bruce Guenther set out to write a biography of his grandfather, Herman D.W. Friesen, it turned out to be more of a history of the Old Colony Mennonites in the Hague-Osler... Read More
December 12, 2018 | Artbeat | Barb Draper

Choir conductors Ben Pauls and his son Matthew enjoy using their talent, energy and enthusiasm to bring people together through choral music.

Choir conductors Ben Pauls and his son Matthew share enthusiasm, talent and a passion for choral music. This fall, they had the unexpected opportunity to share the stage at a... Read More
December 12, 2018 | Artbeat | Gladys Terichow

Shekinah Retreat Centre is located on 116 hectares in the North Saskatchewan River Valley. Mennonite youth from across Canada will gather there in the summer of 2019. (Photo by Irma Sulistyorini)

Leadership from two of Mennonite Church Canada’s regional churches are inviting youth from across Canada to a gathering in Saskatchewan next summer. “Shake: Rattled by the radical... Read More
December 12, 2018 | Young Voices | Aaron Epp

Michael Taves

Canadian Mennonite asked eight young adults from across Mennonite Church Canada to look back on the year that was and to look ahead to the year that will be. These are their... Read More
December 12, 2018 | Young Voices | Aaron Epp

Jennifer Deibert, left, MCC North Korea program coordinator, and North Korean agricultural delegates An Hui Jun and Jon Bom Ho talk shop with Martin Entz, a professor in the plant science department at the University of Manitoba, at a research farm in Carman, Man. (MCC photo by Colin Vandenberg)

In those first few minutes after arriving at Syl’s Restaurant in Carman, members of a delegation from North Korea sit at the edge of the outdoor eating area, where they see local... Read More
December 12, 2018 | Web First | Julie Bell

Daniel (a pseudonym) took this photo as members of the caravan he is with in Mexico climb aboard big trucks that will carry them north for a while. (Photo courtesy of Daniel)

Daniel (a pseudonym, for security reasons) doesn’t have just one reason for leaving his daughter, 8, and parents in Honduras. He has many reasons for joining a caravan of... Read More
December 7, 2018 | Web First | Linda Espenshade

Carolina Hinojosa-Cisneros presents her talk “A Theo(poetic) Revolution: The Language of Liberation” at the 2018 Women Doing Theology conference in Elkhart, Indiana (Photo by Kayla Berkey)

“Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.” Over 200 people from across North America filled the Chapel of the Sermon of the Mount with these... Read More
December 4, 2018 | Web First | Kayla Berkey

The Manitoba Colony in eastern Bolivia (Photo by Kennert Giesbrecht)

Mennonites are talking about Women Talking , Miriam Toews’s latest novel. What are your thoughts? Feel free to comment below or send letters to letters@canadianmennonite.org ... Read More
November 30, 2018 | Web First | Will Braun

As we celebrate Christmas, it may be helpful to sort out what is worth releasing for the enjoyment of the season and what is worth keeping, or even adding. (Photo by Amy Dueckman)

When Jill (a pseudonym) turns her calendar to December, she’ll read a message she wrote to herself a year ago: “Be intentional all through the month to not put pressure on myself... Read More
November 23, 2018 | Web First | Amy Rinner Waddell

As a sign of honour and respect for the work of Steve Heinrichs, left, Mennonite Church Canada’s director of Indigenous-settler relations, Lorne Brandt, the chair of Mennonite Church B.C.’s Service, Peace and Justice Committee, presents his vest and moccasins, that were made by Cree craftspeople in Manitoba in 1974, to him at a meeting of the regional church’s Indigenous Relations Group. (Photo by Henry Krause)

A vest and moccasins presented to the Mennonite Church Canada director of Indigenous-settler relations symbolized the ongoing work of Indigenous relations in B.C. During an Oct... Read More
November 21, 2018 | God at work in the Church | Amy Rinner Waddell

Elmer Thiessen, a Wilfrid Laurier University professor, spoke and preached at Leamington (Ont.) United Mennonite Church earlier this month on ethics and objective truth. (Photo courtesy of Elmer Thiessen)

When discussing the question of ethics in the church or in society at large, there is an increasing cacophony of voices laying claim to the ideological space governing the... Read More
November 21, 2018 | God at work in the Church | Zach Charbonneau

If Manitoba Colony members are accused of a crime, they are brought before the congregation at church and judged. For serious offenses like incest, they may be excommunicated, but if they ask for forgiveness, they can return a week later. (Photo by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky (noahfr.com))

Eight men went to prison, the media gaze moved on, and colony life resumed. But the saga of mass rape in the Bolivian corner of our family of faith is far from over. It’s hard not... Read More
November 21, 2018 | God at work in the Church | Will Braun

Rachel Miller Jacobs of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary teaches participants at MC Saskatchewan’s recent continuing education event how to develop habits that deepen their walk with Christ. (Photo by Donna Schulz)

Anyone who has operated a computer knows that, from time to time, it’s necessary to hit reset. The same is true in the life of faith. “Resetting is an affirmation of God’s grace... Read More
November 21, 2018 | God at work in the Church | Donna Schulz

Mennonite families watch the rape trial in May 2011. After discovering the rapes, Manitoba Colony leaders considered locking the accused in shipping containers for years but eventually called in the Bolivia police. (Photo by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky noahfr.com)

Eight men went to prison, the media gaze moved on, and colony life resumed. But the saga of mass rape in the Bolivian corner of the Mennonite family of faith is far from over... Read More
November 21, 2018 | God at work in the Church | Will Braun

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