As the month of August 2018 ended, British Columbia found itself dealing with rampant wildfires for the second consecutive year. In mid-August, there were 566 wildfires burning in... Read More
News & Stories
Jordan Thoms, left, a church planter from Toronto, is introduced by Colin McCartney, who supports and trains church planters in under-resourced neighbourhoods in Toronto, at this past spring’s Mennonite Church Eastern Canada annual delegate sessions. (Photo by Dave Rogalsky)
In 2014, five years after Warden Woods Mennonite Church in Toronto closed, a new congregation began to form in the Warden Woods community. Led by Jordan Thoms, the Warden... Read More
September 5, 2018 | God at work in the Church | Dave Rogalsky
Dave Rogalsky served as Canadian Mennonite's Eastern Canada correspondent for 12 years. He covered news from Ontario, Quebec and the eastern provinces.
Over the past 12 years, Dave Rogalsky has been a prolific writer for Canadian Mennonite . Since the summer of 2006, when he was hired as the Eastern Canada correspondent,... Read More
September 5, 2018 | God at work in Us | Barb Draper
Six women from Charleswood lead a Bible study for the inmates at the Women’s Correctional Centre in Headingley, Man., on the first Wednesday of every month. (Government of Manitoba photo)
Every month, several women from Charleswood Mennonite Church in Winnipeg go to jail. But unlike the women they meet with behind bars, they get to walk out of the barbed wire... Read More
September 5, 2018 | God at work in the World | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
Olympic gold medallist Cindy Klassen, right, stands with farmers Nathan and Jeanette Janzen and their sons Evan and Bradley at the Grow Hope Saskatchewan field day. The canola lying in swaths behind them will soon be harvested for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
“I’ve never been this close to agriculture before,” said Ingrid Lamp. “It’s quite exciting.” Lamp and her husband travelled four hours from their home in Swift Current to attend... Read More
September 5, 2018 | God at work in the World | Donna Schulz
Sam Dueckman, left, and Emmanuel Denguessi, who helped organize the Emmanuel Mennonite summer cleanup day, survey the bags of garbage collected by church members. (Photo courtesy of Sam Dueckman)
One plastic cup, one can, one disposable diaper at a time, Mennonite residents of B.C.’s Fraser Valley are trying to make a difference by cleaning up their environment. Crossroads... Read More
September 5, 2018 | God at work in the World | Amy Rinner Waddell
Sandra Luna assists Jimmi Bedoya, 3, at Centro de Capacitación del Niño (Children’s Training Centre) in El Progreso, Soacha, outside Bogotá, Colombia, where Luna teaches Grade 1 and acts as one of the coordinators of the school. (MCC photo by Colin Vandenberg)
I was born in Santander in north-central Colombia. My husband and I married when he was 17 and I was 15, and we decided to come to Bogotá to look for a better life. In about 2005... Read More
September 5, 2018 | God at work in Us | Sandra Luna (as told to Marla Pierson Lester)
This book collects essays by Mennonite theologian Lydia Neufeld Harder.
In their appreciative foreword to Mennonite theologian Lydia Neufeld Harder’s retrospective essay collection, Kimberley Penner and Susanne Guenther Loewen write of the time,... Read More
September 5, 2018 | Artbeat | Maxwell Kennel
A new book by B.C. pastor and author April Yamasaki, published by Herald Press.
The phrase “take care of yourself” is often heard today, but how to find time to do that in today’s world? For many Christians, the idea of self-care sounds contrary to the... Read More
September 5, 2018 | Artbeat | MennoMedia
Photo courtesy of Silver Lake Mennonite Camp
Ruth-Ann Klassen Shantz has a long history with Silver Lake Mennonite Camp in Sauble Beach, Ont., and a story she has kept long hidden. But earlier this year she shared with the... Read More
August 24, 2018 | Web First | Dave Rogalsky
Some church members and the refugee family in their new home in March 2018. Pictured from left to right: Lois Braun, Heritier Munezero, Claudine Uwimpuhwe, Siggi Holzhaeuer, Katherine Morgan, Speciose Nyiramugwaneza, Emmanuel Iranshubije, Gordon Bueckert, Eileen Scharfenberg and Dave Martens. (Photo by Cornie Thiessen)
When Sterling Mennonite Fellowship received an invitation from St. Vital Evangelical Mennonite Church (EMC) to partner in sponsoring a refugee family, it felt like an answer to... Read More
August 22, 2018 | God at work in the Church | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
Leaders of the Matu-Chin Christian Church in Kitchener, Ont., are accepted into emerging church status in Mennonite Church Eastern Canada on April 28th at the annual regional church gathering. Pictured from left to right: Pastor Thing Sai; Pastor Westerne Joseph of the Assemblée de la Grâce in Montréal; Rothang, auditor; Yaling, treasurer; and Maung Aung, chair. (Photo by Dave Rogalsky)
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada already had several Chin congregations in its midst, with all of them having roots in the Hakha-Chin community. Like many languages, though, the... Read More
August 22, 2018 | God at work in the Church | Dave Rogalsky
Jennifer Symonds
On the weekend of May 11, Jennifer Symonds, a participant at the Westview Centre4Women, shared her story as part of a conference hosted by the Niagara churches of Mennonite Church... Read More
August 22, 2018 | God at work in Us | Jennifer Symonds
Wilbur Sargunaraj gets the audience up and moving at the Spruce River Folk Festival. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
The Spruce River Folk Festival is held annually at Ray Funk’s farm north of Prince Albert. Mennonite Church Saskatchewan and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Saskatchewan help... Read More
August 22, 2018 | God at work in Us | Donna Schulz
Owen McCausland (tenor), left, tells the story of the Dog from Algiers who saves his master’s life on the battlefield to Larissa Koniuk (soprano), Alexandra Beley (mezzo-soprano), and Keith Lam (baritone), in the new Llandovery Castle Opera, whose music was composed by Stephanie Martin. (Photo courtesy of Will Ford, Llandovery Castle Opera)
Stephanie Martin had often led practises with the Pax Christi Chorale at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Toronto. But during one practice in 2015 she was drawn to a plaque on the... Read More
August 22, 2018 | Artbeat | Dave Rogalsky
Working with enVision Community Living clients like Joanne, centre, profoundly changed Daniel Rempel’s life. (Photo courtesy of Jo-Anne Dalton)
When I was first hired as a disability support worker at enVision Community Living in Steinbach, Man., I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know many people with intellectual... Read More
August 22, 2018 | Young Voices | Daniel Rempel
Madalene Arias is part of a Student Christian Movement committee protesting the Safe Third Country Agreement. (Photo courtesy of Madalene Arias)
Did you know that Canada is a signatory to the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States? It is an agreement based on the idea that both countries are equally safe... Read More
August 22, 2018 | Young Voices | Madalene Arias, with Peter Haresnape
César García, Mennonite World Conference general secretary, second from right, is pictured with, from left to right: Abby Hershberger, program assistant; Thien Tran, IVEP Intern; Katie Garrison, program Associate; and MCC UN office director Doug Hostetter. (MCC United Nations Office photo)
Throughout its history, the people of the Vietnam Mennonite Church have never failed to demonstrate their resilience and their commitment to live out the peaceful way of Christ... Read More
August 20, 2018 | Web First | Thien Phuoc Quang Tran
Inmates in Asuncion’s infamous Tacumbú Prison participate in La Libertad Church, a ministry of the Mennoniten Brüder Gemeinde Concordia in Paraguay. (Photo courtesy of Ignacio Chamorro Ramirez)
“My members are rapists, kidnappers, murders and fraudsters—all washed by the blood of Jesus our Lord,” says Pastor Ignacio Chamorro Ramírez. Chamorro is director of an integrated... Read More
August 16, 2018 | Web First | Karla Braun
MEDA distributes Talking Book devices to share information related to agriculture, gender, nutrition, finance, buyers and suppliers, and other matters that affect Ghanaian farmers. (Photo by Christian Kuder)
Teaching technical information to people who are mostly not literate can pose serious challenges. But if use of books isn’t helpful, Talking Books can get the message across. The... Read More
August 16, 2018 | Web First |
In a cooperative effort, Mennonites at the 2018 European Mennonite Conference packed relief kits for Mennonite Central Committee. (Photo by Claude Nardin)
“We can’t keep our story. We must share.” That is the message Danang Kristiawan brought home after attending the European Mennonite Conference (known by its German acronym MERK),... Read More
August 16, 2018 | Web First |
Cheryl and Mike Nimz have been Mennonite Church Canada Witness workers in the United Kingdom for five years. After itinerating in Canada for two-and-a-half months, they have returned to Birmingham, England, to continue their assignment. (Photo by Donita Wiebe-Neufeld)
Mike and Cheryl Nimz: United Kingdom Mike and Cheryl Nimz do not fit typical missionary scenarios, but neither does their mission field conform to stereotypes. As Mennonite Church... Read More
August 13, 2018 | Web First | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
Steve Heinrichs and supporters gather for prayer outside the courthouse in Vancouver during his two-day trial on Aug. 7 and 8, 2018. (Photo by Brad Leitch)
Steve Heinrichs was found guilty of criminal and civil contempt of court in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver on Aug. 8, 2018, and was sentenced to seven days in... Read More
August 10, 2018 | Web First | Amy Rinner Waddell
Members and participants from First Mennonite Church, Kitchener, Ont., pose in front of the memorial wall the congregation has dedicated to the remembrance of loved ones who died at a distance. (Photo by Tom Yoder Neufeld)
Death brings to the fore the cost of having left home. For many at First Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Canada is a home away from home. When death strikes, they cannot be... Read More
August 7, 2018 | Web First | Rebecca Yoder Neufeld
The plaque accompanying the painting reads: ‘“Congregation” by Tom Neufeld, pastor of TUMC, 1976-1979. Presented to CMU by members of Thompson [Man.] United Mennonite Church.’
What do you get when you start a Mennonite church in the middle of nowhere? A community that is still going strong more than 50 years later, even after the church itself has... Read More
August 7, 2018 | Web First | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe