Pandemic forces couples to reassess wedding plans
Categories: NewsThe bride and groom may have hoped for a traditional church wedding with an entourage of attendants, surrounded by all their friends and extended family, followed by a fabulous catered…
The growing phenomenon of cohabitation
Categories: News“What questions does cohabitation raise for you?” asked Irma Fast Dueck at a Portable CMU event hosted by Springridge Mennonite Church in Pincher Creek, Alta., in May. The associate professor…
Author, bookstore owner dispute ‘censorship’ claim
Categories: News“Manitoba book store censors retired pastor’s book” was the title of a press release sent to Canadian Mennonite earlier this year by author Ray Friesen, a retired Mennonite pastor in…
The gospel is a seed buried within the church
Categories: NewsPeace Mennonite Church gathers for Bible study every Tuesday evening. Since the pandemic began, the Regina-based house church has been meeting via Zoom, enabling members who no longer live in…
‘I am not being persecuted’
Categories: NewsMichael Pahl A former church minister in Morden is pushing back on churches arguing for freedom from COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. In a series of tweets sent out May 3, Michael…
Fair trade under the mask
Categories: NewsAlthough most of the Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) stores closed in Canada in the spring of 2020 when the TTV Canada entity ceased to exist, seven stores decided to stay…
Soup, biscuits, laughter and verse
Categories: NewsWomen of Mennonite Church B.C. couldn’t meet in person for the annual B.C. Women’s Day on May 1, but they could still see each other’s faces, enjoy fellowship and eat…
Ecological grief
Categories: NewsA million plant and animal species are nearing extinction, the global climate is dramatically shifting and sea levels are rising—the earth is in crisis and many people are overwhelmed with…
‘Staging change’
Categories: NewsTwenty-six times since November, audiences have had the opportunity to participate in changing the story of gender-based violence. That is how many times Theatre of the Beat, a Canadian touring…
Planting a church in a pandemic
Categories: NewsThe ideal time for planting a church is likely not the middle of a pandemic, but Josh and Cindy Wallace have discovered that it can be done. “We sort of…
Who needs denominations?
Categories: NewsMany churches today are distancing themselves from denominational labels like “Mennonite,” to appear more inclusive. Renaming churches “The River,” “The Mosaic,” or “Hope City” is one way of communicating this.…
Mennonites in Myanmar facing desperate situation
Categories: NewsAmid mass protests, lethal military response and UN warnings of Myanmar becoming a “new Syria,” one Mennonite source in the country said, “We are in darkness, full of fear and…
Why not a letter?
Categories: News“Let us consider how we may spur one another toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one…
MC Eastern Canada looks to where God is calling the church
Categories: NewsHow is the church like kimchi? At Mennonite Church Eastern Canada’s spring gathering, held virtually on April 23 and 24, many of the more than 250 in attendance tried making…
Zoar Mennonite closes after 111 years
Categories: News“It was not a sudden oh-my-goodness-what-are-we-going-to-do conversation,” says Liz Baerwald of her church’s decision to close. As she sees it, the conversation began more than a decade ago. When long-serving…
Churches weigh in on bill to ban conversion therapy
Categories: NewsA proposed federal law to criminalize conversion therapy is creating controversy, not because anyone is openly defending the practice of seeking to convert LGBTQ+ people to heterosexuality, but because…
CM awarded six CCCA certificates
Categories: NewsThe Canadian Christian Communicators Association again took to Zoom for its sophomore Awards of Merit ceremony, held on April 7. A total of 20 Canadian magazines, newspapers and communications organizations…
Hanley Mennonite closes after nearly 100 years
Categories: News“I understand this as part of the life cycle of the church,” says Gary Peters. “We’ve been in the process of aging, now we’re in the process of dying.” This…
Greetings and gifts on Good Friday
Categories: NewsMembers of Chilliwack’s Crossroads Community Church found a creative way on Easter weekend to both introduce its new pastor in person and to celebrate Easter with the community. For two…
Palestine-Israel Network shares Undercurrents podcast
Categories: NewsAt its 2016 assembly, Mennonite Church Canada passed a resolution affirming nonviolent efforts of Palestinians and Israelis to overcome injustice in their region, and committing Canadian Mennonites to “deepen their…
