It’s all about trust
“What are the dreams that have been placed in us? What has God whispered in our ears? How has God invaded our thoughts?” asked Willard Metzger, Mennonite Canada’s executive minister (formerly executive director). Thus began his final address on Oct. 15 to those who gathered for Special Assembly 2017. Those questions arose from the assembly’s…
Imitating Jesus on the Migrant Trail
“Our Anabaptist history is intrinsically tied to migration, and so is our Christian story,” says Saulo Padilla, immigration education coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) U.S. “We must keep challenging the narratives that separate us, build borders and invite us to dehumanize others.” Several Anabaptist-Mennonites participated in the 14th Migrant Trail Walk from May 29…
Summer memories go up in smoke
Chesley Lake Camp, located west of Owen Sound, Ont., lost its main building to fire on Canada Day. The building housed offices, a restaurant, tuck shop and many memories. The fire has been classified as accidental and no further investigation is being carried out. Fireworks had been displayed near the building on the evening of…
Let the games begin
More than 30 youth from Mennonite Church Eastern Canada congregations in the Niagara Region gathered at Grace Mennonite Church in St. Catharines on May 12, 2018, for the “Hunger Relief Games.” Using non-perishable food items, plus items for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) hygiene kits and two comforters, they played a series of five games. The…
Four ways MCC is caring for creation
Around the world, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) partners with people who are negatively affected by climate change. In response to increased droughts, storms and other disastrous weather patterns, MCC is taking steps to better care for creation. Gardening Calgary’s northeast side is a largely industrial area that has very little green space, but on MCC…
Foodgrains Bank responding to Somali hunger crisis
Canadian Foodgrains Bank is responding to the hunger crisis in Somalia, where immediate emergency assistance is needed to help prevent a hunger catastrophe. “At the back of our minds is the 2011 Somalia famine, where a quarter-of-a-million people died of hunger,” says Barbara Macdonald, Foodgrains Bank international programs director. “There is no way that should…
‘Half-moon’ agriculture helps African farmers
Step into the fields of Etienne Tiendrébeogo (pictured at right in the bright shirt) in Yé, Burkina Faso, and you’ll notice something striking: large half-moon shapes dug into the soil, adding a fanciful touch to the dirt of his rural fields. The result is anything but fanciful, however. In Burkina Faso, rainfall is erratic, and…
‘We are your future/Somos su futuro’
“We Are Your Future/Somos Su Futuro” opened at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery in Winnipeg on Sept. 9. The exhibition focusses on the lives of women from the indigenous community of Tlamacazapa, Guerrero, Mexico. It features etchings by Cuernavaca artist Alejandro Aranda and watercolour paintings by gallery curator Ray Dirks, along with palm weaving by…
World record for relief *
Manitoba became home to another world record on July 31, 2016, when 139 antique threshing machines harvested a field simultaneously for 15 minutes at the 62nd Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede held at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin. Nine others started, but, for various mechanical reasons, couldn’t finish the 15-minute test. “This was a…
Mennonite ‘routes’ go deep
Building of a light-rail transit system along the spine of Waterloo and Kitchener had to change focus in March 2016, when excavations in uptown Waterloo exposed the remains of a corduroy road. Archeologists are dating the road to the late 1700s or early 1800s. It was probably built by Mennonites, the original settlers in the…
