MCEC reviews 67 church annual reports
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada invited congregations to share their annual reports with regional church staff in order to improveunderstanding of how MCEC can better support congregations and pastors, and also identify trends in giving and congregational activities. Sixty-seven of 108 MCEC congregations shared their annual reports with the regional church, allowing MCEC to compile a list of themes and trends in an executive summary. Ann L. Schultz, interim executive team leader of MCEC, stated in an email to Canadian Mennonite: “What is most helpful for congregations to know now…
Blue Christmas
Walk into any store during this season and the message is clear: it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Sometimes, however, the message to be of good cheer creates its own pain for those who are struggling. That includes the bereaved, those with mental health challenges and the increasing number of people struggling to make ends meet. It’s also the time of year with the least amount of daylight and long, cold…
Peace Train arrives in Ottawa
For Winnipegger Gordon Matties, being part of the November 15-23 Peace Train from Vancouver to Ottawa was about imagining “a hopeful future, a future without war, a future of peace with justice for all of creation.” Gordon was one of four people from River East Church, which is affiliated with Mennonite Church Manitoba, who went…
Ethiopian ‘Joseph’ takes risks to serve
I have been the Tigray relief project coordinator for Meserete Kristos Church Development Commission (MKCDC) for the past four years. Because of this work, people gave me a new name. They called me Joseph, after one of the most renowned figures in the Bible, who saved his family and all of Egypt during the famine.…
Chinese pastors tour Canada
Four Chinese pastors shared about the church in their home country at a “Lunch and Learn” event hosted by Mennonite Church Eastern Canada in Kitchener, Ontario, on October 29. The pastors requested that their names not be used. Churches in China are either registered with the government or are house churches, which operate outside the…
Pastors embrace Narrative Lectionary
This Advent, if you hear sermons about Daniel’s plight in the lion’s den, Joel’s urging to mourn and repent, and the promise of the Spirit in Isaiah, it’s most likely because your church’s worship planners are following the Narrative Lectionary. Created in 2010 through Luther Seminary, the Narrative Lectionary is gaining popularity among Mennonite churches…
Hillcrest celebrates 60 years
Hillcrest Mennonite Church in New Hamburg, Ontario, celebrated its 60th anniversary with a special service on November 17. The service attracted numerous visitors, including five former pastors. The theme was “Gathered to Grow…Scattered to Serve,” which has long been the church’s motto. In addition to a sermon titled “Like a Tree Planted by Water” by…
Ruining dinner
While Christmas is a time to contemplate peace on Earth, holiday gatherings can be stressful for some. One comment or opinion can ruin dinner. Wendy Suddaby of Hope Mennonite Church in Winnipeg recalls a frustrating conversation over Thanksgiving dinner in 2018. It spurred her to action. Suddaby, 72, who sits on her church’s adult education…
Menno Office offers hospitality at U of Manitoba
On the University of Manitoba campus, young people from around the world enjoy Menno Office as a place to eat their lunch, study, connect with friends, play musical instruments or chat with chaplain Mark von Kampen. Through the activities and atmosphere in Menno Office, the Inter-Mennonite Chaplaincy Association (IMCA) provides a welcoming space for students…
RJC music teacher wins national award
Adelle Sawatzky has a new piece of hardware to put on her desk at RJC High School in Rosthern, Saskatchewan. In early November, the 27-year-old from Kindersley, Saskatchewan, won the 2024 Builders Award for Newer Teachers from the Canadian Music Educators’ Association. “A lot of times [awards recognize] lifetime achievement so it is an encouraging…
