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Mennonite rally calls for ceasefire
“We come with intense pain and grief over the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis.” With those words, Marta Bunnett Wiebe welcomed about 95 Winnipeggers to a peace service of prayers and songs on December 19 outside the office of Liberal Member of Parliament Dan Vandal. “As people of God’s peace, we are called…
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Mennos gather at MP’s office for Day of Action
About 30 Mennonites assembled in the lobby of Garden Park Tower on December 19 to make their voices heard on the Mennonite Day of Action asking for a ceasefire in Palestine. Organizers originally planned to assemble at the second-floor office of Ed Fast, Abbotsford Member of Parliament, but due to the larger-than-expected gathering, organizers decided…
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MC Canada announces green grant recipients
Mennonite Church Canada is pleased to announce Emissions Reduction Grants (ERG) totaling $23,021 to help one rural and eight urban congregations reduce their carbon footprint. Fourteen additional congregations expressed interest in the program. Sandy Plett, climate action coordinator and member of the Sustainability Leadership Group (SLG), which oversees the process, said they were delighted by…
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Reflections on the end of the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre
On October 24, 2023, the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre (TMTC) held a virtual closing ceremony to mark the end of its 33-year existence. The centre’s mandate was to develop theological leadership for church and academy, by supporting Mennonite graduate students in theology, biblical studies and related fields. It worked primarily with students at the ecumenical…
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Highlights from CM’s online event with young pastors
On November 29, Canadian Mennonite hosted “Answering the Call,” an online event featuring three young pastors: Curtis Wiens of Aberdeen Mennonite Church in Aberdeen, Saskatchewan; Kennedy Froese of Sterling Mennonite Fellowship in Winnipeg; and YElshaday Baraki of Meheret Evangelical Church in Kitchener, Ontario. The following highlights of the event have been edited for length and…
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‘You can’t keep everything you love’
Welcome to “Life in the 80s,” a semi-regular series in which we ask people in their 80s or 90s to share their wisdom. Ed (85) and Louise (84) Janzen met as students at Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI) in Abbotsford, B.C. Both grew up in the Mennonite Brethren Church. Ed has worked in human resources and…
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‘Custodians’ makes a clean sweep
The film Custodians: A Story of Ancient Echoes won big at the Saskatchewan International Film Fest (SIFF) in October. The documentary explores the work of local landowners, volunteers and municipal government officials in conserving the many signs of historic Indigenous presence in the Herschel, Saskatchewan, area. The judges awarded Custodians top prize for Best Full-Length…
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More camp questions
Mennonite Church Saskatchewan continues to deliberate on the future of its camping ministry. The regional church operates Camp Elim, Youth Farm Bible Camp and Camp Shekinah. On November 25, over 40 people from across the province gathered at the Fall Leadership Assembly to hear an update on the future of the camps. The challenge facing…
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A cry of the heart
Overwhelmed, distraught, touched and compelled by the stories and images from Gaza, Canadian Mennonite reporter Madalene Arias has interviewed many people—Palestinians and Jews—she found through various connections and means. Below are interviews with two people Arias has spoken with recently. We share this as a cry of the heart and a prayer for mercy. –…
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MC Manitoba partners with B.C. church
One of the latest churches to partner with Mennonite Church Manitoba is outside the province—2,047 kilometers outside of Winnipeg, to be exact. Estuary Church, an emerging congregation in Delta, B.C., is receiving guidance and support from MC Manitoba as it gets established and finds a denomination. MC Manitoba signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in…
