MC Sask hires Evan Bueckert as interim youth minister
For the next 10 months, Evan Bueckert will be at the helm of youth ministry in Saskatchewan. Bueckert, 30, is half-time associate pastor at Mount Royal Mennonite Church in Saskatoon. He steps into the role after Kirsten Hamm-Epp stepped away from it at the end of August after 11 years. “I’m excited to be working…
Praying with their feet
On the afternoon of Saturday, October 5, approximately 60 people gathered in the shade of Holy Trinity Church in Toronto to support the Palestinian Youth Movement one year into the Gaza war. Organizations represented at the gathering included Christians for a Free Palestine, Christians for Just Peace, Bathurst United Church and Mennonite Action. “A number…
Words that matter
Pádraig Ó Tuama is a theologian, poet and the author of several books including the forthcoming Kitchen Hymns (2025) and 44 Poems on Being with Each Other (2025). He is a member and former leader of Corrymeela, Northern Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organization. He grew up Irish-Catholic near Cork, Ireland. Canadian Mennonite approached Ó Tuama as someone who…
Plaque commemorates conscientious objectors
Descendants of conscientious objectors (COs) gathered around a new plaque to permanently mark the location of the Montreal River Alternative Service Camp. More than 50 people made the two-day bus trip to Montreal River, 120 kilometres north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on the shore of Lake Superior, to participate in this event Sept. 28,…
Update from war-stricken Myanmar
Greetings from Myanmar. We are facing a significant challenge for our youth. As the number of soldiers in the junta [military] has dwindled, [youth] are being forcibly recruited to serve in the army, with men and women collected in different ways. The airport is strict regarding young people leaving the country, and young people rarely…
Medicine wheel dedicated to elder
On Sept. 7, Westminster United Church in Regina dedicated a medicine wheel in its Kâkesimokamik, “healing garden,” to local Elder Lorna Standingready. Standingready, who is from Peepeekisis First Nation and is a residential school survivor, was an Elder for the United Church of Canada. She provided guidance to Westminster in their decision to create the healing…
MCC accused of inadequate response to sexual assault allegation in Mozambique
“I wanted to help people gain access to water,” Katie Moyer says of her motivation for taking an assignment with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Mozambique in 2016. It was her first job after earning an engineering degree from Messiah University in Pennsylvania, her home state. During her four years with MCC, Moyer worked on…
Call for prayer amid violence in Burkina Faso
The following update and prayer request was sent by Siaka Traoré to Tany Warkentin of Mennonite Church Canada on August 30. Traoré is the Mennonite World Conference regional representative for Central and West Africa as well as a long-time church leader in Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso is going through a dark period in this second…
Amplifier of youth voices moves on
The end of summer 2024 also marks the end of over a decade of commitment to youth ministry for Kirsten Hamm-Epp, regional church minister for Mennonite Church Saskatchewan. The Manitoba native, now 34, took over the reins of the Saskatchewan Youth Ministry Organization (SMYO) in the summer of 2013 after graduating with an English degree…
Not your typical youth mission trip
“That was a test. True servants are always listening.” Jacques was our new friend. He was always barefoot and wouldn’t say how he had ended up living in his van, but he spoke six languages, and he enjoyed chatting with us about faith and making the world a better place. For a few days, he…
