-
Children taken from Ukrainian families
Parents in Molochansk, Ukraine, awoke one morning in May to a message from Russian authorities: “Dear parents: Evacuation has been announced at the school. Today, arrive at the school building with documents for the child and a minimum of things for a couple of weeks.” The Mennonite Centre in Ukraine relayed this news to its…
-
Writing career a dream come true for Winnipeg author
There was no magic lamp or genie involved when MaryLou Driedger made her wish, just a felt tip marker and a famous pond. In 1991, the Manitoba writer’s family visited Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. The Driedgers’ guide invited them each to write a wish on one of the rocks where the famous author Henry…
-
Northern cartographer runs thriving map business
When Dan Driediger closes his eyes, he sees rivers, rises and roads. His unique photographic memory comes in handy. Driediger is a cartographer: He creates, prints and sells maps to people and organizations across Canada. Driediger, a life-long outdoor adventurer and enthusiast, began his foray into map-making in 2011. While in university, he did some casual…
-
Class of ’60 reunion
To the sounds of much laughter, along with moments of sadness, the Rosthern Junior College (RJC) class of 1960 met in Saskatoon on May 18-19 to mark 63 years since graduation. Given that students generally complete high school at age 18, most of us at the reunion had reached the age of 81. More than…
-
Pinegrove care home maintains Anabaptist values as demographics shift
A little-known Mennonite mission, hidden away in a quiet residential neighbourhood on the flats of Richmond, B.C., celebrated its fortieth anniversary on June 7. Pinegrove Place, a three-storey, 76-bed residential care home, was originally built as a joint project between Mennonite Brethren and General Conference Mennonite churches in the Greater Vancouver area in 1983 to…
-
The sky ablaze
Art Koop was cleaning up after teaching his last class of the day when the emergency alert blared from his cell phone. The message called for an immediate, mandatory evacuation. A wildfire threatened Edson, Alberta, the community where Koop lives and works. The sky was an eerie orange colour and thick with smoke. ‘I didn’t…
-
Gallery curator aims to explore the world, share stories
Sarah Hodges-Kolisnyk approaches art through the lens of storytelling. “My journey as an artist and a curator has always been linked to exploring the world and sharing stories with others,” she says. “I approach everything with a questioning and a searching for the story, and hoping those stories bring people together.” Since April 2022, Hodges-Kolisnyk…
-
Fire temporarily shuts down furniture thrift store
A recent fire forced the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Furniture Thrift Store in Winnipeg to temporarily close its doors due to smoke and water damage. A vacant house beside the shop went up in flames on May 11, just after 1 a.m., with the cause of the fire still under investigation. Laurie Goetz, store manager,…
-
Project explores legacy of 1920s trauma on Mennonite women
Nearly 100 years have passed since 21,000 Mennonites fled disease, starvation and violence in some of the same areas now experiencing war in Ukraine. Many came to Southern Manitoba, and their trauma quietly came with them. In the last year, I took a sabbatical from my work as a counselling therapist at Brandon University in…
-
Books and borscht at Mennonite Museum
A serving of soup, with book discussion for dessert, are on the menu every Thursday in May and June as part of the Books and Borscht series at the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, B.C. “Over the past few years, we have had a number of authors publish books connected to the Mennonite story,…
