Goshen alumni contribute to Pfizer vaccine efforts
Two alumni from Indiana’s Goshen College played important roles in the development of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19. Robert Lerch, Ph.D., head of lab and site management and business operations at pharmaceutical company Pfizer, and Mark Wittrig, senior director of quality assurance at Pfizer, both graduated from the college in 1984. Robert Lerch. Early days…
New book explores God’s kingdom
What is God’s kingdom, and what does citizenship look like? Mennonite World Conference general secretary César García explores these questions in a book published this past February. The book is part of The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith, a series from Herald Press. Mennonite Central Committee’s United Nations Office asked Garcia questions about…
MDS in Shenandoah Valley celebrates creativity of volunteers during pandemic
Dozens of Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers in Harrisonburg, Virginia gathered for a picnic in May to celebrate the creative ways they had responded to community needs during the pandemic. Brimming with joy at seeing each other in-person for the first time in more than a year, they met to mark how more than 250…
Watch: MCI students express hope through dance
Set aside those tired clichés about Mennonites and dancing, and enjoy an inspired performance by the dance class at Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna, Man. To mark the end of the school year, the class released a video of one of its pieces. Set to the song “Lovely” by Billie Eilish and Khalid, the theme…
One piece at a time
There was no peace in Anju Shaw’s life. For 20 years, she endured constant abuse and neglect at the hands of her husband and then her husband’s parents. She had no support, no one to speak for her or listen to her. She didn’t think the police would care about her—if they believed her at…
Watch: Four songs instead of a sermon
Words failed Troy Watson when he tried writing a sermon following the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. Watson, a pastor at Avon Mennonite Church in Stratford, Ont., says in a video posted to the church’s YouTube page on June 5 that in the days after…
God works in digital ways
“The growth of digital platforms has increased the awareness of what our [Mennonite World Conference] family is doing during the pandemic,” said Carlos Martínez García, Executive Committee member for Latin America and the Caribbean at the triannual Executive Committee meeting in April. “I realize a greater awareness that we are a global community.” With continuing…
MC Canada and CPT send team to Unist’ot’en
Mennonite Church Canada, together with Christian Peacemaker Teams, has responded to an invitation to accompany Unist’ot’en Camp in Wet’suwet’en Territory. This past Friday, May 28, a group comprised of CPTers and members of MC Canada arrived at the camp in northern B.C. The team members are: Rachelle Friesen, Canada Coordinator, Christian Peacemaker Teams; Allegra Friesen…
Exploring ‘Germinating Conversations’
In 2012, A Rocha Manitoba, Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba and Canadian Mennonite University hosted two events with the purpose of bringing together Manitoba farmers and urban eaters to listen to each other’s perspectives on food and faith. In Winkler, Man., five farmers shared about their experiences growing food, how their faith tied into that and…
Investigation reveals misconduct by influential Mennonite leader
Two Mennonite organizations have reported findings of inappropriate sexual behaviour by influential leader Frank H. Epp. Mennonite Church Eastern Canada and Mennonite Central Committee Canada (MCC) announced on May 27 that they cooperated on an investigation conducted by an independent team, based on a disclosure that was decades old and was recently brought forward again.…
