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Watch: “Amish Paradise,” 25 years later
It’s been 25 years since legendary music parodist “Weird Al” Yankovic lampooned the Amish, mentioning Mennonites along the way. Bad Hair Day, Yankovic’s ninth album, was released on this day in 1996. It has sold more than 2 million copies in the United States alone. The lead single, “Amish Paradise”—and the video that accompanied it—parodies…
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MWC continues pastoral response to COVID-19
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, stories poured in from Mennonite World Conference (MWC) member churches about job losses and hunger in their congregations and communities due to shutdowns. MWC began collecting funds to respond to pandemic-related needs within and through the household of faith. A year into the pandemic, MWC…
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Watch: Behind the music with Phil Campbell-Enns
Winnipeg pastor and songwriter Phil Campbell-Enns is the latest person featured in a new video series from MennoMedia showcasing Anabaptist contributions to the new Voices Together hymnal. In the four-and-a-half-minute video, which ends with a performance of the song, Campbell-Enns recalls writing “Fill Us with Your Feast,” which is #309 in Voices Together. Campbell-Enns, a…
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Herald Press releases ‘Lamenting Racism’
Racial injustice is a blight on our society, yet many Christians have been hesitant to speak up about racism. In Lamenting Racism (Herald Press, January 2021), a multiracial team of leading pastors and theologians invite believers into the practice of biblical lament as a powerful way to confront racism. Through their conversations in six thought-provoking…
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Carrying the light
Living Water Church in Borabu, Thailand, was honoured to host the first Anabaptist gathering in that country from Nov. 25 to 27, 2020. Five Anabaptist missions organizations were represented: Eastern Mennonite Mission, Mennonite Brethren, Brethren in Christ, Rosedale Mennonite Mission, and ourselves: Dayspring Christian Ministries International / The Great Commission Foundation. More than 70 people…
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Celebrating the life of John Cornies (1940-2020)
“Leadership can be rewarding as well as lonely,” wrote the late John Cornies in his memoir. “I have, however, felt God’s leading and calling in these endeavours. While I felt that God called and equipped me when placed in positions of leadership, my human failings got me into difficulties at times. And yet, I have…
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Watch: MDS looks back at 2020
Mennonite Disaster Service didn’t let the COVID-19 pandemic stop it from having a banner year. In a seven-minute video released on YouTube last Saturday, the binational organization—which cleans up, repairs and rebuilds homes that have experienced a disaster—outlines the unexpected opportunities and unexpected blessings that 2020 brought. Watch the video now to get a look…
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Transcending borders
Congregations across Mennonite Church Canada have matched a $50,000 donation made by the nationwide church to a COVID-19 relief fund operated by Mennonite World Conference (MWC). The fund, which is part of MWC’s Global Church Sharing Fund, helps MWC-member churches struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “This giving demonstrates to churches in other parts of…
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MDS Canada offering Spirit of MDS Fund again
After a successful first year, Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada has announced a new round of funding from its Spirit of MDS Fund. The 2021 round of funding started Jan. 31 and runs to April 30. It will provide grants up to $2,500 to Canadian Anabaptist/Mennonite congregations. Funding is available to congregations to help meet…
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Boxes of food help people affected by Beirut explosion
Eight of Alice Joubanian’s grandchildren—all under eight years old—lived with her and her daughter in a Beirut camp for Armenian refugees when a massive explosion of ammonium nitrate rocked the city on Aug. 4, 2020. As the sound and power of the explosion destroyed buildings and killed about 200 people, Joubanian’s daughter, Maria Berberian, ran…
