MoM 100: A final post
I like telling stories. And I like trains. So when organizers of the “Memories of Migration: Russlaender 100 Tour” asked if I would join the cross-country train tour as a reporter, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. Yes! Through the tour, which ran from July 6-24—I was on the first and third legs—I was…
MoM 100: Tour’s first leg comes to an end
And that’s it: The first leg of “Memories of Migration: Russlaender Tour 100” is over. From July 6-11, 60 people travelled by train and bus from Quebec City to Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, getting to know each other, sharing stories and learning more about the journeys taken by their ancestors 100 years ago. Laureen Harder-Gissing points to…
Train tour prepares to leave the station
One hundred years ago, the first of 21,000 Mennonites who left the Soviet Union boarded a train in Quebec City for new lives across the country. On July 6 some of their descendants and others will replicate that journey when they board a train for a trip that will go all the way from Quebec…
Land, reconciliation doc showing in Winnipeg this weekend
A new documentary exploring questions of land and reconciliation in rural Saskatchewan will have its Manitoba premiere in Winnipeg this weekend. Custodians: A Story of Ancient Echoes is showing on Saturday, March 4 at 5:00 p.m. in the Lecture Hall at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU). The university’s Art of Peacebuilding class is organizing the event…
The state of Christian unity on the ground
During the pandemic, Christian churches across various faith traditions have disagreed with public health orders restricting in-person gatherings. Some church leaders challenged public health orders in law courts, their stories covered in news headlines across the country. Among Christians, there has been lament about the division and the message it sends. Doug Klassen. Doug Klassen,…
An ‘egg’-cellent gift this Christmas
For Joyce Ngumbao, a mother of five living in Kenya, a brood of chickens has made all the difference. Joyce Ngumbao holds a chicken in the coop of her family’s farm. (MCC photo by Matthew Lester) In the past, she and her husband struggled to feed their children. Although they worked hard on their modest…
Making goals, building peace
Each summer for the last four years, a community on the outskirts of Soacha, Colombia, has gathered to watch its children play in a soccer tournament for peace, their own local version of the World Cup. In Soacha, where many families have experienced conflict, displacement and violence, Creciendo Juntos (Growing Together) offers children and youth…
MC U.S.A. releases final denominational survey report
Mennonite Church U.S.A. has released the completed report from its denominational survey, “The Mennonite Experience: MC USA Membership Study 2021-22.” “The Mennonite Experience: MC USA Membership Study 2021-22.” The 85-page report revealed that members have deep commitments to their faith, a passion for peacebuilding, a heart for service and close congregational ties. They also desire…
First Mennonite series explores queer theology
Affirming LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church has been discussed for years in many Christian circles, yet congregations and regional churches tend to not move beyond the initial question to discover the rich scope queer theology offers. First Mennonite Church in Winnipeg is pushing past that boundary with its new series, “Queer theology and the church:…
‘A Creative God’ resources explore visual arts in worship in intercultural Anabaptist congregations
A new group of resources on visual arts in worship is available from Together in Worship, an online collection of worship resources from Anabaptist sources. The centrepiece is “A Creative God,” a 45-minute video documentary about how seven intercultural Anabaptist congregations use visual art in worship. “Mennonites have been starved, historically, of visual art in…