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Mennonites join in Kinder Morgan pipeline protest
Three Mennonites were among the faith leaders who blockaded the entrance to Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, B.C. for several hours on April 20, protesting the planned expansion of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline system. Among them was Steve Heinrichs of Winnipeg, originally from Burnaby, who was arrested on criminal and civil charges for…
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A tale of two hills outside Lalibela
Two hills, sitting side by side in a valley outside of Lalibela, Ethiopia, have a story to tell. One hill is brown, its vegetation stripped away by livestock and deforestation. Deep gullies are carved through the hillside, where the unprotected soil was washed away by the rain. Trees have disappeared, cut down for firewood. Look…
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Supplying food to people displaced by violence
Agnès Ntumba remembers the day her husband and seven children fled the violence that took over their village in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “I saw people being killed. They were coming to kill us, and we had to escape,” Ntumba said. About a year ago, her village of Tshilundu Ndibunu…
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Building shalom in the Philippines
Joji Pantoja and her husband Dann serve in the Philippines as Mennonite Church Canada Witness workers. Following the September 11, 2001, attack in New York City, Dann in particular felt called as a Christian to work at building peace with Muslims. Speaking at the Mennonite Church Eastern Canada offices on April 4, 2018, Joji explained…
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European Mennonites anticipate diverse gathering
European Mennonites gather every six years for worship and fellowship. This spring, the European Mennonite Conference will be the most diverse gathering yet. Organizers anticipate that about 1,500 Mennonites from across Europe will gather May 10 to 13, 2018, in Montbéliard, France. That total could swell to 2,500 when other visitors are welcomed to the…
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New network to encourage, support and connect peacebuilders
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) member churches around the world act out of the belief that the Spirit of Jesus empowers them to become peacemakers who renounce violence, love their enemies, seek justice and share their possessions with those in need through local congregations, national churches and related ministries. “The 105 member churches that form MWC…
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Humboldt Broncos tragedy has Mennonite connections
The horrific collision that claimed the lives of 15 people, most of whom were players and coaches with the Humboldt Broncos hockey team, had several Mennonite connections. The accident occurred at the intersection of Highways 35 and 335, some 238 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, when a semi-trailer collided with a chartered bus carrying the hockey…
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Open letter on Syria
“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it” (I Cor. 12:26). In February, we were part of a Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) delegation to Syria, including Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo. We witnessed the devastation of war and heard testimonies of faith from people who have been living in difficult circumstances now for seven…
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Music selection for new hymnal shaped by new table of contents
The work of the Mennonite Worship and Song Committee is slow and joyful and involves a lot of singing. The 14-person committee, working as the “Resonate Team,” sang and processed more than 200 songs at its February gathering in Union, Mich., a year after it started the selection process. The group continues to discern what…
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Plans begin for French-language Anabaptist theological centre
A shortage of French-language Anabaptist literature and training motivated 21 participants from eight countries on three continents to gather in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Sept. 27-29, 2017, in search of a solution. They worked toward creating a consortium of theological schools and partner institutions to develop an online training program in Anabaptist theology for French-speakers in…
