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Swiss official offers apology for Anabaptist persecution
It can’t change the past, but it can impact the future. In surprise comments delivered in early November 2017, a government official in Bern, Switzerland, requested forgiveness for persecution by the church and state of Anabaptists centuries earlier. The request was issued Nov. 11 by Bernese government councillor and director of churches Christoph Neuhaus at…
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New “Mennonite Game” card game creates connections
While plenty of Mennonites have played the “Mennonite game”—the Anabaptist version of six degrees of separation—only a select few have played Mark Eash Hershberger’s version. But that’s about to change. Hershberger, a 2010 Goshen College graduate, created “The Mennonite Game” card game in which players strategically “discover that they are connected in various ways” through…
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Putting goals into practice
Setting goals is a good practice, but how does a faith community translate those goals into reality? At their Refresh, Refocus, Renew mini-retreat in September, members of Mennonite Church Saskatchewan identified three goals for the coming years. Although the reference group appointed to work with these goals will unveil a plan for their implementation at…
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Ethiopian Meserete Kristos Church continues to grow
While visiting Ethiopia recently, Darrell Jantzi and John Peters heard that Meserete Kristos Church (MKC) has continued to grow and now numbers 310,877 baptized members, an increase of 4.5 percent over last year. Jantzi and Peters, both from Ontario’s Waterloo Region, are members of an MKC Link Canada team that connects Mennonite Church Canada and…
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Mennonites in Montreal aid refugees
Not feeling safe in the United States, a young woman climbed on a plane and flew to Montreal with her children. But the U.S. is considered a safe country for refugees, so she was forced to return. Still afraid, she crossed the border into Quebec and ended up at Coalition d’aide aux réfugiés à Montréal…
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Dick Benner: A man who loved the church
Richard (Dick) Benner, the recent editor/publisher of Canadian Mennonite, passed away on Nov. 4, 2017, at his home in Ruckersville, Va. Upon his retirement in March 2017, he moved from Ontario to his Virginia home near Charlottesville, where his wife Marlene was in long-term care. Dick began his final journey with cancer not long after…
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Injera and Somali stew
For Ardith Frey, injera, a flatbread eaten in northeastern Africa, is a symbol of community. It is served on a large shared platter, along with a sauce. See Ardith’s story at “Injera: A symbol of community.” Both recipes below are from Extending the Table, Revised Edition. ©2014 by Herald Press, Harrisonburg, VA 22801. Used with permission. …
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Celebrating a legacy of respect
Among the many memories shared at a reunion of past and present Mennonite Church Canada Indigenous Relations workers, several included references to the late Jeremiah Ross (1909-2002). A Cree man from Cross Lake First Nation in Manitoba, Ross served as pastor of Elim Mennonite Church there for 30 years. He was able to successfully bridge…
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Open the Islands campaign seeks to prevent refugee deaths
As winter sets in, over 100 solidarity groups and organizations—including the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) project on the island of Lesvos—are calling for urgent action from the Greek local and national authorities to prevent more refugees from dying in the cold. Several places woke up on Oct. 12 to find their neighbourhoods plastered with the…
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‘Menno(comedy)nite’ keeps audience in stitches
An advertised “evening of hilarity” on Sept. 30, 2017, delivered plenty of jokes, humour and laughs to delight the gathered audience at the Mennonite Historical Society of B.C-sponsored event. “We need to laugh. There are enough tears in the world,” said emcee Danny Unrau, a pastor, storyteller and author who opened the evening with humorous…
