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Mennonite Worship and Song Committee holds first meeting
Members of the new Mennonite Worship and Song Committee met for the first time Sept. 22 to 25, 2016, at Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Va. A new collection of worship music is being developed by MennoMedia, in consultation with Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA. Committee members will discern the content, taking…
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Saskatchewan women celebrate transitions
“Every transition is an invitation to journey with God,” is how Cindy Wallace ended each session with the women attending the annual Mennonite Church Saskatchewan women’s retreat last month. We gathered in the lovely setting of Shekinah Retreat Centre on the North Saskatchewan River. Even the grey, overcast skies, the threat of freezing rain and…
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MCC calls for ‘big tent thinking’
Comparing Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to a big tent, Don Peters, the executive director of MCC Canada, described the organization as “the place where the Anabaptist community works and serves together,” at its annual general meeting in Winnipeg at the end of September 2016. However, the question on many people’s minds has been, “Can supporters…
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Huxman completes role at Grebel
On September 30, 2016, friends and colleagues of Susan Schultz Huxman paid tribute to her time as president of Conrad Grebel University College. She has accepted the presidency of Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in Harrisonburg, Va. The appointment of Schultz Huxman at Conrad Grebel University College in 2011 represented the first time a second-generation family…
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EVI announces workshop tour
Emerging Voices Initiative (EVI) is embarking on a fall 2016 workshop tour. This group of concerned young adults hopes to encourage further discussion about the process of transitioning into a new church structure in response to Future Directions Task Force findings. (See ‘We are all responsible for what happens next’ on the decision at Assembly 2016.)…
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Like a ‘biblical mustard seed’
It all started simply enough. In January 1996, Clare Jantzi, worship leader at Valleyview Mennonite Church in London, invited three men from the congregation to sing an introit during four consecutive worship services. One year later, encouraged by the previous year’s experience, Clare planned another choral musical introit for the worship service. In consultation with…
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Kuttab calls Mennonites to action for Middle East peace and justice
On September 28, 2016, Palestinian Christian Jonathan Kuttab spoke to Mennonites gathered for lunch at the Mennonite Central Committee Ontario building in Kitchener, Ont. Responding to the action Mennonite Church Canada delegates took to approve a resolution concerning Israel and Palestine, Kuttab affirmed the call to support the boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement. He sees…
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Bean Soup (Bohna Supp)
This simple soup was eaten in Amish Mennonite communities in southwestern Ontario and was often called by its Pennsylvania Dutch name. Some cooks served it simultaneously with a slice of apple pie and pieces of cheese. 1 ½ cups dried navy beans 2 ½ tsp. salt 2 T. butter 4 cups milk 1 ½ cup…
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Devastation in Haiti: ‘Yesterday, we lost everything’
When rushing water of the River Gris, overflowing with rain from Hurricane Matthew, washed away Sarditren Dete’s and Antovan Enit’s houses and possessions, it destroyed their livelihoods too. “Yesterday we lost everything: our chickens, our pig and our garden. This is how I eat, this is how I feed my children, this is how I…
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‘It was a very sad day’
On Monday, September 26, 2016, I flew from Canada back to Colombia more excited than usual. After four years of negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia had finally reached a deal, which they would officially ratify that very day. As I began boarding the plane I saw a cameraman from the…
