Advent 2021 a time of sharing in MC B.C.
Congregations in Mennonite Church B.C. have been observing Advent in various ways through December. Yarrow United Mennonite celebrated First Advent, the Sunday of joy, with a bulletin display set up in the church foyer. Church members could write what brings them joy on the display to share with others. At Cedar Valley Church in Mission,…
Watch: Advent greetings from MC Canada
The executive minister for Mennonite Church Canada extends Advent greetings to the nationwide church in a video posted on YouTube earlier this week. “We are making it through the COVID-19 pandemic,” Doug Klassen says in the video. “Pastors and church boards are bearing much of the stress and strain that comes with carrying a faith…
Remembering the early days of Camp Valaqua
George Heidebrecht fiddled with the knobs of his slide projector in anticipation of a morning of storytelling. Stories about Camp Valaqua. Stories of adventures he had carried for decades. Stories of boys — now men of retirement age themselves — sleeping in lean-tos, getting rain-soaked, eating over an open fire. Stories of tying their provisions…
A Rocha Manitoba worker reflects on COP26
Kari Miller is the environmental education coordinator for A Rocha Manitoba and attends Home Street Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, Man. She attended COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, from Nov. 5 to 12, 2021, as part of the Christian Climate Observers Program. I spoke with Miller about her experience at COP26, what she witnessed and what role…
MDS calling for volunteers to help in B.C.
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada is calling for volunteers to help with cleaning out homes in Princeton, B.C. following the catastrophic flood that hit the town in mid-November. Around 20 volunteers are needed by Dec. 6 to help people in that interior community clean out their flooded homes. MDS coordinator Walter Wiebe (right) walks with…
Watch: Steve Bell’s Freedom Road update
“It’s a pretty good story,” Steve Bell says in a new video. That’s an understatement. In the 12-minute video, published on Bell’s YouTube page earlier this month, the Winnipeg singer-songwriter gives viewers an update on Freedom Road—the 24-km., all-season road that links the once-isolated Shoal Lake 40 First Nation to the Trans-Canada Highway. Shoal Lake…
Many languages, but one in Christ
Brethren in Christ church members in Zimbabwe still use their Mennonite World Conference (MWC) global assembly bags from 2003 to carry their Bibles to church. “The [MWC] logo always reminds me that the whole world is one in Christ despite the many languages,” says Donna Ndlovu, who hosted a couple from India in her home…
Six reasons to attend the 2022 MWC Assembly
Are you wondering whether or not to attend the upcoming Mennonite World Conference Assembly in Semarang, Indonesia, which takes place July 5-10, 2022? John D. Roth’s new book, A Cloud of Witnesses: Celebrating Indonesian Mennonites, includes six reasons why you should consider participating. Old Town, Semarang. (Photo by Karla Braun) 1. Come to the MWC…
Anabaptists in Nepal witness climate impacts
As scientists and world leaders met at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Anabaptists in Nepal were helping to address the immediate and deadly impacts of the climate emergency. Last month, unusually hot weather was followed by torrential rain, causing massive flooding in the southern lowland Terai region of Nepal and neighbouring parts of…
Creation care resource a timely tool for congregations
Senior environmental studies students from The King’s University in Edmonton have compiled a creation care resource for Mennonite Church Canada congregations. “God’s Green Church: Becoming a Creation Care Congregation” is a 22-page document, sponsored by MC Canada’s Sustainability Leadership Group, that outlines practical steps churches can take to become more environmentally sustainable. “This resource provides…
