Training begins for Indonesia 2022 volunteers
With only 10 more months to prepare, and gathering limitations still in place, the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly 2022’s Indonesian planning committee presses on training volunteers virtually. In May 2021, the committee coached 60 people (20 per synod) as volunteer trainers, with the hope that each trainer would teach another 20 to 60 volunteers…
MDS unit helps couple after severe windstorm
When Bonnie Lapointe saw the damage caused by the severe windstorm that struck her southwestern Ontario property on Sept. 7, she cried. “I had never seen anything like that,” she said of all the fallen trees that littered her small acreage near Kingsbridge along the shores of Lake Huron. “Some of those trees were over…
Ohio mission group kidnapped in Haiti
A group of 17 Christian Aid Ministries workers and family members was kidnapped Oct. 16 by gang members in Haiti after they visited an orphanage outside Port-au-Prince. CAM, based in Berlin, Ohio, is a mission and relief organization supported by Amish and conservative Mennonite groups. The Wall Street Journal reported Haiti Justice Minister Liszt Quitel said…
New book features imaginative meditations, monologues from the margins
In her new book, People and Places of Sacred Interior Spaces, spiritual director Laura Funk provides opportunities for imaginative walks of faith through guided meditations, and monologues inspired by the Jewish tradition of Midrash. Funk is currently spiritual director in residence for Mennonite Church Manitoba and attends Hope Mennonite Church in Winnipeg. CommonWord will host…
Saskatchewan Mennonites volunteer with Okanagan Gleaners
A small group of volunteers from Rosthern Mennonite Church spent five days in September chopping and dehydrating vegetables at Okanagan Gleaners near Oliver, B.C. Among them were Larry and Denise Epp. “Both Larry and I were amazed at how much produce is wasted because it doesn’t meet the standards of the consumers or doesn’t even…
Thousands vaccinated at Indonesian Anabaptists’ Holy Stadium
In multireligious Indonesia, many people have never been inside a church. The pandemic is changing that for residents of Semarang (population 1.8 million) and the surrounding area. In coordination with the local government, police and military forces, the 2022 Mennonite World Conference Assembly host venue JKI Injil Kerajaan (Holy Stadium) is holding a vaccine clinic,…
No religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccines: MC Canada
Mennonite Church Canada’s executive ministers released a statement earlier this week responding to inquiries from constituents regarding exemption from COVID-19 vaccines. The message, signed by Doug Klassen (Mennonite Church Canada), Garry Janzen (MC B.C.), Tim Wiebe-Neufeld (MC Alberta), Ryan Siemens (MC Saskatchewan), Michael Pahl (MC Manitoba) and Leah Reesor-Keller (MC Eastern Canada), states the following:…
MC Canada issues National Day for Truth and Reconciliation statement
In advance of Canada’s first-ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation tomorrow (Sept. 30), Mennonite Church Canada is reminding the nationwide church about Mennonite involvement in Indian Residential Schools, and asking people to take steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Previously known as Orange Shirt Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is an opportunity…
MCC releases research findings on historical entanglements with National Socialism
Mennonite Central Committee has released the findings of its research on the organization’s historical entanglements with German National Socialism (or Nazism) and its legacy before, during and after the Second World War. Articles examining this history are available in the fall 2021 issue of Intersections: MCC Theory and Practice Quarterly. Over the past few years,…
Watch: “Rainmaker” by Upside of Maybe
Stratford, Ont.-based rock band Upside of Maybe released its latest music video at the beginning of January, but it took on new resonance in May upon the confirmation of more than 200 unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C. Written by Upside of Maybe singer-guitarist Michael Bannerman, and performed with members of…
