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New book is ‘essential reading’ on conflict
At the Sept. 9 launch for Betty Pries’ new book, called The Space Between Us: Conversations About Transforming Conflict, Jennifer Ball called it a “handbook for being human,” and “essential reading for anyone navigating conflict.” Paul Okoye, senior consultant at Credence & Co., where Pries is founder and CEO, facilitated the evening. Credence, based in…
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Calligrapher creates facemask artwork for fun, reflection
Whether they’re covering faces, hanging from rear-view mirrors, lining pockets or lying in gutters, facemasks are ubiquitous. But for Lois Siemens they are also a blank canvas. Siemens is spiritual-care director at Bethany Manor, a seniors housing complex owned and operated by the Mennonite churches of Saskatoon and area. When residents at Bethany Manor were…
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‘This is my learning, my journey’
Like many Canadians, Winnipegger Kim Thiessen was devastated when she learned about the 215 unmarked graves of children at the Kamloops, B.C., residential school earlier this year. “I didn’t know what to do with the sadness, despair and rage I felt,” says the 57-year-old mother and grandmother. After giving it some thought, she decided to…
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Seminary bids farewell to Safwat Marzouk
In July, Safwat Marzouk concluded his roles as associate professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and chair of the Bible Department at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), after 10 years of service. He is now serving as associate professor of Old Testament at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Va. Marzouk, who came to AMBS in July…
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Entrepreneur takes leaps of faith to become a ‘Mennonite called into business’
It has happened more than once. Someone approaches social entrepreneur Leon Kehl with the name of a highly qualified person who needs help getting a start in Canada. Kehl has learned these nudges often have “God’s fingerprint all over them,” so he takes a “leap of faith” and hires the person. “People come into my…
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Peace award recognizes young artist
Dona Park, a young Korean-Canadian artist, is one of the first two recipients of Mennonite Church U.S.A.’s #BringthePeace Award, sponsored by the denomination’s Church Peace Tax Fund. Park, who affiliates with Emmanuel Mennonite Church of Abbotsford, B.C., and Michelle Armster of Wichita, Kan., received the awards, recognizing the work of denominational peacemakers. The two winners…
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Working on different ends of the agriculture spectrum
For many students, the outdoor education class at RJC High School was fun, memorable and character building. But for most, the skills aren’t ones they now use in their everyday life. For Emily Hand, a 2002 graduate, however, that is exactly what happened. These days, the best words to describe Hand’s life are “homesteader” and…
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A planter of seeds of good news
Three months after a cancer diagnosis, Erwin H. Rempel, 76, died June 25, at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, Va. Erwin and Angela, his wife of 55 years, served with Mennonite Mission Network and a predecessor agency, the Commission on Overseas Mission (COM), on four continents, from 1975 to 2009. Jack Suderman, a former…
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MC Manitoba ordains first spiritual director for service
Laura Funk is the first person to be ordained for the ministry of spiritual direction by Mennonite Church Manitoba. She is also the regional church’s first spiritual director in residence. “I’m excited this ordination happened, to help people become more aware of the vocation of spiritual direction,” Funk says. She was ordained at Camp Assiniboia…
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‘It’s obvious!’
Ed Janzen says, “It’s obvious!” It’s obvious why he would want to serve as chaplain of Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ont., for 23 years. Janzen, who is retiring at the end of July from a job he loved, names several things that inspired his work. He says his “most cherished responsibility” was to…
