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Sourdough spirituality
Baking bread is more than just a business for Joel Kroeker. It’s also a way to further important conversations. With a deftness that comes from repetition, he slides another two loaves of bread into the oven. By the time he finishes for the day he will have baked 20 loaves and mixed another batch of…
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Ethiopian church plant dreams big
“I have big dreams,” says Pastor Mezgebu A. Tucho of the Bethel International Church Edmonton Oromo Congregation. Born in Ethiopia, Tucho has planted more than 50 Oromo churches throughout Ethiopia and has travelled in Kenya, the United States, Canada and Australia, preaching the gospel. His passion is for his people from the Oromo tribe, who number…
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From mould to masterpiece
Joel Penner is a time-lapse filmmaker based out of Winnipeg’s West End neighbourhood. But he doesn’t capture typical scenes like sunsets or the bustle of the city. Joel Penner. His films reveal mould creeping onto raspberries, liquid oozing out of watermelons and flesh-eating beetles devouring snakes. “I initially got into decay because I love looking…
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Coffee and community
Five years ago, Brock Peters dreamed of an affordable coffee shop where everyone in the community would feel comfortable going. “Sometimes, when I walked into coffee shops in the city, I felt like ‘I’m not cool enough to be here,’ ” he says. A couple of years later, the 29-year-old Winnipegger decided to put his money…
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Mennonites advocate for Bill C-262
From changing their profile pictures and holding rallies, to baking bread embossed with messages of support, young Mennonites are standing up to call for a private member’s bill to be passed. Bill C-262 was brought forward by Romeo Saganash, the federal MP for the Quebec riding of Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou. It calls for the government to enshrine…
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Canadian Mennonite bids farewell to Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
After more than 18 years of contributing to Canadian Mennonite as the Alberta correspondent, Donita Wiebe-Neufeld, who has developed a fondness for horses over the years—especially CD—has resigned from her reporting position to take on an increased role with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Alberta. When she began as a correspondent on Sept. 1, 2000, replacing…
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Meet the speaker for Gathering 2019
Gathering 2019 guest speaker Elaine Heath says the greatest challenge for the western church today is to “regain a gospel-centric imagination.” “For the church in the post-Christendom West, this means intentionally and persistently moving away from notions and practices of church as a consumer or a colonizing activity,” she says in an email, “in order…
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‘Everything is possible’
For Reem Younes and Brian Darweesh, everything seems possible now that they’re citizens of Canada. Originally from Syria, Younes and Darweesh moved to Winnipeg in 2015 as privately sponsored refugees, welcomed by a Mennonite community there. Douglas Mennonite Church and Jubilee Mennonite Church in Winnipeg came together to sponsor the couple through Mennonite Central Committee…
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Bringing diverse voices together
Mennonites are stereotyped as people who love singing and forming committees. Anneli Loepp Thiessen fulfills both of these stereotypes. The 23-year-old is one of 12 people from Canada and the United States who make up the Voices Together committee charged with making a new Mennonite hymnal planned for release in 2020. Voices Together is a…
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Wacky Cake recipe
This cake is so good and easy; it is my favourite! Because it has no eggs or milk it is suitable for those who are vegetarian or vegan or those with an allergy to eggs. (Read the accompanying Gathering Around the Table article, “Everyone loves Wacky cake.”) 1 ½ cups flour (do not use…
