MC Eastern Canada executive minister resigns
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada’s Executive Council regretfully announced the resignation of Leah Reesor-Keller, executive minister on Sept. 28. “We are grateful for Leah’s service and leadership over the last two years,” says Arli Klassen, chair of the Executive Council. “We remain committed to the identity, purpose, values, vision and priorities that were heartily approved at…
The sweet solace of polarization, Part 2
Caleb Brown was a lead organizer of the Freedom Convoy protest outside the Manitoba legislative building last winter. I asked how he responds to people who dismiss all protesters as white nationalists. I asked how he felt about people who drove by and gave him the finger, as one of my friends did. To back…
Sparking community life again at Nutana Park
“How can we bring people back to church?” It’s a familiar question for churches across the country and across the denominational spectrum. The arrival of COVID-19 in March 2020, and the ensuing public health restrictions kept many people home on Sunday mornings for months. Now, as the pandemic moves into endemic status, churches are wondering…
Stories by the shore
After a rainy day on Aug. 30, about a hundred guests enjoyed a balmy evening on the shore of Lake Ontario, listening to stories shared by various Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario staff. Abe Epp, a longtime fruit farmer on Lakeshore Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake, invited MCC to use his beach-front property to host this event…
The sweet solace of polarization, Part 1
I knew I would eventually have to interview my neighbours who staunchly resisted COVID-19 mandates and proudly supported the Ottawa trucker convoy. Actually I have many such neighbours. But it took a year of working through my pandemic enmity until I was ready to listen to them. Some readers will see more danger than value…
Will Braun appointed as CM’s new executive editor
Will Braun will be Canadian Mennonite’s next executive editor. Canadian Mennonite Publishing Service Inc. hired Braun, who has spent the last decade as CM’s senior writer, to lead its magazine and digital news services, beginning on Nov. 1. Braun succeeds Virginia A. Hostetler, who is retiring after five-and-a-half years in the role. Since joining CM…
It’s a ‘God thing’
It is amazing what can happen when a few friends get together. Roger and Laura Tiessen, members of Faith Mennonite Church in Leamington, were touched by events in Ukraine that were unfolding in February and March of this year. They voiced their concerns with friends Brad and Charlotte Lane. Before long, Brad and Roger, their…
Growing old with grace and gratitude
Ingrid Schultz, who recently retired as one of three chaplains at Menno Place in Abbotsford, will never forget the succinct advice one of her instructors told her during chaplaincy training: “Shut your mouth and open your heart.” As she begins her own retirement, Schultz is reflecting on her time opening her heart in ministry to the…
A summer of page-turners
Are you browsing the library shelves aimlessly, uncertain as to which book to take home? Did you spend the entire summer gardening or at the lake, unable to find time to read? Or are you looking for a wonderful story to carry you through the gloomy winter? Look no further! Avid readers from across Mennonite…
‘And that’s when it happened!’
I was caught off guard when I got the call that my friend Paul Phomsouvanh was in the hospital with COVID-19 last fall. At that time, the new more contagious Delta variant had recently arrived. Cases were on the increase, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. I had seen Paul bounce back quickly from serious…
