Emmaus House concludes decade of intentional community living
Rod and Susan Reynar made a huge life change in 2014 when they moved from Alberta to Manitoba and started Emmaus House, an intentional community for university students in Winnipeg. This spring, they said goodbye to their last group of students and closed their doors. Emmaus House brought ten university students together each year from…
Saskatchewan churches celebrate marriage and refugee sponsorship
Special celebrations were held at two congregations in Saskatchewan this summer. Osler Mennonite Church If a 50th wedding anniversary is golden, what would 150 years be? Three couples at Osler (Sask.) Mennonite Church—Garry and Jean Harms, Dick and Kathy Braun, and Diana and Ben Buhler—recently celebrated 50 years of marriage. Not only was…
Missionary to Argentina dies
Delbert Erb, who served God in Argentina for more than seven decades, died June 14, in Buenos Aires. “He decided that his heart and ashes would remain in Choele Choel, [Argentina],” said Rafael Stábile, pastor of the Mennonite church where Delbert and his wife Frieda Schellenberg Erb were members. Beginning his ministry in 1951, when…
Bursary helps recipients develop and explore
In 2021, there were three recipients of Mennonite Church Alberta tuition bursaries, which offer an incentive for young people who attend an MC Alberta congregation and have enrolled in a Mennonite/Anabaptist post-secondary institution. Bryant Neufeldt of Foothills Mennonite Church in Calgary and Danika Warkentin of Springridge Mennonite Church in Pincher Creek were asked what they are…
A gift to share
“Well, I am a strong believer that all people have been given a gift,” says Reuben Unger of Clavet. “Whatever it is, everyone has a gift. If you have a gift, you use the gift, and don’t be afraid to tell people that you think it is a gift.” The member of Pleasant Point Mennonite…
Humble confessions, compelling stories
As Neill von Gunten and his Black companions departed an increasingly volatile Chicago rally at which Martin Luther King Jr. had taken a brick to the head, KKK members and other whites attacked their bus at a red light. Bricks flew through windows. Rioters rocked the bus. Amid panic, the driver ran the red…
Church connects with Witness workers in Thailand
“There is a great deal of love for the work Tom and Christine do, and for them as a family. Their stories and visits are always warmly received,” says William Loewen, pastor of Trinity Mennonite Church in Calgary. Tom and Christine Poovong are Mennonite Church Canada International Witness workers in northeastern Thailand, providing pastoral leadership…
‘She cared a lot about everybody’
Gail Schellenberg influenced the lives of thousands of people during her career as a teacher and principal in Mennonite high schools across Canada, and later as executive director of Initiatives for Just Communities (IJC). She died from cancer in 2020, but her legacy lives on in people’s memories. Now, it will live on in a…
Rural remnant, earthy sensibilities
Ernie Hildebrand intended to spend his life farming along the banks of the Cypress Creek, where he grew up in south-central Manitoba. And while Hildebrand, now 80, and his wife Judy currently live less than a mile from where Ernie played as a boy, a pastoral calling took them on a 23-year journey away from…
‘A positive presence in Montreal’
In the middle of Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood is a small and much-loved community centre, the Maison de l’amitié (MA) or House of Friendship. This unassuming brick building is a bustling place, fueled by the desire for community and social change. On any given day you will see people wandering in to volunteer or to benefit…
