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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…
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‘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…
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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…
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‘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…
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Meet the speakers for Gathering 2022
Three guest speakers will engage the theme of witness at Mennonite Church Canada’s Gathering 2022, to be held in Edmonton, Alta., from July 29 to August 1. The theme of the event is “We Declare: What We Have Seen and Heard,” and is based on 1 John 1:1: “We declare to you…what we have heard,…
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Two MKS graduating students share their stories
Mennonite Church Canada Witness worker Werner De Jong teaches at Meserete Kristos Seminary (MKS); his classes are mostly made up of third- and fourth-year students. Fourth-year students in the English program are required to do a research paper, which they must defend at the end of the term. Two of the graduating students are profiled…
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Peacebuilding and relationship building go hand in hand
It’s hard to imagine when Ben Borne finds time to sleep. “I have four jobs,” he says with an easy laugh. “It’s busy, but I love what I do.” Borne works for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Saskatchewan, teaches at First Nations University of Canada, and is the co-president/co-founder of Symmetry Public Relations. His fourth job…
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Pastor reaches out to young adults using social media
Anna-Lisa Salo, pastor of Bergthal Mennonite Church in Didsbury, has taken advantage of Zoom’s free 40 minute limit. Two years ago, she reached out to four young women from her congregation who were heading off to post-secondary institutions. As it was during the beginning of the pandemic, Salo says she felt like she had lost…
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Local artists make Stations of the Cross public
During Holy Week, bright pops of colour appeared in a downtown alley amid the brown slush and litter of a Winnipeg spring. A group of artists from the congregation of Home Street Mennonite Church created their own versions of the Stations of the Cross and pasted them on the exterior…
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Deborah Lynn Sprunger
Deborah Lynn Sprunger, 71, of Lancaster, Pa., passed away on March 27, 2022, at Lancaster General Hospital surrounded by her loving family. Deborah was the loving wife of Rev. JW Sprunger. She was born in Presque Isle, Maine, on April 17, 1950, to Clayton and Lynette Coffin. Deborah and JW attended Scottdale and Akron Mennonite…
