Remembering the 1990 MWC assembly in Winnipeg
On this day 30 years ago, Manitoba Mennonites were playing host to a global assembly of Anabaptists. The 12th Mennonite World Conference Assembly took place in Winnipeg, Man. from July 24-29, 1990. The once-every-six-years event drew more than 12,000 registrants, including 1,600 from nearly 70 countries outside of North America. The theme was, “Witnessing to…
EU grant helps MCC support peacebuilding projects in Middle East
With a 994,000-euro grant (C$1.5 million) from the European Union, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is empowering organizations to implement peacebuilding projects across four Middle Eastern countries. MCC and its Lebanese partner, Development for People and Nature Association (DPNA), a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable development, are using the funds over three years to support the…
MWC holds online prayer hour on Pentecost
“There is lockdown and physical distancing, but even so, we can meet in prayer,” said Hanna Soren, a member of the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Deacons Commission, who offered a prayer at the close of the organization’s first online prayer meeting on May 31. “From different countries, we can come together and pray together in…
Grebel professor honoured with teaching award
Lowell Ewert, associate professor of peace and conflict studies (PACS) at Conrad Grebel University College and the University of Waterloo, has been honoured with one of the four UWaterloo 2020 Distinguished Teacher Awards. The award celebrates exemplary instructors with a record of teaching excellence over an extended period. In addition to intellectual rigour, criteria for…
MC Eastern Canada terminates retired pastor’s ministerial credentials
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada has terminated a retired pastor’s ministerial credential after investigating him for ministerial misconduct and ministerial sexual misconduct. The regional church made the announcement about Wilmer Martin, 75, of Waterloo, Ont., on June 16. Martin served pastorates at Tavistock (Ont.) Mennonite Church and Erb Street Mennonite Church in Waterloo from 1968 to…
Still friends after all these years
For the first time in the Manitoba-Germany Exchange’s 40 years of existence, Canadian students will not be able to reunite with their exchange partners in Germany this spring, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Manitoba-Germany Exchange pairs up Grade 11 students from Manitoba, including those attending Westgate Mennonite Collegiate in Winnipeg, and Hamburg, who…
Embodying God’s mission with authenticity
“Table talk: Does the church still have legs,” the 2020 Mennonite Church Canada study conference, is a virtual event happening on Oct. 24. Plenary speakers from MC Canada-affiliated schools will share on themes of ecclesiology, worship and mission. For the five-person team planning the conference, these themes are essential for this time, as the global…
‘Being the church together’
Mennonite Church Canada is donating $50,000 to the Global Sharing Fund operated by Mennonite World (MWC) to help MWC-member churches struggling because of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Sister churches in Asia, Africa and Latin America, which make up 81 per cent of MWC members, are requesting aid from MWC because they do not have enough…
Providing a place to call home
Affordable housing “changes lives.” It is a “human right that enables individuals and families to flourish.” These convictions motivated Anne Nicholson and other members of the Markham Inter-church Committee for Affordable Housing (MICAH) to persevere with a recent building project despite the “unique challenges” presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Mike Clare, MICAH’s president,…
Regional churches of Mennonite Church Canada call for prayer
As rallies and protests continue across the United States and Canada in response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, the five regional churches of Mennonite Church Canada released a statement yesterday asking congregations to set a specific time of prayer this coming Sunday, June 7. The statement asks…
