Canada announces funding to empower women and youth in Senegal
In December 2018, the federal government announced funding for a new five-year project with Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) that will improve the economic resilience of women and youth farmers in Senegal. The project, valued at close to $18 million, will encourage farmers in the Sedhiou and Tambacounda regions of Senegal to adopt innovative technologies…
How steam wells work to relieve droughts in Ethiopia
In parts of the world where the effects of climate change are severe and rains are dangerously infrequent, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is supporting innovative projects to improve access to water. In the Afar region of Northern Ethiopia, MCC supported the Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA) to build and maintain a steam well benefitting 60…
MEDAx 2018: Creating pathways for future innovators
A team of six students from Conrad Grebel University College participated in MEDAx, a conference that was part of the larger Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) conference, held in November 2018, in Indianapolis. MEDAx culminated in a $5,000 pitch competition to foster innovation for emerging social entrepreneurs. The Grebel team and SheLeads founder and Epp…
Experiencing Christmas by lamplight
Old-fashioned oil lamps graced each windowsill in the tiny sanctuary, their steady flames bathing the room in warm light as people filed into the pews. The people came to experience “Christmas by lamplight.” The Mennonite Heritage Museum and Interpretive Centre in Rosthern hosted the event in the church that stands next to the museum on…
North Korean farmers visit Manitoba, build relationships
In those first few minutes after arriving at Syl’s Restaurant in Carman, members of a delegation from North Korea sit at the edge of the outdoor eating area, where they see local resident Rene McFarlane at a picnic table with her son Lane. The visitors move toward McFarlane and, with the help of a translator,…
MCC supports vulnerable people on the move
Daniel (a pseudonym, for security reasons) doesn’t have just one reason for leaving his daughter, 8, and parents in Honduras. He has many reasons for joining a caravan of thousands of migrants walking toward the U.S. border with Mexico. “I was forced to leave because there weren’t jobs or opportunities, plus the insecurity and violence.…
Imagining a new world at Women Doing Theology 2018
“Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.” Over 200 people from across North America filled the Chapel of the Sermon of the Mount with these lyrics, singing and dancing the “Canticle of the Turning” at the third biennial Women Doing Theology (WDT) conference. The conference, which…
Mennonites talking
Mennonites are talking about Women Talking, Miriam Toews’s latest novel. What are your thoughts? Feel free to comment below or send letters to letters@canadianmennonite.org. Though I am still trying to figure out why the book troubled me—despite my admiration of Toews—some of my thoughts on the book are contained in Part 4 of “Modern ghosts…
Christmas: Let it be, let it go
When Jill (a pseudonym) turns her calendar to December, she’ll read a message she wrote to herself a year ago: “Be intentional all through the month to not put pressure on myself and to avoid the stress of the holidays.” She says she dreads the Christmas season every year. Between gift shopping, sending out a…
Rural church celebrates 70 years of God’s presence
About 160 people gathered in Crystal City Mennonite Church, Man., on Nov. 4, 2018, to celebrate 70 years of God’s faithfulness and guidance.The theme “In God’s Hands” was reflected in the stories and memories that were shared of the church’s past and present experiences, says Pastor Erin Morash. “God’s presence is constant and eternal, even…
