Emmaus Mennonite closes after 90 years
“There’s not one of us that isn’t grieving,” said Lorna Wiens. “We’re all unhappy to lose our church building, our congregation, our friends.” Wiens was reflecting on the decision to close Emmaus Mennonite Church in Wymark, Sask. “We’ve seen it coming for 20 years,” said retired pastor Fred Heese, who still resides in the community.…
Palestinian and Israeli share dreams for peace
Sahar Vardi and Tarek Al-Zoughbi live less than 20 kilometres away from each other—Vardi in Jerusalem, and Al-Zoughbi in the West Bank city of Bethlehem to the south. A literal wall, checkpoints and cultures of mutual hatred separate the regions each call home. The two activists, who met only recently, are pushing toward new paths…
Calgary pastor appointed as MC Canada’s executive minister
Mennonite Church Canada is pleased to announce that Doug Klassen has accepted the call to the position of executive minister. “It is an exciting time in Mennonite Church Canada. I want to help inspire a vision for what it means to be a nationwide church. I firmly believe that congregations are the foundational unit of…
Study connecting genetics and bipolar disorder enlists Mennonites
The Mennonite Game—tracing the genealogy of a new acquaintance until finding a common ancestor—might be a fun pastime for people with Mennonite backgrounds, but their relatively shallow gene pool is also helpful for understanding the neurobiology behind bipolar disorder. In the United States, an ongoing National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) study is enlisting the…
Mennonite Gallery celebrates 20 years of art and relationships
A nativity painting by Winnipeg artist Lynda Toews brings attention to Joseph’s commitment to God, and to the bond between farm animals and people. The donkey’s dorsal strip forms a cross pointing to Baby Jesus. Her 2014 painting, “The commitment,” is part of the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery’s 20th anniversary exhibition that features 76 artists…
Alumni award winner works tirelessly for peace
A crowd of old friends and alumni, as well as people interested in restorative justice, filled the Grebel Gallery on Oct. 11, 2018, to hear from Dean Peachey. He reflected on the seeds of peace that were sown during the 25 years he and his wife Melissa Miller spent in Kitchener-Waterloo. As Grebel’s 2018 Distinguished…
Rooted and Grounded speakers call for changed worldviews
As the floodwaters of Hurricane Florence crested in South Carolina in late September, three keynote speakers at this year’s Rooted and Grounded conference on land and Christian discipleship at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) told participants that shifts in the dominant western belief systems and priorities would be needed for people to live in right…
‘Everything was getting better’
Before 2008, Victoria Mamani Sirpa had only ever cooked with four vegetables: carrots, chard, celery and onions. That soon changed after she and her family built a huerta (greenhouse) on their property with the help of Fundación Communidad y Axión (Community and Action Foundation), a Mennonite Central Committee partner that is working to improve access…
B.C. Festival for World Relief raises $1 million-plus
More than 20,000 people attended the annual Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) British Columbia Festival for World Relief in mid-September, raising more than $1 million to support uprooted people locally and around the world. The annual Bread of Life auction, which raises funds for food security projects, contributed in excess of $230,000 to the festival’s fundraising…
Japanese Mennonites consider ‘Shared Convictions’
A quiz on global Christianity and Anabaptism (including MWC statistics) prepared participants from Nihon Menonaito Kirisuto Kyokai Kyogikai (Japan Mennonite Christian Church Conference) for a discussion of the “Shared Convictions” of Global Anabaptists. For the annual Peace Missions Centre seminar 15–16 July 2018 at Fukuzumi Mennonite Center in Sapporo, Japan, the group from Japan Mennonite…
