As prayers began, a hush fell over the crowd and numerous people pointed to the sky. The great spirit, the eagle, hovered overhead. Surely it was a clear sign of God’s presence... Read More
Features
Leann Sleigh, painfully sharing how three generations of residential school forced family separation, sexual and physical abuse leading to alcoholism and parental abuse, offers her moccasins to a collection of native artifacts “for those who walked before us.” A read cedar box holding artifacts and documents was commissioned by the TRC as a “lasting tribute” to school survivors. (Photo by Evelyn Rempel Petkau)
As the Truth and Reconciliation Commissioners begin their five-year sojourn across Canada to hear the stories of those who suffered under the Indian Residential School (IRS)... Read More
August 26, 2010 | Feature | By Evelyn Rempel Petkau
Poplar Hill (Ont.) Residential School is pictured in A Brief History of Northern Light Gospel Missions, 1977, by Mary Horst.
The Poplar Hill (Ont.) Development School—the only Mennonite-affiliated school being officially looked at by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) currently making the... Read More
August 26, 2010 | Feature | Ross W. Muir
1. How involved is your congregation with Mennonite Church Canada? How do you get information about what MC Canada is doing? What would strengthen the connection between MC Canada... Read More
August 17, 2010 | Feature | Canadian Mennonite
Klassen and Miller
When the Worship Committee for Assembly 2010 couldn’t find a song that captured the essence of the theme, “Reclaiming Jesus™: Gladly Wear the Name,” Chad Miller and Doug Klassen... Read More
August 17, 2010 | Feature | By Deborah Froese
Participants take a walking tour through Art for Peace, a collection of artistic quilts, at Assembly 2010.
For Bev Patkau, quilting is a labour of love, her fabric and thread a form of expression. Patkau had several quilts on display at the Mennonite Church Canada assembly art exhibit... Read More
August 17, 2010 | Feature | By Deborah Froese
Congregational giving is up, so why are donations to area and national church bodies falling? The steady increase in Mennonite congregational giving is worth celebrating. “We are... Read More
August 17, 2010 | Feature | By Donita Wiebe-Neufeld and Rachel Bergen
What started out as a small Saskatchewan church’s 2008 resolution to take acts of peace public has become a fairly widespread Canadian campaign with people all over the world... Read More
August 17, 2010 | Feature | By Rachel Bergen
Jack Suderman, retiring Mennonite Church Canada general secretary, addresses this year’s annual delegate assembly in Calgary, Alta.
After leading three study sessions on Colossians 3:15-17, the Bible theme text for Assembly 2010—Reclaiming Jesus: Gladly Wear the Name—retiring general secretary Robert J... Read More
August 17, 2010 | Feature | By Deborah Froese
Carole Phillips and Len Block of the Mennonite Central Committee delegate body, and Johnson Gakumba, an Anglican bishop in Uganda, sing “To God Be the Glory” at MCC’s delegate meeting on June 12 in Akron, Pa.
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is changing how it does its work, but not the work itself. That’s how Arli Klassen, MCC Binational executive director, described MCC’s process of... Read More
July 12, 2010 | Feature | By Celeste Kennel-Shank
1. How much does your congregation support Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)? Has this changed over the years? What MCC projects have you participated in? How satisfied are the... Read More
July 12, 2010 | Feature | Canadian Mennonite
Here are multiple stories of how Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) began. One tells of Clayton Kratz, a young man who went to Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, to attempt to distribute... Read More
July 12, 2010 | Feature | By Celeste Kennel-Shank
Members of the 11 families, gathered under a palm-laden, balloon-decorated pavilion, listen intently during the June 5 ceremonies giving them possession of their new homes.
Horacio Cardenes, 36, grins from ear to ear. His is one of 11 peasant families in a rural hillside village in northern Honduras that has just taken title to their first real house... Read More
June 23, 2010 | Feature | by Dick Benner
Hubert
With an office in Edmonton, Alta., Dave Hubert, who founded Canadian Peacemakers International (CPI) in 1997 following a 23-year career in post-secondary education (including... Read More
June 23, 2010 | Feature | By Dick Benner
1. Dick Benner writes that, “in Latino culture, time is not a commodity, but a gift to be enjoyed.” What experiences have you had with cultures that have a similar attitude... Read More
June 23, 2010 | Feature | Canadian Mennonite
Contentment. What thought comes to your mind when you reflect on the word? Paul, the first-century evangelist and church planter, wrote about contentment on a number of occasions... Read More
June 23, 2010 | Feature | Harold Penner
1. What experiences have you or your congregation had in sponsoring refugees? What have been the most challenging and rewarding parts? What motivates a congregation to sponsor a... Read More
June 4, 2010 | Feature | Canadian Mennonite
Tak-Chhing and Khantry Cheng at their 30th anniversary in Canada celebration, May 22, 2010.
After welcoming us into her new home, Suad Saidam promptly excuses herself, re-emerging with ice-cold water bottles on a silver tray. In Arab cultures, guests are always served... Read More
June 4, 2010 | Feature | By Laura Stemp-Morlock
Ref-Nyota president and CEO Serge Kaptegaine and vendor Freddy Mahoungou, centre, are joined by Manitoba Liberal leader Jon Gerrard, left, and Ben Rempel, assistant deputy labour and immigration minister, right, at the grand opening of Winnipeg’s new refugee centre on April 23.
For Serge Kaptegaine, the opening ceremonies for Ref-Nyota, a new business venture that promotes the skills and talents of refugees, was an answer to prayer. The event was held at... Read More
June 4, 2010 | Feature | By Evelyn Rempel Petkau
Taken in North Battleford, Sask., this photograph is Chai Bouphaphanh’s first for National Geographic. It’s on display at the nationalgeographicstock.com.
Inspired by Western Canada’s prairie landscape and the ever-changing light in the sky there, Chai Bouphaphanh spends his leisure time exploring his surroundings through the lens... Read More
June 4, 2010 | Feature | By Gladys Terichow
A new Immigration Act for Canada in 1976 included a provision for private sponsorship of refugees. A Mennonite Member of Parliament, Jake Epp from Steinbach, Man., had been... Read More
June 4, 2010 | Feature | Tim Wichert
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario assists refugees who have suffered persecution, violence and human rights abuses to resettle in Canada through partnerships with churches... Read More
June 4, 2010 | Feature | From ontario.mcc.org
Winkler MB Church with the smaller Burwalde MB Church that was moved beside it.
This year the Mennonite Brethren Church is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a week-long celebration in B.C. in July. What have the MBs contributed to the wider Mennonite... Read More
May 31, 2010 | Feature | By John J. Friesen
The tombstone with English translations of the etchings.
On a tour in Ukraine in October 2006, Gert and Katherine Martens experienced an emotional moment when a farmer in Oktaybreskoe removed a few planks from his wall and uncovered the... Read More
May 31, 2010 | Feature | By Evelyn Rempel Petkau