Volume 25, Number 21
On the road toward wisdom
(Photo by Patrick Fore/Unsplash)
I’ve been pondering the learning experiences of Jesus’ disciples as told in the Gospels. Jesus’ vision of God’s reign was so different from the reality they were used to, and they were curious. There was something about this Teacher that invited them to walk alongside him, to learn more.
The great Mwenezi cook-off
After entering the Men Can Cook competition, Jawanda Clemence discovered a love of cooking. Now he helps train new competitors and has developed a number of his own recipes. Here he’s teaching a recipe for mashed lablab to a group of women. At the time this photo was taken, COVID-19 measures in Zimbabwe only included a recommendation for mask use. (Score Against Poverty photo/Obert Payenda)
The final dishes from Jawanda Clemence’s team in the first Men Can Cook competition in 2018 in the village of Chinyause, Zimbabwe. The dishes include a variety of cowpeas, pigeon peas and lablab, prepared several different ways. (Score Against Poverty photo/Alice Chauke (2018))
Members of the second-place team in the 2019 Men Can Cook competition pose with their prizes—new sauté pans. Left to right: Agripa Shumba, Magwanda Tinago, Albert Chigaridzano and Matutu Charlse. (Score Against Poverty photo/Caroline Pugeni)
All of Joseph Gudo’s hard work was summed up in one small plate of food. He’d laboured for months in the field and uncountable hours in the kitchen all in service to this dish—a neat pile of mashed cowpeas (black-eyed peas), buoyed by a bold pinch of cayenne pepper and dressed up with pops of colourful diced tomatoes and green peppers.
Readers write: October 11, 2021 issue
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
Idea of defunding the police based on false premises
Re: “Defund the Police?”, Sept. 27, page 4.
The banality of saying ‘Intercultural’
(Photo by mauro mora/Unsplash)
No one would dispute that our world has become intercultural. Culture meets culture and languages are exchanged randomly on streets, in restaurants, in classrooms and even during Sunday church worship. “Intercultural” is being used at a massive rate. But this is being done without the faintest idea of what it means to be truly intercultural.
Grace Lao
Photo: Mennonite Archives of Ontario
Women at Grace Lao Mennonite Church sing at a “ladies’ revival” in 1999. This was an important year for the congregation of about 90 people, as they also dedicated their own independent church building in Kitchener, Ont. Previously, they worshipped nearby at St. Jacobs Mennonite Church. The church grew from the efforts of refugee families sponsored by St.
The benefits of a hamlet
Main Street in Laird, Sask. (Photo by Canadian2006/CC BY-SA 3.0)
Someone suggested I apply for a pastoral position in a church in a large Canadian city. My ego liked that quite a lot. Then I gave it some thought.
What is learning?
(Photo by Clay Banks/Unsplash)
Learning happens because learners do something, not because teachers teach. Education is not about teaching—it is about learning.
An enemy of hope
'Nostalgia is an enemy of hope...' (Photo by Josh Hild/Unsplash)
Three years after graduating from Bible college on the prairies, I returned for a one-week complimentary alumni seminary course. I was excited to be back in the classroom again, but if I’m completely honest, I was just as, if not more, excited to return to a place that held so many good memories.
‘Whatever happened to simple living?’ - Part 2
More-with-Less Cookbook author Doris Longacre Janzen (pictured) is 'one of our best theologians,' says Kenton Lobe, who teaches a course on simple living at Canadian Mennonite University. (MCC Canada photo/Mennonite Heritage Archives)
For 45 years, the More-with-Less Cookbook has been a beacon of the Mennonite legacy of simple living. The popular, and much more recent, cookbook, Mennonite Girls Can Cook, is rooted in a decidedly more First-World spirituality. The divergent books illustrate something of the tension faced by Mennonites living in a land of plenty.
Saskatoon churches hold communion service on election day
When Christians partake in communion they are asserting the Lordship of Christ. This takes on added significance on election day. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
Attending a communion service on election day is not at the top of most voters’ priority lists, but for those who gathered at Mount Royal Mennonite Church on Sept. 20, it proved to be the right way to start the day.
Small church offerings
Erie View United Mennonite Church, not far from the shores of Lake Erie, held its annual canoe paddle in September.
Erie View United Mennonite Church has always been a small congregation. (Photo courtesy of Betty Wiebe)
In 1926 a small group of immigrant Russian Mennonite families settled near Port Rowan, a small town in rural southern Ontario, half an hour’s drive from the bigger towns of Simcoe and Tillsonburg. Worship services were started, with families initially meeting in their homes, then renting space, and finally owning their own building in 1940.
Doris Weber blazed a trail for women in ministry
Doris Weber (1930-2021)
“There is a song that sings deep within me,” Doris Weber wrote in Mary A. Schiedel’s book, Pioneers in Ministry. It is that song which guided Doris throughout her life, and accompanied her as she died on Sept. 9, 2021.
Outdoor MCC festival fundraiser a success
Volunteers dish out watermelon with rollkuchen at the MCC B.C. Festival for World Relief. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
Plates of vareniki with sausage and gravy were a popular choice for attendees at the MCC B.C. Festival for World Relief on Sept. 18. Thousands attended the event on the MCC Centre parking lot. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
The parking lot of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Centre on Gladys Avenue was filled with 400 volunteers and thousands of attendees on Sept. 18 for the annual MCC B.C. Festival for World Relief.
Memories of migration
Ingrid Moehlmann is the instigator of the Memories of Migration: The Russlaender 100 Tour, a weeks-long train trip across Canada, coming in 2023. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
The tour will commemorate the work of David Toews, Moehlmann’s great-grandfather, who organized the migration of Mennonites from the Soviet Union to Canada beginning in 1923. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
David Riesen, Moehlmann’s father, requested on his deathbed that the Russlaender migration be remembered. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
It’s been almost 100 years since 1923, when thousands of Mennonites from the Soviet Union began migrating to Canada. A train tour commemorating their journey will wind across Canada in the summer of 2023 to mark the anniversary.
Sharing food with hungry guests
Elfrieda Schroeder lives in Winnipeg and attends Jubilee Mennonite Church.
Between the years 1969 and 1984, my husband Hardy Schroeder and I lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Hardy was working on translating the Bible into Kikongo ya Leta (a trade language).
Chicken with Peanut Sauce
A traditional festive dish from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Photo by Barb Draper)
Elfrieda Schroeder says that meat stew can be stretched to feed more people by adding hot peppers and vegetables. Read her story here.
Students relieved and excited to be back at school
A grade 11 chemistry class meets in Rockway’s courtyard, as students return to in-person learning. (Photo courtesy of Rockway Mennonite Collegiate)
UMEI students take part in community-building activities at the beginning of the new school year. (Photo courtesy of UMEI Christian High School)
Rockway student council members drum up some school spirit for the start of the new school year. (Photo courtesy of Rockway Mennonite Collegiate)
UMEI students participate in a community building exercise. (Photo courtesy of UMEI Christian High School)
Faculty, staff and students are excited to be back in person at Mennonite schools in Ontario. To allow for a safe return to campus, they are committed to following local and provincial health guidelines while they prioritize finding ways to create a sense of community and connection.
Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo, Ont.
RJC students return to overnight class retreats
Lucas Epp, Braden Martens-Funk and Tyreese Hildebrandt, Grade 10 sudents at RJC High School, enjoy their retreat activities. (Photo by Hugo Malan)
There is much to be grateful for as a new year begins at RJC High School. With faithful constituent support, two consecutive years of increased enrolment, and the return of inter-collegiate athletics and choral programs, the energy among students and staff is high.
The journey back to Menno Simons Christian School
Dayle Vienneau, a former teacher at Menno Simons Christian School in Calgary, has returned to take the position of principal. (Menno Simons Christian School photo)
For Dayle Vienneau, who has been appointed principal for Menno Simons Christian School in Calgary, the road back to the school has not been a straight path, but definitely a God-led one. She began her journey to Menno Simons in June 2005, to fill a French and language arts maternity leave, and she stayed for 10 years.
CBC holds fall ceremony for 2021 grads
Columbia Bible College students were finally able to celebrate their 2021 graduation in September. Graduates included the first class of health-care assistants. (Columbia Bible College photo)
Graduates filed into the Columbia Bible College chapel to receive their diplomas Sept. 18, five months after completing the 2020-2021 academic year. Commencement had been delayed from the spring due to the pandemic. All 2021 graduates had been invited to return to campus for the event, with one-third attending in person. The ceremony was also livestreamed.
AMBS reports upward trends
New students participate in AMBS’s orientation course, Leadership Education in Anabaptist Perspective (LEAP), in August 2021. (AMBS photo by Jason Bryant)
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Ind., is reporting upward trends in several enrolment statistics this fall.
Students joyfully return to campus
Students at Conrad Grebel University College plant cloves of garlic to symbolize the importance of community. (Photo by Jen Konkle)
As families arrived for Conrad Grebel University College’s move-in day over the Labour Day weekend, joy was visible in student eyes, even as masks hid their smiles. With waves of move-in times during the day, there was space to safely welcome students, assure parents, and get everyone settled in dorm rooms.
CMU announces fall 2021 enrolment
(Photo courtesy of Facebook.com/CMUwpg)
Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) began the 2021-22 academic year with fall enrolment holding strong and steady.
Preliminary results for all CMU programs indicate a student complement of 875 (full-time equivalent). This includes 615 FTE at the Shaftesbury main campus and 260 FTE at the Menno Simons College campus.
Love does no harm
(Rockway Mennonite Collegiate graphic)
Rockway’s chapel theme for the 2021-2022 school year is “Love does no harm.” This scripture passage from Romans brings us to the core of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. What does it mean to love our neighbour as ourselves? To do no harm to a neighbour?
