Winkler church leaves as conference continues balancing act
The Winkler Bergthaler Mennonite Church notified Mennonite Church Manitoba and Mennonite Church Canada in late November that it would withdraw from the conferences as of the end of 2015. The church’s interim pastor, Jake Doell, declined to comment for the record, but the congregation had indicated earlier that it was not pleased with how the…
Historical society adds stories to the peace narrative
Most Canadian Mennonites have not experienced war first-hand or had their pacifist beliefs tested, but the stories of those who have are an important part of the peace narrative. To address this, the Mennonite Historical Society of Saskatchewan hosted an afternoon of storytelling at Bethany Manor in Saskatoon on Nov. 15, 2015, to which 140…
Manitoba unveils restorative justice strategy as jails bulge
Manitoba, which leads all provinces in putting people behind bars, also wants to lead in restorative justice programming. Its new Restorative Justice Act and an accompanying five-year plan aim to increase referrals to alternative justice programs by at least 30 percent—from about 4,000 annually to 5,200—over five years. The plan comes with $320,000 in new…
Treasure in Thailand
“I wanted to see what God can do with me and how he might use me,” said Gao Hlee Vang of First Hmong Mennonite Church, in Kitchener, Ont., reflecting on her congregation’s mission trip to Thailand last summer. Twenty-three people participated in the trip. Teaching English in local schools, offering vacation Bible school in the…
Taking off the mask
Childhood is all about the endless possibilities, the dreams that will come true if you wish hard enough. Erin Wiebe’s childhood was no different in those ways. She knew if she wished hard enough, the dream of her outside appearance matching the way she saw herself would become a reality. Every night, Erin says she…
War is ‘development in reverse’
Disarming Conflict: Why Peace Cannot be Won on the Battlefield. By Ernie Regehr. Between the Lines Books, 2015, 217 pages. War does not resolve conflict, says Ernie Regehr in his recent book, Disarming Conflict. He examines the wars of the last 25 years and concludes that while military force can win battles and can cause…
Celebrating embodied incarnation
Who delivered the baby and laid him at Mary’s breast, skin upon skin? Was it the Innkeeper’s wife? Who cut the cord tethering him to the womb, birthing a new kind of attachment? Was it Joseph? Without words, the WORD becomes flesh, God with skin on! – Don Penner, “A Christmas Eve Poem,” 2013 Baby,…
Secret songs
It doesn’t seem right that more people aren’t familiar with singer-songwriter Paul Bergman. Over the past 12 years, Bergman has quietly released five albums. Steeped in the tradition of songwriting legends like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits, the 32-year-old’s music is carefully crafted and displays a unique voice reflecting on rural life, death…
Six-year-olds receive Bibles at Hope Mennonite
Seven six-year-olds—Niko Van Geest DeGroot, Calum Goetzke, Matea Thiessen Unger, Frieda Nuss Hildebrand, Vito Stoesz, Nicholas Rempel Nighswander and Isabelle Heinrichs—received Bible story books in a church service focussed on children at Hope Mennonite Church, Winnipeg, on Sept. 13, 2015. “The stories we tell and the stories we claim, shape our identity,” said Lynell Bergen,…
