‘Learning how to listen is a journey’
Mennonite Women Manitoba organized and hosted Winnipeg’s first-ever Sister Care seminar at Bethel Mennonite Chuch in mid-May, drawing women of all ages from multiple congregations. Sister Care was developed and is now presented worldwide by Carolyn Heggen, a psychotherapist specializing in trauma recovery, and Rhoda Keener, Sister Care’s director. The program was born out of…
Vancouver pastor ordained
Lydia Cruttwell, pastor of First United Mennonite Church in Vancouver, was ordained to the ministry on Pentecost Sunday, May 15, 2016, in a joint worship service with First United Spanish Mennonite Church. Mennonite Church B.C. executive minister Garry Janzen conducted the ordination. Also present were former First United Mennonite pastors Helmut Isaak and Ingrid Schultz,…
Disparaging ‘the Donald’ plays into his hand
“America is again ablaze with partisan divisiveness.” That’s how I started an article during the presidential campaign of 2012. But the days of Barack Obama battling Mitt Romney seem pedestrian compared to the current convergence of reality TV and reality. For my 2012 article I interviewed Gus Booth, pastor of Warroad Community Church in Minnesota, not…
Friesen began first Canada-wide English paper for Mennonites
Theodore (Ted) Friesen of Altona, Man., who died at the age of 95, left behind a rich legacy of service to Mennonites in Canada. A partner with his two brothers in D.W. Friesen and Sons (Friesens Corporation since 1976), a printing and stationery business founded by his father, Ted was also deeply committed to the…
Pennsylvania Dutch a language with merit
Pennsylvania Dutch has often been ridiculed and viewed as a corrupted German dialect with a mishmash of English words, but author Mark Louden argues that it is actually a distinct language with a proud heritage. The fact that it continues to be spoken, living for hundreds of years within an English-language society, makes it quite…
Shenk adds to Christian-Muslim dialogue
David W. Shenk’s latest book, Christian. Muslim. Friend.: Twelve Paths to Real Relationship, comes at an opportune time for Canadian Christians, since the country has received more than 25,000 refugees from Syria since last fall. While Syria is a multi-faith society, the majority of these refugees are Muslim. Statistics Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey listed…
Raising awareness, raising funds
A young man from southern Ontario is cycling across Canada this summer to raise awareness of mental health issues, while also raising funds for the Defeat Depression campaign. Martin Bauman of Waterloo, Ont., embarks on the 7,500-kilometre trip on June 7, 2016. The ride will start in Vancouver and end in St. John’s, N.L., at…
‘It’s fun being on this ride together …’
Three recent graduates of the University of Waterloo (UW), Ont., who resided at Conrad Grebel University College, are pouring their energies full-time into their own startup company. Perry Everett, Graham Thomas and Benjamin Rasera graduated in April and are the founders of Arylla Inc., which aims to bring an end to the counterfeiting industry. The…
