Returning to their roots
The history of Youth Farm Bible Camp is, in no small sense, the history of Mennonite Church Saskatchewan. In the early 1940s, the Mennonite Youth Society began holding retreats at the Dominion Experimental Farm, just south of Rosthern. Several individuals saw the neglected farm as an ideal site for the ministries of Saskatchewan Mennonites. Henry…
Hope Mennonite Fellowship withdraws from MC Saskatchewan
Hope Mennonite Fellowship withdrew its membership from Mennonite Church Saskatchewan effective April 30, 2016. Several years ago, members became concerned by what they saw as a lack of accountability within the area church. A Safe Church Policy that included statements about sexual orientation was posted on the MC Saskatchewan website before it was ratified at…
A hedge of protection
Forty Mennonite Church Manitoba clergy attended the area church’s biennial “Healthy boundaries” seminar, held this year at Carman Mennonite Church. Led this spring by clinical psychologist Lois Edmund, the conference is mandatory once every four years for all credentialled MC Manitoba pastors. Topics covered at the seminars include “Boundaries defined and their importance in ministry,”…
Mennonite historical assumptions challenged
Participants at the Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta spring conference, held on April 30, 2016, at Holyrood Mennonite Church, Edmonton, spent time “Rethinking Mennonite history in light of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” the theme of this year’s event. Roger Epp, professor of political science at the University of Alberta, an honorary witness at some…
‘This profession found me’
Growing up in an immigrant family prepared Betty Pries to see God’s presence in the struggles of life. Her grandmother’s “story-based faith” came to her through stories from Russia under communism, fleeing the Soviet Union during the Second World War and homesteading in Paraguay. In spite of struggles, and perhaps even because of them, there…
‘Mennonite’ composers headline concert at WLU
Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) celebrated the 40th anniversary of its Faculty of Music with a concert on April 3, 2016, that featured the premiere of works by two composers with Mennonite roots and connections. Glenn Buhr, WLU’s professor of composition and director of the Improvisation Concerts Ensemble, comes from Mennonite roots in Gretna, Man. His…
Cousins write family saga: Daughters in the House of Jacob
Two Canadian Mennonite women, one a pastor and the other a professor, introduced their new book, Daughters in the House of Jacob: A Memoir of Migration, at the Mennonite Heritage Museum on June 4, 2016. Cousins Dorothy M. Peters, adjunct assistant professor of religious studies at Trinity Western University, and Christine Kampen, co-pastoral elder at…
Sharing faith through teaching Sunday school
Some teachers want their lessons to run smoothly, but not Benjamin Weber. “I like a healthy amount of chaos,” says Weber, 29, who teaches the youth Sunday school class at Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont. “I open the floor and let them ask me about anything. Usually it’s about current events, so we…
The power of film
“Watching great films is a very spiritual experience for me,” says Paul Plett. “It hits a tuning fork in [my] heart and my whole soul reverberates.” The 30-year-old, who attends Home Street Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, is not only an avid film watcher but makes films himself. He recently completed work on Northern Folk, a…
