Imperilled world, imperfect choices
I interviewed five people who care about climate, yet, like many of us, they take actions not backed by their beliefs. I wanted to gently pull back the veil on the inner tensions with which many of us contend. Some of the five I spoke with are decision-makers in sizeable organizations with ecological mandates. Some…
Planting trees, nurturing a dream
As they walk the length of their 32-hectare (80-acre) property, it is evident that Wayne and Carry Dueck share a deep love for the place they simply call The Land. In 1981, Wayne was serving on the board of directors of Native Ministries in what was then the Conference of Mennonites in Canada. While attending…
Church garden provides produce for soup kitchen
In the summer of 2004, Joy Neufeld opened the first soup kitchen in Steinbach. Fifteen years later, Soup’s On is still serving its community and is thriving. Neufeld, a member of Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach, started the project because she loved working in the kitchen. “I just love cooking and baking, but the last…
Rearranging pews a symbol of deeper discernment
In what church member Karl Dick calls a “bold summer experiment,” the congregation at Waterloo-Kitchener United Mennonite Church decided to unscrew some of its hardwood benches and re-arrange them in “a more communal” way. While it took less than an hour to angle some pews toward each other, facing a central space, Pastor Ben Cassels…
Duet bikes an opportunity for young and old to connect
People walking around Abbotsford, B.C.’s Mill Lake might have caught an odd sight of seniors riding on duet bikes this summer. Duet bikes are wheelchair tandem bikes that enable people who have little mobility to get pedalled around by someone who has that ability. “It’s like a rickshaw in reverse,” explains Dale Carlisle, a rehabilitation…
Exhibit features professor’s paintings of historic Anabaptist sites
A love for the arts, combined with an interest in Anabaptist history, has inspired a professor at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford to create paintings depicting early Anabaptist history. The exhibit of Gareth Brandt’s water-colour paintings, “Stories of the Anabaptists,” was introduced Sept. 11 at the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford. Brandt said that he…
MMI golf tournament aids Edmonton Mennonite Guest Home rebuild
Mennonite Mutual Insurance (MMI) in Alberta had its first-ever golf tournament fundraiser at the Eagle Rock Golf Course in Leduc County, just south of Edmonton, on Sept. 7. Chosen as its beneficiary was the Edmonton Mennonite Guest Home that provides short-term residential accommodation for patients and families of patients being treated in Edmonton’s medical facilities.…
Move to Canadian office ‘a blessing’
For César Garcia, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference (MWC), relocating to office space in Kitchener has “been a blessing.” He shares the office with four staff, some of the 40 people who work and volunteer for MWC around the world. MWC shares space at 50 Kent Avenue with staff from a variety of other…
MCC program shares ‘tools’ to combat homelessness
In 2013, the first cast of Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz’s “Homeless Jesus” was installed. The bronze statue, which depicts the Christ figure as a person sleeping on a park bench, was offered to two churches before being installed at Regis College at the University of Toronto. When Pete Olsen, coordinator of the Mennonite Central Committee…
