Church stories
“The congregation is the foundational unit and expression of God’s work in the world.” That was a key affirmation in the Future Directions process that led to the 2017 re-organization of Mennonite Church Canada. In this issue’s feature starting on page 4, MC Canada’s executive minister, Doug Klassen, calls for a strengthening of our denomination’s…
Readers write: February 17, 2020 issue
Church press seeks to report ‘in an honest, balanced fashion’ Re: “Freedom of speech for Christian media?” Dec. 9, 2019, page 9. Putting aside for the moment a rather odd expression for division in the church—“bombing the church”—I have difficulty accepting what Kevin Barkowsky seems to say to us in his From Our Leaders column.…
Dear MC Saskatchewan:
In 2018, Mennonite Church Saskatchewan began a three-year journey called “Deepening our walk.” In year one, we opened ourselves to encounters with God’s presence by “Deepening our walk with Christ.” This theme grew out of an awareness that, if we desire to live well in this day of turmoil and uncertainty, we need to re-centre…
David Neufeld
You can find all kinds of things in the archives, including humour. In a report dated Jan. 25, 1963, Rev. David P. Neufeld wrote, “During the course of the last year I have come to sympathize with a man who was called to be the executive secretary of one of our larger denominations [U.S. Protestant…
‘Unusual kindness’
On Feb. 2, I attended a worship service that mattered. It was an ecumenical service, held as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Here in Laird, Sask., population somewhere south of 300, three churches participated. All are, by most standards, laughably small. And yet, there we were, crowded into tiny St. John’s…
Slow down for nature
One of the most profound experiences of my life was when I bought a bicycle at the police auction at the precise midpoint of my two-year term of service with Mennonite Central Committee. For the first year, I’d walked everywhere, navigating the town’s muddy roads, paved walks, tracks through the cranberry bogs and Boreal Shield,…
Lessons from the wheel
My best friend, Mike, is a potter. Our friendship has afforded me the occasional opportunity to sit at his wheel and try my hand at pottery. I’ve learned that it isn’t easy. Mike is a good teacher, though, and during my first time at the wheel I was able to fashion a half-decent bowl. There…
‘Mennonite’ ministry flourishes
In May 1981, the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers opened its doors with 1.5 full-time-equivalent employees, one classroom and a little office. It was started by six Mennonite churches in Edmonton that saw settlement services for newcomers were inadequate and felt convicted that God called them to welcome the stranger. Now the Centre has four…
Compelled by Christ to serve
“At the railroad stations, the sight was appalling. The moment the train halted it was besieged by living skeletons. From out of the rags were lifted bare arms, the wasted fingers extended toward the car windows in entreaty for food. “‘Bread, in God’s name, bread!’ ” These were the words of A.J. Miller, penned in southern…
