MC Canada, ecumenical groups mobilize around Bill C-15
“I don’t think that anybody can relax until we actually hear the words ‘royal assent.’ I think we have to be all over this,” says Jennifer Preston, general secretary for Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC), the peace and social justice agency of Quakers in Canada. Preston is referring to Bill C-15, “An Act respecting…
Churches stay connected with seniors
As the pandemic continues, all in- person church programs have been cancelled and new ways of staying connected have been established. Sunday School and youth events have gone online. Committee meetings are on Zoom. Sunday morning worship services are accessed in various ways. As not all seniors have a computer, staying connected has been challenging.…
Mennonite Heritage Village adapts through pandemic
Although the Mennonite Heritage Village (MVH) may look like it’s frozen in time, it has adapted impressively to the challenges of the 2020s. The MHV is a 16-hectare, open-air museum in Steinbach, that makes a turn-of-the-last-century Russian Mennonite street village come to life. Recently, though, it’s been empty. The pandemic forced it to close for…
Taking delight in creation
Why does God rest after creating the world? According to Curtis Wiens, it isn’t because God is tired and needs a break. Wiens, who is pastor of Aberdeen Mennonite Church, posed the question during an outdoor worship service at Shekinah Retreat Centre on June 6. About 30 adults and children representing at least seven Mennonite…
Relief sale and auction adapt to pandemic restrictions
The New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale (NHMRS) that raises funds for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) had to adapt and innovate once again, as pandemic restrictions in Ontario prohibited large gatherings for the second year in a row. A live general auction of miscellaneous goods and experiences was held online on the evening of May 28,…
‘It was a wake-up call’
At the end of May, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 First Nation discovered the grave site of around 215 children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. Like many people, Jim Shantz, former Indigenous Neighbours coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Alberta says, “It was shocking but not surprising.” Shantz, who retired from MCC…
