Fun in the sun
The all-day annual Springridge Mennonite Church picnic was held this year at Fishburn Park on Aug. 15. Beginning with worship in the morning, the day included a potluck lunch; games in the afternoon, including an intergenerational baseball game, a ladder-ball-toss game, badminton, frisbee throwing and football; and ended with a barbecue supper. Do you have…
Circle of Friends program ‘transformative’
Circle of Friends is described as a “humble program” with “humble goals.” Margaret Smart, the program’s coordinator, believes it is “an amazing example of the power of small things.” Part of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario’s larger Walking With People in Poverty program, Circle of Friends “supports individuals and families transitioning from homelessness and shelter…
Community outreach successful with summer VBS
In a summer when many public activities, including church services, were curtailed, Living Hope Christian Fellowship of Surrey, B.C., hosted a Vacation Bible School (VBS) program from Aug. 9 to 13. Last year, Living Hope’s VBS had only 10 children attending in person, with seven online. By contrast, this year 38 children came, all in…
‘This is my learning, my journey’
Like many Canadians, Winnipegger Kim Thiessen was devastated when she learned about the 215 unmarked graves of children at the Kamloops, B.C., residential school earlier this year. “I didn’t know what to do with the sadness, despair and rage I felt,” says the 57-year-old mother and grandmother. After giving it some thought, she decided to…
Kindred Credit Union offers financial literacy workshops
Recent research shows a “high percentage of people . . . find personal financing incredibly intimidating,” says Frank Chisholm, director of brand and marketing for Kindred Credit Union. Some people feel guilty for starting financial planning too late in life. Others experience barriers when it comes to accessing financial products and services. Throw in a pandemic…
‘Numbers people’ are worth their weight in gold
Every church has a plethora of creative ministries, but a couple roles will show up everywhere. Tallying up deposits and withdrawals, monitoring budgets and submitting forms, the “numbers people”—treasurers and bookkeepers—toil in basement corners and home offices, month in and month out. Without these roles being faithfully administered, a church will be financially unviable, and…
‘Are ethical funds really ethical?’
“I don’t want to support banks,” says Natasha Wiebe, statistician at the University of Alberta and a member of Edmonton First Mennonite Church. “For me, banks are primarily about greed and are heavily invested in mining and fossil fuels.” For her personal banking needs, she has chosen to be part of her local credit union,…
2020 surpluses help regional churches face 2021
Financial giving from Mennonite Church Canada congregations and individuals was stable in 2020 despite pandemic economic uncertainty. By year-end, the regional church bodies and MC Canada had strongly positive financial results, based on better-than-expected revenue and lower-than-expected costs. In planning for 2021, the regional churches acknowledged continued pandemic uncertainty and directed their 2020 surpluses into…
