MC Alberta ends fiscal year with $95K surplus
Brenda Tiessen-Wiens, Mennonite Church Alberta’s moderator, said “Wow!” Peter Za Zor Sang, the secretary of the Calgary Chin Christian Church, kept repeatedly asking, “How blessed were we?” And Werner De Jong, pastor of Holyrood Mennonite Church in Edmonton, declared, “Grace danced!” when describing what God has done this past year in the regional church. Delegates…
Canada-Colombia relations revived
Mennonites in Colombia and Canada are reinvigorating a 76-year-old relationship. It started last fall when Iglesias Cristianas Menonitas de Colombia (IMCOL)—the Colombian conference of 25 congregations—shared a statement about violence, suffering and peacebuilding with Mennonite Church Canada and others. In addition to several video calls between leaders and others in the two countries in recent months,…
‘Think of others first’
With some Fraser Valley congregations insisting on their right to meet for public worship during the current pandemic, Mennonite Church B.C. leadership is encouraging its churches to follow current COVID-19 guidelines for gathering. “MC B.C. supports and encourages your congregation to follow the recommended restrictions of the B.C. government and the provincial health officer stipulating…
‘Covid composition’ wins Chronos competition
When the novel coronavirus pandemic broke out last spring, shutting down so many activities, Leonard Enns gave himself a challenge: to write a short choral work of three to four minutes in length each week. It is a commitment he kept up from April to June 2020. “A Little More Time,” the last of his…
Finding connection through communion cups
What does one do with a cracker box full of used communion cups? This was the dilemma facing Lois Siemens as she drove from Saskatoon to Winnipeg in July 2016. Siemens had just attended the Mennonite Church Canada assembly in Saskatoon. She recalls how, in the small group she was part of, a pastor had…
Stories give insight into refugee experience
Canadians who sponsor refugees often discover that the task comes with surprises and challenges. This collection of essays provides insight into Canada’s changing refugee policy and how difficult it can be for people who have been forced to flee their homes and settle in Canada. These are not academic papers; they are first-person accounts written…
A wizard, a child, a goblin and grief
A new book invites readers to explore themes of loss and grief while imagining their own story. Once a Wizard is a wordless children’s book created by Winnipeg author and illustrator Curtis L. Wiebe. It tells the story of Ari, who attends the funeral of Uncle Wizard. Later, Ari meets Uncle Wizard in a dream. Together,…
Spring 2021 List of Books & Resources
Theology, Spirituality The End of Religion: Encountering the Subversive Spirituality of Jesus, Expanded Edition. Bruxy Cavey. Herald Press, 2020, 375 pages. Cavey has updated and added five new chapters to his original book by this title, published in 2007. Jesus challenged the religious institutions of his day, says Cavey, and our spiritual connection with…
Digital corner
To watch “Who cares? The elderly among us… ” (length 1:27:30). In the light of COVID-19, a panel explores how the pandemic has challenged systems that care for elders and offers insight into the experience of seniors. Part of the Face2Face series offered by Canadian Mennonite University at cmu.ca/face2face. “Voices Together Launch III: For the…
