New churches, new spending at MCEC gathering
At its annual gathering, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada welcomed new congregations, announced a break from status quo spending and heard bold challenges from Fanosie Legesse and Rebecca Riek. During the evening worship service on Friday, April 28 in the gym at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, two congregations were welcomed as provisional members of MC Eastern Canada.…
Bridge Building ministry reaches into community
Decolonization, interfaith dialogue, intersectionality—these terms can feel heady and intimidating, but Suzanne Gross says they can all happen through the well-practiced Mennonite art of hospitality. Gross serves as Bridge Building Facilitator for Mennonite Church Alberta. MC Alberta has a long history of intercultural, interfaith work. Dona Entz built the foundation for the ministry. For 10…
Philippines learning tour
Over brunch on Sunday, April 23, at Niagara United Mennonite Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, two members of the church shared about the Mennonite Church Canada learning tour to the Philippines. Dorothea Enns and her niece Anita Dong spoke about the time that they and 10 others spent in the Philippines during the January 12 to…
Film society screens Women Talking
An Abbotsford audience had the chance to view and discuss Women Talking, the film that has generated buzz in both Mennonite and Hollywood circles. The movie had not been shown in the local theatre, but Aaron Dawson, president and founder of the Abbotsford Film Society, arranged a screening at the Mennonite Heritage Museum in April.…
Grebel grandma
While cousins Adam and Owen Roth had grown to “love the Grebel community,” as first-year students at Conrad Grebel University College, one crucial thing was missing from their new lifestyle: supper at Grandma’s. “Before we came to Grebel, Owen and I would eat meals at Grandma Leola Roth’s house every week,” said Adam. “When we…
Women walk through the wilderness
Between conversation and quiche, B.C. women were inspired, touched and encouraged as they heard one another’s stories at this year’s Women’s Day. The Mennonite Church B.C. annual event took place at Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Abbotsford on May 6. Organizer Janette Thiessen said she chose this year’s theme—Triumph over Trials—in order “to encourage us that…
Author addresses collective trauma in new book
A new book aims to help Christians process collective traumas. In All Our Griefs to Bear, seminary professor Joni S. Sancken suggests practices that church leaders and members can use to nurture resilience and compassion as they work through the traumas they face, including the pandemic. The book, published last November by Herald Press, is…
Concussion inspires albums about the Psalms
If Mike Janzen hadn’t been thirsty one night seven years ago, it’s possible he wouldn’t have recorded his three most recent albums. In 2021, the Toronto singer-songwriter released the first two volumes of The Psalms Project—19 songs he composed while recovering from a debilitating concussion. Janzen got up in the middle of the night in…
