God at work in the Church

U.S. pastor elected as next MWC president

Church leaders pray for J. Nelson Kraybill, second from left, president-elect of Mennonite World Conference (MWC). Also pictured from left: Danisa Ndlovu of Zimbabwe, MWC president; Ervin Stutzman, Mennonite Church U.S.A. executive director; and Janet Plenert of Canada, MWC vice president.

Larry Miller, left, general secretary emeritus of Mennonite World Conference (MWC), and Thobekile Ncube of Zimbabwe hold a quilt that was given to Miller at the MWC General Council meeting in Switzerland in May. Every delegate brought a piece of fabric, and in three days the pieces were assembled.

It took three impromptu songs to count the ballots and confirm the results, but Anabaptist leaders from around the world elected J. Nelson Kraybill as president-elect of Mennonite World Conference (MWC) at the organization’s General Council meetings from May 20 to 27 in Basel.

Migrant church grows new roots

Christuskirche Niedernberg members—Jenny Spenst, 24, left, Tatjana Hagelgans, 23, Alexander Spenst, 49 (Jenny’s father-in-law and one of three church elders), and Johann Siemens, 23—enjoy a sunny day after the Sunday morning worship service on May 20 in Niedernberg, Germany.

Jenny Spenst is fascinated by her parents’ stories of life in the Soviet Union.

Migrant church grows new roots

Christuskirche Niedernberg members—Jenny Spenst, 24, left, Tatjana Hagelgans, 23, Alexander Spenst, 49 (Jenny’s father-in-law and one of three church elders), and Johann Siemens, 23—enjoy a sunny day after the Sunday morning worship service on May 20 in Niedernberg, Germany.

Jenny Spenst is fascinated by her parents’ stories of life in the Soviet Union.

Dusty Bibles?

Dusting off the Bible? Does that mean we aren’t using our Bibles, or is it an overstatement meant to capture our attention? Perhaps it implies looking at scripture with new eyes, learning to see beyond the familiar so that we can apply biblical teachings to life in today’s world.

Looking at life differently now

Derek Janzen, a Grade 12 student at MCI, Gretna, Man., plays with young children at Hope Community Centre in Kenya.

MCI student Sarah Martens looks at life differently now after her visit to Hope Community Centre in rural Kenya, where she got to play around with orphaned and abandoned children like Rebecca during a spring break trip.

“You can watch a thousand World Vision commercials and still not fully understand what life is like for some,” says Emily Hildebrand, one of 12 students from Mennonite Collegiate Institute (MCI), Gretna, Man., who spent her spring break living and working with the children of Hope Community Centre in Kenya.

Looking back, looking forward

Indigenous carver Isadore Charters, left, directs Don Klaassen, in the fine art of wood carving. The totem pole will be exhibited at the B.C. Truth and Reconciliation Commission meetings in Vancouver in September 2013, in recognition of the Canadian government’s role in perpetrating harm upon First Nations peoples through residential schools.

Celebrating 75 years together as a church in British Columbia, Mennonite Church B.C. came together to celebrate God’s presence with the theme, “Yesterday, today, forever,” on March 3 at its annual general meeting.



Being a Faithful Church process avoids sexuality issue

Marla Langelotz, pastor of Sargent Avenue Mennonite Church, Winnipeg, participates in a table discussion at last month’s Mennonite Church Manitoba leadership seminar.

While the conversation and participation were good at Sargent Avenue Mennonite Church on a Saturday morning to discuss the Being a Faithful Church (BFC) document, Pastor Marla Langelotz told a Mennonite Church Manitoba leadership seminar on Feb. 24 that she was frustrated that participants didn’t engage the sexuality issue.



Seeking to be a ‘faithful church’

MC Manitoba board member Dave Regehr, standing, circulates among the delegates to listen and respond to questions as last month’s annual area church meeting.

“Church life as we know it is changing,” Willard Metzger, executive director of Mennonite Church Canada, told delegates at the annual MC Manitoba meetings in Winnipeg last month. “Indicators suggest that the structures that served us so well in the past can no longer be sustained.”



The merger God has been waiting for

Sandy Keomany, left, Venus Moungsouvanh and Joanne Sou perform a traditional Lao dance at the amalgamation service of Lao Canadian Evangelical Mennonite Church and Toronto United Lao Mennonite Church.

It was with singing, dancing and, of course, a potluck that two Lao Mennonite churches in Toronto celebrated their amalgamation late last year. After a seven-year separation, Lao Canadian Evangelical Mennonite Church and Toronto United Lao Mennonite Church became one again on Dec. 11.

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