God at work in the Church

Wideman Mennonite celebrates 200th anniversary

Hannah Taylor, left, Linda Ramer and Milissa Fortier stand beside an 'open door' welcoming guests to a barbecue and hymn sing that were part of Wideman Mennonite Church's 200th-anniversary celebrations over the weekend of July 23-24. (Photo by Joanna Reesor-McDowell)

Bob Wideman, chair of Wideman Mennonite Church’s council, and his young friends wait expectantly for the homemade ice cream to finish churning at the barbecue celebrating the Markham, Ont., church's 200th anniversary. (Photo by Joanna Reesor-McDowell)

Martha Reesor Schatti, left, and Lois Hoover enjoy pictures and stories on the timeline depicting the 200-year history of Wideman Mennonite Church in Markham, Ont. (Photo by Joanna Reesor-McDowell)

Hundreds of friends from near and far attended Wideman Mennonite Church‘s 200th-anniversary celebrations over the July 23-24, 2018, weekend. It was a culmination of special activities over the past few months that helped members mark this significant milestone.

The future of neo-Anabaptism

“We are not living in the 16th century, and whatever is called Anabaptism today inevitably looks and sounds quite different,” said Paul Martens during a recent talk entitled “Neo-Anabaptism is dead: Long live neo-Anabaptism” at the Menno Simons Centre in Vancouver. Hence “neo-Anabaptism” is a way of naming the connections between the past and present: a new way of understanding the past.

Returning to their roots

The history of Youth Farm Bible Camp is, in no small sense, the history of Mennonite Church Saskatchewan. In the early 1940s, the Mennonite Youth Society began holding retreats at the Dominion Experimental Farm, just south of Rosthern. Several individuals saw the neglected farm as an ideal site for the ministries of Saskatchewan Mennonites. Henry W. Friesen, Isaac Epp and J. C.

A hedge of protection

Forty Mennonite Church Manitoba clergy attended the area church’s biennial “Healthy boundaries” seminar, held this year at Carman Mennonite Church. Led this spring by clinical psychologist Lois Edmund, the conference is mandatory once every four years for all credentialled MC Manitoba pastors.

Vancouver pastor ordained

Lydia Cruttwell

Lydia Cruttwell, pastor of First United Mennonite Church in Vancouver, was ordained to the ministry on Pentecost Sunday, May 15, 2016, in a joint worship service with First United Spanish Mennonite Church. Mennonite Church B.C. executive minister Garry Janzen conducted the ordination. Also present were former First United Mennonite pastors Helmut Isaak and Ingrid Schultz, and retired MC B.C.

Finding God in my neighbourhood

Brian Quan (left) pastor of the Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church, and MCEC assistant moderator, and Missions Minister Brian Bauman give a plant to Jonathan Abraham, pastor of the Shalom Worship and Healing Centre, to welcome the congregation as an emerging congregation in MCEC. (Photo by Dave Rogalsky)

Jordan Thoms, church planter from Toronto, is introduced by Colin McCartney who works with supporting and training church planters in under resourced neighbourhoods in Toronto. Thoms also released a CD of his Christian infused rap music which was produced with help from the MCEC Legacy Initiatives Fund. (Photo by Dave Rogalsky)

Fred Driedger, Janet Woelk and Debbie Janzen welcome MCEC delegates to Leamington at the beginning of the birding season at Point Pelee National Park. (Photo by Dave Rogalsky)

Church planters Lyne Renaud and Michel Monnette, a married couple from near Montreal, share their vision of a church in the highly secularized environment of Quebec at the MCEC annual church gathering. (Photo by Dave Rogalsky)

Stuart Murray, author of The Naked Anabaptist, encouraged Mennonite Church Eastern Canada delegates to become mobile temples, moving out of their buildings and into the neighbourhood to speak out the good news of God’s redeeming presence.

Wisdom in legacy

Surrounded by personal mementos representing women of several generations, Ingrid Schultz speaks on the theme of legacy of faith at the MC B.C. women’s inspirational day April 30, 2018. (Photo by Amy Dueckman)

Recalling the legacies passed down through generations, women gathered on April 30, 2016, for the 77th annual Mennonite Church B.C. women’s Inspirational Day at Eben-Ezer Mennonite Church.

From the pews

For an hour each week we sit together. Most of us are mostly silent. Sometimes we listen, sometimes we sing, sometimes we wander off in thought. Sometimes I wonder what other people wonder about. What do they wish church would be? What do they really believe? What pains would they share? What recollections warm their souls? So I asked.

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