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Advent 1: A people of prayer, poetry and patience
It’s admittedly a little hard to know how to take this Matthew passage. Should I be reading it as some sort of an encouragement? Sounds more like a threat. What does it mean? My son Simon says it means we should avoid going anywhere in twos, and as much as possible aim for odd numbers instead (!)
Bauman receives music scholarship
Jeremy Bauman of Kitchener, in Year 3 at Wilifred Laurier University, has received a $3,500 Abner Martin Music Scholarship for 2010/11, announces Menno Singers, a community choir in the Waterloo Region of Ontario. Working towards a bachelor of music degree in Music Performance on Viola, Bauman is studying with Christine Vlajk of the Penderecki String Quartet.
Miller named MEDA regional director
Mike Miller, of Partridge, KS, has been named regional director of Resource Development for MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates). He will represent MEDA in the US Mid-West region from his home office in a small town northwest of Wichita.
New images of masculinity needed to stop violence against women
Canada not accountable for mining injustices
KAIROS is deeply disappointed by the defeat of Bill C-300 at its third reading in the House of Commons, according its recent newsletterThe private member’s bill, which would have created new mechanisms to hold Canadian mining, oil and gas companies accountable when they are found to be complicit in human rights and environmental violations abroad, was narrowly defeated by a vote of 140 to 134.<
Showalter resigns as missions president
Richard Showalter has resigned as president of Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM), effective in the fall of 2011. EMM Board Chair Joe Sherer says “Richard has been a strong and visionary leader with a passion to see the gospel go to areas without a Christian witness.”
International greeting of peace at Remembrance Day service
Two participants in MCC’s International Volunteer Exchange Program stood before a crowd of 600 people
New teaching resources for Old Colony teachers in Bolivia
Students attending one-room village schools in this Mennonite colony 60 kilometres south of Santa Cruz use slates instead of notebooks.
A European Islam needed for dialogue
Literary legend raises funds with book launch
Canadian literary legend, Rudy Wiebe and his wife Tena, have supported the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers since it began in the 1980s. “Refugees have always been of particular concern to me, because in 1930, before I was born, Canada accepted my parents and their five children as refugees from the Soviet Union.” Wiebe said.
Canadian Court Rules Dissident Churches Must Abandon Property
An Canadian appeals court has ruled in favor of an Anglican diocese in a property dispute with congregations opposed to same-gender blessings.
In a unanimous decision released on Monday (Nov. 15), British Columbia Court of Appeal Justice Mary Newbury, writing for a three-judge panel, dismissed an appeal by four breakaway parishes against a 2009 lower court ruling.
Africans accepting of other faiths
A vast majority of Africans are very accepting of people from other faiths, Dr. Luis Lugo of the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life, told the first forum sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Religion and Peace at Conrad Grebel University College.
Consultation Affirms Role of Sunday School
What will Sunday school look like in the future for Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada congregations? That was the question addressed at a consultation organized by Mennonite Publishing Network (MPN) earlier this month.
The consultation, held Nov. 1-3 at Amigo Centre, Sturgis, MI, brought together Christian education leaders and thinkers throughout MC USA and MC Canada.
Longhurst leaves MPN for Canadian Foodgrains Bank
John Longhurst, of Winnipeg, has been appointed director of resources and public engagement with
'Holy mischief in an age of fast faith'
Help for Indonesia volcano/flood victims
In Java, Indonesia, palm trees fold like umbrellas under the weight of volcanic ash spewing from Mount Merapi. On the outskirts of this black and white world, more than 380,000 people are waiting to see if anything is left of their homes and their livelihoods when the volcano finally stops erupting.
EMS offers new online communication course
“We are most like God because of our ability to communicate,”
Zimbabwe church groups warn over new elections
Taiwan leaders do 'wishing tree' for mission renewal
At their annual assembly held in Taipei Oct. 31-Nov. 3, pastors and delegates from Taiwan’s 21 Mennonite churches
Shortage of volunteers ends MCC relief sale in Winnipeg after 16 years
Faced with a shortage of volunteers willing to fill leadership positions, the committee that organizes the popular and successful Winnipeg MCC Festival and Relief Sale has dissolved.
Each year in June, the sale brought together about 3,000 people and contributed close to $100,000 for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) programs.
Warkentin named executive director of MC Manitoba
Ken Warkentin, pastor of the Niverville Community Fellowship, has been named the new executive director
Anabaptists inspired by Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization
At least 30 mission and church leaders represented Anabaptist-related communities at the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization here, October 17 to 24. The gathering, which attracted 4,000 mission leaders, pastors, and academics from 198 countries, grew out of the “Lausanne Movement” that followed the first congress in Switzerland, in1974.
MSCU top 50 'best employers'
Mennonite Savings and Credit Union (MSCU) has been named among the Top 50 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada for the second consecutive year, moving to 19th from our debut at 47th last year. The 2011 list will be published in the Nov. 8, 2010 issue of Maclean’s magazine, available on newsstands Oct. 28th.