A complicated centenary
A view from the train window during the “Memories of Migration” tour. (Photo by Shelisa Klassen)
The premise of the “Memories of Migration” Russlaender centenary train tour is a complicated one.
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Consider the birders
An eastern bluebird prepares to feed its chicks. (Photo by Merri-Lee Metzger)
Birders flock to the bus windows during an excursion as part of the 2023 Camps with Meaning birding retreat. (Photo by Christina Janzen)
A Nashville warbler. (Photo by John Pries)
When Gordon Janzen was searching for a way to unwind, he found it by looking up.
Around 10 years ago, the Winnipegger realized he was working a lot and didn’t have many hobbies. Looking to develop his interests outside of work, Janzen got a pair of binoculars and started birding.
The gift of limited options
Springridge Mennonite Church attendees sing together on Christmas morning last year. (Supplied Photo)
Tany Warkentin (Supplied Photo)
This past spring, Mennonite Church Alberta held its first in-person annual delegate sessions in four years. Representatives from across the province were in attendance. Who hosted this grand gathering? One of the smallest churches in the province: Springridge Mennonite.
Anabaptism at 500 seeking story ideas for book
John D. Roth, project director of Anabaptism at 500. (Jace Longenecker photo for MennoMedia)
Anabaptists around the world are gearing up to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Anabaptist movement in 2025. To mark this historic occasion, MennoMedia’s Anabaptism at 500 project has announced the creation of a commemorative story book that will capture the diverse and inspiring stories of Anabaptist witness from around the globe.
Million-dollar fraud hits Winnipeg church
Adelia Neufeld Wiens is a deacon at Bethel Mennonite Church, where 35 households were defrauded of more than $1 million. (Photo by Aaron Epp)
Members of a Winnipeg church are feeling shocked and bewildered after the revelation that multiple households in the congregation were defrauded of a total of more than $1 million.
Bus tour visits Stó:lō sites in B.C.
Sonny McHalsie (in red) tells stories of Kawkawa Lake, or Q’owqewem Lake, to Mennonites on an Indigenous tour in B.C. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
A nine-hour bus tour gave 30 participants a taste of the history of places that Indigenous people had inhabited for 10,000 years prior to the arrival of Mennonites in B.C. in the 1930s. The July 14 tour was guided by Sonny McHalsie, a cultural advisor and historian at the Stó:lō Nation’s Research and Resource Management Centre located in Chilliwack, B.C.
High school students visit Middle East
Westgate students on the roof of the Ecce Homo Convent in Jerusalem. (Photo by James Friesen)
On the last night of Westgate’s 2023 Middle East trip, students and staff met on the rooftop of the Ecce Homo Convent in the Old City of Jerusalem to reflect on their experiences. Fittingly, their gathering was interrupted by the call to prayer echoing across the city. No one seemed to mind.
CMU launches master’s program in spiritual care
(Supplied Photo)
Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) has added a new master of arts degree to its Graduate School of Theology and Ministry (GSTM) programming. As of fall 2023, students will be able to earn a Master of Arts in Spiritual Care, in addition to the three pre-existing master’s options: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Theological Studies and Master of Arts in Christian Ministry.
Songwriters’ retreat creates new music for churches
Nichelle Bauman (left) and George Makinto work on a new song. (Photo by Anneli Loepp Thiessen)
Nichelle Bauman (right) along with Emily Ralph Servant (left) and Nathan Grieser, at an Anabaptist songwriters’ retreat. (Photo by Anneli Loepp Thiessen)
Nichelle Bauman felt pressure going into a weekend retreat of Mennonite songwriters. What would she come up with? What could she contribute? She also had a strong desire to learn.
Foodgrains fundraiser in Leamington
Women prepare food for a Canadian Foodgrains Bank fundraiser in Leamington. (Photo by Denis Wiens)
The 10-acre corn field owned by Tiessen Acres near Leamington, Ontario, has a purpose. The proceeds of the field will be donated to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB), as part of the Sun Parlor Growing Project.
Tim Khoo’s experience at Grebel leads to baptism
Asa Suderman-Gladwell (left), chaplain Jessica Reesor Rempel, Savannah Edwards and Tim Khoo at a Grebel chapel service. (Photo by Jen Konkle)
Conrad Grebel University College student Tim Khoo. (Photo by Margaret Gissing)
When Timothy Khoo was choosing a university, he looked for something that stood out. “I kept hearing about this Mennonite residence from my family and church community, and it piqued my interest,” he said. Khoo is now a second-year Honours Physics student at the University of Waterloo and a returning upper-year student at Conrad Grebel University College.
Niagara church supports seasonal ag workers
Seasonal farm workers at The Farmworkers Hub in Virgil, Ontario. (Supplied photo)
The May 4 issue of Canadian Mennonite stated that “Niagara United Mennonite Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, will use a grant of $5,000 to build a laundry facility for seasonal workers who come to the area each year from Jamaica and Mexico to work on local farms.”
Last German service held at St. Catharines United Mennonite
The choir singing at the last German service at St. Catharines United Mennonite Church. (Photo by Mary Klassen)
On June 4, St. Catharines United Mennonite Church held its last German language service, marking the end of 78 years of providing support for the spiritual life of German speakers in the language of their heart.
Ex-prisoners plant church
Recent baptisms at a Meserete Kristos Church congregation planted by two ex-prisoners. (Supplied photo)
Eighteen people were recently baptized at a church that grew out of prison ministry by Ethiopian Mennonites. (Supplied photo)
The following is an excerpt from the June 2023 issue of MKC News, the newsletter of Meserete Kristos Church (MKC), the Anabaptist denominational body in Ethiopia. Reprinted with permission.
Mennonite Centre building in Ukraine under Russian control
Oksana Druchynina discovered this photo of the room that was her office before Russians took over the Mennonite Centre in Molochansk, Ukraine. (Supplied Photo)
Ukrainian homes flooded by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. (Supplied photo)
Ukrainian homes flooded by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. (Supplied photo)
The level that flooding reached in a home flooded by destruction of the Kakhovka dam. (Supplied photo)
At first glance, the office appears unremarkable, but for the photograph of Vladimir Putin on a bookcase and the Russian flag on the desk. The woman in the picture looks awkward, her hands seem to rest uneasily, holding neither paper nor pen.
What is a picture worth?
This photo sold for over $18,000 in a thrift store silent auction. (Photo by Tim Albrecht)
In May, a painting sold for $18,900 at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Christian Benefit Thrift Shop in St. Catharines, Ontario.
The church that builds together, stays together
Volunteers work on repairing the roof of a hurricane damaged home on Cape Breton Island. (Photo courtesy of Heather Wiebe)
Volunteers, crew and staff of the MDS Cape Breton project. (Photo courtesy of Heather Wiebe)
With suitcases full of work clothes and spirits full of enthusiasm, 13 people from Mount Royal Mennonite Church in Saskatoon traveled to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The group served together on the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) project to rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Fiona in 2022.
Mennonite church hosts electric vehicle showcase
Electric cars lined up in front of Osler Mennonite Church. (Photo by Patty Friesen)
Every year, the town of Osler, Saskatchewan, celebrates July 1 with a pancake breakfast; a parade with horses, old cars and tractors; rollkuchen and watermelon at the community hall; and, finally, fireworks and a concert. It’s an amazing accomplishment, given that many small towns no longer have the resources to
Housebarn recreates the past
The new housebarn at the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, B.C. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
Jenny Bergen demonstrates a sitting bench that doubles as a children’s bed. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
A glimpse into how Mennonites lived and farmed a century ago awaits those who tour the recently opened housebarn at Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, B.C. The design is a slightly scaled down replica of a housebarn owned by Mennonites in the Russian village of Neu-Osterwick near Zaporizhzhia.
A voice for peace
Pastor Reuben Tut at the 2023 Mennonite Church Alberta annual gathering. (Photo by Ruth Bergen Braun)
Pastor Reuben Tut and his church, Edmonton South Sudanese Church, celebrated God’s calling of Tut at his ordination on May 13. God’s call has pursued Tut through doubts, civil wars and across two continents.
Cheryl Braun ordained in Manitoba
Ordination celebration outside Glenlea Mennonite Church. (Supplied Photo)
The Glenlea Mennonite Church family was thrilled to ordain Cheryl Braun on June 11, in the presence of not only the local congregation but also many of Cheryl’s friends and family who came to show their support.
Carrie Lehn ordained at Ottawa Mennonite
Cathrin van Sintern-Dick (left), Carrie Lehn and Lou Bruno, at Lehn’s ordination. (Photo by Dennis Gruending)
Carrie Lehn, associate pastor of Ottawa Mennonite Church, was ordained in the Sunday morning service on June 18. For Carrie, it was a sacred and special moment, and a milestone affirmed and celebrated by Ottawa Mennonite Church (OMC), where she has worked for the past decade.
From postman to pastor
Ian Funk, pastor of Langley Mennonite Fellowship, recently graduated from AMBS. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
After eight years of study, Ian Funk was thrilled to finally receive his Master of Divinity degree in May, albeit in absentia.
Funk, pastor of Langley Mennonite Fellowship, completed his MDiv courses from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), located in Elkhart, Indiana, through the seminary’s distance education program, which combines online and hybrid classes.
Something to tock about
An exhibit now on display at Gallery in the Park in Altona, Manitoba features more than 20 Mennonite clocks. (Photos courtesy of the Kroeger Clocks Heritage Foundation)
Arthur Kroeger of Winnipeg, who died in 2015, revitalized the tradition of Kroeger clockmaking. (Photo courtesy of the Kroeger Clocks Heritage Foundation)
A detailed image of the 'Schulz' clock. (Photo courtesy of the Kroeger Clocks Heritage Foundation)
Clockmaking was a skilled trade among certain Mennonites for more than two centuries, and a striking exhibit at Gallery in the Park in Altona, Manitoba, displays the art and heritage of the Kroeger clocks, as they are commonly known.
Pastor adds music producer to his resumé
David Cramer with his copy of Major Awards. (Photo courtesy of David Cramer)
Pastor, professor and rock music impresario—David Cramer’s CV is diverse.
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