Mark von Kampen, the Menno Office chaplain, and U of M student Andrew Enns at IMCA’s annual meeting. (Photo by Gladys Terichow)
After two years of online learning during the pandemic, Andrew Enns is finally experiencing in-person learning on the University of Manitoba campus.
Enns, a third-year student in the agriculture program, is now making new friends and reconnecting with former friends and acquaintances at the Menno Office.
Ethiopians gather to share meals and storytelling at Christmas. (Mennonite World Conference photo)
One of the most outstanding Christmas traditions among communities in Kenya is having vigils popularly know as “Kesha” on Christmas Eve. Most worshippers come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by singing hymns and carols, and even at times recreate the holy event by nativity plays.
In the wake of Hockey Canada’s recent scandal, some Mennonites are re-thinking what it means to be a hockey fan. (Flickr photo by Brad Saunders)
Like other Canadians, many Mennonites watch or play hockey. But in the wake of Hockey Canada’s recent sexual-assault scandal, some Canadian Mennonites are considering what it means to be a Mennonite hockey fan. Opinions differ.
Religious make-up of Canadian population. (Pie chart by Betty Avery)
Every 10 years Stats Canada collects religious data. Recently, World Vision and WayBase—another Christian organization—partnered to distill the numbers related to changes in religion from 2011 to 2021. Here is a distillation of their distillation.
(Flickr photo by Lawrence OP)
In the Christian tradition, the story of Christmas is grounded in the truth that God took on human form and came to live among us. Isaiah 7:14 says: “Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign.
(Mennonite World Conference photo)
“We raise a cry of alarm to the different faithful members of the Mennonite church around the world,” writes Reverend Alphonse Kisubi Kassa, a leader of Communauté des Églises des Frères Mennonites au Congo (CEFMC).
CMU faculty David Balzer, a key figure in launching the radio-style show, has more than a decade of experience working in broadcast radio in Winnipeg. (Screenshot by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
CMU faculty and staff: Karen Ridd, top left; Valerie Smith, top right; and Wendy Kroeker, bottom, are the hosts of ‘We Need to Talk: Voices of Nonviolent Resistance.’ (Screenshot by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Karen Ridd was struck by how many people around her immediately called for military troops to be sent.
Andy Brubacher Kaethler teaches a graduate-level course at AMBS in June 2022. (Photo by Peter Ringenberg)
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) is now accepting applications for a new doctor of ministry degree—the first of its kind.
Present-day Old Bethlehem. (Photo by Byron and Melita Rempel-Burkholder)
Christian Palestinians have asked the global church to stand with them, and Mennonites in Canada have now asked their government to do the same.
This image—entitled “Before Grace”—and the one opposite—entitled “Endless Cycle”—tell of artist Lynda Toews’ experience growing up in a violent home. They were part of the exhibit, ‘Breaking the Silence on Domestic Abuse,’ at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery a year ago. (Photo courtesy of Lynda Toews)
(Photo courtesy of Lynda Toews)
Research shows that rates of domestic abuse are just as prevalent in religious communities, and even higher in more conservative forms of religion, says Val Peters Hiebert, assistant coordinator of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Manitoba’s Abuse Response and Prevention Program, which helps congregations navigate disclosures of abuse and cases of sexual misconduct by clergy.
MDS volunteer Frank Guenther works on Johnny Parson’s house in Glace Bay, N.S. (Photo by John Longhurst)
As hurricanes go, Fiona wasn’t as bad as some when it hit Atlantic Canada—just lots of trees blown down into yards, and shingles and siding blown off houses.
Unless it was your tree, your yard or your roof and siding. Then it was a very big deal.
That’s how Nick Hamm sees it.
Jared Siebert, right, founder of the New Leaf Network, shares his story of encountering God in the failures of church planting, as Cindy Wallace of the Backyard Church in Saskatoon looks on.
In the current cultural climate, many churches, Mennonite ones included, are wrestling with the question of how to help members talk about faith and God’s work in their own lives. At a time when “evangelism” can seem almost like a four-letter word, how can people of faith bear witness to God’s movement in honest and authentic ways?
Greg Thiessen, manager of the Metzger Collection at Columbia Bible College, discusses the origins of dice, chess and other ancient games at the museum’s current display of ‘Let’s Play!’ The exhibit invites visitors to explore the origins of table games and their place in cultures throughout history. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
The commonality of playing games throughout history, and how and why civilizations have played those games, are the foci of the current featured exhibit, “Let’s Play!” at Columbia Bible College’s Metzger Collection museum.
Ian Thomas, left, of Kindred Credit Union and Malcolm Gladwell. Kindred was an important sponsor of the MCC fundraising dinner. (MCC photo by Shoua Vang)
Malcolm Gladwell, a widely acclaimed writer and podcaster, drew a crowd of 650 people to a fundraising dinner hosted by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario on Oct. 27 at Bingeman’s in Kitchener. As is his style, Gladwell wove together interesting stories, while the audience wondered about the connections between them.
The annual Christian-Muslim Interfaith Dialogue at All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Edmonton. (Photo by Suzanne Gross)
“Our theme for the dialogue today is ‘Drawing the circle Bigger,’ ” said Scott Sharman, emcee for the annual Christian-Muslim Interfaith Dialogue, held on Oct. 29 in Edmonton. “We are asking our speakers to help us understand how our call into dialogue as Muslims and Christians also calls us to broaden the dialogue further.
On Sept. 30, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, Dave Neufeld and Rebecca Seiling talked about Indigenous history and issues as part of the Amish bicentennial celebrations. This side of “The Landed Buggy” exhibit depicts the Ojibwe creation story. (Photo by Fred Lichti)
Among the artifacts and memorabilia at Steinmann Mennonite Church was a display of traditional Amish clothes and explanations of how dress changes at different stages of life. (Photo by Barb Draper)
Among the displays was a video with people speaking the German dialect still used in traditional Amish homes. The sign asks, ‘Can you speak Pennsylvania German?’ (Photo by Barb Draper)
Leah Cressman and her daughter Norah try to figure out what the antique tools are used for at the display of Amish artifacts and memorabilia at Steinmann Mennonite Church. (Photo by Fred Lichti)
Of all the events planned by the Amish bicentennial committee for this fall, the most popular were the hymn sings held at Maple View Mennonite Church near Wellesley, Ont., on Sept. 11, and at East Zorra Mennonite near Tavistock on Sept. 25. Both events had between 200 and 300 people.
On a Sunday in Advent, Point Grey traditionally sings the Christmas portions of Handel’s Messiah. This photo was from the fellowship’s 2015 rendition. (Photo by Janice Kreider)
Point Grey Inter-Mennonite Fellowship asked the British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren (MB) Churches to be released from conference membership, which was granted on Aug. 15.
Mackenzie Nicolle was baptized by Pastor Judith Friesen Epp at Home Street Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, a year ago this month. She waited until Manitoba’s public-health restrictions were temporarily loosened to be baptized. The province went into a full lockdown the following month. (Photo by Brenda Suderman)
Natasha Neustaedter Barg, left, transferred her church membership on the same Sunday morning that Mackenzie Nicolle, right, was baptized at Home Street Mennonite Church in Winnipeg in November 2021. The two enjoyed collaborating on the choosing of hymns that were sung during this service.
In a time when hope was hard to find, expressions of faith became even more significant. As a ritual necessitating proximity and touch, baptisms were something Mennonite churches across Canada struggled to maintain and accommodate within the public-health restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The warring rulers, Hocken Grabber and Loopen Snatchem, seek to make amends as Selah and her father look on. (Photo by Emily Summach)
Audience members settle into pews for ‘Selah’s Song.’ (Photo by Emily Summach)
Malia Rogers, Sara Jarvie-Clark, Zach Parson and Christina Leonard perform one of the original songs, written by Bryan Moyer Suderman. (Photo by Emily Summach)
Actors Christina Leonard and Malia Rogers take time to converse with a young fan after the show. (Photo by Emily Summach)
After a “too long” hiatus due to the pandemic, Theatre of the Beat is once again on tour. The theatre company, based out of Toronto, delighted audiences in Saskatchewan with its production of Selah’s Song recently.
A group shot of Mennonite Fellowship of Montreal congregants at their fall retreat. (Photo by Yeabsra Agonfer)
Earlier this fall, members of the Mennonite Fellowship of Montreal had the chance to escape the bustle of the city and submerge ourselves in nature. For the first time in three years, we were able to do an in-person retreat, and we were blessed to have as our speaker Wendy Janzen, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada’s eco-minister.
Pictured clockwise from top right: host Aaron Epp and panellists Allegra Friesen Epp, Doyle Wiebe and Niigaan Sinclair.
This September, Canada marked its second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Throughout the month, people talked around dinner tables, in the media and at workplace meetings, about Indigenous-Settler relations and the country’s history of residential schools.
The first families of First Mennonite Church, Kelowna, B.C., gathered for worship in homes. (Archival photo supplied by First Mennonite Church, Kelowna)
On Sept. 10, First Mennonite Church in Kelowna, B.C., held a meeting to decide on the congregation’s future directions. (Photo by Johann Funk)
Members and friends gathered to mark the 75th anniversary of First Mennonite Church, Kelowna, in a celebration service on Sept. 11. The service was a time of reflection on the church’s identity as an Anabaptist congregation, the individual and collective history of worship and service, and a renewal of the church’s commitment to the vision and purpose of the church for the future.
Lethbridge Mennonite Church and L’Arche join for worship, pre-pandemic. (Photo by Ryan Dueck)
“When L’Arche comes, the lack of pretense, the joy, the enthusiasm, the simple faith and the light in Jesus, it was and is so refreshing,” says Ryan Dueck, pastor of Lethbridge Mennonite Church. He has thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between his congregation and L’Arche Lethbridge, which has been cherished for three decades.
A small group of participants race through a course of off-road bicycling, canoeing and kayaking around Camp Assiniboia’s new lake and running through the forest. (Photos by Darryl Neustaedter Barg)
The CwM fundraising day ended with a performance played on a burning piano.
The first adventure race fundraiser for Camps with Meaning (CwM) brought more than a hundred people to Camp Assiniboia on Sept. 18 to celebrate another summer of camp and to support its future.
The Pedal, Dash, Paddle fundraiser raised $5,100 for the camp’s Covid Recovery Campaign, which will put the money towards camp operations.
An ensemble of singers, accompanied by Julia Toews on violin, performs traditional Mennonite hymns at the Mennonite Historical Society of B.C. fundraiser on Oct. 2. The theme for the afternoon was ‘Music that shaped our Mennonite souls.’ (Photo by Jennifer Martens)
“What we have heard and known we will tell the next generation,” says the watchword of the Mennonite Historical Society of B.C., and on Oct. 2 at South Abbotsford MB Church, the society marked its 50th anniversary with a celebratory afternoon of music in the Mennonite tradition.
