Stephen Siemens is the Restorative Justice Co-ordinator for MCC Canada.
Are Mennonites ready to discuss the ugly facts of pornography? A new resource being published by MCC can help start the conversation.
Flowing with the River: Soundings from my Life and Journey. Sue Clemmer Steiner. Self-published, 2013, 174 pages.
Royden Loewen and Steven Nolt have undertaken a difficult challenge in writing a history of Mennonites in North America. The scope of the project is broad, not only in terms of time and geography, but also in terms of the wide spectrum of theological diversity among Mennonite communities across Canada and the United States.
Wilmer Martin, president and co-owner of TourMagination, sitting front left, and Yvonne Martin, back in sunglasses, enjoy tea while travelling in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan on a joint TourMagination/MEDA trip in 2007.
Yvonne Martin, right, observes an irrigation project in Zambia while travelling in 2011.
Yvonne Martin, retired from the Mennonite Savings and Credit Union, and her husband Murray, also retired, have travelled to many places—all of Canada, half of the U.S., and many locations in South and Central America, Europe, Africa, New Zealand and Asia—reminding one of Geoff Mack’s 1962 song, “I’ve Been Everywhere, Man,” sung by Canadian country music icons Stompin’ Tom Connors and Hank Snow
GRETNA, MAN.—At the start of September, Mennonite Collegiate Institute (MCI) eagerly welcomed 142 students for the 2013-14 school year, representing an 8 percent increase from the previous school year and the highest enrolment in three years. In its second year, the combined Grade 7/8 class increased by more than 50 percent, from 13 to 20 students.
Kathy Bergen
Marty Troyer
Kathy Bergen, recently of Ramallah in Israel/Palestine, and Marty Troyer, a pastor in Houston, Tex., share a breadth of ministries related to peace as Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) honours them with this year’s Alumni Ministry and Service Recognition.
Kevin Sherk, a second-year youth-work student, follows the red rubber ball (top left corner) during a game of Octasquash at Columbia Bible College’s first-year retreat.
Columbia Bible College launched its 78th academic year, welcoming 419 students onto campus.
A joyful greeting from Grebel’s upper-year students welcomes new students into the residence on ‘Move-in Day.’
Each year at Grebel’s commencement service, students, faculty and staff participate in an ‘Act of Community’ to symbolize the beginning of a new year together. This year, in honour of Grebel’s 50th anniversary, students pieced together a glass mosaic in the shape of the chapel’s stained-glass windows. This mosaic was glued onto a wooden box made from fallen Grebel trees, and the box will contain letters from the students in the form of a time capsule.
This school year marks Conrad Grebel University College’s 50th anniversary! As Grebel welcomed new students from coast to coast into residence and resumed teaching a variety of liberal arts courses at the University of Waterloo, the college community reflected on what has sustained it in its first 50 years and what could be done to ensure another strong 50 years.
Preliminary fall enrolment numbers show a 2.5 percent increase in students registered for classes at Canadian Mennonite University’s Shaftesbury campus and in its Outtatown program, compared to last year. Overall, 621 students have registered, with graduate program registrations increasing significantly by 15 percent.
Increased enrollment, new courses, new program initiatives, and a massive building project come together to bring a palpable excitement in the halls, classrooms and offices of Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg.
Aaron Kauffman, a senior at Goshen College, left, and Stan Grove, professor emeritus of biology at the college, remove a polypropylene mat that is used to harvest algae grown in the photo-bioreactor.
Freshly harvested algae sits on a cleaning table awaiting the drying process.
Dried algae that was grown by the AlgaeTown team. The dried algae contains oils and other materials that can be extracted for biofuels, pharmaceuticals and even food products.
The glowing green tanks on the second floor of the Goshen College Science Hall look like something from a sci-fi movie.
As a supply teacher with the Waterloo Region District School Board, I find our high schools exceptional communities of discourse. I enjoy young adults navigating the critical years towards adulthood, at the peak of their inquisitiveness and energy for living. I like their smiles. I call them “social chocolate.”
Leland Harder, a scholar of both Anabaptist history and Anabaptists of the late 1900s, died at the age of 86 in North Newton, Kan. Harder was a pastor, seminary professor and sociologist, who combined all of these areas to make significant contributions to the church during his lifetime of ministry.
Henry Regier exhibited a 160-year-old Kroeger clock face along with copies of Arthur Kroeger’s book, Kroeger Clocks.
Anne Schmidt Friesen treasures a teacup her mother saved when the family was forced to flee Ukraine during the Second World War.
Palmer Becker entered the room wearing his great-grandfather’s Siberian goat coat brought from Russia by his grandparents in 1875.
Wilbur Maust ‘found’ this piece of driftwood on Manitoulin Island, Ont., cleaned it up and mounted it.
Where could you go in your town to find a show of artifacts from three or four continents? Our 50 +/- group at Waterloo North Mennonite Church, Waterloo, did just that after we followed through with a suggestion from our previous meeting.
The title of Coming Home is an appropriate metaphor for this fascinating retelling of the last 60 years of Robert Kreider’s 93-year pilgrimage.
Citizenship: Paul on Peace and Politics. Gordon Mark Zerbe. Canadian Mennonite University Press, 2012, 276 pages.
Development of a new Sunday school curriculum called Shine is underway by publishers MennoMedia and Brethren Press. Writers are beginning this month on the first quarter of Shine: Living in God’s Light, which will be available for use in fall 2014.
More information does not mean we will make the right choices, but less information insures an impoverished understanding. As the initial wave of media attention over Idle No More wanes, it is now important for Mennonite Church Canada to continue to listen to and learn from indigenous communities in Canada.
Amish romance novels are big business, with the top authors selling millions of copies. From the 1990s to 2004, one or two Amish novels were published each year. By 2008, there were 12 new titles published annually, and by 2012 the yearly output was 85.
On March 18, shock waves rippled through the small community of New Hamburg, where the headquarters of Ten Thousand Villages Canada is located, and beyond, as store closures and staff lay-offs were announced.
Kenton Lobe, left, and Megan Klassen-Wiebe harvest basil at the urban Canadian Mennonite University Community Shared Agriculture farm.
“The health of the land is probably the best indicator of the health of the covenant between God and God’s people.”
Young chicken farmer Colin Brown of Carstairs, Alta., holds a Light Brahma chick in his hand. Note the feathered feet common to the type.
Colin Brown holds his favourite rooster, a Blue Cochin named Harley. ‘Harley is the nicest rooster I ever had,’ Colin says, adding, ‘I would sell one like this for about $30 to $35.’
Not many aspiring Alberta farmers find inspiration in Hawaii, but that is exactly what happened for 11-year-old Colin Brown of Carstairs, Alta. While on a family vacation three years ago, the Browns, who attend Bergthal Mennonite Church, Didsbury, rented part of a house and helped to care for the landlady’s animals, including a few chickens.
“This will be my last year!” say the 16-year-olds, sadly bemoaning the fact that after this summer they will be too old for Ontario Mennonite Music Camp, held each summer at Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo.
With its very name meaning “place of refuge” in the local Salish dialect and its location on Sto:lo territory, Camp Squeah has always felt an innate connection with first nations. A new initiative at the camp is exploring ways to make greater connections with local indigenous people.
‘Mudfest’ is a popular activity at Glenbrook Day Camp.
Paulo ‘blobs’ his friend off the water trampoline at Fraser Lake Camp.
As a parent, you know that for your son or daughter to be successful in life they need to be well rounded. They need to be strong academically, but also socially, emotionally, physically and spiritually. At Willowgrove, your child will discover that some of life’s greatest lessons are learned in unexpected places.
Nathan Warkentin leads a lakeside worship service at Silver Lake Mennonite Camp.
Sailing is a popular activity at Silver Lake Mennonite Camp.
“I’m a better person when I get home from camp.”
