The affirmation of a new executive minister highlighted the annual meeting of Mennonite Church B.C. at Peace Mennonite Church in Richmond on Feb. 25. Ninety-eight percent of... Read More
News & Stories
Shel Boese, front row, center, was affirmed as the new MC B.C. executive minister on Feb. 25.
March 8, 2023 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
Doug Klassen shows no fear despite Mark Bigland-Pritchard’s mallet swinging. Bigland-Pritchard shared an object lesson to talk about the ‘theological pillars’ of the Climate Emergency Response Team’s mission. (Photo by Emily Summach)
In an effort to strengthen communication and relationships between the nationwide and regional churches, Doug Klassen, Mennonite Church Canada’s executive minister, paid a visit... Read More
March 8, 2023 | News | Emily Summach
Roland Sawatzky at The Manitoba Museum, where he works. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
As Roland Sawatzky gives a tour through The Manitoba Museum, his eyes light up and his hands animatedly point out the highlights and features of each gallery. It’s clear he’s... Read More
March 8, 2023 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
While parenting can be a struggle, parenting through foster care or adoption has extra challenges, says Jenn Hook in Thriving Families . Her experience as a counsellor with a... Read More
March 8, 2023 | News | Barb Draper
(Photo by Vlad Shapochnikov/Unsplash)
In a meeting on Jan. 30, 2022, Mennonite Church Canada’s governing body, Joint Council, affirmed climate action as a nationwide ministry emphasis. Eight days later, MC Canada... Read More
March 8, 2023 | News | Aaron Epp
CMU students helped organize the Manitoba premiere of ‘Custodians.’ From left to right: Danika Warkentin, Lindsay Scott, Daisy Belec, Abimbola Onijamah, Micah Peters Unrau and Arnaud Munezero. (Photo by Danika Warkentin)
A new documentary exploring questions of land and reconciliation in rural Saskatchewan will have its Manitoba premiere in Winnipeg this weekend. Custodians: A Story of Ancient... Read More
February 28, 2023 | Web First | Daisy Belec
Kauffman family members (left to right): Roger and Rachel, Neil and Simon, Ryan and Valerie (parents of Neil and Simon).
Two Ohio families with 300 years of history in the U.S. began to consider leaving America when the two brothers and their wives faced workplace transitions in 2021. Ryan and... Read More
February 22, 2023 | News | Barry Bergen
Pastor Ian Funk stands next to art at Uplands Elementary School. (Photo courtesy of Henry Krause)
Three panels with images of bears, butterflies, salmon and eagles grace the central hallway of Uplands Elementary School in Langley, B.C. Part of a joint project by the school and... Read More
February 22, 2023 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
Kenton Dyck and Victoria Exconde play lead roles in Maria and the Mennos. (Photo by Paul Plett)
The story of a young Filipina woman who marries into a Mennonite family and moves in with her in-laws will soon be broadcast on screens across Canada. Maria and the Mennos is a... Read More
February 22, 2023 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
Members of Superb Mennonite Church gather for a meal at Camp Shekinah in 1987. (Superb Mennonite Church / Mennoite Heritage Archives photo)
“People used to work at camp because it was the right thing to do. They’d say things like: ‘I’d work 18-hour days, was paid very little, never got breaks, took care of kids and... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Focus on Camps | Emily Summach
Three 2022 Fraser Lake Camp staffers, from left to right—Edlyn Laneva, Zoe Suderman, Gaelle Cineus—offer fist bumps to the campers. (Photo by Shadrack Jackman-McKenzie)
A long, long time ago—way back in 1955—Fraser Lake Camp was born in the hearts and minds of three Mennonite pastors: Emerson McDowell, John H. Hess and Glen Brubacher. Their... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Focus on Camps |
Shirley John, an Indigenous elder, enjoys strawberries with Silver Lake staff. (Silver Lake photo)
When thinking of the word “faith,” Silver Lake comes directly to mind. Camp provides me with the space to integrate faith into daily life. Campfire songs, morning and evening... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Focus on Camps | Ellie Cressman with Thomas Beech
Campers enjoy the water and sun at Camp Koinonia. (MC Manitoba photo by Darryl Neustaedter Barg)
The summer of 2022 was a re-opening in a multitude of ways. After two summers in various states of restrictions, we were able to be together in all of our spaces and to provide a... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Focus on Camps | Janet Peters
Fun at Hidden Acres. (Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp photo)
Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp was excited to celebrate 60 years of camp over the past season. It was a season of seeing new things that the Lord is doing, and reflecting on all that... Read More
February 22, 2023 | Focus on Camps | Emily Taylor
Ashleigh Singleton wears her faith on her arm. (Communitas photo by Angelika Dawson)
When Ashleigh Singleton reflects on her life, she sees God’s grace in the many turning points that have brought her to where she is today. “I am so blessed,” she says. “I’m just... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News | Angelika Dawson
“We’re looking for someone who can balance spiritual leadership with executive leadership . . . someone who can hybrid those two areas.” That’s how Arli Klassen, Moderator for... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News | Emily Summach
In a scene played out countless times in countless places, Esther Wiebe plays piano as her husband George conducts, in this case in Abbotsford, B.C. in 1986. (Photo by David Loewen. Courtesy of the Mennonite Historical Society of British Columbia)
Esther Wiebe—long-time music professor, pianist and composer—died in Winnipeg on January 26 at age 90. She is survived by her husband George; children, Robert (Verna) and Peter (... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News |
Andy Fenske, a former shelter participant, shared a bit of his own journey with homelessness and addiction and his excitement over the new facility. (House of Friendship photo)
House of Friendship held an official grand opening celebration of its new ShelterCare facility in Waterloo, Ont., on Jan. 19. This renovated former hotel will provide shelter and... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News |
(Photo by Aaron Epp)
Moses Falco is a Mennonite pastor who grew up Baptist, but for six weeks each year, he takes his cue from the Catholics. At Lent, Falco gives up eating meat—the food that... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News | Aaron Epp
Conrad Stoesz (left), president of the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada presents the Award of Excellence to Leonard Doell. (Photo by Graham Schellenberg)
When the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada wrapped up its meetings at Shekinah Retreat Centre near Waldheim, Sask., on Jan. 22, the freezing rain had started. Dick Braun... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News |
Arlyn Friesen Epp, director of CommonWord Bookstore and Resource Centre in Winnipeg. (Photo by Aaron Epp)
A new T-shirt celebrates women of the Bible who often get overlooked. The shirt features 11 phrases, including “Teach like Junia,” “Preach like Mary,” “Lead like Esther” and “Risk... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News | Aaron Epp
Amos Chin, left, and two Mennonite colleagues baptize young people in rural Myanmar. (Photo courtesy Amos Chin)
In her new memoir, The White Mosque , Sofia Samatar describes Mennonites as “something that seems very odd, at least at first: an evangelizing tribe.” This tribe, she says, “... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News | Paul Schrag
Emily Fieguth working in her office with the different hymnbooks. (Niagara United Mennonite Church archives photo)
The COVID pandemic brought many changes—some obvious, others not so much. Before March 2020, many church musicians sang and played hymns and songs regularly in their worship... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News | Maria H. Klassen
(istock photo by Evgeny Gromov/Betty Avery)
What sets apart faith-based justice work from secular causes? Do we lack spiritual depth? Are we too progressive for our own good? Ryan Dueck, Cynthia Wallace and Peter Haresnape... Read More
February 8, 2023 | News |
Grebel alumnus Jared Baribeau works on tech related to the manufacture of zero-waste textiles. (Conrad Grebel University College photo)
Like many Conrad Grebel University College alumni, Dale Brubacher-Cressman considers it important to make an impact on the causes he stands for. “My upbringing in the Mennonite... Read More
February 8, 2023 | Focus On Education | Farah Jurdi