“Now I know what I should have been teaching.” These are the words of a retired history teacher after participating in a Kairos blanket exercise. As a blanket exercise facilitator... Read More
News & Stories
Willowgrove added the blanket exercise to its program in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, more specifically the call to educate Canadians. (Willowgrove photo)
February 12, 2020 | Focus on Camps | Geralde Reesor-Grooters
Jeremy Wiens.
There are extreme weather warnings throughout the province as the wind chill dips to -40C. Yes, it’s cold, but nothing is going to stop Jeremy Wiens from going to Mennonite Church... Read More
February 12, 2020 | Focus on Camps | Joanne De Jong
This is Fraser Lake Camp’s 65th year in operation. It serves 300 campers each summer on 110 hectares in the Canadian Shield. (Photo by Janien Reesor)
Stepping off that bus for the first time can be scary; it can be a big deal. The minds of many are on the edge of uncertainty and fear. If those steps take you into the embrace of... Read More
February 12, 2020 | Focus on Camps | Jason McDowell
Aerial view of Camp Assiniboia. (Photo by Darryl Neustaedter Barg)
Over the past few years, the structure of Mennonite Church Manitoba’s Camps with Meaning has undergone some major shifts. It has gone from a three-camp system to a two-camp model... Read More
February 12, 2020 | Focus on Camps | Janet Peters
Laura Moolenbeek rehearses a rap written by the boys cabin at Silver Lake Mennonite Camp. By the end of the week, campers were ready to perform the rap they prepared at the banquet before the whole camp. It was amazing to see kids coming out of their shells, and finding common ground in music. (Photo by Karen Cornies)
According to camp counsellor Laura Moolenbeek, Silver Lake Mennonite Camp’s first Rhythm and Song Camp was an incredible week for campers and staff. Seven- to 16-year-olds came... Read More
February 12, 2020 | Focus on Camps | Laura Moolenbeek
Regional representatives Jeremiah Choi (from left) Jumanne Magiri Mafwiri and Freddy Iban Barrón Tapia.
A composer, health manager and auto mechanic—all church leaders—have joined the Mennonite World Conference team. These newly appointed volunteer regional representatives complete... Read More
February 10, 2020 | Web First | Mennonite World Conference
Nadine Ens and her daughter Jenice Ens tie knots in a comforter at The Great Winter Warm-up in Saskatoon, Sask. (MCC photo by Myriam Ullah)
On Jan. 18, the forecast in more than 100 locations across three continents was identical: flurries of comforters. Despite heavy snowstorms in some areas, thousands of people... Read More
February 7, 2020 | Web First | Renata Buhler
Musicians, in foreground from left, Merrill Miller, Alissa Bender, Perry Blosser, Rosene Rohrer and Andrea Weber Steckly accompany a song during the Worship and Music Leaders Retreat on Jan. 10-12 at Laurelville retreat center in Mount Pleasant, Pa. (Photo by Kreg Ulery)
In the 1980s, Ken Nafziger drew inspiration from publisher and camp association president Levi Miller, and began leading a music retreat at Laurelville. It was initially designed... Read More
February 6, 2020 | Web First | Steve Carpenter
Tobia Veith, centre in blue top with scarf, teaches a group of Chinese women. (Photo courtesy of Tobia Veith)
Mennonite Church Canada is inviting prayers for its ministry partners during the coronavirus outbreak, and for all of those in China and across the world who have been affected by... Read More
February 3, 2020 | Web First | Mennonite Church Canada
Victoria Callow is currently living and serving in La Mesa, Colombia. (Photo courtesy of YouTube)
Our recent Focus on Education issue featured a reflection by Hannah Larson , a young woman serving in northeastern India with Mennonite Central Committee’s Serving and Learning... Read More
January 31, 2020 | Web First | Aaron Epp
Bruxy Cavey addresses the Council of International Anabaptist Ministries at its annual conference, held from Jan. 14 to 16 at The Meeting House in Oakville, Ont., where he is the senior pastor. Cavey called for Jesus-centred, relational discipleship as the way to engage new missional church leaders. (Photo by Janet Bauman)
Bruxy Cavey’s message to mission and service leaders in Anabaptist organizations was plain. “We have lost a younger generation of leaders because the church has been so divided,”... Read More
January 29, 2020 | News | Janet Bauman
This feeding centre in Trans-Volga, Russia, circa 1922, was one of 140 MCC-supported centres in southern Russia that distributed 38,600 rations daily at the peak of the relief effort in 1922. This kitchen excelled most other kitchens in cleanliness and orderliness. (MCC photo)
One hundred years ago, calls for help came from Mennonites in southern Russia, where war, disease and famine had left them in desperate straits. “Brethren! Help us, we are... Read More
January 29, 2020 | News | Linda Espenshade
Bill Kruger
“We always knew Dad was a special man,” said Chuck Kruger, “but we have come, after his passing, [to learn] more about the influence he had in many ways.” William (Bill) Kruger... Read More
January 29, 2020 | People | Donna Schulz
Nordheim Mennonite Church in the village of Winnipegosis, Man., is a four-hour drive northwest of Winnipeg.
Mennonite Church Canada is characterized by various geographic concentrations of churches, some thicker than others. But a few congregations exist far from any other MC Canada... Read More
January 29, 2020 | News | Will Braun
A 2019 Lenten service at Springridge Mennonite Church in Pincher Creek, Alta. Plants were grown at the front of the sanctuary and then compared to how congregants nurtured God-like growth in their own hearts and lives. Pastoral leader Tany Warkentin is pictured at right. (Photo by Del Willms)
A small rural church had a 0.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) pastor. Now its pastor has retired and it decides to hire a 0.3 FTE pastor. Is this realistic? How will the new pastor... Read More
January 29, 2020 | News | Joanne De Jong
Linda Tiessen, who recently retired from her administrative duties at the Leamington (Ont.) Mennonite Home, is pictured in front of the facility with her granddaughter Larissa. (Photo by Zach Charbonneau)
Growth, change and progress are three big words that come to mind when looking back over Linda Tiessen’s time as administrator of Leamington Mennonite Home. And after serving... Read More
January 29, 2020 | People | Zach Charbonneau
Frigid, snowy days don’t occur often in B.C.’s Fraser Valley but, when they do, some homeless seniors have at least one warm place to spend the night. MCC B.C.’s Material Aid warehouse provides temporary sleeping space for street people, operated by a local ministry. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
By day, the material aid warehouse at Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) B.C.’s headquarters is used to store and process items such as school kits and blankets to be shipped... Read More
January 29, 2020 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
First-year residents Grace Enns, left, Amy Wiens, Melody Turner and Sydney Martens enjoy slices of bread as students gather for Grebel’s weekly Community Supper. (Photo by Jen Konkle)
Every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., students, staff and faculty at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ont., gather to share a meal called Community Supper. This tradition... Read More
January 29, 2020 | People | Katrina Steckle
(Photo: Conrad Grebel University College)
This recipe is from the kitchen staff at Conrad Grebel University College. (Read about the recipe's significance here .) This recipe makes 22 very large loaves 15 tablespoons... Read More
January 29, 2020 | People |
Notes of peaceful encouragement are written to those caught up in the political protests in Hong Kong. (Photo courtesy of Mennonite World Conference)
A joint delegation from the Peace and Deacons commissions of Mennonite World Conference (MWC) visited three Mennonite churches in Hong Kong, other denominations and some... Read More
January 28, 2020 | Web First | Elina Ciptadi
Katie Sowers, pictured with her mother at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California last month. Sowers is the second woman to hold a coaching position in the NFL. (Photo courtesy of Instagram.com/katesowers5)
Katie Sowers will make history next weekend as the first woman and first openly gay person to coach during the Super Bowl. The 33-year-old is an offensive assistant coach for the... Read More
January 24, 2020 | Web First | Aaron Epp
This store in New Hamburg, Ont. is one of the TTV locations that will close by the end of May.
Mennonite Central Committee Canada has announced the closure of the corporate operations of Ten Thousand Villages Canada, its fair-trade social enterprise. The closure includes... Read More
January 21, 2020 | Web First | Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite World Conference staff have released a new video in advance of Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday. The video highlights MWC's work around the world in 2019. (Photo courtesy of MWC)
A new video highlights what happened in the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) in 2019. Released in advance of Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday, which takes place this weekend (... Read More
January 17, 2020 | Web First | Aaron Epp
The sign in front of Calvary Church in Ayr, Ont., hints at the significant shift taking place as the church merges with Calvary Pentecostal Assembly of nearby Cambridge. (Photo by Janet Bauman)
In September 2019, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada reported: “We announce with great sadness that River of Life, Calvary Church Ayr (Mennonite), and Milverton Mennonite Fellowship... Read More
January 15, 2020 | News | Janet Bauman
'He recently left a Mennonite Church Canada congregation that professes open-mindedness and inclusivity. I wanted to know why.' (Image by Arek Socha/Pixabay)
A Mennonite elder once told me, “We need to listen to people who leave the church.” John Reimer (a pseudonym) is one such person. A soft-spoken grandpa, he recently left a... Read More
January 15, 2020 | News | Will Braun