News & Stories

Melanie Kampen camped out at the Native Women’s Protest site near the Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg earlier this month, to protest the government’s lack of response to the 1,182 missing and murdered indigenous women from across Canada. (Photo by Chris Swan)

On a very windy, cold and dark Oct. 3 night, Steve Heinrichs, director of indigenous relations for Mennonite Church Canada, and a few others strung 20 dresses on fishing line on... Read More
October 22, 2014 | God at work in the World | By Evelyn Rempel Petkau

Goshen (Ind.) College president Jim Brenneman, left, presents the Culture for Service Award to alumnus Ray Funk at the college’s fall convocation and homecoming on Oct. 3. (Goshen College photo by Brian Yoder Schlabach)

“Everything I’ve done has been a team sport,” quips Ray Funk as he reflects on his life’s achievements. The community developer and former Member of Parliament was awarded Goshen... Read More
October 22, 2014 | God at work in Us | By Donna Schulz
Theology, Spirituality Good News: The Advent of Salvation in the Gospel of Luke . Darrin W. Snyder Belousek. Liturgical Press, 2014, 140 pages. As the executive director of... Read More
October 22, 2014 | Focus On Books & Resources | Compiled by Barb Draper
William Loewen has written a theological book disguised as a novel. This makes it challenging to classify, but it also opens new possibilities for how it can be used. I would... Read More
October 22, 2014 | Focus On Books & Resources | Review by Barb Draper
After getting a coffee I sat down to read The Winter We Danced. On the table next to me I noticed a book someone left behind. On the cover was a bold notice stating “2.5 million... Read More
October 22, 2014 | Focus On Books & Resources | Reviewed by David Driedger
Village houses face the main street with barns attached behind and fields beyond that. Young people gather for “singings.” A bone setter relieves headaches by carefully... Read More
October 22, 2014 | Focus On Books & Resources | Reviewed by Elma Martens Schemenauer

Called to Be a Soldier, by Darrell Frey.

Amsey Martin, an Old Order Mennonite deacon and long-time parochial school teacher, loves books. While most people in his community are farmers, he says that sitting in his study... Read More
October 22, 2014 | Focus On Books & Resources | By Barb Draper

Next year’s MWC Assembly will feature exuberant singing by people from around the world. (Credit: Merle Good)

In less than a year from now, our sisters and brothers from around the world, and from across North America, will be coming to Harrisburg to worship and fellowship with us. PA... Read More
October 16, 2014 | Web First | Phyllis Pellman Good

Babu Ayindo (standing, center) and Doreen Ruto, both Kenyan graduates of EMU's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, co-facilitated the summertime training of USAID employees in South Sudan’s capital city, Juba, along with CJP staff. (Photo courtesy of Elaine Zook Barge)

Nearly 100 people in South Sudan, all employees of the U.S. government, recently benefited from intensive trauma awareness and resilience trainings facilitated by Eastern... Read More
October 16, 2014 | Web First | Lauren Jefferson

Author and disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada (Photo courtesy of Joni Eareckson Tada)

It has been heartbreaking these last few days to hear the story of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old, beautiful young woman diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor and given only... Read More
October 16, 2014 | Web First | Joni Eareckson Tada
A 50th wedding anniversary traditionally calls for a gift of gold, but Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Manitoba is getting something a little different for their 50th... Read More
October 14, 2014 | Young Voices | Rachel Bergen
It’s easy to get fed up with talking about things while studying in college or university; the desire to do something hands-on can be overwhelming. When my religious studies... Read More
October 8, 2014 | Young Voices | Seth Ratzlaff
It’s 11 weeks until Christmas, and if you’re looking to buy something for the fun-loving Mennonite on your shopping list, Jonathan Kornelsen has just the items for you. Kornelsen... Read More
October 8, 2014 | Young Voices | Aaron Epp
"Youth" is a strange term for people from 18 to 30-something,Read More
October 8, 2014 | Young Voices | Rachel Bergen

Participants at the Shekinah Retreat Centre’s Quilting and Scrapbooking Retreat gather for a group photo on their final day together. Many of the women are holding items they crafted during the three-day event.

Assembling random pieces of fabric or paper to create something beautiful is what quilters and scrapbookers do. And they do it with gusto at the Shekinah Retreat Centre’s annual... Read More
October 8, 2014 | God at work in the Church | Story and Photos by Donna Schulz

Volunteer exhaustion and the difficulty recruiting more and younger volunteers are a big part of the reason the Morris MCC Relief Sale is shutting down after 33 years, but George Klassen, chair of the now defunct board, identifies other reasons as well: ‘People do not need “stuff” as much as they used to.’ (Credit: Kristian Jordan)

“It almost felt like a huge sigh of relief coming from the volunteers,” said George Klassen as he closed the books of the Morris (Man.) Mennonite Central Committee Relief Sale. On... Read More
October 8, 2014 | God at work in the World | By Evelyn Rempel Petkau

Kevin Peters Unrau, right, sits with Stephan Barton, his teacher, on the day Unrau achieved his first-level black belt in Aikido. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Unrau Peters)

Kevin Peters Unrau thinks that the Mennonite Church has gotten Jesus wrong. When Jesus calls on his followers to “not resist evildoers” in Matthew 5:39, many Mennonites have... Read More
October 8, 2014 | God at work in Us | By Dave Rogalsky
Managed chaos. That’s how Rachel Gerber describes parenting three young sons. Herald Press has published her first book, a devotional memoir, Ordinary Miracles: Awakening to the... Read More
October 8, 2014 | Artbeat |

The At-Tuwani Muslim women’s co-op leader talks to tour group members about her life beside an Israeli settlement. (MennoJerusalem photo)

“Have you ever watched those TV court programs where a witness is brought to the stand and asked to raise his hand and swear to tell the truth?” I ask my Israel-Palestine tour... Read More
October 8, 2014 | Focus On | Glenn Edward Witmer

Hearing the stories of both Israelis and Palestinians was a highlight of the Middle East learning tour Seth Ratzlaff participated in two years ago. (Photo by Seth Ratzlaff)

It’s easy to get fed up with talking about things while studying in college or university; the desire to do something hands-on can be overwhelming. When my religious studies... Read More
October 8, 2014 | Young Voices | Seth Ratzlaff
Nearly nine years ago, I lay in a hospital bed with a sleeping baby in my arms, engulfed by fear. Mine wasn’t the typical anxiety of new mothers. We had just received a diagnosis... Read More
October 2, 2014 | Web First | Amy Julia Becker
Cindy Klassen, Canadian speed skater, Olympic and world champion, is scheduled to participate in Mennonite-sponsored events in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. region. On Oct. 4, 2014... Read More
October 2, 2014 | Web First |
Karen Allen is originally from Kempton Park, South Africa, near Johannesburg, but she currently lives in Winnipeg. Why on earth would she choose to live there, you ask? You aren’t... Read More
September 24, 2014 | Young Voices | Rachel Bergen
Ask Winnipeg filmmaker Paul Plett what it was like shooting his most recent project in Kenya, and he responds with two words: “Very intense.” Plett, 29, travelled to the East... Read More
September 24, 2014 | Young Voices | Aaron Epp
I have loved Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) thrift stores since I was a kid. An essential part of my childhood revolved around a big, old “tickle trunk” filled with frilly pink... Read More
September 24, 2014 | Young Voices | Annika Krause

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