Family members of the tens of thousands of Mennonites detained in Ukraine during the 1930s and ’40s can now request further information through a new program at the Centre for... Read More
News & Stories
Peter Giesbrecht was one of thousands of Mennonites detained and never heard from again in Ukraine under Stalin. (Photo courtesy of the Centre for Transnational Mennonite Studies)
October 9, 2019 | News | Will Braun
The oldest and the youngest participants in the Shekinah Bike-Paddle-Hike-a-thon both rode walking bikes. Irvin Driedger, 84, poses with Finnegan Fast, 3, and his mom Sarah Unrau. (Photo by Jeff Olfert)
The small group of cyclists cheered as Irvin Driedger set off on his walking bike, kicking off the 2019 Shekinah Bike-paddle-hike-a-thon. His participation was inspiring on many... Read More
October 9, 2019 | People | Donna Schulz
Son Richard, left is pictured with his parents Dave and Helen Wall at the awards ceremony in Virgil in August. (Photo by Randy Klaassen)
Dave Wall, who was an active member of Grace Mennonite Church in St. Catharines and an ardent supporter of Silver Lake Mennonite Camp fundraising dinners, was honoured by his... Read More
October 9, 2019 | People | Maria H. Klassen
Peter (Zach Pearce), left, the White Witch (Ella Hinz), and Aslan (Charlie Krahn) battle for control of the land of Narnia in Menno Simons Christian School’s performance of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe earlier this year. (Menno Simons Christian School photo)
Menno Simons Christian School put on an amazing performance of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe earlier this year. It’s an adventurous story about four children who find... Read More
October 9, 2019 | Focus On Education | The White Witch, aka Ella Hinz
Workshop participants in Petitcodiac, N.B., reflect on community development ministries by thinking with their hands—and with their whole bodies—as they weave bands of cloth together. (Anabaptist Learning Workshop photo)
Knowledge is truly amazing. When you really know something, it can light you up, it can discombobulate you, it can put you in touch with your body or it can make you feel... Read More
October 9, 2019 | Focus On Education | Matthew Bailey-Dick
Betty Pries, a conflict management specialist based in Waterloo, Ont., leads an online short course of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary as a sessional faculty member. (Photo courtesy of BettyPries.ca)
Betty Pries, a conflict management specialist based in Waterloo, Ont., provides mediation, coaching and consulting services for businesses, nonprofit organizations, governments... Read More
October 9, 2019 | Focus On Education |
Sara Wahl, Rebecca Hiller-Ranny and Micah Neufeld take part in a panel discussion on ‘Let’s talk about sex, power and spirituality’ during the evening session for parents and pastors during Rockway Mennonite Collegiate’s Spiritual Emphasis Week, held from Sept 24 to 26. (Photo by Janet Bauman)
Rebecca Hiller-Ranny, a Grade 12 student, affirmed the blunt tone taken to address sex, power and spirituality at her school. “It was so important,” she said. “It was so impactful... Read More
October 9, 2019 | Focus On Education | Janet Bauman
(Photo courtesy of Facebook.com/CMUwpg)
WINNIPEG—Preliminary fall enrolment numbers at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) indicate an overall 3 percent increase in students in the university’s undergraduate and... Read More
October 9, 2019 | Focus On Education |
Randy Klassen (clockwise from top left), Donna Kampen Entz, Jeffrey Metcalfe and Eileen Klassen Hamm are the recipients of the CMU 2019 Distinguished Alumni Awards. (Photo courtesy of CMU)
A former teacher dedicated to building relationships with Indigenous peoples, a former Mennonite Church Canada Witness worker invested in intercultural relationships, a long-time... Read More
October 9, 2019 | Focus On Education |
On Sept. 27, Grebel students, staff and faculty took part in the Global Climate Strike in Waterloo, at which more than 4,000 people gathered for three hours of singing, chanting and speeches. (Conrad Grebel University College photo by Margaret Gissing)
According to the United Nations, “Climate change is the defining issue of our time.” On Sept. 27, around 80 Grebel students, staff and faculty took part in the Global Climate... Read More
October 9, 2019 | Focus On Education | Katrina Steckle
Brenda Klassen, a health-care assistant, helps Carolyn Grove-Seely, a resident of Menno Place. (Photo by Rebekah Bielefeld)
The head of a Columbia Bible College diploma program is seeking to prove the value of health-care assistants and help raise up a new generation of them in B.C. The eight-month... Read More
October 9, 2019 | Focus On Education | Rachel Bergen
Antonio Gonzalez, a member of the Faith and Life Commission from Spain, and Adriana Belinda Rodriguez, a member of the Peace Commission from Honduras, chat during the MWC commission meetings in the Netherlands earlier this year. (Photo by Vikal Rao)
Approximately 40 leaders and members of the four Mennonite World Conference (MWC) commissions met together in the Netherlands for three days in late June for a time of face-to-... Read More
October 8, 2019 | Web First | Mennonite World Conference
Participants in Camp Squeah’s 2019 paddle-a-thon enjoy pleasant weather on the water, raising funds for the camp’s summer bursary program. (Photo courtesy of Camp Squeah)
Rowers and paddlers in Camp Squeah’s annual paddle-a-thon reached their goal, raising over $51,000 on Sept. 21 and bringing the total over the past 21 years to just over $1... Read More
October 7, 2019 | Web First | Amy Rinner Waddell
Thousands gathered at the Manitoba legislative building last Friday to join the global climate strike. Moses Falco, pastor at Sterling Mennonite Fellowship, made a video about the event. (Photo courtesy of YouTube)
More than 10,000 people in Winnipeg joined the global climate strike last Friday, Sept. 27, including a strong showing of Manitoba Mennonites. In the video below, Moses Falco—... Read More
October 4, 2019 | Web First | Aaron Epp
Andre Wiederkehr with his bicycle and homemade trailer. (Conrad Grebel University College photo)
This September, Andre Wiederkehr moved into the Conrad Grebel University College residence at the University of Waterloo in a unique way—he biked. The second-year science student... Read More
October 1, 2019 | Web First | Katrina Steckle
Jaime Escobar Villa, technical manager at Trabold, shows where the newly installed filters are located in the vehicle. (Photo courtesy of MEDA.org)
The climate crisis is top of mind for many these days, so here’s a story about Maureauto Colombia (AVIS), a car rental company in Bogotá, Colombia that is reducing its... Read More
September 28, 2019 | Web First | Aaron Epp
‘So I must state that, for all the good reasons to fly, there is one good reason not to: We’re cookin’ the place,’ states Will Braun, as rising sea levels and melting glaciers and icebergs attest. (Photo © istock.com/Don Mennig)
I interviewed five people who care about climate, yet, like many of us, they take actions not backed by their beliefs. I wanted to gently pull back the veil on the inner tensions... Read More
September 25, 2019 | News | Will Braun
Wayne and Carry Dueck appreciate the wild beauty of the place they have come to call The Land. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
As they walk the length of their 32-hectare (80-acre) property, it is evident that Wayne and Carry Dueck share a deep love for the place they simply call The Land. In 1981, Wayne... Read More
September 25, 2019 | News | Donna Schulz
The garden at Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach, Man., donates its produce to local soup kitchen, Soup’s On. (Photo by Larry Friesen)
In the summer of 2004, Joy Neufeld opened the first soup kitchen in Steinbach. Fifteen years later, Soup’s On is still serving its community and is thriving. Neufeld, a member of... Read More
September 25, 2019 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
The Waterloo-Kitchener United Church congregation rearranged its sanctuary in a more communal way around a central space. The church’s summer theme was ‘Building community around a shared table,’ with food to share at the end of the service. (Photo by Karl Dick)
In what church member Karl Dick calls a “bold summer experiment,” the congregation at Waterloo-Kitchener United Mennonite Church decided to unscrew some of its hardwood benches... Read More
September 25, 2019 | News | Janet Bauman
Volunteers take two residents out for a ride on the duet bikes. (Photo courtesy of Menno Place)
People walking around Abbotsford, B.C.’s Mill Lake might have caught an odd sight of seniors riding on duet bikes this summer. Duet bikes are wheelchair tandem bikes that enable... Read More
September 25, 2019 | News | Rachel Bergen
Gareth Brandt, an Anabaptist history professor at Columbia Bible College, stands beside ‘Strassbourg,’ one of his ‘simple folk art’ works at the Mennonite Heritage Museum, where his ‘Stories of the Anabaptists’ collection is on display until Nov. 1. (Mennonite Heritage Museum photo by Julia Toews )
A love for the arts, combined with an interest in Anabaptist history, has inspired a professor at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford to create paintings depicting early... Read More
September 25, 2019 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
Pictured from left to right: Rudy Koop; Garth Wideman and Dave Lefever, both of Holyrood Mennonite, Edmonton; and Herman Neufeld of Edmonton First Mennonite, formed a team to raise money for the Edmonton Mennonite Guest Home at the first-ever MMI golf tournament in September. (Photo by Marguerite Jack)
Mennonite Mutual Insurance (MMI) in Alberta had its first-ever golf tournament fundraiser at the Eagle Rock Golf Course in Leduc County, just south of Edmonton, on Sept. 7. Chosen... Read More
September 25, 2019 | News | Joanne De Jong
César Garcia, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference is pictured in his Kitchener, Ont., office, where he has been working for the past seven months. (Photo by Janet Bauman)
For César Garcia, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference (MWC), relocating to office space in Kitchener has “been a blessing.” He shares the office with four staff, some... Read More
September 25, 2019 | People | Janet Bauman
TOOLS coordinator Pete Olsen sits next to the ‘Homeless Jesus’ statue. (Photo courtesy of Pete Olsen)
In 2013, the first cast of Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz’s “Homeless Jesus” was installed. The bronze statue, which depicts the Christ figure as a person sleeping on a park... Read More
September 25, 2019 | People | Joelle Kidd