In 1962, Canada hosted the Mennonite World Conference for the first time. Twelve thousand delegates attended; 6,000 of these were billeted in local homes. Historian T.D. Regehr... Read More
News & Stories
This painting by Victor Kleinsasser depicts John J. Friesen talking to Hutterite students after class. It was commissioned by the Hutterian Brethren Education Committee and presented to Friesen as a gift.
A new artwork honouring a professor from Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) and commissioned by the Hutterian Brethren Education Committee was unveiled in CMU’s new library on... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in the Church |
Jim Loepp Thiessen and Catherine Gitzel stand in front of the Gathering Church’s store front offices on Activa Ave. in Kitchener, Ont., across the street from the W. T. Townshend Public School, where they gather on Sunday mornings. The congregation celebrated its tenth anniversary in February this year. (Photo by Dave Rogalsky)
Two in three church plants don’t make it past the five-year mark. That doesn’t mean they haven’t been successful, but long life is not part of most church plants. The Gathering... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in the Church |
Rudy Baergen, interim pastor at Waterloo-Kitchener United Mennonite Church (left) chats with Roberson Mbayamvula, pastor at Hagerman Mennonite Church. Baergen was the keynote speaker at the June 11 Lebold fundraising dinner at Conrad Grebel University College and Mbayamvula was last year’s speaker.
A new focus was announced this year at the Ralph and Eileen Lebold Endowment fundraising dinner, because last year it reached its goal of $1 million to fund pastoral training at... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in the Church |
Ziauddin Yousafzai (left) chats with Susan Schultz Huxman about a new peace scholarship that will allow a female student from a region of the world experiencing conflict to study at Conrad Grebel University College in the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies program. Also part of the conversation are Mohan Kendall and Ahmad Shah.
Conrad Grebel University College is offering a $10,000 scholarship to a female Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) student, thanks to a partnership with Ziauddin... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in the World |
Tom and Christine Poovong recruited local volunteers to assist with a newly launched nursery, a community outreach program in Khon Kaen, Thailand. From left to right: Benz Khemma, Tom and Christine Poovong with their young children, and Amp and Naaming Anantasak with their young son.
Northeast Thailand is the poorest region in the country. Democracy is uneven, and peaceful protests can land protesters in barred cells overnight. Since a military coup in 2014,... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in the World | Dan Dyck
Jamie Arpin-Ricci
He pastors Little Flowers Community, a small Mennonite congregation in Winnipeg’s west end neighbourhood that chose to belong to the larger church body through Mennonite Church... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in Us | Deborah Froese
“Church growth strategies are the death gurgle of a church that has lost its way,” is how Stanley Hauerwas describes this book, noting that, “God is making us leaner and meaner.”... Read More
June 30, 2015 | Artbeat | Reviewed by Henry Neufeld
Mattea Nickel
Imagine these words as pictures with no direct meaning. That’s part of what it’s like to have dyslexia. “Dyslexia is a different way of thinking,” says Mattea Nickel, 19. She was... Read More
June 30, 2015 | Young Voices | Jonas Cornelsen
Tyreese Hildebrandt demonstrates a model of the type of hand pump used to draw water from the sand near a sand dam. Hildebrandt raised money to buy similar pumps by putting on a bake sale at Mount Royal Mennonite Church, where he and his family attend. (Photo by Len Andres)
Tyreese Hildebrandt is a 10-year-old who dreams of helping people to have clean drinking water. A while back, Hildebrandt read a book that touched him deeply. Ryan and Jimmy and... Read More
June 30, 2015 | Young Voices |
Calgary Chin Church women’s singing group shared special music on Sunday morning at the Alberta women’s retreat. (Photo by Helena Ball)
About 60 women between the ages of 20 and 80 gathered for a Mennonite Church Alberta women’s retreat at Sylvan Lake on May 22-24, 2015. They joined together to worship, pray,... Read More
June 30, 2015 | Back Page | Darlene Schmidt
Four generations supporting the Foodgrains Bank through the June 20 Osler, Sask. Auction. (L-R) Grandchildren Marcy Ziolkowski, Kianna Regush, grandmother Edna Hays, great-grandmother Bertha Fehr, and mother Rebecca Ziolkowski. (Photo by John Longhurst)
It was raining hard, but nobody was unhappy as they pulled into Walter and Peggy Wiebe’s farmyard near Osler, Sask. on June 20, 2015, for the 35th annual Saskatchewan Valley... Read More
June 29, 2015 | Web First | John Longhurst
One of the many hearts in the Heart Garden at Rideau Hall. (Photo by Dennis Gruending)
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian Residential Schools released its final report on June 2, 2015, after five years of conducting hearings and gathering thousands of... Read More
June 17, 2015 | God at work in the World | Janice Schroeder
Women sign a blanket at the Ottawa Mennonite Church storytelling circle. (Photo by Dennis Gruending)
Eighty people gathered in Ottawa Mennonite Church (OMC) on the evening of May 31 for a time of worship and storytelling. Ten were indigenous people, survivors of Indian... Read More
June 17, 2015 | God at work in the World | Dennis Gruending
Drummers open the Kairos reconciliation event in Ottawa, May 29, 2015. (Photo by Dennis Greunding)
While the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hosted events in Ottawa leading up to the release of its summary report, the ecumenical justice coalition Kairos organized a... Read More
June 17, 2015 | God at work in the World | Dennis Gruending
Lorraine Clements holds burning sage for Gerry Shingoose, a residential school survivor, as she smudges at the closing ceremonies of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Winnipeg. (Photo by J. Neufeld)
“Reconciliation is not an aboriginal problem. It is a Canadian problem. It involves all of us.” Justice Murray Sinclair spoke those words on June 2 at the closing ceremonies of... Read More
June 17, 2015 | God at work in the World |
Ryan Grills (right) and his pastor, Garth Ewert Fisher, share a deep mutual respect and affection. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
He’s the newest member of Mount Royal Mennonite Church and he loves his church. Ryan Grills started attending Mount Royal just over two years ago, when he was released from the... Read More
June 17, 2015 | God at work in the Church | Donna Schulz
Under the direction of Duff Warkentin, the Nutana Park Mennonite Church Choir presents songs of praise and thanksgiving in both English and German to help mark the congregation’s 50th anniversary. (Photo by Howard Giles)
Voices joined together in celebration for the opening hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God,” in a service of worship at Nutana Park Mennonite Church commemorating 50 years as a... Read More
June 17, 2015 | God at work in the Church |
Children and their parents remained engaged in the children’s auction time led by Darcy Krahn on Saturday afternoon at the Mennonite Central Committee Alberta relief sale in Didsbury.
Low oil prices in 2015 have not dampened the generosity of Alberta Mennonites. On June 5-6, 2015, the annual Mennonite Central Committee relief sale was held in Didsbury, and as... Read More
June 17, 2015 | God at work in Us | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
Henry Poettcker, who served as president of Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC), one of Canadian Mennonite University’s (CMU) predecessor institutions, died on Sunday, May 24... Read More
June 17, 2015 | God at work in Us |
Bethany Horst sings in the benefit concert in Kitchener on May 24, 2015, helping raise funds for MCC’s Nepal Relief fund. (Photo courtesy of the Grand Philharmonic Choir)
With the Canadian Federal Government’s pledge to match funds for Nepal relief coming to an end, a flurry of events in Waterloo and Toronto raised an additional $28,000 on May 24... Read More
June 17, 2015 | Artbeat |
Afonso Arrais left his home in Portugal to find better career opportunities abroad. (Photo by Michael Veith)
When people complete high school, they are often overwhelmed and stressed because there are so many career options. When Afonso Arrais graduated, his stress came from a lack of... Read More
June 17, 2015 | Young Voices | Michael Veith
Look at a board of any institution, Mennonite or otherwise. They’re mainly made up of middle-aged or retired professionals. With that said, many boards are looking to expand their... Read More
June 17, 2015 | Young Voices | Rachel Bergen
Gennifer Brooks, Ph.D., encourages Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary students to immerse themselves in the lives of the people to whom they will preach, so that their messages are good news that fit the context of their listeners. (Photo by Mary E. Klassen)
Gennifer Brooks began her presentations for the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) Theological Lectureship the same way she begins the preaching classes she teachers—... Read More
June 17, 2015 | Back Page | Mary E. Klassen
Yoweri Murungi, from a town in the Kibaale District in Uganda, is a participant in the Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN) program. He is serving in Lusaka, Zambia, as the assistant coordinator of MCC-supported Peace Clubs. (MCC photo by Silas Crews)
Opportunities to fill leadership responsibilities in a local church enrich Yoweri Murungi’s year-long cross-cultural service assignment in Lusaka, Zambia. His many new experiences... Read More
June 16, 2015 | Web First | Gladys Terichow