After 80 years, Grace Mennonite Church held its closing service on Jan. 31. The service marked a months-long discernment process and a bittersweet celebration of all that God has... Read More
News & Stories
Church members look at the property where the new church building was later constructed. (Grace Mennonite Church photo)
February 16, 2022 | News | Emily Summach
The newly opened Eden East Mental Wellness Centre in Steinbach, Man., brings together a wide variety of expanded services to better serve Steinbach and surrounding communities. (Photo courtesy of Eden Health Care Services)
Brad Unger The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted many people’s mental health and increased the demand for mental-health care. Helping to guide southern Manitoba through... Read More
February 16, 2022 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
Tobia and George Veith, who recently completed a term of service in China, enjoy the ice festival in Harbin, China, the largest snow and ice sculpture festival in the world. (Photo courtesy of Tobia Veith)
Reflecting on three decades of service in Asia, Mennonite Church Canada Witness workers Tobia and George Veith say that, while their time of service has at times been hard, it has... Read More
February 16, 2022 | People | Amy Rinner Waddell
Fifth-year staff members Elora Neufeld, left, Saskia Snyder-Penner, Kathyana Carvajal, Katie Goerzen Sheard and Benjamin Schwartzentruber lead their closing campfire at Silver Lake in expectation for a bright 2022 camp experience. (Silver Lake Mennonite Camp photo)
As with so many organizations, the pandemic was a challenge for Silver Lake Mennonite Camp in 2021. However, we were blessed last summer to have the ability to run camp programs... Read More
February 16, 2022 | Focus on Camps |
Camp Elim campers take a leisurely paddle around Lac Pelletier. (Camp Elim photo)
Everyone making behind-the-scenes plans for Camp Elim has all their fingers crossed that this year we will get back to running the summer camp programs that we love. After two... Read More
February 16, 2022 | Focus on Camps |
Canoers Patrick Quail and Rhona Gearty take part in a wilderness out-tripping event at Youth Farm Bible Camp on the Paull River in Saskatchewan. (AHA! Adventures photo)
The last two years have been an adventure at the Youth Farm Bible Camp. The summer camp program was on hold for 2020 and at low numbers last year. However, we were able to see... Read More
February 16, 2022 | Focus on Camps |
The sun sets in Hope, B.C., facing west towards the Fraser Valley that was deluged with rain last November. Camp Squeah provided hope and care for more than 150 stranded motorists who were trapped in the area by the flooding. (Camp Squeah photo)
Hope. It’s a command, a gift, a noun, a verb. Of all that matters in life, the Apostle Paul states that hope is one of a trinity of essentials alongside faith and love. When we... Read More
February 16, 2022 | Focus on Camps |
Camps with Meaning staff and campers work together to keep the fire going in Manitoba. (Photo byDarryl Neustaedter Barg)
The past two summers have been difficult for summer camps. One of the struggles we face this year is the loss of many of our older, experienced staff. The uncertainties and... Read More
February 16, 2022 | Focus on Camps | Janet Peters
As a response to the pandemic, 2021 Ontario Mennonite Music Campers created videos of new and favourite hymns for churches to use in virtual worship services. (Ontario Mennonite Music Camp photo)
This summer, Ontario Mennonite Music Camp is once again happening at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, from Aug. 14 to 26. The camp provides an exciting adventure for... Read More
February 16, 2022 | Focus on Camps | Ashitha Mantrawadi
The Tiessen family is at home at Camp Squeah. Pictured from left to right are Josiah, Rob, Eli, Nyah and Kim. (Photo courtesy of Rob Tiessen)
Mention “church camp” and many people might think of camping or volunteering there a summer or two. But for Rob Tiessen, executive director of Mennonite Church B.C.’s Camp Squeah... Read More
February 16, 2022 | Focus on Camps | Amy Rinner Waddell
Camps with Meaning staff sing together in worship at Camp Assiniboia. (Mennonite Church Manitoba photo)
Singing is an integral part of life at Camps with Meaning (CwM), Mennonite Church Manitoba’s camping ministry. This is the case at many summer camps, but unique to CwM is this:... Read More
February 16, 2022 | Focus on Camps | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
Marc, Carole, Marie-Ange and Jean-Dominique Jobin are pictured in Carole and Marie-Ange’s temporary quarters while MDS partners with the Knights of Columbus to build a medically sterile and temperature-controlled addition to their home in Barry’s Bay, Ont. (Photo by Osiah Horst)
A family separated by illness is being reunited through the joint efforts of the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Ontario Unit and the Roman Catholic Knights of Columbus. Through... Read More
February 14, 2022 | Web First | John Longhurst
A photo from rural Honduras. (MWC photo by Karen Flores Vindel)
A global survey conducted by Mennonite World Conference (MWC) shows that Mennonite-Anabaptist congregations around the world are being impacted by environmental issues such as... Read More
February 14, 2022 | Web First |
Mennonite World Conference has released a video highlighting its work around the world in 2021. In this image, young people study the Bible in small groups at a youth event in Indonesia. (Photo courtesy of MWC)
If you’re curious about what Mennonites around the world were up to in 2021, look no further than Mennonite World Conference’s (MWC) year-in-review video. Released at the end of... Read More
February 11, 2022 | Web First | Aaron Epp
A virtual choir sings as part a launch event for the Voices Together hymnal in 2020. Mennonite Church Canada is inviting Canadian Mennonites to join a virtual choir for Gathering 2022. (YouTube photo)
Mennonite Church Canada is putting together a virtual choir for Gathering 2022, and you are invited to join. The choir will record “Greater Things Than These,” a song that... Read More
February 7, 2022 | Web First |
‘Nathan confronts David’ (a detail), by Emanuel Granberg, circa 1773 to ’78. (Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication)
Doug Klassen Marilyn Rudy-Froese Occasionally readers ask questions about investigations into misconduct by Mennonite leaders. Guiding the process is the “Ministerial Sexual... Read More
February 2, 2022 | News |
Mennonite Church Canada and MC U.S.A. are collaborating to create a centralized, comprehensive guidebook for regional churches, conferences and congregations that addresses... Read More
February 2, 2022 | News |
Parkland Restorative Justice staff and volunteers take part in a simulated CoSA meeting between a core member (offender) and volunteer supporters. (Parkland Restorative Justice photo)
“There’s certainly a sense of urgency and immediacy to our request,” says Kerry Reimer, director of Parkland Restorative Justice, based out of Prince Albert, Sask. One of Parkland... Read More
February 2, 2022 | News | Emily Summach
Worshippers gather at JKI Injil Kerajaan (Holy Stadium) in Semarang, Indonesia. (MWC photo by Karla Braun)
César García With the 17th Mennonite World Conference (MWC) assembly set for Indonesia this July, Canadian Mennonite magazine’s senior writer, Will Braun, talked to César García,... Read More
February 2, 2022 | News | Will Braun
Mediation Services in Winnipeg launched a new training program on Dec. 6 to help people learn how to navigate difficult conversations and maintain relationships when they disagree. (Unsplash photo by Graham Ruttan)
Right now it feels hard to believe, but eventually the COVID-19 pandemic will end. What will last longer are the strained and hurt relationships the virus has created. Mediation... Read More
February 2, 2022 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
Fill the Bus campaign was held in December 2021 when the United Mennonite Home residents, families, staff, suppliers and community members filled the home’s bus with toys, personal-care items, non-perishable food, clothing and gift cards to support the local Community Services Village of Hope. (United Mennonite Home archives photo)
At the beginning of this pandemic, long-term-care homes were hit hard, with residents contracting the COVID-19 virus and many of them died of it. Walter Sguazzin, executive... Read More
February 2, 2022 | News | Maria H. Klassen
Moses Mugisha began his music career at age seven. (Unsplash photo)
Born in the African country of Rwanda, Moses Mugisha and his family moved to Tanzania, because of poverty and other circumstances. They lived there as refugees for almost six... Read More
February 2, 2022 | People | Lisa Williams
‘It’s important for all church members, not just number-lovers, to be able to make sense of financial statements,’ says Michael Pahl, executive minister of Mennonite Church Manitoba. (YouTube photo)
Regional churches are preparing to hold their annual gatherings in the coming weeks, and Mennonite Church Manitoba is offering a resource for delegates who are feeling anxious... Read More
February 2, 2022 | Web First | Aaron Epp
Doug Klassen, pictured in March 2020, is one of six Mennonite Church Canada leaders who made a statement on Sunday denouncing the white nationalism being expressed at protests across the country. (YouTube photo)
The day after thousands of truckers and other protesters converged on Parliament Hill to call for an end to COVID-19 mandates and other public health restrictions, Mennonite... Read More
January 31, 2022 | Web First |
Tobin Miller Shearer (left) and Regina Shands Stoltzfus are the authors of ‘Been in the Struggle: Pursuing an Antiracist Spirituality.’ (Image courtesy of MennoMedia)
Common Read, an initiative of Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Church U.S.A. and Herald Press that encourages Mennonites to engage in a shared reading experience, continues... Read More
January 31, 2022 | Web First |