At a time when many churches are dealing with declining numbers in their pews, Hamilton (Ont.) Mennonite Church has grown. Membership in 1965 was 28; before the pandemic... Read More
News & Stories
Dear to the hearts of congregants at Hamilton (Ont.) Mennonite Church over the past year of the pandemic are two prayer books used for the weekly midday prayers, the children’s prayer boxes and a bookshelf quilt. (Photo by Alissa Bender)
August 11, 2021 | News | Maria H. Klassen
Young Mennonite women served as domestics to help their families repay debt. (Photo courtesy of Ruth Derksen Siemens)
A new plaque honours the young Mennonite women who worked as domestic help in Vancouver in the mid-20th century. An initiative of The Places That Matter, this is No. 89 of 125... Read More
August 11, 2021 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
Henry Schroeder, chair of the Winnipeg Mennonite Theatre board, began acting with the troupe in 1974. ‘Our productions these days are much more modest efforts, but the creative energy and the love of theatre are still there,” he says. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
Mennonites are sometimes associated with their four-part harmony rather than their acting, but one group has been making a name for Mennonites in the theatre for decades. Winnipeg... Read More
August 11, 2021 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
(Photo by Will Braun)
Church is not made of bricks and mortar, but for most congregations—not all—a building is integral. Congregations that lose their building face big questions about identity and... Read More
August 11, 2021 | News | Will Braun
Erwin Rempel on right.
Three months after a cancer diagnosis, Erwin H. Rempel, 76, died June 25, at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, Va. Erwin and Angela, his wife of 55 years,... Read More
August 11, 2021 | People | Mennonite Church Canada
With the reconstruction nearly complete, Hafez Sammour stands in his home that the explosion had damaged severely. (Photo courtesy of FDCD)
Samir Menassa remembers when his convenience store used to attract many customers. Located among pubs and restaurants in Beirut, Lebanon, the store was a convenient place for... Read More
August 10, 2021 | Web First | Etienne Chlala and Linda Espenshade
A patient receives a COVID-19 vaccine shot. (Photo by Steven Cornfield/Unsplash)
Two alumni from Indiana’s Goshen College played important roles in the development of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19. Robert Lerch, Ph.D., head of lab and site... Read More
August 10, 2021 | Web First | Augusta Nafziger
Mennonite World Conference general secretary César García is the author of the new book, ‘What is God’s Kingdom and What Does Citizenship Look Like?’ (Supplied photos)
What is God’s kingdom, and what does citizenship look like? Mennonite World Conference general secretary César García explores these questions in a book published this past... Read More
August 9, 2021 | Web First |
American robin (Photo by Asher Warkentin)
Who knew that ostriches are mentioned multiple times in the Bible? Job 39:13 says: “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and the... Read More
July 28, 2021 | News | Joanne De Jong
Tree Bird stands with her youngest son, Morrison, at the memorial service held by Osler Mennonite Church in response to the findings of unmarked graves at residential school sites. (Photo by Susan Braun)
She was born Danielle Dubois and placed in foster care at age three. She stayed in five different foster homes until, shortly before her fifth birthday, the Loewen family adopted... Read More
July 28, 2021 | News | Donna Schulz
Osler Mennonite Church gathers in the local cemetery on Canada Day for a memorial service in honour of children who died at Indian Residential Schools. (Photo by Susan Braun)
Osler Mennonite Church congregants gathered on Canada Day, July 1, in the local cemetery next door, to sing some hymns, share their sorrow and pray together. But it wasn’t one of... Read More
July 28, 2021 | News | Donna Schulz
With a modified program, B.C.’s Camp Squeah is welcoming campers again this summer. (Photo courtesy of Camp Squeah)
After a too-quiet 2020, when summer camps were cancelled due to the pandemic, Camp Squeah of Hope, B.C., is once again a place to hear the sounds of children’s laughter and... Read More
July 28, 2021 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
Crowds will be back for the 2021 Festival for World Relief sponsored by MCC B.C., to be held on Sept. 17 and 18. (Photo courtesy of MCC B.C.)
A September tradition in British Columbia is returning with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) B.C. Festival for World Relief, scheduled in Abbotsford on Sept. 17 and 18. While... Read More
July 28, 2021 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
MDS Canada volunteers Joe Bless and Nic Hamm of Vineland United Mennonite Church, and Dave Brubacher of Grace Mennonite Church in St. Catharines, with the special mitts given them by the MCC Indigenous Neighbours program as a token of thanks for their work on the MCC office in Timmins, Ont. (Photo by Lyndsay Mollins Koene)
In light of the news about the unmarked graves of children at former residential schools in B.C., Saskatchewan and other parts of the country, the work of Mennonite Disaster... Read More
July 28, 2021 | News | John Longhurst
TUMC On Air
A proposal made by Toronto United Mennonite Church’s worship committee has evolved into a new podcast project called “TUMC On Air.” Hosts Peter Haresnape and Michele Rizoli, the... Read More
July 28, 2021 | News | Christen Kong
Laura Funk wore a blessing cloak made of more than 100 handprints at her ordination service, since COVID-19 prevented her community from gathering in-person for the laying on of hands. She received handprints from people aged six months to 93 years old, across three countries and at least five denominations and two faiths. (Photo by Gilbert Detillieux)
Laura Funk is the first person to be ordained for the ministry of spiritual direction by Mennonite Church Manitoba. She is also the regional church’s first spiritual director in... Read More
July 28, 2021 | People | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
Ed Janzen, middle, meets with students Kenzie Thielmann, left, and Cameron Warren as part of his role as chaplain of Conrad Grebel University College. (Photo courtesy of Conrad Grebel University College)
Ed Janzen says, “It’s obvious!” It’s obvious why he would want to serve as chaplain of Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ont., for 23 years. Janzen, who is retiring at... Read More
July 28, 2021 | People | Janet Bauman
Ed Janzen, left, Grebel’s retiring chaplain, recently led a group of students on a learning tour in Wellington County, Ont., exploring sites from early Black settlements in the area, including this cemetery. The cycling tour was part of his commitment to making learning real. (Photo by Adrien Neufeld)
Ed Janzen, retiring chaplain of Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ont., liked to provide students with the chance to engage their faith with real-life experiences... Read More
July 28, 2021 | People | Janet Bauman
Matthew Boutda conducts the choir at Leaside United Church’s hymn festival in June 2019. (Photo by Murray Fenner)
For some musicians during COVID-19, the landscape of music making, performance and choir conducting transformed into environments for community resilience. As a recent graduate... Read More
July 28, 2021 | People | Christen Kong
The CPT-MC Canada accompaniment team spent a month at Unist'ot'en camp in unceded Wet'suwet'en territory in northern B.C., learning from Indigenous land defenders and helping wherever they were needed. (Photo by Steve Heinrichs)
Allegra Friesen Epp is wrapping up a six-month internship with Mennonite Church Canada and Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), but she is already brainstorming ways to continue... Read More
July 28, 2021 | People | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
The former meeting place of Horse Lake Mennonite Church had some unwelcome visitors on the evening of June 21. Vandals threw rocks and bricks and broke every window of the historic site. (Photo courtesy of Patty Neufeld)
“When I first saw it, I thought, ‘We might as well burn it down.’” says Patty Neufeld, of the former Horse Lake Mennonite Church building. “It was really depressing.” The church... Read More
July 14, 2021 | News | Donna Schulz
Crossroads Community Church, which meets at Cottonwood Cinemas in Chilliwack, B.C., began resuming unlimited in-person services on July 4, one of many B.C. congregations anticipating a summer of return to normalcy. (Photo courtesy of Crossroads Community Church)
Following the recent move to Stage 3 of the provincial Covid Restart Plan, some Mennonite Church B.C. congregations are gladly worshipping in person once again. In a letter to... Read More
July 14, 2021 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
Food Services Manager Cheri Otterbein cuts the ribbon in Grebel’s new kitchen on June 29. (Conrad Grebel photo)
After two years of construction, a pandemic, and a decade of dreaming and planning, Conrad Grebel University College’s new kitchen and renovated dining room are complete. More... Read More
July 14, 2021 | News |
The Velo Renovation collective cycles year round as the primary mode of transportation for themselves and their supplies. (Photo courtesy of Velo Renovation)
If you see someone cycling in Winnipeg, toting behind them stacks of lumber, buckets of paint or even a ladder, it’s probably a member of Velo Renovation. They are used to the... Read More
July 14, 2021 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
Margareta Sawatsky Peters meets one of her great-grandchildren for the first time. (Photo courtesy of MaryLou Driedger)
My grandmother’s chicken noodle soup was the stuff of legends. My father has told me that when he was a young boy, his mother would make chicken noodle soup for people in their... Read More
July 14, 2021 | People | MaryLou Driedger