Her parents called her Dynamite. Although she didn’t care for the nickname when she was a child, Valerie Wiebe has come to appreciate its layers of meaning. The Langham, Sask.,... Read More
News & Stories
Korean Anabaptist Journal
Eight years ago this fall, a group of 10 Korean Mennonites met at Sherbrooke Mennonite Church in Vancouver and decided to start a magazine. The publication would be a resource for... Read More
October 23, 2019 | Focus On Books & Resources | Katie Doke Sawatzky
Once upon a time, living in splendid isolation, Mennonite men were moulded differently from the rest of society. Worshipping in a traditional peace church with a different set of... Read More
October 23, 2019 | Focus On Books & Resources | Reviewed by Doug Amstutz
Gordon Toombs, left, was deceived by the Canadian military when he tried to register as a conscientious objector during the Second World War. His recent book, "L74298: Recollections of a Conscientious Objector in World War II," is dedicated to Conrad Stoesz, right, archivist at Winnipeg’s Mennonite Heritage Archives, in gratitude for revealing the deception.
Gordon Toombs was deceived by the Canadian military when he tried to register as a conscientious objector (CO) during the Second World War. His recent book, L74298: Recollections... Read More
October 23, 2019 | Focus On Books & Resources | Dan Dyck
What was your response the last time a good friend asked you how you were doing? If you said with a laugh or a moan, “Too busy,” or just offered an eye roll, this book might be... Read More
October 23, 2019 | Focus On Books & Resources | Melodie M. Davis
Stephanie Lobdell grew up in the church as a pastor’s kid. She was a high achiever with dreams of becoming a missionary, but things didn’t work out as she had hoped and she... Read More
October 23, 2019 | Focus On Books & Resources | Barb Draper
Photo: flickr.com/travis_simon
Theology, Spirituality Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus . Jim Wallis. HarperCollins, 2019. Wallis argues that many Christians have become disconnected from Jesus’... Read More
October 23, 2019 | Focus On Books & Resources | Barb Draper
Mennonite Church Canada is alive and well, says Doug Klassen, MC Canada's executive minister. (Photo courtesy of YouTube)
Mennonite Church Canada isn’t finished, disbanded, archived or dead. That’s the message Doug Klassen, MC Canada’s executive minister, delivers in a video uploaded to YouTube this... Read More
October 22, 2019 | Web First | Aaron Epp
Charleswood Mennonite Church commemorated its newly created affirmation statement with a special worship service. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
On Sept. 22, Charleswood Mennonite Church in Winnipeg celebrated “coming out” as a church that welcomes and affirms people of every gender and sexual orientation into its... Read More
October 22, 2019 | Web First | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
Worshippers sing at Mennonite Church Canada's Assembly 2016 in Saskatoon. "We sing... because it is a unique corporate experience," music professor Curtis Funk says. (MC Canada file photo by Matt Veith)
“I turned the key and the stillness of the morning was shattered by the uneven rumbling of the engine. Everything was ready for the day’s work. In a few minutes, the pickup would... Read More
October 21, 2019 | Web First | Henry Neufeld
Mennonite Central Committee has helped people around the world since 1920. (Photo courtesy of YouTube)
Mennonite Central Committee is gearing up to celebrate its centennial next year, and the relief organization has started producing a number of articles and videos to mark the... Read More
October 18, 2019 | Web First | Aaron Epp
A Civilian Public Service worker serves patients at New Jersey State Hospital in Marlboro, circa 1945. (Mennonite Central Committee photo via CivilianPublicService.org)
Thirteen Anabaptist church groups in the United States have sent a joint letter to an independent U.S. federal agency making a strong statement of conscientious objection to war... Read More
October 15, 2019 | Web First | The Mennonite Staff
Suzanne Gross, right, of First Mennonite Church in Edmonton, hangs out with Joanne Moyer, who biked to the Interfaith Climate Change Prayer Vigil on Sept. 22 in Edmonton. (Photo by Brian Ladd)
“Beefier barley: Climate change will boost Alberta’s barley yields with less water, and feed more cattle,” said a big billboard appearing to promote the benefits of climate change... Read More
October 9, 2019 | News | Joanne De Jong
From left to right: Laurel Smith and Juniper Giesbrecht, both of Charleswood Mennonite, Lena Klassen of First Mennonite, and Alayna Smith of Charleswood Mennonite, attend the Winnipeg climate strike. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
Mennonites took to the streets of Winnipeg on Sept. 27 with more than 12,000 others to strike for the climate. The rally was one of thousands happening around the world as part of... Read More
October 9, 2019 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
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)
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
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