News & Stories

Recent baptisms at a Meserete Kristos Church congregation planted by two ex-prisoners. (Supplied photo)

The following is an excerpt from the June 2023 issue of MKC News, the newsletter of Meserete Kristos Church (MKC), the Anabaptist denominational body in Ethiopia. Reprinted with... Read More
July 10, 2023 | News | Pastor Niguse Bekele

Oksana Druchynina discovered this photo of the room that was her office before Russians took over the Mennonite Centre in Molochansk, Ukraine. (Supplied Photo)

At first glance, the office appears unremarkable, but for the photograph of Vladimir Putin on a bookcase and the Russian flag on the desk. The woman in the picture looks awkward,... Read More
July 10, 2023 | News | Janet Dirks

This photo sold for over $18,000 in a thrift store silent auction. (Photo by Tim Albrecht)

In May, a painting sold for $18,900 at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Christian Benefit Thrift Shop in St. Catharines, Ontario. Bidding started on the progressive silent... Read More
July 10, 2023 | News | Maria H. Klassen

Volunteers work on repairing the roof of a hurricane damaged home on Cape Breton Island. (Photo courtesy of Heather Wiebe)

With suitcases full of work clothes and spirits full of enthusiasm, 13 people from Mount Royal Mennonite Church in Saskatoon traveled to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The group... Read More
July 10, 2023 | News | Emily Summach

Electric cars lined up in front of Osler Mennonite Church. (Photo by Patty Friesen)

Every year, the town of Osler, Saskatchewan, celebrates July 1 with a pancake breakfast; a parade with horses, old cars and tractors; rollkuchen and watermelon at the community... Read More
July 7, 2023 | News | Patty Friesen

The new housebarn at the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, B.C. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)

A glimpse into how Mennonites lived and farmed a century ago awaits those who tour the recently opened housebarn at Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, B.C. The design is a... Read More
July 7, 2023 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell

(Photo courtesy of Tourmagination.com)

One hundred years ago, the first of 21,000 Mennonites who left the Soviet Union boarded a train in Quebec City for new lives across the country. On July 6 some of their... Read More
July 6, 2023 | Web First | John Longhurst

Pastor Reuben Tut at the 2023 Mennonite Church Alberta annual gathering. (Photo by Ruth Bergen Braun)

Pastor Reuben Tut and his church, Edmonton South Sudanese Church, celebrated God’s calling of Tut at his ordination on May 13. God’s call has pursued Tut through doubts, civil... Read More
June 29, 2023 | News | Emily Summach

Ordination celebration outside Glenlea Mennonite Church. (Supplied Photo)

The Glenlea Mennonite Church family was thrilled to ordain Cheryl Braun on June 11, in the presence of not only the local congregation but also many of Cheryl’s friends and family... Read More
June 29, 2023 | News | Tammy Rempel

Cathrin van Sintern-Dick (left), Carrie Lehn and Lou Bruno, at Lehn’s ordination. (Photo by Dennis Gruending)

Carrie Lehn, associate pastor of Ottawa Mennonite Church, was ordained in the Sunday morning service on June 18. For Carrie, it was a sacred and special moment, and a milestone... Read More
June 29, 2023 | News | Jan Schroeder

Ian Funk, pastor of Langley Mennonite Fellowship, recently graduated from AMBS. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)

After eight years of study, Ian Funk was thrilled to finally receive his Master of Divinity degree in May, albeit in absentia. Funk, pastor of Langley Mennonite Fellowship,... Read More
June 29, 2023 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell

An exhibit now on display at Gallery in the Park in Altona, Manitoba features more than 20 Mennonite clocks. (Photos courtesy of the Kroeger Clocks Heritage Foundation)

Clockmaking was a skilled trade among certain Mennonites for more than two centuries, and a striking exhibit at Gallery in the Park in Altona, Manitoba, displays the art and... Read More
June 29, 2023 | News | Aaron Epp

David Cramer with his copy of Major Awards. (Photo courtesy of David Cramer)

Pastor, professor and rock music impresario—David Cramer’s CV is diverse. The Indiana-based 40-year-old divides his work life between Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS... Read More
June 29, 2023 | News | Aaron Epp

An image of part of the famous Khortitsa Oak, part of an art installation by Kandis Friesen at Waterloo Park. (Photo by A.S. Compton)

I sat in the shade of an oak tree on the first day of summer outside Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo and listened to a recording of the sounds of a spring morning at... Read More
June 29, 2023 | News | A.S. Compton

David Scott (centre) talks about an important Ojibwe gathering and ceremonial site on the banks of what is known in English as the Dead Horse Creek near Morden, Manitoba. (Photo by Will Braun)

Standing at an intersection of mile roads on the more-or-less open prairie near Neubergthal, Manitoba, David Scott explained how members of the Ojibwe Grass Dance Society once... Read More
June 29, 2023 | News |

Sydney River Protestant United Church in Sydney, Nova Scotia. (Supplied Photo)

“Everyone is excited—there’s a buzz in the air.” That’s what Dana Feltmate, the minister at Sydney River Protestant United Church in Sydney, Nova Scotia, said about hosting the... Read More
June 29, 2023 | News | John Longhurst

The Fairmont Château Frontenac, first stop on the “Russlaender 100.” (Photo by Billy Wilson, Flickr)

One hundred years ago, the first of 21,000 Mennonites who left the former Soviet Union boarded a train in Quebec City for new lives across Canada. On July 6, some of their... Read More
June 29, 2023 | News | Memories of Migration release, with files from CM Staff

Land acknowledgement quilt by Angela Hildebrand and Melanie Gamache. (Photo by Dietrich Schonwetter)

Land acknowledgments are usually spoken, but Angela Hildebrand was curious how they could be expressed in other mediums. “Being a very visual person, I resonate a lot with things... Read More
June 29, 2023 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe

The home Cathy Abbott shares with refugees in Waterloo, Ontario. (Supplied photos)

Cathy Abbott remembers the preacher’s phrase that got her to consider taking a big step toward providing shelter for refugees arriving in Canada. It was 2015 and Canadians were... Read More
June 15, 2023 | News | Madalene Arias

Assistance provided by the Uman Help Centre, a partner of the Mennonite Centre in Ukraine. (Photos courtesy of Uman Help Center)

Parents in Molochansk, Ukraine, awoke one morning in May to a message from Russian authorities: “Dear parents: Evacuation has been announced at the school. Today, arrive at the... Read More
June 15, 2023 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe

MaryLou Driedger drew on her own life experience to write her new book. (Photo by Aaron Epp)

There was no magic lamp or genie involved when MaryLou Driedger made her wish, just a felt tip marker and a famous pond. In 1991, the Manitoba writer’s family visited Walden Pond... Read More
June 15, 2023 | News | Aaron Epp

Dan Driediger with one of his 42-inch map printers. (Supplied photo)

When Dan Driediger closes his eyes, he sees rivers, rises and roads. His unique photographic memory comes in handy. Driediger is a cartographer: He creates, prints and sells maps... Read More
June 15, 2023 | News | Emily Summach

Seated (left to right): Henry Fast, George Epp, Edith (Koop) Krahn, Gertrude (Janzen) deKleine, Myrna Zacharias. Standing: Henry Schroeder, Richard Epp, Peter Neufeld, Harold Epp, Sigrid (Martynes) Warkentin, Guenther Toews, Rudy Dahl (partially hidden), Evelyn (Janzen) Roden, Peter Rempel, Violet (Schapansky) Atwell, Tony Funk, Art Hildebrand, Verna (Wiens) Ewert, Ken Rempel, Edna (Friesen) Koop, Elsie (Bergen) Epp, Caroline Martens-Clappison, Ruby (Isaac) Harder, Barry Toews, Mervin Dyck (partially hidden), Eileen (Epp) Ewert, Walter Klassen, Elsbeth (Epp) Moyer, Ed Bergen. (Photo by Henry Schroeder)

To the sounds of much laughter, along with moments of sadness, the Rosthern Junior College (RJC) class of 1960 met in Saskatoon on May 18-19 to mark 63 years since graduation... Read More
June 15, 2023 | News | Henry Fast

Pinegrove Place in Richmond, B.C. (Photo by Frank Dawson)

A little-known Mennonite mission, hidden away in a quiet residential neighbourhood on the flats of Richmond, B.C., celebrated its fortieth anniversary on June 7. Pinegrove Place,... Read More
June 15, 2023 | News | Andre Pekovich

Skies ablaze over the airtanker base in Edson, Alberta on May 5. (Photo by Art Koop)

Art Koop was cleaning up after teaching his last class of the day when the emergency alert blared from his cell phone. The message called for an immediate, mandatory evacuation. A... Read More
June 15, 2023 | News | Emily Summach

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