The place of a ‘confession’ in church life
In his seminar “Confessions of faith: Sources of unity or division,” Karl Koop told the story of 3,000 Mennonites who met during a five-hour meeting in Amsterdam in 1639 to bring together three Mennonite groups that had been severely divided. The most contentious issue that divided them was how congregations should practise discipline. Koop, who…
Looking to the future of Canadian Mennonite
Canadian Mennonite has been around in some form or other for 62 years, and as editor Dick Benner pointed out, the Mennonite church in Canada has witnessed many changes during that time. Speaking at a July 7, 2016, luncheon hosted by Canadian Mennonite Publishing Services, the non-profit organization that oversees the magazine and its online/social…
How the church can move creation care forward
Following on the heels of the delegate sessions for Mennonite Church Canada, about 40 interested leaders got together at Wanuskawin Heritage Park in Saskatoon to think about how to move forward the agenda of creation care, particularly the issue of climate change, in Mennonite congregations across Canada One participant voiced the concern that this would…
Laments and hopes for MC Canada
When Laura Carr-Pries got together with fellow students at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg last year to discuss the challenges facing Mennonite Church Canada, she wasn’t sure how things would go. Out of those discussions, she and her peers formed the Emerging Voices Initiative (EVI) in response to MC Canada’s Future Directions Task Force.…
Assembly 2016 speakers to focus on God’s covenant
One of the highlights of Mennonite Church Canada’s assemblies are the times of worship and spiritual enrichment. The theme of Assembly 2016 (July 6-9), God~Faith-People, is paraphrased from the Old Testament text Jeremiah 31:33: “This is the covenant . . . I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall…
