Whatever became of Sunday school
They had forgotten about the kids. It was the 1980s; two major Mennonite denominations had merged, spending five years and a large sum of money to figure out how to bring the various mission boards into the integrated denomination, when suddenly people realized that no attention had been given to where Sunday school would fit…
Resourcing the Anabaptist church
Over 500 years, the Anabaptist community has grown to be a diverse and global expression of faith. The resources of Anabaptism reflect this diversity. Mennonite World Conference (MWC) represents most Christian churches rooted in the Anabaptist movement. In addition to the ongoing resourcing work of its commissions and networks, MWC has several significant resource titles:…
Learning together, apart
Whether you call it Sunday school, faith formation or Christian education, one aspect of a congregation’s life together is how we nurture faith in people of all ages. Last spring, with the coming of the COVID-19 restrictions, many churches saw drastic changes in their faith education programs. I chatted recently with folks who have responsibilities…
The adventure of leadership
I got my first taste of journalism at a Mennonite school. As a second-year English major, I began writing for The Weather Vane, the student newspaper at Eastern Mennonite College (now Eastern Mennonite University), in Harrisonburg, Va. The following year I accepted the challenge of becoming co-editor of the features section. Since those years, I’ve followed…
New administrator welcomes church into school
Chilliwack, B.C.—A year ago, the Chilliwack School District asked Crossroads Community Church, a Mennonite Church B.C. congregation, to consider moving its Sunday morning service to a different school. Although it meant considerable adjustments, the church obliged, in order to show a cooperative spirit to the public school community. The move to Vedder Middle School proved…
Meeting the mental health needs of students
Are more students struggling with mental health issues these days, or are they just better able to articulate their struggles than students once were? Jim Epp doesn’t know the answer to this question. As principal of Rosthern Junior College (RJC), one thing he does know is that his students are not immune to mental illness…
Teaching in a flipped classroom
Chani Wiens, UMEI’s academic math teacher since 2009, has introduced a new style of teaching to the school: the flipped classroom. “I started to research classroom flipping when I became frustrated that, even in a small classroom, I wasn’t meeting the needs of each student as much as I wanted to,” she explains. “I felt…
Rockway adds business courses to curriculum
It was with great excitement that Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener, Ont., launched a new business program last fall. Our new courses in business leadership and international business are designed to expose our students to important business ideas and invite them to consider them through a Christian lens. It has been both exciting and a…
AMBS grads called to engage the ‘whole of life’
Mary H. Schertz encouraged Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) graduates, including Canadian Lee Allan Hiebert of Winnipeg, to hold close “the weariness and wonder of the world and the sorrow and joy of human being” in her commencement address on May 20 at College Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind. “And there, in whatever exciting thing…
Sexuality is about more than just sex
Rockway Mennonite Collegiate decided that not only did it need to focus on sexuality for its students in grades 7 to 12, but it needed to invite the community, including Canadian Mennonite, to hear what was being presented and to have an opportunity to respond. Keith Graber Miller, a professor of religion and sexuality at…
