Part III: Who owns your church building?
This six-part series draws on Kara Carter’s PhD studies, for which she conducted five focus groups with Mennonite Church Eastern Canada pastors. For periods of time during the pandemic, sanctuaries sat empty and congregations scattered, worshipping from home. As in-person gatherings and programming adapted, social media and technology became a vital tool to remain…
‘Much is expected’
After more than three years and with a budget of $1.4 million, Hagerman Mennonite Church in Markham, Ont., has completed a significant building renovation. But more than efficient space and a sleek exterior, the project represents the power of this church, a diverse partnership of different congregations, to work together as the body of Christ…
‘Leaving behind what wasn’t healthy’
Zoar Mennonite Church in Langham has a new home—and a new name. When the congregation discovered black mould growing in the basement of its old church building some years ago, it didn’t immediately decide to build a new church building. Instead, it gutted the basement and had it cleaned and disinfected. But the problem persisted,…
The shape of church to come?
The skyline is liberally punctuated with steeples, but they loom like tombstones over the churches of Montréal. The beautiful buildings are mostly dead on Sundays, and I wonder where the church has gone. As part of a four-month sabbatical, our family spent several weeks in Montréal, living in a student residence at-Maison de l’Amitié (House…
