Feast of metaphors served at ‘Table talk’ conference
A feast of metaphors was on the menu for Mennonite Church Canada’s inaugural study conference on the character and mission of the church and the role of worship. “Table talk: Does the church still have legs?” was originally planned as an in-person gathering, but the Oct. 25 event was moved online because of pandemic gathering restrictions.…
Pandemic offers new opportunities for students
The pandemic this year has turned the master of theological study (MTS) program’s teaching model on its head. Conrad Grebel University College professors have adapted and, in some cases, entirely reconstructed their MTS courses for the ease of learning and connecting virtually, meaning that graduate students who were used to learning together in small classes…
Families negotiate education during pandemic
Mary Anne Neufeld of Vineland, Ont. teaches Kindergarten in the public school system and was surprised at the beginning of the school year that 92 percent of students returned to the classroom instead of taking online classes. This was a tough decision for many parents. Staff members at Neufeld’s school were nervous, but the professional…
COVID-19 global response fund helps more Global South churches
“I have seen entire families in the garbage dumps looking to quench their hunger. I have also watched with sadness as they return the elderly from the hospitals because there are no possibilities to attend them, nor medicines to supply them,” said Erwin Francisco Mirabal González, a Mennonite pastor in Venezuela. “We pray to the…
MDS Canada issues second call for Spirit of MDS Fund applications
The Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada Spirit of MDS Fund is issuing a second call for applications from churches in Canada. The goal of the Spirit of MDS Fund is to provide financial support to Canadian Anabaptist-Mennonite congregations that are assisting people in their communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of $100,000 has…
Low German community in southwestern Ontario experiences persecution
Members of Low German-speaking Mennonite communities in southwestern Ontario have experienced public discrimination recently because of a surge in COVID-19 cases in their population. Incidents include negative online comments, cancelled playdates with children in the Low German community, and aggressive verbal attacks at the grocery store. The Windsor-Essex region of the province has been a…
Antifragile church
The past few months have awakened us to our fragility as individuals, communities and nation states. We’ve observed the fragility of our health-care system, food-supply chain, economies, global trade, international relations, institutional accountability. It seems that everything in our world is fragile, including ourselves. We’re also becoming acutely aware of the fragility of the Canadian…
Marking end-of-life rituals during the pandemic
Amid the restrictions of COVID-19, pastors and families are still finding creative and meaningful ways to mark, grieve and ritualize the deaths of loved ones. But no two funerals are the same, and there are added stressors, frustrations and disappointments. Mark Diller Harder, pastor of St. Jacobs (Ont.) Mennonite Church, where there have been four…
COVID-19 global response fund helps Global South churches
The Mennonite World Conference (MWC) COVID-19 inter-agency task force has approved 21 relief proposals. Food and sanitation materials are part of all the proposals from Anabaptist member churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America. With the COVID-19 fund’s assistance, local congregations in more than a dozen countries will bring relief to thousands of families, sharing…
Church seeks to boost ‘helping fund’ for people affected by pandemic
Windsor-Essex County in southwestern Ontario has drawn a plethora of attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to ongoing outbreaks and high occurrences of infections in specific sectors, the virus is still taking quite a toll in the region, despite the efforts of many. The ongoing measures to stifle the spread of the virus are beginning…
