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Conflict management training goes online
WATERLOO—For the first time in its history, Conrad Grebel University College’s conflict management certificate program is being offered online. The program, based out of the college’s peace and conflict studies department, offers workshops in a variety of conflict management and mediation practices. Participants are invited to attend individual workshops for professional development or personal interest,…
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Chaplain-turned-pianist brightens personal-care home
WINNIPEG—According to Dr. Bill Thomas, an expert in aging, the three greatest “plagues” facing residents of nursing homes are loneliness, boredom and helplessness—all things unfortunately exacerbated by the current plague of COVID-19. At Donwood Manor, a personal-care home in Winnipeg, that’s where chaplain Lisa Enns, a member of Charleswood Mennonite Church, comes in. Lisa Enns…
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COVID-19 impact on world hunger cause for high concern
The number of people facing crisis levels of hunger in the world could double due to COVID-19, the World Food Programme (WFP) warns. The WFP is estimating 265 million people could experience acute hunger and food insecurity due to lockdowns and economic slowdowns related to COVID-19. According to a recent international report, an estimated 135…
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Spirit of MDS Fund launched by MDS Canada
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada’s operations may be suspended until fall due to the pandemic, but the organization still wants to be active in responding to COVID-19. To do that, the organization has created The Spirit of MDS Fund to help Canadian churches respond to people in their communities facing hardship due to the virus.…
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Because we don’t know
The eight-hour world-wide One World: Together at Home concert ended the other day with this line from an African proverb: “For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” I was leaving Ascension Parish yesterday afternoon after sitting in their quiet sanctuary for a little while, along with about three or four other…
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Testing the ties that bind
More than a month into physical distancing in Canada, and the church seems to be flourishing. Does it seem that way to you? Having been forced to disrupt our usual worship traditions, many congregations have energetically jumped into trying new ways of being the church together. Mennonite Church Canada has been at the forefront to…
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‘Peace be with you’
There is a post-resurrection story that I find helpful this Easter as I contemplate the changing world around me. It is found in the Gospel of John, where we read that Jesus encounters his closest friends in their hiding place where they are holed up and fearing for their lives. We are told they are…
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Work-play-rest
As our life has quite abruptly and drastically shifted, along with everyone’s around the globe, I have been reflecting on our daily rhythm and working at reorganizing our schedule into a work-play-rest rhythm. We used to really enjoy a lazy Saturday with no plans or structure. The kids would play, my husband and I would…
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Salt for the earth
These weeks of physical distancing, including Easter, have forced us to think more about what it means to be the church. We appreciate the phrase “the church has left the building!” We identify with Jesus’s disciples on Easter, huddled behind locked doors, filled with fear and despair. I have begun thinking about the church in…
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Mennonites explore virtual worship
“We’ve been thrown out of the boat and now we’re learning to walk on water!” This lighthearted metaphor comes from Cathrin van Sintern-Dick, as she considers changes in congregational life resulting from the novel coronavirus outbreak. Sintern-Dick serves on the regional ministry team of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, and recently she helped lead an online…
