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MCC set to address COVID-19 threats
As COVID-19 spreads and worsens, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) continues its worldwide work while attending to the health and well-being of its staff. MCC is well positioned through its ongoing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health and food programs to address the threats of the novel coronavirus for some of the world’s most vulnerable people,…
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Westview adapts outreach during pandemic
How does a community fellowship deal with the current physical distancing and self-isolation situation that everyone is facing? Caleb Ratzlaff, the convener of Westview Christian Fellowship in St. Catharines, Ont., which also serves as the hub for the Westview Centre4Women, says staff needed to be creative to reach people in the neighbourhood during this time…
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Caring during COVID-19 crisis
How do you stay home when you don’t have a home? How do you physically isolate when you already seem invisible? How do you wash your hands frequently when public facilities are closed? For people who are struggling, the COVID-19 pandemic adds “another layer of challenge,” says John Neufeld, executive director of the House of…
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Doing justice in a pandemic
COVID-19 has altered the lives of most Canadians, but for those in prison and those reintegrating into society after prison terms, the pandemic’s impact is enormous. Parkland Restorative Justice in Prince Albert, Sask., offers inmate visitation through its Person to Person (P2P) program. Executive director Heather Driedger says visitors have not been allowed into the…
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Bread, masks and serving seniors
Tim and Sandra Kuepfer of Vancouver are among those doing their part to keep themselves and those in their neighbourhood safe during the current pandemic. Sandra works at Swiss Bakery and routinely brings home extra artisanal bread loaves. Tim, who is the English pastor of Chinatown Peace Church in Vancouver, then takes the bread to…
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20 tips for surviving school at home
Many families are spending more time together at home these days, requiring greater parental involvement in schooling. While some parents can calmly slip in a Zoom meeting from an “Instagramably” tidy house while their virtuoso kids make an organic lunch without being asked after having peacefully completed the tasks their teachers “Seesawed” them that morning,…
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Coffee for Peace employees affected by COVID-19 shutdown
The shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting employees of Coffee for Peace, a social enterprise managed by Joji Pantoja, a Mennonite Church Canada International Witness worker in the Philippines. Joji and Dann Pantoja. Pantoja, who is CEO of Coffee for Peace, and her management team decided to temporarily close down the Coffee for…
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Willowgrove guarantees camp programming this summer
Before COVID-19, southern Ontario not-for-profit Willowgrove offered summer camps, outdoor education and seasonal events in Ontario from its Willowgrove Day Camp and Outdoor Education Centre in Stouffville and Fraser Lake Camp in Bancroft. In order to maintain its mission but move its work online, Willowgrove has created Camp @ Home, a unique online camp experience…
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Sundays without singing
Never thought there would be Sundays without singing. Like churches across Canada, ours has been shuttered as a precaution against the novel coronavirus. I understand why this must be, but I sure miss getting together and joining our voices. ‘Singing solo is lonely,’ writes Carl DeGurse (pictured). We’re a singing church, a trait that is…
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Watch: A virtual Mennonite Easter choir
In the past few weeks, it’s likely you’ve seen a video of people singing together virtually. When the members of Winnipeg’s Prairie Voices choir had to cancel their 20th anniversary concert as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, they channeled their disappointment into this video. A group of singers in Nashville put together a rendition of “It…
