-
Meditations while sheltering in place
Evan Kreider was scheduled to speak at Point Grey Inter-Mennonite Fellowship in Vancouver in the spring of 2020. But the pandemic put an end to that, as life as we knew it changed. Group meetings were discouraged. The timing coincided with the church’s plan to depart the chapel of the Menno Simons Centre, a student…
-
COVID-19 cases rise among Mennonites in Waterloo Region
On Nov. 30, public health officials in the Waterloo Region of Ontario issued an order to close all Old Order, Markham, Old Colony (Low German speaking) and David Martin Mennonite churches and schools due to significant community spread of COVID-19 in the northern portions of Wellesley and Woolwich townships. More than 200 new cases of…
-
Making sense of the bleakness
“An urgent reality … a state of public health emergency.” This is how our premier, Jason Kenney, described our situation in Alberta last week because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is probably not news to anyone that the number of new cases in Alberta has continued to rise dramatically over the last couple weeks. Hospitals…
-
Flexibility key to youth ministry
The weekly church youth group gathering, whether for service, faith discussions or recreational activity, has had to change this fall in the face of COVID-19. B.C. youth leaders are adapting the best they can, trying to keep young people engaged and connected to the church. Cedar Valley Mennonite youth group in Mission had been meeting…
-
Zoom check-in
A regional church check-in meeting last month gave members a chance to learn how Mennonite Church Alberta is faring. With the arrival of fall, when in-person meetings were prohibited, MC Alberta leaders decided to host a Zoom check-in for all the churches so communities could connect and hear how things are going. Brenda Tiessen-Wiens, the regional…
-
MC Canada calls for prayer for Ethiopia and Eritrea
Meserete Kristos Church (MKC) held a nationwide fasting and prayer for peace on Nov. 16. “Believers are still praying for peace, individually and collectively,” they announced. “At present, our hope is in God alone. We kindly request the Mennonite families in North America and around the world to pray for our country. We need peace…
-
‘How can I keep from singing?’
Eric Dettweiler’s Grade 10 music class at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener began the school year drumming every day for the first few weeks, often outdoors. Now the 11 students drum a couple of times a week. It is a safe way to conduct a music class while maintaining physical distance in the reality of…
-
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…
-
Anabaptist health network responds to COVID-19
“We are bound together as a community not only through this global pandemic, but through our faith,” says Rick Stiffney, steering committee member of the Global Anabaptist Health Network. The global network held its first webinar on Sept. 16, which was attended by two dozen Anabaptist-related health professionals from Asia, Africa, North America and the…
-
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…
