Advent 2021 a time of sharing in MC B.C.
Congregations in Mennonite Church B.C. have been observing Advent in various ways through December. Yarrow United Mennonite celebrated First Advent, the Sunday of joy, with a bulletin display set up in the church foyer. Church members could write what brings them joy on the display to share with others. At Cedar Valley Church in Mission,…
The joy of receiving
My mom worked hard to make Christmas happy and special for me, but it wasn’t easy. My family was what I would now understand as extremely marginalized, and we experienced the kind of deep poverty that creates a grinding, helpless feeling for children who wind up worrying about things that no kid should have to…
Congregations need to talk about generosity
Many congregations struggle with finances, wishing their members would contribute more towards the budget, while assuming that no one wants to talk about money. In her book, Growing a Generous Church, Lori Guenther Reesor says this kind of thinking is backwards. Churches should concentrate on generosity, which is an important part of discipleship, and all…
Substance over glitz
While public conversation swirled in July over the details of WE Charity’s speaker fees and all-expenses-paid trips for donors, my church was having a sermon series on Mennonite Central Committee’s 100 years of service in the name Christ. Over several weeks, church members who had volunteered with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Canada and around…
Selling generosity
When I am asked what I do for a living, I often say, “I show people how much fun it is to give their money away.” That elicits a better conversation than if I tell them I manage a registered, charitable, donor-advised foundation. I love what I do. It’s a joy to work with donors…
‘Random acts of generosity’
Henry “Sherlock” Friesen is a long-time Abundance Canada client. He follows a well-thought-out generosity plan that includes making regular charitable donations from his gifting fund. This methodical approach to charitable giving suits his analytical nature. He’s the first to admit that he rarely added an additional dollar to his grocery bill at the checkout nor…
Church garden provides produce for soup kitchen
In the summer of 2004, Joy Neufeld opened the first soup kitchen in Steinbach. Fifteen years later, Soup’s On is still serving its community and is thriving. Neufeld, a member of Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach, started the project because she loved working in the kitchen. “I just love cooking and baking, but the last…
Watch: One couple’s generosity journey
“How do we learn about giving if we don’t talk about it?” Lori Guenther Reesor asks in our latest issue, which includes a special focus on money. “Listening to generous people share how they learned to give is a joy I recommend to everyone,” continues Guenther Reesor, who is a speaker, writer and consultant on…
Costly perfume
On April 15, dramatic images of Paris’s burning Notre Dame Cathedral captured worldwide attention. Nearby, local citizens and tourists stood singing and praying in grief. Could it be that this majestic symbol of faith, art and culture was crumbling before our eyes? (Photo: flickr.com_47563907512_Olivier Mabelly) Within 48 hours, over one billion euros had been donated…
Once Round the Barn: Pat-on-the-back Edition
He’s our resident ranter, our pigpen pundit. Canadian Mennonite writer Will Braun rants around the barn on his southern Manitoba farmyard. This time he’s got opinions on how Mennonites talk about their generosity. (See the video below. Then scroll down more and check out more rants.)
