One in the Spirit of evangelism and service
People who are involved in service are typically practical, caring people; in other words, people of action. Of course the motivation for doing service is to follow Jesus and his teaching, to reach out to the weak, to the orphans and widows, and so on, according to Jeremiah 22:3 and James 1:27. People who have…
A heavenly ride to Hell’s Gate
A heavenly ride to Hell’s Gate. In the 11th annual Mennonite Church British Columbia motorcycle ride, six bikers embarked on Sept. 9, 2018, to the Hell’s Gate canyon, east of Hope. The event is organized every year by Garry Janzen, MC B.C.’s executive minister, and this year had been postponed from August, when fires in…
Loving your community
In 2014, five years after Warden Woods Mennonite Church in Toronto closed, a new congregation began to form in the Warden Woods community. Led by Jordan Thoms, the Warden Underground is focussed on 15-to 30-year-olds. This is an age group which seems to be missed by the Warden Woods Community Centre programs, an age group…
Helping the stranger and connecting with the neighbour
When Sterling Mennonite Fellowship received an invitation from St. Vital Evangelical Mennonite Church (EMC) to partner in sponsoring a refugee family, it felt like an answer to prayer. Members of the Winnipeg Mennonite congregation had felt called to support refugees for a long time, because of their history as refugees and the clear need for…
Keeping culture and faith
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada already had several Chin congregations in its midst, with all of them having roots in the Hakha-Chin community. Like many languages, though, the Chin language from Myanmar has several dialects, and, as of this spring, the regional church is now home to the Matu-Chin Christian Church in Kitchener, whose members speak…
Spiritual snapshots of the U.K. and Africa
Mike and Cheryl Nimz: United Kingdom Mike and Cheryl Nimz do not fit typical missionary scenarios, but neither does their mission field conform to stereotypes. As Mennonite Church Canada Witness workers living in Birmingham, England, since 2013, their assignment is to nurture Christian groups in a post-Christendom urban setting as part of an emerging Anabaptist…
Gathered with our people
Death brings to the fore the cost of having left home. For many at First Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Canada is a home away from home. When death strikes, they cannot be gathered with their people in their countries of origin. Finances, dangers or immigration status can stand in the way, and many, many kilometres…
‘We became family to each other’
What do you get when you start a Mennonite church in the middle of nowhere? A community that is still going strong more than 50 years later, even after the church itself has closed its doors. Thompson United Mennonite Church was formed in 1962 in Thompson, Man., an isolated northern frontier town formed out of…
Creole-speaking congregation joins MCEC
Westerne Joseph has been in Canada for ten years. The political situation in Haiti meant that he, his wife and their children had to flee, landing in Canada as refugees. In 2010 they received refugee status, making their home in Montreal, where their children have finished high school and attend university. Joseph has Mennonite roots…
End of an era
The Ralph and Eileen Lebold Endowment for Leadership Training met its goal of $1 million a few years ago, when Mennonite Church Eastern Canada used monies from the Schmidt bequest to top it up from $750,000. The banquet that had been a major fundraiser for the fund continued, however, with funding now going to support …
