‘God listened to our prayers’
In her entire life, Hyun Hee Kim never imagined that Donald Trump, president of the United States, and Kim Jong Un, leader of North Korea, would one day meet and shake hands. Hyun Hee, who graduated from Canadian Mennonite University with a Master of Arts in Peacebuilding and Collaborative Development this year, grew up in…
A supportive space
The mission of Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is to create space for the global Anabaptist family to meet together. Much of the time, it is fulfilled virtually, on social media or through email connections across continents. But once every three years, the General Council, MWC commissions, and the Global Mission Fellowship and Global Anabaptist Service…
A Bible comes home
On May 12, some 125 people gathered at Conrad Grebel University College for an unusual homecoming celebration—for a Bible. This large, centuries-old book is a part of Ontario Amish Mennonite history. The Bender Bible arrived in the wilderness of Upper Canada in 1832 with the Amish Mennonite immigrant family of Jacob and Magdalena Bender, who…
A picture of gradual decline
Often our society relies too much on numbers. In gravitating to quantification we tend to short-circuit the truth, which is nuanced and multilayered. But when it comes to our denomination, I would like to see more numbers. Specifically, how has overall giving to area/regional churches and Mennonite Church Canada changed over time? The charts here…
Nonviolent action in history and today
“In the Second World War there were over 10,000 loyal Canadians who served Canada without weapons. What were they called?” This is the question Conrad Stoesz has been asking students at the Red River Heritage Fair for more than a decade. War has long been the popular narrative throughout history and it continues to be…
New principal at RJC
Staff Changes By Donna Schulz Jim Epp, long-time principal of Rosthern Junior College (RJC), will retire at the end of June. Epp has taught for 32 years, all of them at RJC. He served as vice-principal for 12 years, and as principal for the last six. Epp, who holds a bachelor of theology degree from…
‘Connected: Striving side by side with one mind’
The theme of this year’s Mennonite Church Eastern Canada annual church gathering—stated in the headline—had many facets, both inspiring and challenging, for those gathered at Redeemer College in Ancaster on April 27 and 28, 2018. Impassioned plea to stay connected Executive minister David Martin urged four congregations considering leaving the regional church—Milverton; Maple View, Wellesley;…
MC Eastern Canada welcomes two new congregations
Two new congregations were welcomed into emerging membership during Mennonite Church Eastern Canada’s annual church gathering at Redeemer College on April 27 and 28, 2018. • The Assemblée de la Grâce is a Créole-speaking congregation made up of Haitian refugees, located in Montreal. Pastor Westerne Joseph hopes to invite many more Haitian diaspora congregations into…
Celebrating what was, anticipating what will be
“We celebrated 108 years of life in that building,” said Ed Bueckert, referring to Zoar Mennonite Church’s sanctuary in Langham, which faces imminent closure. About 110 members, former members, friends and neighbours gathered on April 22 to celebrate the congregation’s history and the life lived in the old building. Members from across the age spectrum…
‘A rich storehouse of treasure awaiting learners’
Scripture and community were the focus when Mennonite Church B.C. members gathered at Level Ground Mennonite Church in Abbotsford on April 14, 2018, for Reading the Bible Together. Resource person Tim Geddert, a professor of New Testament at Fresno Pacific University’s Biblical Seminary in California, called the Bible a “rich storehouse of treasure awaiting learners.”…
