Selling thrift by the pound
Volunteers who work at any of the many Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) thrift stores know the sorrow of unsold goods: clothing that hangs around for more than a month or dishes that don’t move out the door to grace someone’s table. The Generations Store in Waterloo, Ont., had a “We want your quality thrift goods,…
Mennonites respond to Palestinian church
Christians in the land where Christianity started have asked sisters and brothers around the world for help. In response to these pleas from Palestinian churches—with whom Mennonites have long-standing relations—delegates at the 2016 Mennonite Church Canada assembly approved a resolution related to violence in the Middle East. What has happened since that resolution was passed?…
‘Fun in the Son’ keeps ’em coming back
Spring break comes and students are home from school. What are parents to do to keep them occupied? Crossroads Community Church of Chilliwack, a Mennonite Church B.C. congregation, has the answer: a week-long day camp. Fun in the Son (FITS), a community service program for youngsters in Kindergarten through Grade 6, has been going for…
Bridging Borders in the ‘City of Bridges’
A new television documentary series featuring the work of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Saskatchewan is currently airing on City-Saskatchewan TV. Bridging Borders is a six-episode series produced by Wavelength Entertainment, a Regina-based production company. Set in Saskatoon, the “City of Bridges,” each episode depicts a relationship formed through MCC’s private refugee sponsorship program. From a…
Strengthening faith and soccer skills
When Sigifredo Godoy talks about living out his faith, he’s talking sweat and strategy—the commitment, knowledge and skills that shaped him as a professional soccer player. That’s what he’s now passing on to young men from some of the most violent areas of his home city, Cali, Colombia. “I’ve always thought that if God gives…
‘Let no walls divide’
Right before winter reading break, 30 university students from across Canada gathered in Ottawa to learn about the current conflict in Palestine and Israel at a seminar hosted by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada Ottawa Office. From Feb. 15–17, students attending “Palestine and Israel: Let no walls divide” explored issues of advocacy, peace and…
What if you were ‘forced to flee’?
People in your country are angry at the government. They gather to protest peacefully, and the government responds by opening fire on the protesters. The occasional bomb goes off and people are fighting in the streets. Soon, it’s not safe for you to leave the house and go to work. When food is available, it’s…
Seeking reconciliation through jubilee
What does the ancient Levitical concept of jubilee have to do with reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and their settler neighbours? Plenty, according to Steve Heinrichs. During Rosthern Mennonite Church’s Deeper Life Days on Jan. 26 and 27, 2018, Heinrichs, who is director of Indigenous-settler relations for Mennonite Church Canada, presented a three-session workshop entitled “Unsettling…
Farmers, thinkers, eaters
Agriculture is changing. Perhaps it always has been. Markets realign. Tastes shift. Ideas evolve. Climatic conditions rearrange. Mennonites are part of the change—as farmers, thinkers and eaters. Joanne Thiessen Martens notes another change. She grew up on a farm near Austin, Man. Then she studied agro-ecology out of an interest to work overseas, which she…
‘Choose something to do’
“There’s no such thing as a natural disaster,” according to Bruce Guenther. But Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada’s disaster response director wasn’t in denial. Guenther was the featured speaker at MCC Saskatchewan’s encounter and annual general meeting, held at Cornerstone Church in Saskatoon on Nov. 4, 2017. “Disasters are caused by people’s vulnerability to disaster,”…
