Biking and hiking raise funds for Alberta organizations
This summer, Alberta supporters of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Camp Valaqua got physical to raise funds. MCC Alberta The group that calls itself Wheels of Waterton grew out of Ernie Engbrecht, Ron Esau and Dave Neufeldt’s love for cycling and support for MCC. In 2020, COVID-19 put a stop to the annual relief…
Loss that cannot be counted
As millions of civilians continue to flee the devastation of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, organizations like MCC partner UMAN (Charitable Foundation Uman Help Center) are working to support those who have left everything they know behind. UMAN operates in the Ukrainian city of Uman, about 200 kilometres from the capital of Kyiv. Due…
Small town, big heart
The small town of Black Creek, British Columbia, showed its generosity with a sale for Ukraine relief, organized by United Mennonite Church, on May 29. The town has a population of just over 9,000 and is located on Vancouver Island, far from all of Mennonite Church B.C.’s other congregations. The Black Creek congregation has been…
‘Come over and help us so that we can help the needy ones’
Pastor Desalegn Abebe’s message to North American Mennonites is simple. Abebe is the head of Meserete Kristos Church (MKC), the Anabaptist denomination in Ethiopia, where 17 months of civil violence has led to 12 MKC churches being burned, 44 displaced and 163 full-time ministers and their families displaced and without income. Speaking via video link…
Boy’s bake sale raises funds for Ukraine
Cliff Gusztak is a little boy with a big heart. An idea for a small cupcake stand evolved into a fundraising campaign that raised a total of $7,150 for Mennonite Central Committee’s Ukraine emergency response. “I was maybe thinking that we could stop the war,” he said innocently but sincerely of his efforts. The nine-year-old,…
Making comforters for Ukraine refugees a community effort
Niagara United Mennonite Church called its congregants and neighbourhood community together to tie comforters in the church basement on March 26. Advertisements in the local newspapers and in church bulletins invited anyone interested to gather for the morning. Emily Fieguth worked together with the church’s Women in Service volunteers to set up 10 quilting frames…
MCC partners in India support migrant workers
When thinking about migration, it is easy to focus just on resettling refugees fleeing conflict or disaster. But the work Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) does with migrants isn’t just about resettling those on the move. Hundreds of millions of people are migrant workers, seeking higher-paying jobs far away from their families and homes. MCC partners…
MCC partners in Ukraine supply essential care
Try to imagine hearing air raid sirens scream out their warning. In your panic, you seek shelter. Your freezing fingers remind you of the warm coat you’ve forgotten back home. Or maybe you pack the car full of blankets and food, planning to flee to a safer location. You hope you won’t get stuck in…
Doug Klassen’s contract renewed
Doug Klassen’s term as executive minister of Mennonite Church Canada has been renewed for a second three-year term beginning June 1. “We received strong affirmation for Doug’s renewal from Joint Council,” says Calvin Quan, moderator for Mennonite Church Canada. Joint Council, the governance body made up of representatives from across MC Canada’s five regional churches,…
Watch: MCC partner in Ukraine asks for prayer
A Mennonite Central Committee partner in Ukraine requests prayer in a video clip the relief organization posted on YouTube earlier today. In the video, which was filmed on Monday, Feb. 28, Maxym Oliferovski describes what life was like for him in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, a few days after Russian military forces began invading the country by…
