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Two parents, two kids and an in-law
Halfway up the street in midtown Kitchener, Ontario, is a single, detached home much like the other houses around it, but inside, something unusual is happening. At least the neighbours think so. How does it work? they ask. What are the common areas? How do you get privacy? Is there a limit if they start…
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MCEC reduces salary costs by 17 percent
Due to ongoing budgetary pressure, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada is making a 17-percent reduction in salary costs for the 2025–26 budget year. The leadership have made the difficult decision to lay off four staff. A November 20 open letter to MCEC churches from Ann L. Schultz, intentional interim executive team leader, and moderator Ben Cassels,…
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Hawkesville Mennonite donates assets to support the future of the church
Representatives of Hawkesville Mennonite Church in Hawkesville, Ontario, dispersed its assets in a gift ceremony on October 24, held at the Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC) offices at 50 Kent in Kitchener, Ontario. Recipients from MCEC, Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and Mennonite Church Canada (MCC) were in attendance. The congregation, which concluded its active ministries…
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Growing into the future
Over the past year, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada has been leaning into its strategic plan, “Growing into the Future,” a plan that honours the five strategic priorities set in 2022. The plan is anchored in MCEC’s identity statement—transformed, inspired and called—and includes four specific goals to be enacted over the next few years. Both the…
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Whatever became of Sunday school
They had forgotten about the kids. It was the 1980s; two major Mennonite denominations had merged, spending five years and a large sum of money to figure out how to bring the various mission boards into the integrated denomination, when suddenly people realized that no attention had been given to where Sunday school would fit…
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Making space might save someone’s life
Notice: This article mentions addiction, rape and abortion. “I never thought I would set foot in another church.” These were the opening words from Grace Ibrahima’s sermon at Rockway Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ontario on June 2. “Churches can be somewhere warm and comforting and reassuring and accepting, with a lot of hope and aspiration.…
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Not your typical youth mission trip
“That was a test. True servants are always listening.” Jacques was our new friend. He was always barefoot and wouldn’t say how he had ended up living in his van, but he spoke six languages, and he enjoyed chatting with us about faith and making the world a better place. For a few days, he…
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Jewish author proposes one-state solution
Israeli-Jewish author and organizer Jeff Halper spoke at a June 25 lunch gathering organized by the Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC) Palestine-Israel Network (PIN). Halper heads the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and is the author of Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism, and the Case for One Democratic State. Halper said that while it…
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Young asylum seekers showcase art
“I’m always amazed at how quickly people dismiss the arts,” says Steve Norton, a pastor and film critic at Connect City Ministries, which is part of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada. He joined young artists from families seeking asylum for the Resonate Art Exhibition at The Don on Danforth in Toronto on June 23. A group of…
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Windsor church addresses toxic drug crisis
Rielly McLaren says the grief caused by toxic drug deaths feels staggering and palpable in his community. McLaren, who pastors Windsor Mennonite Fellowship, also serves as chaplain to men transitioning into new communities after completing prison sentences. The toxic drug crisis has hit both those communities. McLaren was one of five clergy from Windsor, Timmins,…
