Art gallery nurtures connections with the past
An art gallery lines the hallway between the sanctuary and the auditorium of the Niagara United Mennonite Church near Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The art hanging there reminds viewers of God’s guidance through difficult times, including separation, loss and escape. When the Russlaender centenary train trip stopped in Ontario in early July, about half of the participants…
A complicated centenary
The premise of the “Memories of Migration” Russlaender centenary train tour is a complicated one. The July tour commemorated the journey of the historic migration of 21,000 Mennonites from Russia to Canada by taking a train and various other forms of transportation from Montreal to Abbotsford. The tour made many stops along the way as…
MoM 100: Using technology to bring Mennonite history to life
It’s impossible today to see what the former Mennonite homes, schools, churches and villages in Ukraine looked like in the past—back when they were full of family, farm and business life. But by using modern technology, Brent Wiebe is giving it a good try. Wiebe, a member of the Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta, is…
MoM 100: Tour like a pilgrimage for young adult
For Emily Friesen, the Memories of Migration: Russlaender 100 Tour was like a pilgrimage. “As I travelled on the tour, I kept thinking about what it meant for our ancestors to make this journey,” said Friesen, 28, a textile artist from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She had read about her great-grandfather’s travels from the Soviet Union to…
MoM 100: Jews and Mennonites in the Soviet Union 100 years ago
One thing participants in the Memories of Migration: Russlaender 100 Tour have been reminded during the trip is that the experiences facing their ancestors in the Soviet Union were not unique. Other groups also faced hardship and crisis there at the same time. This was a point underscored by Jonathan Dekel-Chen of The Hebrew University…
MoM 100: Author Sarah Klassen shares about her book The Russian Daughter
“I think of my novel as a migration narrative.” That’s what author Sarah Klassen said about her new book, The Russian Daughter, at “The Russlaender Mennonites: War, Dislocation, And New Beginnings,” a July 14-15 conference at the University of Winnipeg. Klassen, the award-winning author of 12 books, was interviewed by Canadian Mennonite University English professor…
Train trip to mark 100th anniversary of Mennonites coming to Canada from Soviet Union
One hundred years ago, the first of 21,000 Mennonites who left the former Soviet Union boarded a train in Quebec City for new lives across Canada. On July 6, some of their descendants, along with others, will replicate that journey. Over 120 people have signed up for all or parts of, “Memories of Migration: Russlaender…
