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…
MC Alberta appoints two new Joint Council members
At Mennonite Church Alberta’s annual delegate sessions in March 2018, Brenda Tiessen-Wiens and Margaret Kruger-Harder were appointed to represent the regional church on MC Canada’s Joint Council, which was created following the restructuring of the nationwide church in October 2017. (See more about the Joint Council here.) Brenda Tiessen-Wiens “It’s an exciting time to be a…
MC Alberta celebrates a ‘church born anew’
At the last minute, Lethbridge Mennonite Church had to scramble to host the 2018 Mennonite Church Alberta delegate assembly. Already working hard to finish entrance and meeting room renovations, a burst water pipe flooded the church basement just a week before the March 16-17 gathering. The Lethbridge congregation was able to host the March 16…
The nature of change
“Changes coming upon us / It keeps moving, moving around us. / Got to keep singing, knowing he loves us; / Got to keep joy in our hearts.” Those words from the song “Changes” by Jim Croegaert seem appropriate as I look forward to retirement in less than two months. But they also reflect this…
Breaking down walls in the name of Christ
“As a child, I didn’t see the wall,” Arlyn Friesen Epp told delegates to the 85th annual Mennonite Church Alberta assembly, as he spoke of growing up in small-town Saskatchewan with no real knowledge of, or connections to, first nations people other than negative stereotypes. Cheryl Bear-Barnetson, Friesen Epp’s co-presenter at the March 21-22 assembly,…
