Awakening to the Church’s true vocation
“God has been at work from the beginning to form a covenanted people of God to help bring about God’s plan for reconciling the world to its intended purposes.”– From The Baby and the Bathwater, by Robert (Jack) Suderman When I heard that Jack and Irene Suderman were visiting Winnipeg this fall, I reached out…
The future of Mennonite Men
Mennonite Men says its ministry may soon meet its end. Don Neufeld, Canadian coordinator of this bi-national organization which saw its beginnings in the 1950s when men fundraised for projects like new church builds, wrote a letter to MC Canada’s leadership and area churches of MC Canada questioning the viability of their organization: “Our donation…
Praying with their feet
On the afternoon of Saturday, October 5, approximately 60 people gathered in the shade of Holy Trinity Church in Toronto to support the Palestinian Youth Movement one year into the Gaza war. Organizations represented at the gathering included Christians for a Free Palestine, Christians for Just Peace, Bathurst United Church and Mennonite Action. “A number…
Resourcing the Anabaptist church
Over 500 years, the Anabaptist community has grown to be a diverse and global expression of faith. The resources of Anabaptism reflect this diversity. Mennonite World Conference (MWC) represents most Christian churches rooted in the Anabaptist movement. In addition to the ongoing resourcing work of its commissions and networks, MWC has several significant resource titles:…
Rubble and land in Ethiopia
Note: The following is an excerpt from a prayer letter/newsletter distributed by Joanne De Jong , a Mennonite Church Canada Witness worker in Ethiopia, on August 8, 2024. I’ve been so sad. While we had our coffee this morning, under a make-shift tent on the street, we watched five young men help tear down their friend’s…
Five pastoral callings
A quiet, years-long journey. A voice speaking in a mosh pit full of teenagers. A love for the church. An unexpected second career. These are just some of the ways that Mennonite Church Canada pastors from across the country entered into pastoral ministry. Pastors shared with Canadian Mennonite their stories of pastoral calling and what…
How do we declare?
In Ethiopia, almost every Mennonite church has an evangelist; in fact, there are more evangelists than pastors. Having so many evangelists has formed the church to be very outward looking. This partly explains how the Meserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia, a denomination that is part of Mennonite World Conference, is baptizing 20,000 new believers each…
Watch: A 2022 take on Jesus calling his first disciples
Arlyn Friesen Epp just made scripture a little fishier. One year ago, Mennonite Church Canada executive minister Doug Klassen asked Friesen Epp to produce a short film for Gathering 2022 in Edmonton, Alta., based on the story of Jesus calling his first disciples in Luke 5:1-11. The film, entitled “About those Fish…,” debuted at Gathering…
Declaring what we have seen and heard
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with…
MC Canada leadership approves updated operating agreement
Mennonite Church Canada’s Joint Council approved updates to the MC Canada operating agreement at its latest meeting on June 8. “The latest revision of the operating agreement builds on our learning over the past four years so that we can better operationalize the priorities we share as a nationwide church,” says Calvin Quan, MC…
