New book explores God’s vision for the church
In his new book, The Baby and the Bathwater: Aspiration and Reality in the Life of the Church, Robert J. Suderman, former general secretary for Mennonite Church Canada, makes a case for the importance of the church at a time when its relevance is in question, even by its own members. Published by MC Canada,…
No religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccines: MC Canada
Mennonite Church Canada’s executive ministers released a statement earlier this week responding to inquiries from constituents regarding exemption from COVID-19 vaccines. The message, signed by Doug Klassen (Mennonite Church Canada), Garry Janzen (MC B.C.), Tim Wiebe-Neufeld (MC Alberta), Ryan Siemens (MC Saskatchewan), Michael Pahl (MC Manitoba) and Leah Reesor-Keller (MC Eastern Canada), states the following:…
MC Canada issues National Day for Truth and Reconciliation statement
In advance of Canada’s first-ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation tomorrow (Sept. 30), Mennonite Church Canada is reminding the nationwide church about Mennonite involvement in Indian Residential Schools, and asking people to take steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Previously known as Orange Shirt Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is an opportunity…
Second year of Common Read begins
In September 2020, Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Church U.S.A. and Herald Press began encouraging Mennonites to engage in a “common read,” a shared reading experience focused on specific books written to nurture Christian faith in this cultural moment. Sara Wenger Shenk Common Read continues September 2021 through November 2021 with Tongue-Tied: Learning the Lost Art…
International Witness Sunday set for Oct. 24
Mennonite Church Canada invites congregations across its nationwide community of faith to celebrate International Witness Sunday on Oct. 24, 2021. The focus of this year’s celebration is on experiencing God’s call, drawing inspiration from the MC Canada denominational Vision: Healing and Hope statement: God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ and, by the…
MC Canada announces theme for Gathering 2022
“We Declare: What We Have Seen and Heard” will be an opportunity for members of the nationwide church to re-examine what it means to tell the good news and to share and hear stories of bearing witness to the gospel of peace. “Across Mennonite Church Canada, the idea of sharing the good news elicits strong…
MC Canada and CPT send team to Unist’ot’en
Mennonite Church Canada, together with Christian Peacemaker Teams, has responded to an invitation to accompany Unist’ot’en Camp in Wet’suwet’en Territory. This past Friday, May 28, a group comprised of CPTers and members of MC Canada arrived at the camp in northern B.C. The team members are: Rachelle Friesen, Canada Coordinator, Christian Peacemaker Teams; Allegra Friesen…
MC Canada: Pray for church in Colombia
Late yesterday afternoon, Mennonite Church Canada released the following call to prayer, written by Jeanette Hanson, director of international witness: This week our siblings in faith in Colombia are asking us for prayers regarding the wave of protests and violence that has broken out across the country. Protesters took to the streets and called for…
Peace Africa nurtures relationships between Christians and Muslims
“Peace Africa explores how the global Mennonite community can support peacebuilding initiatives between Christians and Muslims in African countries,” says Tany Warkentin, Mennonite Church Canada’s liaison to ministry in Africa. Dave Hubert from Lendrum Mennonite Church in Edmonton started the initiative after hearing Siaka Traoré, a church leader from the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Burkina…
Raise hard truths and turn toward healing
In their new book Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization (Cascade Books, 2021), authors and life partners Elaine Enns and Ched Myers confront hard truths about settler complicity in historic and ongoing injustices perpetrated against Indigenous peoples. They also offer a way toward healing. Through the lens of Enns’ own Mennonite family narrative,…
