MC Canada churches receive grants from MDS fund
A Mennonite Church Eastern Canada congregation is among five Canadian churches that received grants this fall from the 2022-23 Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada Spirit of MDS Fund. The purpose of the fund is to assist churches in Canada as they serve and support people in their communities. The Centre Bethesda Mennonite de Quebec congregation…
MDS volunteers begin cleanup in Nova Scotia
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada began cleanup work in Antigonish, N.S., on Sept. 30 in response to Hurricane Fiona. That’s when volunteers from the Bethel Mennonite Church in Waterville, N.S., about a three-and-a-half hour drive from Antigonish, arrived to start cutting down fallen trees in the coastal town of 4,300 in the northeast part of…
Kentucky flood survivors need help: MDS
Flood survivors in hard-hit eastern Kentucky need volunteers—and Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) is trying to help. “The need is overwhelming,” said Larry Stoner, MDS regional operations coordinator, describing the aftermath of the historic deluge in late July that killed 38 people in a rural corner of the state. Only one percent of properties in the…
‘I can be a mom again’
Dustan Eager was home alone when the knock on the door came at 2 a.m. It was Aug. 4, 2021, and someone from emergency services was there, telling him to get ready to leave his home in Monte Lake, B.C. because of the encroaching fire. His wife Tammy, and their three children—Tristan 10, Sarah…
MDS provides meals, camps, blankets and more
Meals and blankets for homeless people, helping low-income kids go to camp, support for refugees—these are some of the ways the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada Spirit of MDS Fund helped Canadian congregations and organizations serve their communities. Altogether, $117,900 has been granted to 26 groups since last September through the fund, which exists to…
Applications open for MDS Canada summer youth group program
Making trails, building a new rope course, repairing cabins and enjoying a week in beautiful New Brunswick: These are the things awaiting youth groups that want to do service with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada this summer. “We are inviting youth groups to come to Atlantic Canada to help us fix up a Bible camp,”…
Mennonites, Catholics reunite Ontario family
A family separated by illness is being reunited through the joint efforts of the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Ontario Unit and the Roman Catholic Knights of Columbus. Through the project, Marc and Carole Jobin and their nine children will be able to live together in the same house after the family was separated three years…
MDS responds to flooding in Princeton, B.C.
“The Mennonites are coming!” That was the buzz around the town of Princeton, B.C., in early December 2021, when the first 16 Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers arrived to help residents hard hit by flooding in mid-November. People in the town are “so exhausted,” said Spencer Coyne, Princeton’s mayor. But knowing help was arriving put…
MDS calling for volunteers to help in B.C.
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada is calling for volunteers to help with cleaning out homes in Princeton, B.C. following the catastrophic flood that hit the town in mid-November. Around 20 volunteers are needed by Dec. 6 to help people in that interior community clean out their flooded homes. MDS coordinator Walter Wiebe (right) walks with…
Mennonite Disaster Service monitoring flood situation in B.C.
Winnipeg, MB—Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) is monitoring the situation in British Columbia, where torrential rains have caused flooding and mudslides that have affected many communities and residents. With the water still yet to recede, and some communities still cut off from access due to damaged or destroyed roads and bridges, “it’s too early to be…
