Friendship that sticks
The hard work of some Alberta bees creates a sweet deal for two very different churches. The “Bees for Burkina” project gives people of Foothills Mennonite Church in Calgary a chance to buy local honey, while the profits provide Mennonites in Burkina Faso with financial assistance to build their church. The faith friendship between the…
Manitoba Mennonites to explore vulnerability and mission
Embracing vulnerability can help congregations “engage with the world the way Jesus did,” says Ken Warkentin, Mennonite Church Manitoba Executive Minister. Through plenary talks and workshops, Manitoba congregations will have the opportunity to learn about mission and vulnerability at InFuse, a one-day learning event that takes place at Canadian Mennonite University Nov. 3, 2018. “We…
Exploring God’s call
Werner and Joanne DeJong faced a challenging decision. After many years of pastoral ministry with Edmonton’s Holyrood Mennonite Church, they felt called to consider ministry in East Africa. The call, however, was not equally clear for each of them or for their congregation. In many ways, the call was not surprising. In the last 15…
Serving in Japan as ‘ordinary people’
Retired missionary Mary Derksen didn’t start out to write a book about the 45 years she and her late husband spent as missionaries in Japan. But she has just completed the story of the couple’s ministry there: Rise and Shine! 45 Years in the Land of the Rising Sun. She describes it as “the story…
‘Our missionaries’
More than a decade ago, my family and I were privileged to serve as church planters in southern Italy. We were Mennonite Church Canada Witness workers seconded to what is now Virginia Mennonite Mission, and were financially supported by many friends, family members and our home congregation, Community Mennonite Fellowship in Drayton, Ont. One instance…
‘The Lord has been my guide through life’
Esther Patkau would likely not have considered herself a remarkable woman, yet she lived a remarkable life. Born on Aug. 23, 1927, near Hanley, Sask., she knew at the tender age of four that she wanted to be a missionary. She never wavered from that goal. After elementary school, she took high school courses by…
Women’s groups changed focus since 1970s
The golden age of Mennonite women’s organizations in Canada and the United States came in the years between 1940 and 1970, writes Anita Hooley Yoder in Circles of Sisterhood. In both the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church, women were highly involved, getting together to work at sewing projects on a monthly basis.…
Moving forward
“You can’t really talk about mission without talking about the End.” This was a conclusion that a colleague and I came to after reflecting on Bible verses that hold these two images together. From expansive, cosmic hymns (Colossians 1:15-20 and Ephesians 1:3-14), the joyful anticipation of creation’s new birth (Romans 8:18-25), and the foretelling of…
Going further together, Part 2
‘I thought this type of support was normal’ Jeanette and Todd Hanson By Donna Schulz, Saskatchewan Correspondent, Rosthern, Sask. Although they have had other mission partnerships over the years, Jeanette Hanson marvels at the support she and her husband Todd have received from their two home congregations. The couple served as long-term workers to China,…
Going further together
To put names and faces to these partnerships, Canadian Mennonite’s correspondents across the country have profiled Witness workers and the churches that support them. Following are stories from B.C. and Alberta. You can read stories from Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Eastern Canada here. By Tim Froese, Mennonite Church Canada Partnerships among congregations have been the basis of…
