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…
‘Are you a pastor’s wife?’
In Vietnam it is still uncommon to see female pastors. But the president of the Evangelical Vietnamese Mennonite Church (EVMC) is a woman and also a pastor. Reverend Hong Thi Nguyen is the leader of 40 Mennonite congregations throughout the southern part of Vietnam. After completing a degree in civil engineering, she married and started…
Watch: The art of guitar-making
Phil Campbell-Enns, associate pastor at Bethel Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, has a unique hobby: building guitars. In the two-minute video below, Campbell-Enns takes viewers into his workshop for a quick look at how he does it. Campbell-Enns, whose original music has been featured at Mennonite Church Canada assemblies and youth gatherings, says that being a luthier has…
‘The music ever changing’
In The Pastor-Congregation Duet, Gary Harder weaves together his love of pastoral ministry and his love of music. It is clear from the outset, that his call to ministry ran deep, and his love for making music and appreciating music helped to sustain him in his call, feeding him in times of drought and comforting…
Pastors prepare to become climate leaders
Hopelessness. Denial. Grief. Guilt. Despair. Pastors face these emotions in their congregations as they walk with people suffering from personal losses. Through a series of retreats funded by the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions in Harrisonburg, Va., church leaders are beginning to transfer these skills to climate change. The non-profit and its partner, Mennonite Creation…
Three little words that open doors
A standing joke among pastors is that if they want to end a conversation, they only need to tell the other person they are a pastor. But this hasn’t been Ric Driediger’s experience. Driediger, who lives in Rosthern, is pastor of Langham Mennonite Fellowship during the winter months. From May to the middle of October,…
Paving the way to the Promised Land
“You don’t go quickly from Egypt to the Promised Land,” quips Harold Schlegel. “The wilderness is where God forms us.” The wilderness Schlegel speaks of is the transition in a congregation’s life between one pastor and another. Church leaders suggest it’s a time that’s ripe for interim or transitional ministry. An interim pastor, hired for…
AMBS conference models practices for sustaining faith and hope
With contentiousness and fracturing in the body of believers, and hostility and injustice all around, these are difficult days for church leaders, who are supposed to provide guidance for people struggling with the trials of the times while at the same time often wrestling with their own challenges. “How do we deal with our anxieties…
From Mexican Quaker to Canadian Mennonite
Ask Andrea De Avila when she first wanted to become a pastor and her answer is simple: “I didn’t.” While studying at Hesston College in Kansas, and Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in Harrisonburg, Va., De Avila became involved with Mennonite Church U.S.A. As part of her biblical studies at EMU, she participated in the Ministry…
Prodigal pastor
Seventy-four-year-old George Ediger rushed out of church during the final song and caught up with the newcomer in the parking lot before the big young visitor with the shaved head and biker beard could escape in the maroon hot rod that stood out among the grey and beige sedans. That gesture of welcome, although not…
