Medicine wheel dedicated to elder
On Sept. 7, Westminster United Church in Regina dedicated a medicine wheel in its Kâkesimokamik, “healing garden,” to local Elder Lorna Standingready. Standingready, who is from Peepeekisis First Nation and is a residential school survivor, was an Elder for the United Church of Canada. She provided guidance to Westminster in their decision to create the healing…
Klassen urges outreach at Saskatchewan AGM
“The gospel begins with ‘hello.’” This was the challenge Doug Klassen, executive minister for Mennonite Church Canada, gave to those gathered for the Mennonite Church Saskatchewan Annual Delegate Sessions on March 8-9 at North Star Mennonite Church in Drake, Saskatchewan. Over 80 people attended, including 49 delegates from 21 of 22 MC Saskatchewan congregations. The…
Resurrecting Emmanuel
It is not unusual to hear of a small rural church closing its doors. It is, however, a rare thing to hear about a rural church reopening after being closed for more than 40 years. And yet this is the story of Emmanuel Church, a tiny congregation whose building is situated about 15 kilometres southwest…
Balancing competitiveness and learning
Winning awards is nothing new for Adam Ens. Maybe that’s why he expressed surprise when his whole family planned to show up for his induction into the Canada West Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place on Feb. 8 at the University of Saskatchewan, where Ens played with the Huskies men’s volleyball team from…
Langham artist finds connection through painting
Her parents called her Dynamite. Although she didn’t care for the nickname when she was a child, Valerie Wiebe has come to appreciate its layers of meaning. The Langham, Sask., artist says that when she looked up the etymology of “dynamite,” she learned that the prefix “dyna” describes “something with the potential for an explosion…
Watch: Inside the Vine and Table
The coordinators of the Vine and Table, an intentional Christian community house in Saskatoon, are inviting you inside. In a video they posted on YouTube last week, Thomas and Terri Lynn Friesen introduce what the Vine and Table is all about. Later, some of their current and former housemates share about their experiences living in…
MCC Saskatchewan hosts successful relief sale and auction
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Saskatchewan hosted its 49th annual relief sale and auction at Saskatoon’s Prairieland Park on June 7 and 8. An estimated 750 people took in a supper and concert with Saskatoon bluegrass band, Corner Grass on June 7, while about 2,500 people attended the sale the following day. New to this year’s…
Finding the balance between grace and responsibility
It’s been eight months since Thomas and Terri Lynn Friesen opened their Saskatoon home as The Vine and Table intentional community. For Terri Lynn, those eight months have been “an interesting season . . . of challenge and great joy.” The Friesens thought their house would be a great home for students, but, because they…
Considering bylaws and budgets
“We looked at the bylaws and asked, ‘Is this what we’re actually doing?’” said Tim Wiens. “Usually the answer was ‘No.’ ” Wiens was reporting to Mennonite Church Saskatchewan’s annual delegate sessions, held March 8 and 9 at Waldheim’s Zoar Mennonite Church. He and Kirsten Hamm-Epp, regional church minister, were appointed to form an ad hoc…
Epp Garage
The Epp Garage in Fiske, Sask., suffered a devastating fire. When material, like this photograph, comes to the archives with little or no information, we can often learn about it from its context—the other “stuff” that comes with it. But in this case there was no contextual information. We don’t know the family, owner, photographer…
