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Just as interested in life
Hugo and Doreen Neufeld, 84 and 88 respectively, co-directed the Welcome Inn Community Centre in Hamilton before they were both ordained. Doreen was one of the first ordained Mennonite women in Canada. They are now deacons at Trinity Mennonite Church in Calgary. What is your earliest memory of church? Doreen: I remember being about three or…
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Senses open new doors
First, a disclaimer: I love books. With a father in the bookstore and publishing business, I grew up in a household that always had books available. I’ve volunteered and been employed in a library. I currently own cards to two local libraries. For me, books have been a source of learning, inspiration and connection to…
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Church garden provides produce for soup kitchen
In the summer of 2004, Joy Neufeld opened the first soup kitchen in Steinbach. Fifteen years later, Soup’s On is still serving its community and is thriving. Neufeld, a member of Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach, started the project because she loved working in the kitchen. “I just love cooking and baking, but the last…
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Hurricane Dorian: MDS is “ready to respond”
As Americans follow updates about Hurricane Dorian, Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada is keeping an eye on the storm, too. The organization, which rebuilds and repairs homes destroyed or damaged by natural disasters in the U.S. and Canada, is “ready to respond” when the storm is over says Ross Penner, executive director of MDS Canada.…
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God or coincidence?
Four weeks ago, just over 40 volunteers returned to Winnipeg from a week of service, learning and community engagement in Cross Lake, Man. This marked the 10th year that our church, Sterling Mennonite Fellowship, has taken an eight-hour trek to spend a week in the Cree First Nation, also known as Pimicikamak. Every time I…
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Watch: ‘Gettin’ it done’ with MDS
The folks who volunteer with Mennonite Disaster Service are “gettin’ it done.” We recently published a photo essay featuring Canadian Mennonites who are volunteering with MDS in Texas. Now, you can watch a short video that highlights the work of the Anabaptist disaster response organization. Last year, more than 5,400 volunteers from churches across Canada and the U.S.…
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Canadian faces of MDS in Texas
What do you get when you put Mennonites from all over Canada, and from all sorts of different Mennonite conferences and churches—along with Christians from other denominations—in the same place? A Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) unit—that’s what. In February, I visited volunteers in three communities in Texas hit by Hurricane Harvey in 2017—La Grange, Bloomington…
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Canadian Mennonite bids farewell to Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
After more than 18 years of contributing to Canadian Mennonite as the Alberta correspondent, Donita Wiebe-Neufeld, who has developed a fondness for horses over the years—especially CD—has resigned from her reporting position to take on an increased role with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Alberta. When she began as a correspondent on Sept. 1, 2000, replacing…
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Squeah paddle-a-thon switches to fall
For the first time in more than two decades, participants in the annual Camp Squeah paddle-a-thon will be navigating the Fraser River in the fall instead of the spring. “Whereas, traditionally the paddle-a-thon has been a pre-summer event, typically taking place in early spring, when the weather is often wet and cold, and the river temperatures…
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Volunteers ‘go beyond’ in the community
Our journey at Rockway focuses on students developing an ability to lead with compassion when classroom learning is extended so they can live out Christ-centred values, develop empathy and perspective, and serve the community locally and globally. This is the inspiration behind Rockway’s new Students Learning in Community (SLIC) partnerships. Volunteers travel with students to…
