Irma Fast Dueck reflects on lectionaries, honesty and worship
As some churches within MC Canada and MC USA embrace the Narrative Lectionary, Canadian Mennonite caught up with Irma Fast Dueck to ask about the use of lectionaries in Mennonite worship. Fast Dueck is associate professor of practical theology at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) where she has taught for over 30 years. She attends Bethel…
‘A Creative God’ resources explore visual arts in worship in intercultural Anabaptist congregations
A new group of resources on visual arts in worship is available from Together in Worship, an online collection of worship resources from Anabaptist sources. The centrepiece is “A Creative God,” a 45-minute video documentary about how seven intercultural Anabaptist congregations use visual art in worship. “Mennonites have been starved, historically, of visual art in…
Seven ways to worship without singing
What can services look like without music? Mennonites express their unity and diversity through singing together. The coronavirus pandemic silenced many voices for the sake of public safety. As congregations cautiously welcome more people back into their buildings for in-person worship, here are some suggestions from the Anabaptist Worship Network to enliven services without congregational…
Worship is what I need
During a Zoom call a month or so ago, a pastor friend mused, “Is worship all we have left?” Our virtual meet-up—all folks involved in congregational leadership—had been sharing various strategies we had tried to carry on with Sunday morning worship services. Many have clicked into the Mennonite Church Canada nationwide services. Others have recorded…
Churches cautiously resume worship together
With most churches remaining closed four months into the pandemic, some in Mennonite Church British Columbia are finding innovative ways to worship together—with limitations. On July 5, members of Sherbrooke Mennonite Church in Vancouver held an outdoor service in the church parking lot, their first physical gathering since March. “We took advantage of the good…
Ways to sing together during online worship
One of the most potent ways we cope with hardship is by singing and praying together. Amid the loss of in-person gathering, congregations have shown a tremendous amount of creativity, whether worshiping via video conference platforms such as Zoom, livestreaming a service, or pre-recording the service. While we deeply feel the loss of the ability…
MC Canada congregations offering online worship services
Mennonite Church Canada, in collaboration with its regional churches and their local congregations, will share worship services each week for congregations across our nationwide community of faith. These services are available at mennonitechurch.ca/worshipservices, as well as on regional church websites. The purpose of this collaboration is to help congregations who do not have the capacity,…
Worship apprentices provide a resource for the church
Every Tuesday, a diverse team of University of Waterloo students gathers for prayer, small group discussion, song teaching and worship-service planning. These students are part of the Worship Apprentice Program offered by Conrad Grebel University College’s Music Department as a skill-building opportunity within the Church Music and Worship Program. This program includes a practical course,…
A farewell to the ‘blue hymnal’
Over the span of a single weekend, Sean Goerzen sang or played every single hymn in the blue-backed Hymnal: A Worship Book. All 658 of them. “I feel like I know the hymnal in a very intimate way now,” he says with a laugh. Goerzen organized Sargent Avenue Mennonite Church’s hymnal sing-a-thon, a two-day event…
West Hills congregation tries ‘messy church’
Two years ago, West Hills Fellowship, in Baden, Ont., faced up to its small-church realities. It had lost some families for a variety of reasons, and found it challenging to run programs and Sunday morning worship services. That’s when the congregation tried a “messy church” model. During a sabbatical visit to a church plant on…
