Finding belonging
Finding a new church to belong to can be difficult. Just ask Katrina Woelk.
Young Voices
‘I eat your garbage’
This meal brought to you by dumpster diving.
Thanks to dumpster diving, Nathaniel De Avila hasn’t had to purchase groceries in the past year. (Photo by Aaron Epp)
Nathaniel De Avila and his fellow foragers found all this food in dumpsters. (Photo courtesy of Nathaniel De Avila)
Nathaniel De Avila and his friends operate a donation-based community food share at their church. They have moved 1.8 metric tonnes of food through this refrigerator since last June. (Photo courtesy of Nathaniel De Avila)
I am a thief. I steal our food system’s waste.
Passion for reconciliation leads to recognition
An organization that works toward ending poverty and achieving a better world has recognized a young Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Alberta employee for the reconciliation work she does with indigenous peoples.
Bringing courage and hope to Burundi
Jackson Nahayo knows a thing or two about turning tragedy into triumph.
Left for dead as a child in the jungles of his native Burundi by the rebel soldiers who kidnapped him, he eventually made his way to Canada. After receiving his education, he returned to the East African country from which he hails to start a community hospital.
Songs about growing up, climate change and empowerment
In the last issue of Canadian Mennonite, we introduced you to Sparky and the Plugs, a bluegrass quartet from the Saskatoon area that got its start playing music in church. Read about three more music acts with Mennonite roots who have new albums out.
Carving a new peace path
A young woman in Waterloo, Ont., is using her passion for peace to positively impact students.
Katie Gingerich, 24, is director of The Ripple Effect Education (TREE), a peace-education initiative that integrates conflict resolution and social-justice concepts into social studies curriculum in elementary school classrooms.
‘Sparky’ music
They might perform at cafes, bars and festivals throughout the Saskatoon area these days, but bluegrass quartet Sparky and the Plugs got their start playing music in church.
Guitarist Zac Schellenberg says that doing special music and accompanying hymns at Mount Royal Mennonite Church gave the group a safe place to get their feet wet.
‘We must act and we must do it now’
This is a critical time in the world. From environmental threats like the Kinder Morgan pipeline, to the troubling rhetoric coming out of the United States after Donald Trump’s presidential win, many people are wondering: How can I make a difference and work for positive change?
Caring for the forgotten
Jared Redekop provides spiritual care to patients and families at the Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg. (Photo by Aaron Epp)
Working in a multicultural, multifaith environment has shaped Jared Redekop’s beliefs. (Photo by Aaron Epp)
Jared Redekop has seen and done a lot in just over a year of working as a spiritual health practitioner at the Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg.
Voices singing ‘Let’s be jolly’ . . .
Nolan Kehler knows a thing or two about music. In addition to studying vocal performance at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, the 22-year-old works part-time as an AM radio DJ and also as a producer for CBC Manitoba.
Painting as problem-solving
For Winnipeg artist Megan Krause, painting is a process of problem solving.
“I never plan a piece ahead of time. Not anymore, anyway,” the 32-year-old says. “It’s all intuitively done.”
Krause starts her paintings by playing and experimenting with how to apply the paint, dripping here and splattering there to see what happens. Then she begins to shape the painting.
Ain’t misbehavin’
Anna Wiebe began playing the guitar when she was 10. She wrote her first song five years later. (Photo by Vanessa Tignanelli)
New Behaviour is Anna Wiebe’s first full-length album. She recorded it in Montreal. (Cover art by Maggie Spring)
‘My hope for the album is that there’s a few new people that hear it and enjoy it,’ Anna Wiebe says. (Photo by Vanessa Tignanelli)
Old behaviour influenced the music on singer-songwriter Anna Wiebe’s latest musical release, New Behaviour.
The 24-year-old folk-pop songstress based in Guelph, Ont., partially attributes growing up in the Mennonite church for the way the album sounds.
On plausibility structures and faith
From 2011 to 2013, I was a resident of the Menno Simons Centre, a not-for-profit student residence located near the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver. At Menno, I found a tight-knit community, a sense of home in a new city and inspiring Christian friendships. I also found my wife Cara.
Reaching out to help other people
Being involved on campus at the University of Manitoba is important to Johise Namwira. (Photo courtesy of Johise Namwira)
Johise Namwira, pictured with two of her students, Ester Nyelele, left, and Ephemie Sumaili, says karate has given her the confidence and drive to succeed. (Photo courtesy of Johise Namwira)
Johise Namwira’s acting credits include a role on the CBC adventure-crime show, The Pinkertons. (Photo courtesy of Johise Namwira)
Johise Namwira, 19, was born in the Congo. (Photo by Aaron Epp)
For Johise Namwira, being a student and being an activist go hand in hand.
Give a little means a lot
Two-and-a-half years ago, I took over a long-running column that appears in the Winnipeg Free Press. Each week, I write about a different volunteer in the city.
Self-discovery through improvisational theatre
Winnipeg filmmaker Brad Leitch’s next project is a deeply personal one.
The 30-year-old, who attends Hope Mennonite Church in the city, is making a documentary about “playback theatre,” a form of performance art that involves audience members sharing a story from their lives and an acting troupe immediately playing back that story using a variety of improvisational techniques.
Shaping life on campus
For many people, studying at college or university is about more than just going to classes. It’s about connecting with peers at social events, service projects and forums that happen outside the classroom.
Bearing witness to something greater
In recent months, Krista Loewen has been thinking a lot about Jeremiah 29:11: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”
Growing up on record
For some people, writing a song is a laborious process. Not for Michaela Loewen. Most of the time, the music and lyrics come to her in under half an hour. “I know if I can write it in 20 minutes or less, it’s a good one,” the Winnipeg musician says.
Mixed emotions at the end of the journey
Even though the journey was more than 7,500 kilometres, Martin Bauman almost wished it wouldn’t end.
Uncovering the truth
I turned on the radio in time to hear CBC perfectly capture my past year’s journey in one sentence. “The thing about seeking reconciliation with indigenous peoples is that eventually you realize you also have to make reconciliation with the land,” said Caleb Behn, a Salish activist and lawyer.
CM seeks reader suggestions for upcoming ‘10 under 30’ feature
Canadian Mennonite wants to know about the young adults who are making a difference in your church or community.
In a special feature we will publish in the new year, Canadian Mennonite will feature 10 young people from across Canada who care about and support the church—10 emerging Mennonite leaders who are working to make the world a better place.
Passion for worship leads to work on new hymnal
For Anneli Loepp Thiessen, singing in church is just as much about listening as it is about making sounds.
“In a culture that is increasingly busy and full of excess noise, church can be a space for quiet listening in a way that’s countercultural,” she says. “We can do that through our music.”
It’s not easy being global
For much of my life, I’ve called myself a global citizen. Until recently, though, I had no idea how naïve saying this actually was.
A global citizen is someone who identifies him- or herself as part of an emerging world community, and who is committed to building this community’s values and practices.
Letting Christ abide, from Saskatchewan to Gambia
Tending to the grapes she grows in the house she lives in provides Terri Lynn Paulson with a very tangible way of considering John 15, a chapter of the Bible she has been reflecting on in recent months. It begins: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.”
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