Saskatchewan sidesteps First Nations in selling Crown land
Photo by Tjflex2/flickr
First Nations in Saskatchewan are in conflict with the provincial government regarding the sale of Crown land.
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Giving back to the land
Photo by Artur Roman/Pexels
Our farmyard opened from its treelines to the south and southwest. A mile south, I could see the shelterbelts surrounding my paternal grandmother’s 1870s homestead. A few farmyards were dotted out in the horizon in the southwest, but looking that direction was mostly for watching weather systems develop, dissipate or roll in.
A spiritual covenant with churches and First Nations
A portion of an 1821 survey showing part of the Haldimand Tract area in southern Ontario (Wikicommons).
A most promising possibility for a tangible response by churches to past injustice in the Six Nations Grand River lands conflict came from a conversation I had after the monthly meeting of the Haudenosaunee Council at Onondaga Longhouse on Saturday, March 3, 2007.
Small steps toward reparation
Stirling Ave. Mennonite Church. Photo by Randy Culp/Google.
Ten years ago, Adrian Jacobs of the Six Nations Haudenosaunee Confederacy proposed a Spiritual Covenant with Mennonite churches located on the Haldimand Tract. One Kitchener church is now looking closely at that challenge.
Witness workers provide Thailand overview
Christine and Tom Poovong, pictured with their children, Joseph and Phimchanok, are MC Canada International Witness workers in northeastern Thailand. Supplied photo.
Two Mennonite Church Canada International Witness workers are at the centre of an initiative to train, mentor and support church leaders in Thailand.
New Bible school opens in Thailand
Students at the Friends of Grace Bible School in Thailand. Photo courtesy of Mennonite Church Canada.
People gathered for the opening of Friends of Grace Bible School. Photo courtesy of Mennonite Church Canada.
Celebration of the opening of Friends of Grace Bible School. Supplied photo.
The Friends of Grace Bible School recently opened in the Issan area of Thailand. This school, supported by Mennonite Church Canada, will hold classes in the Friends of Grace Roi Et church. A Bible school had long been a dream for Friends of Grace, a network of about 100 worshipping groups in Laos and Thailand.
Students dream of new churches in South Sudan
Khan (Isaac) Gatkuoth, left, at Meserete Kristos Seminary in Ethiopia. Photo by Joanne De Jong.
A recent article in Anabaptist World stated there were no known Anabaptist congregations in South Sudan. Praise God that that is no longer the case.
Of rentals and relationships
North Star Mennonite Church and Prairie Light Christian Fellowship celebrate a New Years meal together. Supplied photo.
Big buildings; fewer people. It’s a fact that many Mennonite churches have fewer people involved in church life than they did 20 years ago.
Poems and paintings mark 499th anniversary
Gareth Brandt's painting, "A Baptism by Choice," shows the fountain from which the water for the first Anabaptism baptism was taken. (Supplied image.)
The story of Anabaptist origins came to life on Sunday, January 21, as Gareth Brandt marked the 499th anniversary of the Anabaptist movement with a presentation of art and spoken word.
New church launches in Kelowna
Valley Road Church held its first service on January 7 in Kelowna, B.C. (Supplied photo.)
The new year has brought a new church to the Glenmore area of Kelowna, and it has given an old church building new life. Valley Road Church, a ministry of Mennonite Church B.C., held its first worship service on January 7 with Jordan Pilgrim as pastor.
The power of the pencil
‘From Here to There’ includes full-scale reproductions of some of Alvin Pauls’ large mural pieces. (Supplied photo.)
When it comes to making art, Alvin Pauls isn’t concerned with the outcome.
“It’s all in the doing,” the Winnipeg artist says. “The end result is not important.”
Dressed in a black sweater over a brown turtleneck, jeans and blue slip-on shoes, Pauls is walking around “From Here to There,” a retrospective exhibit of his work at MHC Gallery. His energy belies his 81 years.
‘We’re capable of lots of things’
Margaret Balzer of Langham, Saskatchewan. (Supplied photo)
Welcome to “Life in the 80s,” a semi-regular series in which we ask people in their 80s or 90s to share their wisdom.
Resource centre finds temporary home in Winnipeg church
Levi Foy (left), executive director of Sunshine House, stands with Crow Hart, drop-in program assistant, in the basement of First Mennonite Church.
It’s brighter than ever in the basement at First Mennonite Church in Winnipeg.
Sunshine House, a community drop-in and resource centre, is operating there temporarily while its headquarters undergoes renovations.
The organization, which offers programming focused on harm reduction and social inclusion, moved into the church at the beginning of November.
Pursuing a career in worship music
Mykayla Turner. Supplied photo.
While pursuing degrees in health studies and music at the University of Waterloo, Mykayla Turner stumbled into a plethora of worship songs that left her wondering why and how she’d never heard them before.
B.C. churches mark Christmas and New Year’s
A young congregant shares a reading at an evening service at Cedar Valley Church in Mission, B.C. Supplied photo.
Mennonites in British Columbia celebrated the holidays in a variety of ways last month.
With both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve falling on Sundays, churches were presented with the question: How many services should be held, and what kind? Will congregants come to multiple services on a holiday weekend?
Landing out of hot water
Ruth Isaac Wiederkehr. Photo by Andre Wiederkehr.
One winter day in 2022, our family was discussing the problem of our society’s dependence on fossil fuels. One of our young-adult sons, who perhaps felt we were slipping into finger-pointing, brought the focus back around to our own household by asking: “What about our hot water heater?”
Away in a manor
Mary, played by Donna Driedger, gazes lovingly at Jesus during Bethany Manor’s ‘Nativity on Wheels.’ (Photos by Emily Summach)
It’s not your typical nativity play.
Mennonites protest in Waterloo
Protesters at City Hall in Waterloo, Ontario call for a ceasefire in Gaza. [Photo by A.S. Compton]
On December 19, approximately 250 Mennonites, Palestinians and others gathered in Waterloo’s City Hall to call on Member of Parliament Bardish Chagger to publicly support an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza.
The language of protest
Anna Vogt, director of advocacy and policy for MCC Canada, is an expert on the theory and practice of non-violent direct action. (Supplied)
Whether it’s a vigil for missing and murdered Indigenous women or a march for climate justice, chances are you’ve seen an article about a protest in recent years.
Mennonite rally calls for ceasefire
Lori Bohn (left) and Carla Kehler at the Mennonite Action rally in Winnipeg on December 19. Photo by John Longhurst
“We come with intense pain and grief over the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis.”
Mennos gather at MP’s office for Day of Action
Lydia Fawcett reads a statement about the Gaza war at the office of MP Ed Fast in Abbotsford, B.C. Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell
About 30 Mennonites assembled in the lobby of Garden Park Tower on December 19 to make their voices heard on the Mennonite Day of Action asking for a ceasefire in Palestine.
MC Canada announces green grant recipients
Sherbrooke Mennonite Church in Vancouver received a grant to upgrade to more energy efficient lighting. Photo by Walter Toews. Used with permission.
Mennonite Church Canada is pleased to announce Emissions Reduction Grants (ERG) totaling $23,021 to help one rural and eight urban congregations reduce their carbon footprint. Fourteen additional congregations expressed interest in the program.
Reflections on the end of the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre
On October 24, 2023, the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre (TMTC) held a virtual closing ceremony to mark the end of its 33-year existence. The centre’s mandate was to develop theological leadership for church and academy, by supporting Mennonite graduate students in theology, biblical studies and related fields.
Highlights from CM’s online event with young pastors
YElshaday Baraki of Meheret Evangelical Church in Kitchener. (Supplied photo)
On November 29, Canadian Mennonite hosted “Answering the Call,” an online event featuring three young pastors: Curtis Wiens of Aberdeen Mennonite Church in Aberdeen, Saskatchewan; Kennedy Froese of Sterling Mennonite Fellowship in Winnipeg; and YElshaday Baraki of Meheret Evangelical Church in Kitchener, Ontario.
‘You can’t keep everything you love’
Louise and Ed Janzen. (Photo by Cyndy Brandt)
Welcome to “Life in the 80s,” a semi-regular series in which we ask people in their 80s or 90s to share their wisdom.
Ed (85) and Louise (84) Janzen met as students at Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI) in Abbotsford, B.C. Both grew up in the Mennonite Brethren Church.
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