Mennonites plan pilgrimage for indigenous rights
Houses. Toilets. Schools. These are basic human rights to which Canadians feel entitled—and which many vulnerable and disenfranchised indigenous people do not have.
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Camp farm program invites delight in God’s creation
Picture gleeful campers chasing squawking chickens back into their pen, and others exclaiming with delight as they bite into freshly picked tomatoes, juice dribbling down their chins. This is what a typical day at camp looked like for me this summer—days that were never actually typical but always full of new adventures.
The Bible still speaks, say Renewal 2027 speakers
Regional Anabaptists and leaders from around the world gathered on February 12, 2017, for “Transformed by the Word: Reading Scripture in Anabaptist Perspectives,” the first in a 10-year series of events called “Renewal 2027” organized by Mennonite World Conference (MWC).
Working together in Ontario
When Maria and Heinrich Bueckert immigrated to Canada with their seven children in 2011, they looked forward to working together with their children and earning enough to feed their family.
Lebanese thrift shop helps with winter needs
A visit to Gift and Thrift Shop in Virginia, one of 108 Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) thrift shops, was a revelation to Tarek Chebli, a peacebuilding student from Lebanon.
MCC Canada executive director announces retirement
With a mixture of gratitude and sadness, the board of Mennonite Central Committee Canada (MCC) announces the retirement of Executive Director Donald Peters, effective September 30, 2017.
Soup’s on
In the feature “A new recipe for church” pastor and professor Carol Penner reflects on how the “recipe” or model for the church is evolving and adapting to new realities. She finds the metaphor of soup a helpful one.
How it feels to give a house away
Yann Martel is known to many as the author of Life of Pi, an international bestseller that became an Oscar-winning movie. But at Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Saskatchewan, he is also known as the man who welcomed a Syrian family of six into the home he owns in Saskatoon. The family arrived in 2016, and he wrote about the experience for the London Sunday Times.
‘Befriending death’ at the ‘death café
Michelle O’Rourke never expected that within months of having a lead role in designing and building the 10-bed Chatham-Kent Hospice, which opened in April 2016, that she would be moving her own father into the hospice on Fathers’ Day.
Caring for those who couldn’t escape
Many of the people who have stayed behind in Ukraine’s militarized areas are those who cannot run away: the elderly, children and people with disabilities.
New publisher, executive editor named to lead Canadian Mennonite
Tobi Thiessen and Ginny Hostetler have been chosen by the board of Canadian Mennonite Publishing Service (CMPS) Inc. to lead Canadian Mennonite’s magazine and digital news services into the future, beginning March 20.
‘Hope was not on the ballot’
Following the news coverage leading up to the 2016 American election, I wondered if there was a place for hope in an atmosphere of division and fear. In the days leading up to the election, my friend Will and I travelled from the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. area to Washington D.C., on a pilgrimage of sorts.
The next 500 years of Anabaptism
Tremendous change rocked the western church 500 years ago, as successive groups discovered new things about God through Scripture and separated themselves from the Roman Catholic church.
Bethany College set to ‘thrive’
The new year brings a new beginning for Bethany College, as it announces its re-opening for fall 2017 with a new discipleship program called Thrive. Thrive replaces the college’s previous academic-focused curricula with a new practical approach to biblical learning for post-secondary students.
Preparing for pastoral ministry
A desire to immerse himself in a learning community in preparation for pastoral ministry was part of what drew Lee Hiebert to relocate to Elkhart, Ind., and enrol in the master of divinity program at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS).
Canadians join Women’s March on Washington
Canadian Mennonites Marlys Neufeldt, third from right, and her daughters Siena Armstrong, second from right, and Thea Armstrong, right, take part in the Washington Women’s March on Jan. 21, along with Mennonite marchers from the U.S. (Photo by Doreen Martens)
Pictured from left to right wearing their symbolic pink ‘pussyhats’: Siena Armstrong, Thea Armstrong, their mother Marlys Neufeldt, and Doreen Martens pause for a selfie during the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, 2017. A friend made their hats and gave them extra ones, which they shared with people in Washington. (Photo by Doreen Martens)
Siena Armstrong holds up a sign she and her sister Thea made for the Women’s March on Washington. It quotes the lyrics from a Janelle Monáe song: ‘Electric ladies: Will you sleep or will u preach?’ Monáe performed at the march with shout-outs to black women and the mothers of black women who have been previously shot by police. (Photo by Doreen Martens)
Doreen Martens took part in the Women’s March in Washington, along with other friends from Canada. (Photo courtesy of Doreen Martens)
With the U.S. Capitol building in the background, Washington marchers rest at the end of a full day. Estimations are that more than a half-million people participated in the Women’s March on Washington. D.C., on Jan. 21. (Photo by
Doreen Martens)
Canadian Mennonite women were among millions who peacefully made their voices heard for justice, equality and a host of social causes at the Women’s Marches that took place across Canada and every continent on January 21, 2017, the day following the Donald Trump inauguration.
Review: Show not so pure in its depiction of Mennonites
CBC’s new crime drama, Pure, which premiered on Jan. 9, 2017, has generated a lot of controversy in the Canadian Mennonite community, and for good reason.
10 things to know about Mennonites in Canada
There are several varieties of Mennonite and Amish groups in Canada. (Photos by Barb Draper)
You may have seen traditionally dressed Mennonites at farmers’ markets or on TV, but you may not know that these are only a segment of the Mennonite population in Canada. There are several varieties of Mennonite and Amish groups in Canada, and—although they all share the same roots—each group practises its faith in unique ways.
Top 10 online stories of 2016
In 2016 popular online stories on the Canadian Mennonite website dealt with gender identity, cohabitation, church institutions, and Mennonite history. Readers wanted to know about the growth of Old Order Mennonites communities in Ontario and the question of Mennonite historical involvement with Aryan ideology.
Frieda’s raisin bread
Frieda Woelk, who lives in a seniors apartment in Leamington, Ont., put together a “Special Cookbook for my Children, Grandchildren, Family and Friends,” with editions in 1994, 1995, 2005 and 2011. She had one copy left at the end of 2016, which she shared with Canadian Mennonite. It is full of delightful hand-written notes that she added to subsequent editions over the years.
Worship and song submissions, recommendations sought for new hymnal
What songs connect you to God and your community, and empower you to serve? What songs do you turn to in joyful or difficult times? What are your heart songs?
Australians speak for the stranger
Christian activists in Australia repeatedly risk arrest when they call attention to the plight of asylum-seekers suffering mistreatment in indefinite detention.
Third Way’s 2016 top 10 quirky queries
Millions of people will never pick up a book or magazine about Mennonites or enter any Mennonite church. But they will drop in anonymously to the Third Way website (thirdway.com) to get a quick glimpse of what Mennonites are about. The website averages more than one thousand hits a day, nearing a third of a million annually.
Film on COs wins awards and attention
A film produced by the Mennonite Heritage Centre (MHC) Archives about conscientious objectors (COs) is garnering significant attention.
Mission worker befriended Jews and Palestinians
Florence Cressman Kreider was a friend to both Jews and Palestinians, and she sought to spread peace wherever she traveled. The former mission worker died Nov. 1, 2016, in Broadway, Va., at the age of 87.
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