Nighttime was the hardest for Mahmoud Alhalimi. With the electricity cut and bombs falling, the hours were dark and loud, as he tried in vain to help his two young children fall... Read More
News & Stories
Mohamed Al-Attar, at right in blue, lost his wife, children and his home during the violence in Gaza in May. Rifqa Hamalwai, far left, and Khaled Abu Sharek, centre back, staff members from Al Najd, MCC’s local partner, visited Mohamed and his nephews, Yaser Dia Al Attar, bottom left, and Ali Tamim Al Attar, back left. All local COVID-19 protocols were followed in this photo. (Photo courtesy of Al Najd)
August 25, 2021 | News | Emily Loewen
The MennoCon21 crowd responds to worship leaders and musicians in Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati. (Mennonite Church U.S.A. photo)
Mennonite Church U.S.A.’s smallest and first hybrid convention, “Bring the peace!” drew more than 1,000 people—608 at Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and at... Read More
August 25, 2021 | News |
A photo collage of screenshots, including all 19 live speakers for the 2021 aging and spirituality conference held on Zoom.
This past June, scholars, practitioners, support workers, health-care experts and interested parties from across the globe gathered together virtually over the course of three... Read More
August 25, 2021 | News | Margaret Gissing
The Timber Bay Children’s Home at Montreal Lake, Sask., as it appeared in 1974. (Mennonite Heritage Archives photo)
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) supported an Indigenous boarding home that is under investigation by the Saskatchewan RCMP. The Mounties say a complaint was made in 2020 about a... Read More
August 25, 2021 | News | John Longhurst
The hosts of The MennoCast, pictured clockwise from top left, are: Carrie Lehn, pastor of Ottawa Mennonite Church; Moses Falco, pastor of Sterling Mennonite Fellowship in Winnipeg; and Ryan Dueck, pastor of Lethbridge (Alta.) Mennonite Church. (Screenshot courtesy of Moses Falco)
The MennoCast , a new podcast aimed at connecting Mennonites across Canada, launched on June 23. “It’s been a dream for years. I’m just so happy that it’s out!” says Moses Falco,... Read More
August 25, 2021 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
‘Austin’ stands ready to filter the air in a classroom at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, Kitchener, Ont., and keep it circulating. Rockway supporters donated enough funds to purchase all the ‘Austins’ the school needs for September. (Rockway Mennonite Collegiate photo)
In April, prior to Ontario schools returning to online learning, two Rockway Mennonite Collegiate families set out to make the learning spaces in the school safer for students... Read More
August 25, 2021 | News | Janet Bauman
A July 1 satellite image of the forest fire that destroyed much of the village of Lytton, B.C., this summer. (Antti Lipponen image / Creative Commons Licence (http://bit.ly/cclicence2-0))
When the village of Lytton, B.C,. was nearly destroyed by wildfires in mid-August, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) B.C. was among those that moved to help. This is one of more... Read More
August 25, 2021 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
Safwat Marzouk
In July, Safwat Marzouk concluded his roles as associate professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and chair of the Bible Department at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS... Read More
August 25, 2021 | People | Annette Brill Bergstresser
Employees of Boxbrite Technologies—pictured from left to right: Aaron Neufeld, Enes Demirsoz, Joseph Olmez, Lori-Ann Livingston, Niloofar Abbasvandi, Alina Kehl, Shirin Talaei, Seyma Nur Ozcan and Leon Kehl—attend a rally against Islamophobia. Kehl, who started the company, intentionally hires newcomers to Canada, and fosters a sense of community among his employees who work from home. (Photo by Aaron Neufeld)
It has happened more than once. Someone approaches social entrepreneur Leon Kehl with the name of a highly qualified person who needs help getting a start in Canada. Kehl has... Read More
August 25, 2021 | People | Janet Bauman
Dona Park designed the cover art for Mennonite Church U.S.A.’s study program, ‘Defund the Police? An Abolition Curriculum,’ meant to help Christians think about police abolition within a biblical context and as a practical alternative to policing. (Artwork by Dona Park)
Dona Park, a young Korean-Canadian artist, is one of the first two recipients of Mennonite Church U.S.A.’s #BringthePeace Award, sponsored by the denomination’s Church Peace Tax... Read More
August 25, 2021 | People | Amy Rinner Waddell
RJC High School’s outdoor education class brings back fond memories for alumni Emily Hand, left, and Ian Epp (holding son Peter Isaac), who are now making their living in the agricultural sector. (Photo courtesy of Emily Hand and Ian Epp)
For many students, the outdoor education class at RJC High School was fun, memorable and character building. But for most, the skills aren’t ones they now use in their everyday... Read More
August 25, 2021 | People |
Members of First Mennonite Church, Kelowna, B.C., are coping with the dual challenges of health restrictions and forest fires this summer. (Kelowna First Mennonite Facebook page photo)
Between fires and a COVID-19 outbreak, residents of Kelowna, B.C., including members of First Mennonite Church, have been doubly hit this summer. Rising cases of COVID-19 in the... Read More
August 11, 2021 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
Florence Irasubiza of the Democratic Republic of Congo, left, and Helena Chokpelleh, a Liberian who attends Holyrood Mennonite Church in Edmonton, clean gutters as a fundraiser to buy Wi-Fi boosters for low-income newcomer families. Community connector Emmanuel Mbonimpa is in front of the ladder. (Photo by Joanne De Jong)
Two Mennonite high school students from African countries were interviewed and accepted into the Civic Engagement by Newcomer Youth program last fall through the Edmonton... Read More
August 11, 2021 | News | Joanne De Jong
Dear to the hearts of congregants at Hamilton (Ont.) Mennonite Church over the past year of the pandemic are two prayer books used for the weekly midday prayers, the children’s prayer boxes and a bookshelf quilt. (Photo by Alissa Bender)
At a time when many churches are dealing with declining numbers in their pews, Hamilton (Ont.) Mennonite Church has grown. Membership in 1965 was 28; before the pandemic... Read More
August 11, 2021 | News | Maria H. Klassen
Young Mennonite women served as domestics to help their families repay debt. (Photo courtesy of Ruth Derksen Siemens)
A new plaque honours the young Mennonite women who worked as domestic help in Vancouver in the mid-20th century. An initiative of The Places That Matter, this is No. 89 of 125... Read More
August 11, 2021 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
Henry Schroeder, chair of the Winnipeg Mennonite Theatre board, began acting with the troupe in 1974. ‘Our productions these days are much more modest efforts, but the creative energy and the love of theatre are still there,” he says. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
Mennonites are sometimes associated with their four-part harmony rather than their acting, but one group has been making a name for Mennonites in the theatre for decades. Winnipeg... Read More
August 11, 2021 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
(Photo by Will Braun)
Church is not made of bricks and mortar, but for most congregations—not all—a building is integral. Congregations that lose their building face big questions about identity and... Read More
August 11, 2021 | News | Will Braun
Erwin Rempel on right.
Three months after a cancer diagnosis, Erwin H. Rempel, 76, died June 25, at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, Va. Erwin and Angela, his wife of 55 years,... Read More
August 11, 2021 | People | Mennonite Church Canada
With the reconstruction nearly complete, Hafez Sammour stands in his home that the explosion had damaged severely. (Photo courtesy of FDCD)
Samir Menassa remembers when his convenience store used to attract many customers. Located among pubs and restaurants in Beirut, Lebanon, the store was a convenient place for... Read More
August 10, 2021 | Web First | Etienne Chlala and Linda Espenshade
A patient receives a COVID-19 vaccine shot. (Photo by Steven Cornfield/Unsplash)
Two alumni from Indiana’s Goshen College played important roles in the development of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19. Robert Lerch, Ph.D., head of lab and site... Read More
August 10, 2021 | Web First | Augusta Nafziger
Mennonite World Conference general secretary César García is the author of the new book, ‘What is God’s Kingdom and What Does Citizenship Look Like?’ (Supplied photos)
What is God’s kingdom, and what does citizenship look like? Mennonite World Conference general secretary César García explores these questions in a book published this past... Read More
August 9, 2021 | Web First |
American robin (Photo by Asher Warkentin)
Who knew that ostriches are mentioned multiple times in the Bible? Job 39:13 says: “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and the... Read More
July 28, 2021 | News | Joanne De Jong
Tree Bird stands with her youngest son, Morrison, at the memorial service held by Osler Mennonite Church in response to the findings of unmarked graves at residential school sites. (Photo by Susan Braun)
She was born Danielle Dubois and placed in foster care at age three. She stayed in five different foster homes until, shortly before her fifth birthday, the Loewen family adopted... Read More
July 28, 2021 | News | Donna Schulz
Osler Mennonite Church gathers in the local cemetery on Canada Day for a memorial service in honour of children who died at Indian Residential Schools. (Photo by Susan Braun)
Osler Mennonite Church congregants gathered on Canada Day, July 1, in the local cemetery next door, to sing some hymns, share their sorrow and pray together. But it wasn’t one of... Read More
July 28, 2021 | News | Donna Schulz
With a modified program, B.C.’s Camp Squeah is welcoming campers again this summer. (Photo courtesy of Camp Squeah)
After a too-quiet 2020, when summer camps were cancelled due to the pandemic, Camp Squeah of Hope, B.C., is once again a place to hear the sounds of children’s laughter and... Read More
July 28, 2021 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell