“When I was 17 years old I dedicated my hands to the Lord. I was going to play his music in the church,” said Lydia Derksen, whose hands have been a blessing at Bergthal Mennonite... Read More
News & Stories
Lydia Derksen plays the piano in the sanctuary of Bergthal Mennonite Church near Didsbury, Alberta. She has played for the choir and congregation for 65 years. (Photo by Donita Wiebe-Neufeld)
May 20, 2015 | God at work in Us | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld
Soloist Jillian Yemen (mezzo-soprano) sings to four young singers from the St. Michael`s Choir School who played the king’s sons in the Pax Christi Chorale’s May 3, 2015, performance of Parry’s Judith. (Photo by Dave Rosgalsky)
The apocryphal book of Judith contains the story of a righteous Jewish widow who saves her people from the ravages of the Assyrian/Babylonian army led by Holofernes. While her... Read More
May 20, 2015 | Artbeat |
Joseph Kiranto (red t-shirt) stands with his family (from left: Elizabeth, Joy, Joel and Kaleb) at a CMU event in September 2014. The Kirantos moved from Kenya so that Joseph could study at CMU. (Photo courtesy of CMU)
This article is the first in a series called Voice of the Marginalized. These articles were written by students in Canadian Mennonite University’s Journalism: Principles and... Read More
May 20, 2015 | Young Voices | Daniel Friesen
There’s a running joke in the church that Mennonites don’t dance because it could lead to sex. After many requests, Ontario’s Theatre of the Beat is tackling one of the most... Read More
May 20, 2015 | Young Voices | Rachel Bergen
Cover of the memorial service bulletin
The church lost a voice for humour and faith with the passing of Joel Kauffmann, of Goshen, Ind., who died May 8, 2015. “Joel had an uncanny ability and gift to communicate simply... Read More
May 14, 2015 | Web First | Virginia A. Hostetler
Cal Redekop (right), co-founder of Mennonite Central Committee's alternative service organization Pax, accepts the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence Community Service Award from James Madison University Provost Jerry Benson on behalf of MCC and Pax. (Photo by Ervie Glick)
In 1951, Jay “Junior” Lehman, then a 21-year-old farm boy from Ohio, sailed by freighter to Antwerp, Belgium. He was among the first wave of conscientious objectors to participate... Read More
May 13, 2015 | Web First | Steve Shenk
The September 1, 2014 feature story, “Good work: Tales of disability, interruption and revolution,” received two Graphics awards from Canadian Church Press.
Following two days of keynote addresses, seminars, workshops and a closing banquet at the Canadian Church Press Convention, held in Toronto from April 30 to May 1, 2015, member... Read More
May 7, 2015 | Web First | Ross W. Muir
David Martin, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada executive minister, centre, poses with the baptismal candidates from the addictions recovery group in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
David Martin was invited to Myanmar (formerly Burma) in March 2015 to preach two or three times and to teach from the book of Galatians in four sessions over two days. By the time... Read More
May 6, 2015 | God at work in the Church |
Elder Margaret Harris and Donna Roach flew in from Vancouver to celebrate with MCC Manitoba at Knox United Church in Winnipeg. (MCC photo by Alison Ralph)
As the choirs’ final note of “Die Zeit ist Kurz” hung sublimely in the sanctuary of Knox United Church on April 18, the indigenous drums began to beat and the Buffalo Gals started... Read More
May 6, 2015 | God at work in the Church | Senior Writer
Chris Brnjas, left, Dimitri Faludy, Rachel Brnjas and Esther Kissor talk about their work at the 2015 Mennonite Church Eastern Canada annual church gathering. The Brnjases work in churches in Kitchener, Ont., and attend The Gathering Church. Faludy and Kissor are from the Jane Finch Faith Community in Toronto. (Photo by Dave Rogalsky)
Paul Wideman, moderator of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, challenged the 28th annual church gathering, saying, “How can we encourage one another by sharing our faith?” The day-... Read More
May 6, 2015 | God at work in the Church |
Participants in the Youth Farm Bible Camp’s recent trip to Mexico mix cement for the foundation of the house they built. Pictured from left to right: Brandon Wurtz, Holly Epp, and Dawson Dueck. (Photo by Mark Wurtz)
It may not be typical summer camp staff training, but Mark Wurtz says the Youth Farm Bible Camp’s annual trip to Mexico is “probably more worthwhile than orientation.” The camp... Read More
May 6, 2015 | God at work in the Church |
Susan Johnson, left, Willard Metzger and Joe Gunn discuss poverty and climate change in Winnipeg during a cross-country tour organized by the Canadian Council of Churches and Citizens for Public Justice. (MC Canada photo by Dan Dyck)
It’s time for some uncomfortable conversations about climate change and poverty, says Willard Metzger, executive director of Mennonite Church Canada. “We’re trying to work for a... Read More
May 6, 2015 | God at work in the World |
At a recent Saskatoon ecumenical event in response to missing and murdered indigenous women, Pauline Muskego of Onion Lake Cree Nation shared the heart-breaking story of her daughter’s disappearance and the discovery, four years later, of her remains. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
“We are all equal. Not one person is above others.” Elder Marie Linklater’s words set the tone for a day of learning and discerning on April 18, when about 200 women and men from... Read More
May 6, 2015 | God at work in the World |
Honouring the Earth participants Kennedy Martens, Amy Wiens, Sydney Martens, Johanna Wiebe and Naomi Klassen learn about vermiculture as a way of better managing food waste. (Photo by Kirsten Hamm-Epp)
Worms, balloons, dolly carts and minimal sleep were all part of a Saskatchewan Mennonite Youth Organization event held in partnership with Mennonite Central Committee Saskatchewan... Read More
May 6, 2015 | God at work in the World | Kirsten Hamm-Epp
Roy G. Snyder
Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) lost one of its most enduring and faithful supporters on Feb. 11 with the passing of Roy G. Snyder of Waterloo, Ont. He was 99. He... Read More
May 6, 2015 | God at work in Us | Wally Kroeker
Lewis Burkholder’s A Brief History of Mennonites in Ontario , published in 1935, is a “brief” book compared to Sam Steiner’s new book on the same topic: In Search of Promised... Read More
May 6, 2015 | Artbeat |
A group of Manitoba youths and young adults from the Bunker, a ministry of Winkler Bergthaler Mennonite Church, recently went to High River, Alta., to work with Mennonite Disaster... Read More
May 6, 2015 | Young Voices | Rachel Bergen
Kyle Rudge is the founder of Geekdom House, a ministry devoted to loving and serving the nerd and geek community. (Photo courtesy of Kyle Rudge)
Are there parallels between the Star Wars universe and Anabaptism? I asked myself that recently after watching an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars , an animated TV series. The... Read More
May 6, 2015 | Young Voices | Kyle Rudge
In April 2015 the Kenya Mennonite Church celebrated the publication of a history of the church. “The history of the Kenya Mennonite Church is God’s story. . . . I was moved by different stories of faith, courage, brokenness, sins, failure, forgiveness, reconciliation, and hope.” — Nelson Okanya, president of Eastern Mennonite Missions (Photo by Tammy Evans)
Excited participants streamed into the Ahero Pastoral Care Center on April 17‒18, 2015, to launch the freshly-minted history of the Kenya Mennonite Church (KMC), Forward in Faith... Read More
May 4, 2015 | Web First | Jewel Showalter
Grilled Peace Salsa, from the upcoming revised edition of Simply in Season, to be published May 25, 2015. (Photo by Melissa Hess; food styling by Cherise Harper)
Some congregations eat together monthly and even weekly as a way of enhancing fellowship and offering hospitality with shared, regular meals. Mennonite Community Cookbook blog and... Read More
May 4, 2015 | Web First |
This shows the type of damage that the April 2015 earthquake caused in many areas of Nepal. This photo from Lalitpur District was provided by an MCC partner, Rural Institution for Community Development (RICOD). Mennonite Central Committee currently works with RICOD on a nutrition project in Lalitpur. MCC is assessing the situation in the district to determine an emergency response. (Photo provided by Mennonite Central Committee)
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) will begin its earthquake response by working with a local organization in a remote area of eastern Nepal, providing food and other essential... Read More
April 29, 2015 | Web First | Julie Bell
Meeting the week of April 13 in Minneapolis, representatives from MennoMedia, Mennonite Church Canada, and Mennonite Church USA laid the foundation for a new Mennonite song... Read More
April 28, 2015 | Web First |
Doga Jose washes clothes with water drawn from the well drilled in 2014 in Ndoro, Caia District. (Photo: Matthew Sawatzky, for Mennonite Central Committee)
Six men grasp the long metal handle of the drill and walk slowly in a circle. They lean into the task, using body weight to drive the shaft of the drill into the dry soil of... Read More
April 22, 2015 | God at work in the World | Julie Bell
George and Tobia Veith, left and centre, visit with Denise Epp following one of the Veiths’ presentations on the church in China held at Rosthern Mennonite Church recently. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
“This is about what God’s doing,” said George Veith. “We want all the glory to go to God.” He was referring, during a series of four presentations hosted by Rosthern Mennonite... Read More
April 22, 2015 | God at work in the Church |
A sign greets Syrian refugees at Edmonton International Airport, where approximately 60 Mennonites and Muslims were gathered to welcome them to their new home on March 31. (Photo by Donita Wiebe-Neufeld)
Ahmad Al-Jamal, his wife Ghada, and their three young children were visibly excited as they waited at Edmonton International Airport on the evening of March 31, 2015. Ahmad hadn’t... Read More
April 22, 2015 | God at work in the World | Donita Wiebe-Neufeld