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Watch: Highlights from Indonesia
Last month, people from around the world gathered in Indonesia for the Mennonite World Conference’s 17th assembly.
Indonesia 2022 roundup
Mennonite World Conference held its 17th global assembly on July 5 to 10, in various locations in Indonesia. Before this conference, Mennonite-Anabaptist youth and young adults gathered for Global Youth Assembly. Following are reports and reflections about these two events.
Watch: Rockway sparks community with new music video
What better way to bring a community together than 350 red umbrellas?
Starting at the beginning of COVID-19, Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener, Ont ., has been working on creating a music video for “Someone to You” by the Banners. The result was uploaded to the school’s YouTube channel last month.
Ukraine war shakes peace convictions, MWC assembly told
Saying the war in Ukraine has shaken western European Mennonites’ commitment to nonviolence, a French pastor urged Mennonites from around the world to get off the sidelines and work for peace.
Hundreds of worshippers heard her message on July 6, the second day of the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) assembly in Salatiga, Indonesia.
MWC assembly crosses barriers to gather in Indonesia
A colourful display of Javanese music, dance and shadow puppetry kicked off the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) assembly in Salatiga, Indonesia, on July 5.
Watch: Ten helpful steps to decolonize our minds
How can Mennonites, with their long colonial history, work toward genuine reconciliation with Indigenous peoples? Mennonite Church British Columbia’s Indigenous Relations Task Group has some ideas.
Indigenous leader critical of MC Canada decision
One of the co-founders of the grassroots Indigenous-led movement Idle No More says her trust in the Mennonite church has been shaken by Mennonite Church Canada’s recent decision to reduce its Indigenous-Settler Relations (ISR) position from full-time to half-time.
Watch: Doug Klassen invites you to Gathering 2022
Doug Klassen, Mennonite Church Canada’s executive minister, personally invites you to Gathering 2022, a nationwide church event happening July 29 to Aug. 1 in Edmonton, Alta.
In a video posted on YouTube earlier this month, Klassen outlines the goals for Gathering 2022 and introduces the event’s theme, “We Declare: What we have seen and heard.”
‘Evening for Ukraine’ raises $220,000
A fundraising dinner to help people affected by the current war in Ukraine began with a man who had vivid memories of leaving Ukraine as a five-year-old in the mid-1940s. The man phoned Gerd Bartel, a well-known member of Peace Mennonite Church in Richmond, with the simple question, “What can we do to help people in Ukraine?”
MDS provides meals, camps, blankets and more
Meals and blankets for homeless people, helping low-income kids go to camp, support for refugees—these are some of the ways the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada Spirit of MDS Fund helped Canadian congregations and organizations serve their communities.
UMEI launches renewal campaign
The sanctuary of North Leamington United Mennonite Church was packed on March 9 as supporters of UMEI Christian High School gathered for a special meeting.
The UMEI board had been facing difficult numbers for several years, and it was time to face the question: “When is it time to say that it’s no longer sustainable to keep the school open?”
Indigenous relations work revamped and reduced
In this 2018 photo, Lorne Brandt (right), then chair of Mennonite Church B.C.’s Service, Peace and Justice Committee, presents Steve Heinrichs with a vest and moccasins made by Cree craftspeople. The governing body of Mennonite Church Canada has ended the full-time Indigenous-Settler Relations position that Heinrichs held for the last decade. (Photo by Henry Krause/Canadian Mennonite files)
Music comes alive through synesthesia, art
Imagine if you could see sound. When Anna Schwartz listens to music, she not only hears the different instruments, keys and dynamics—she sees them. That’s because she has synesthesia, a neurological condition in which information entering a person’s brain stimulates multiple senses at once.
The land speaks
“We hope that people, landowners especially, will talk about what’s on their land, who occupied the land and who occupies it now,” says Harry Lafond, a Muskeg Lake Cree First Nation elder. “The land holds everyone’s history and everyone’s story. We, all of us, need to be responsible custodians of the story. We need to talk about these issues.
MCC partners in India support migrant workers
When thinking about migration, it is easy to focus just on resettling refugees fleeing conflict or disaster. But the work Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) does with migrants isn’t just about resettling those on the move. Hundreds of millions of people are migrant workers, seeking higher-paying jobs far away from their families and homes.
Watch: Witness workers extend greetings from Ethiopia
The latest additions to Mennonite Church Canada’s team of International Witness workers extend greetings from their new home in Ethiopia in a new video.
Sponsors sought for Afghan Christian refugee families
Mennonite church leaders in Canada are appealing to their congregations to help bring 100 Afghan Christian refugee families to this country.
MCC partners in Ukraine work to meet physical and spiritual needs
In the silence that lived between the deadly warnings of air raid sirens, the sound of a small choir, singing a song of praise, echoed out of a church sanctuary in western Ukraine. Just the night before, Anna, administrative coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ukraine, had absent-mindedly hummed a few bars of the song during an evening tea break at the church.
Mennonite organizations providing aid in Ukraine
A humanitarian aid organization in Molochansk, Ukraine, founded by Canadian Mennonites continues to help the community amidst Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Mennonites in angst over Ukraine invasion
It’s 10:30 a.m. in Winnipeg, but for Valerie Alipova, it might as well be after supper.
Watch: MCC partner in Ukraine asks for prayer
A Mennonite Central Committee partner in Ukraine requests prayer in a video clip the relief organization posted on YouTube earlier today.
Winter lectures address global social concerns
Coming in March, Conrad Grebel University College is hosting two distinct winter lectures, offered by Sofia Samatar and Regina Shands-Stoltzfus. The presentations are focused on addressing global social concerns and raising awareness about oppression.
MCC pulls staff from Ukraine
Russia has begun military operations against Ukraine, but North American Mennonite Central Committee staff who were working in the latter country are safe.
That includes Winnipegger Andrea Shalay, the charity’s peace engagement co-ordinator for Europe. Shalay and three other staff, all Americans, were evacuated from Ukraine more than a week ago.
Mennonites, Catholics reunite Ontario family
A family separated by illness is being reunited through the joint efforts of the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Ontario Unit and the Roman Catholic Knights of Columbus.