“A little bit of yeast makes the whole dough rise . . . you do your part; I’ll do mine,” sings Bryan Moyer Suderman, using his body as a percussion instrument. But instead of... Read More
News & Stories
Singing into an iPad propped on top of a stack of books, Bryan Moyer Suderman leads an online singalong from his home, to help people connect and find encouragement and hope during days of physical distancing. (Photo by Julie Moyer Suderman)
April 8, 2020 | News | Janet Bauman
David Driedger, the petition author, is associate minister at First Mennonite Church in Winnipeg. (Photo courtesy of David Driedger)
While people and governments alike are sprinting to mitigate the current crisis of COVID-19, David Driedger is starting to run the marathon of addressing its long-term... Read More
April 8, 2020 | News | Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe
Erik and Cara Epp are shown with their daughter. (Photo courtesy of Cara Epp)
While many people are staying home to reduce the spread of COVID-19, some, like Erik and Cara Epp, continue to work because their jobs are considered essential. The Epps, who live... Read More
April 8, 2020 | News | Donna Schulz
A screen shot of participants at this year’s MC Alberta annual general meeting, held online using the Zoom platform. (Photo by Joanne De Jong)
With COVID-19 limiting the ability to connect in person, virtual meetings now seem to be the wave of the future. Mennonite Church Alberta had already been using the Zoom platform... Read More
April 8, 2020 | News | Joanne De Jong
Realizing the interconnectedness of mental health and wellness may be key in coping with stress during the COVID-19 outbreak. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
The spread of the global COVID-19 pandemic has forced Canadians to learn to cope with forced isolation, loss of work and social events, and an uncertain future. For a church... Read More
April 8, 2020 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
At Grebel, students are craving community connection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pictured, apartment dwellers visit with Grebel’s director of operations, Paul Penner, outside their window, and with the director of student services, Mary Brubaker-Zehr, via video chat. (Photo by Anna Kuepfer)
Most people’s lives have shifted dramatically in the past few weeks, as they grapple with social isolation, educational upheaval, job changes, pandemic preparations and health-... Read More
April 8, 2020 | News | Elizabeth Robertson
Curtis and Heather Funk of Winkler, Man., work on a house in Marianna, Fla., one of the Mennonite Disaster Service projects now shut down due to COVID-19. (Photo by Paul Hunt)
For Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), COVID-19 has had a significant impact on operations. It started on March 13, when the organization closed all current projects in locations... Read More
April 8, 2020 | News | John Longhurst
Leah Reesor-Keller
Leah Reesor-Keller has been appointed as Mennonite Church Eastern Canada’s next executive minister. She will begin her new role in late summer, replacing David Martin, who will... Read More
April 8, 2020 | People |
Susanna Compton holds the recently published novel she wrote based on stories she heard during her gap year experience of living and volunteering in Botswana. (Photo by Janet Bauman)
After high school, Susanna Compton took a gap year before heading off to university. She turned that experience into her first published book. Her former pastors from Wilmot... Read More
April 8, 2020 | Focus On Books & Resources | Janet Bauman
Mennonites in Canada, Volumes 1-3, by FRank H. Epp and T.D. Regehr
The last time a history of Mennonites in Canada was published, it covered the period from 1920 to 1970—the year Pierre Trudeau was prime minister, Canada was converting to the... Read More
April 8, 2020 | Focus On Books & Resources | John Longhurst
"[T]he figure of the absent Christ is not invoked pessimistically with images of abandonment, but instead it is interpreted in continuity with the peaceful, non-possessive and uncoercive character of Jesus."
The Absent Christ is a clearly written and compelling exploration of Anabaptist-Mennonite theology that engages with both historical Anabaptist sources and contemporary political... Read More
April 8, 2020 | Focus On Books & Resources | Maxwell Kennel
All That Belongs (Cover art by Agatha Fast)
Unsettled with her status as a newly retired person, an archivist uses her skills to look into the difficult parts of her own family history. Along the way, she uncovers a... Read More
April 8, 2020 | Focus On Books & Resources | Tobi Thiessen
Classics of the Radical Reformation: The Legacy of Michael Settler
Over the past 50 years, the Institute for Mennonite Studies at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind., has published a series of books making primary works of the... Read More
April 8, 2020 | Focus On Books & Resources | Barb Draper
(Background Photo: flickr.com/romanboed)
Theology, Spirituality The Absent Christ: An Anabaptist Theology of the Empty Tomb . Justin Heinzekehr. Vol. 12 of the C. Henry Smith Series, Cascadia Publishing House, 2019, 160... Read More
April 8, 2020 | Focus On Books & Resources | Barb Draper
'This is a difficult time for many.' (Image by elizabethalliburton/Pixabay)
The executive directors of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) have published a letter of encouragement to constituents this week during the COVID-19... Read More
April 7, 2020 | Web First |
Rosthern Junior College students sing together as part of Deeper Life Days. (Photo by Htoo Bo Paw)
Although the halls and classrooms of Rosthern Junior College are empty now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a few short weeks ago they were filled with life, as students and... Read More
April 7, 2020 | Web First | Donna Schulz
The Mennonite Historical Society of Canada met at Camp Peniel in the Laurentians north of Montreal on Jan. 17 and 18. (Photo by Roy Draper)
The Mennonite Historical Society of Canada (MHSC) met in Quebec on Jan. 17 and 18 and discussed several new projects, including a history book of Mennonites in Canada since 1970... Read More
April 7, 2020 | Web First |
'Be humble before God,' says Max Wiedmer from France. (Photo courtesy of YouTube)
How is COVID-19 affecting Anabaptists worldwide? How does our faith offer hope in this uncertain time? Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is updating its YouTube channel regularly... Read More
April 3, 2020 | Web First | Aaron Epp
Angela Bifuko Bahati (centre, orange dress) and her family live in the Mubimbi camp outside of Minova in eastern DR Congo. They have access to a clinic supported by MCC. (MCC photo by Matthew Lester)
Things like frequent handwashing and social distancing have become the new normal. This is life during the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures help reduce the spread and keep... Read More
April 1, 2020 | Web First | Jason Dueck
Outtatown’s 2019/20 cohort, pictured last September. (Photo courtesy of Facebook.com/OuttatownCMU)
Students and staff from Canadian Mennonite University’s Outtatown Discipleship School who were stranded in Guatemala arrived back in their hometowns this past weekend. Thirty-six... Read More
March 30, 2020 | Web First |
‘This is an unexpected opportunity to work at rebuilding our sense of peoplehood nationwide,’ says Doug Klassen, executive minister for MC Canada. (Photo courtesy of YouTube)
Mennonite Church Canada, in collaboration with its regional churches and their local congregations, will share worship services each week for congregations across our nationwide... Read More
March 27, 2020 | Web First |
Darryl Neustaedter Barg (right) sings "You're Not Alone" with Phil Campbell-Enns, Jessica Falco and Moses Falco. (Photo courtesy of YouTube)
Efforts to produce online worship resources have resulted in three new videos featuring music written and performed by musicians from Mennonite Church Canada. “PSALM 46” by... Read More
March 27, 2020 | Web First | Aaron Epp
Outtatown students pose for a group shot at the top of Pacaya, a volcano that lies 30 km. outside of Guatemala City. (Photo courtesy of Instagram.com/outtatowncmu)
While school and government officials work together to bring the group home, 36 students, six leaders and two program staff from Canadian Mennonite University’s Outtatown... Read More
March 26, 2020 | Web First | Beth Downey
The sign outside Level Ground Mennonite Church in Abbotsford, B.C., announces the stark reality of church closure due to health concerns. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
With the spread of the COVID-19 virus prompting provincial health authorities to recommend social distancing, including public gatherings not to exceed 250 people, Fraser Valley... Read More
March 25, 2020 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
Siaka Traoré, a Mennonite Pastor of the Eglise Evangelique Mennonite in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. (Photo by Joanne De Jong)
When Pastor Siaka Traoré packed his bags for his trip to Canada and the United States in early March, it never crossed his mind that almost every event and visit he had planned... Read More
March 25, 2020 | News | Joanne De Jong