People walking around Abbotsford, B.C.’s Mill Lake might have caught an odd sight of seniors riding on duet bikes this summer. Duet bikes are wheelchair tandem bikes that enable... Read More
News & Stories
Volunteers take two residents out for a ride on the duet bikes. (Photo courtesy of Menno Place)
September 25, 2019 | News | Rachel Bergen
Gareth Brandt, an Anabaptist history professor at Columbia Bible College, stands beside ‘Strassbourg,’ one of his ‘simple folk art’ works at the Mennonite Heritage Museum, where his ‘Stories of the Anabaptists’ collection is on display until Nov. 1. (Mennonite Heritage Museum photo by Julia Toews )
A love for the arts, combined with an interest in Anabaptist history, has inspired a professor at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford to create paintings depicting early... Read More
September 25, 2019 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell
Pictured from left to right: Rudy Koop; Garth Wideman and Dave Lefever, both of Holyrood Mennonite, Edmonton; and Herman Neufeld of Edmonton First Mennonite, formed a team to raise money for the Edmonton Mennonite Guest Home at the first-ever MMI golf tournament in September. (Photo by Marguerite Jack)
Mennonite Mutual Insurance (MMI) in Alberta had its first-ever golf tournament fundraiser at the Eagle Rock Golf Course in Leduc County, just south of Edmonton, on Sept. 7. Chosen... Read More
September 25, 2019 | News | Joanne De Jong
César Garcia, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference is pictured in his Kitchener, Ont., office, where he has been working for the past seven months. (Photo by Janet Bauman)
For César Garcia, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference (MWC), relocating to office space in Kitchener has “been a blessing.” He shares the office with four staff, some... Read More
September 25, 2019 | People | Janet Bauman
TOOLS coordinator Pete Olsen sits next to the ‘Homeless Jesus’ statue. (Photo courtesy of Pete Olsen)
In 2013, the first cast of Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz’s “Homeless Jesus” was installed. The bronze statue, which depicts the Christ figure as a person sleeping on a park... Read More
September 25, 2019 | People | Joelle Kidd
Indigenous land defenders and allies march at Standing Rock Indian Reservation that straddles the border of North and South Dakota during a protest in 2016. (CPT file photo by Kathy Moorhead Thiessen)
In the wake of the closure of the full-time Indigenous People’s Solidarity Team due to necessary budget cuts at Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), the new Turtle Island Solidarity... Read More
September 24, 2019 | Web First | Christian Peacemaker Teams
Yamba Katembue Patrice, Godelieve Tshikaya and Hélène José Mbombo study in Kinshasa during a train-the-trainers workshop. (Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission photo by Nancy Myers)
A campaign by Mennonites in the Democratic Republic of Congo to use literacy education as a tool for evangelization is bringing hope to educators and learners alike—and unearthing... Read More
September 23, 2019 | Web First | Nancy Myers and Charlie Malembe
According to Lori Guenther Reesor and Barry Reesor, there’s a joy in giving—whether it’s butter tarts, groceries or money. (Photo courtesy of YouTube)
“How do we learn about giving if we don’t talk about it?” Lori Guenther Reesor asks in our latest issue, which includes a special focus on money. “Listening to generous people... Read More
September 20, 2019 | Web First | Aaron Epp
Hong Kong, pictured in more peaceful times. Protests have brought millions of citizens into Hong Kong’s streets since early June, when a bill was introduced that would allow Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China for trial. (Image by Free-Photos/Pixabay)
As protests bring millions of citizens into Hong Kong’s streets, the city’s tiny Mennonite population is praying peaceful tactics will prevail. Demonstrations began in early June... Read More
September 19, 2019 | Web First | Tim Huber
David W. Boshart, pictured with his wife, Shana Peachey Boshart, has been appointed the next president of AMBS. (AMBS photo by Melissa Troyer)
David W. Boshart, Ph.D., of Wellman, Iowa, has been appointed the next president of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, Ind., effective Jan. 1, 2020, following... Read More
September 18, 2019 | Web First | Ross W. Muir
Geronimo Henry, a survivor of the former Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Ont., says of his experience at the school, ‘I find it hard to forgive. It took my childhood from me.’ He is sitting at one of the new tables built by MDS volunteers from Mennonite congregations in Ontario and British Columbia. (Photo by John Longhurst)
“It’s personal, there are names and faces. It’s not just textbook information now.” That’s how Timothy Khoo, 16, describes what it was like to meet residential school survivors... Read More
September 11, 2019 | News | John Longhurst
Springridge Mennonite Church tug-of-war at its annual picnic. (Photo by Del Willms)
Many church programs eventually come to an end, but there’s one event that still remains after many decades—and that’s the church picnic! Almost every church in Alberta had a... Read More
September 11, 2019 | News | Joanne De Jong
Johnny Wideman and Kimberlee Walker are members of Theatre of the Beat and co-facilitators of the restorative-justice drama program. (Photo courtesy of Kimberlee Walker)
Ontario’s Theatre of the Beat has a mandate of staging change and creating conversations around social justice issues, but that’s also happening in communities beyond the... Read More
September 11, 2019 | People | Rachel Bergen
Nancy Mann, right, who helped to establish Women Empowering Women (WeW) in Waterloo Region, speaks to the group at one of its quarterly meetings. (MEDA photo)
The Waterloo Region chapter of Women Empowering Women (WEW) meets quarterly to nurture connections and friendships, to be inspired and to raise funds that support women in... Read More
September 11, 2019 | Focus on Money | Janet Bauman
"Listening to generous people share how they learned to give is a joy I recommend to everyone. Generosity can be contagious." (Photo by KMR Photography/Flickr.com)
The local church is an excellent place to discuss saving money: Which type of tractor is cheapest to repair or whether a Costco membership is worth it. Mennonites brag about... Read More
September 11, 2019 | Focus on Money | Lori Guenther Reesor
Ly Vang holds the MCC school kit bag she received as a teenager in a refugee camp in Thailand. ‘If the person who made this is still alive,’ she says, ‘I would like to say thank you.’ (Photo by Janet Bauman)
Ly Vang was 16 and stuck in a refugee camp in Thailand with a pair of shoes and two sets of clothes. She was lonely and sad. She struggled with suicidal thoughts. “What is the... Read More
September 11, 2019 | People | Janet Bauman
Children make planets at the VBS craft station, on the theme of ‘To Mars and beyond.’ (Photo by Barb Burkhard)
“I’m so sad that it’s over!” said one young participant after a week of high-energy Vacation Bible School (VBS) activities at First Mennonite Church in Kitchener last month. That... Read More
September 11, 2019 | News | Janet Bauman
Matt Falk’s latest comedy special came out last month. (Photo courtesy of Instagram.com/MattFalkComedy)
“Truthfully, comedy is very hard,” comedian Matt Falk asserts in a clip from his new special. “Probably because the best joke in the entire world has already been written, and not... Read More
September 6, 2019 | Web First | Aaron Epp
MDS Canada is “ready to respond” when Hurricane Dorian is over, says Ross Penner, the organization’s executive director. (Photo courtesy of Facebook.com/MennoniteDisasterService)
As Americans follow updates about Hurricane Dorian, Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada is keeping an eye on the storm, too. The organization, which rebuilds and repairs homes... Read More
September 5, 2019 | Web First | Mennonite Disaster Service
Korean translations of Mennonite books are a boon to seminarians and lay leaders in Anabaptist house churches, but they also appeal to other Christians in Korea. (Image by Free-Photos/Pixabay)
“Although each congregation has its own history and social and cultural background, it is common to experience the same sorts of conflicts, troubles and situations,” says Ellul... Read More
September 5, 2019 | Web First | Mennonite World Conference
The women who opened the first MCC Thrift Shop in 1972 are portrayed in a new video. (Photo by Paul Plett)
The story of Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) thrift shops is given a unique retelling in a new video. Filmed in one camera shot, the video starts with the creation of the... Read More
August 30, 2019 | Web First | Aaron Epp
Children prepare to go for a tractor and wagon ride at a local farm for one of the West Hills congregation's ‘out’ Sundays. (Photo courtesy of West Hills Fellowship)
Two years ago, West Hills Fellowship, in Baden, Ont., faced up to its small-church realities. It had lost some families for a variety of reasons, and found it challenging to run... Read More
August 28, 2019 | News | Janet Bauman
Children and adults play games at Grantham MB Church in St. Catharines. (Photo by Jared Both)
Connecting with children can be a rewarding experience. When someone says thank you, it feels good. This is what happened at a Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) newcomers... Read More
August 28, 2019 | News | Maria H. Klassen
Horses were among the items for sale at the Amish school auction. (Photo by Se Yim)
Each summer, on the third Saturday of July, the Milverton Amish communities organize a large auction to raise funds for their parochial schools. Hosted on Amish farms throughout... Read More
August 28, 2019 | News | Fred Lichti
Al Friesen prunes tomatoes in Emmanuel Mennonite Church’s community garden in Abbotsford, B.C., which offers free vegetables to anyone who wants them. ‘It’s been fun,’ says Friesen of the experiment. (Photo by Amy Rinner Waddell)
It’s been said “there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” but it turns out there is at Emmanuel Mennonite Church. Passersby at the church on Clearbrook Road this summer have been... Read More
August 28, 2019 | News | Amy Rinner Waddell