News & Stories

A letter to my congregation: An evangelical pastor’s path to embracing people who are gay, lesbian and transgender into the company of Jesus. By Ken Wilson. Read the Spirit Books... Read More
July 22, 2015 | Artbeat |
When children arrive at Mennonite Church Manitoba’s (MCM) three camps this summer, they will have a new tune to learn. “This Ground” is a simple, catchy, four-chord song—and it... Read More
July 22, 2015 | Young Voices | Aaron Epp

Will Friesen (centre), a Grade 5/6 student with severe cognitive and physical disabilities, poses with some of his classmates at Rosenfeld Elementary School. (Photo by Jackie Nickel)

Wilhelm (Will) Friesen, a Grade 5/6 student, does not have a voice. Will was born with severe cognitive and physical disabilities which prevent him from performing basic tasks,... Read More
July 22, 2015 | Young Voices | Mattea Nickel

Organizer Rachel Regier explains the goals of Pedal for Peace to about 40 participants. (Photo courtesy of MCC Saskatchewan)

Before they ate their fill of rollkuchen, watermelon, farmer’s sausage and other traditional Mennonite food, a group of Saskatchewan Mennonites cycled 43 kilometres in solidarity... Read More
July 22, 2015 | Young Voices |

Picking up on the assembly theme, MWC general secretary César García called listeners to join with others and—together—walk with God. (Photo by Dale Gehman)

The 16th Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly opened July 21, 2015, in Harrisburg, Pa., with a parade of Mennonites from across the globe, with confession of past treatment... Read More
July 21, 2015 | Web First | Gordon Houser

Brook Musselman (left), logistics coordinator of the Global Youth Summit, and Howard Good, national coordinator of PA 2015, prepare for the Anabaptist World Cup at Logan Field, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Merle Good)

The first ever Anabaptist World Cup will be played on the afternoons of July 22, 23, 24, and 25, 2015, as an optional recreational event during PA 2015, the Mennonite World... Read More
July 20, 2015 | Web First | Phyllis Pellman Good

Marcy Hostetler of Lancaster, Pennsylvania is leading the international ensemble of singers and instrumentalists at PA 2015, the international gathering of Mennonite World Conference. (Photo courtesy of Mennonite World Conference)

A 19-member international ensemble of singers and instrumentalists will lead the morning and evening worship each day at PA 2015, the Mennonite World Conference Assembly to be... Read More
July 20, 2015 | Web First | Phyllis Pellman Good

A trauma healing workshop in Nigeria is held under the shade of trees. (Photo courtesy of MCC/Dave Klassen)

Musa* grew up in a close-knit family that did not change even as they became adults. The siblings looked out for each other and their parents. When Boko Haram insurgent activity... Read More
July 18, 2015 | Web First | Dave Klassen, with Carl and Roxane Hill

Howard Zehr, author, known as “grandfather of restorative justice,” and author of the influential book Changing Lenses. (MennoMedia photo)

Changing Lenses: Restorative Justice for Our Times , by Howard Zehr, remains the go-to text in the restorative justice field, even twenty-five years after it was first published... Read More
July 18, 2015 | Web First |

Lassana Kanneh, a former child soldier in Liberia's civil wars, interacts with classmates at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute at Eastern Mennonite University, in Harrisonburg, Va. (Photo by Michael Sheeler)

In 1999, along with more than 20,000 Liberian children, 11-year-old Lassana became a soldier. He was kidnapped and forced to use drugs and alcohol, destroy property, and kill in... Read More
July 18, 2015 | Web First | Andrew Goodstein
Canadian Christians concerned about climate change are calling for government action in response to the impact of global warming on the country’s coastlines and vast Artic region... Read More
July 17, 2015 | Web First | Kristine Greenaway

Mary Fehr and Sarah French are cycling across Canada to raise money for women farmers in Ghana. (MEDA photo)

As they biked across the Manitoba border into northern Ontario, Mary Fehr and Sarah French had extra power pushing their pedals. Past MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development... Read More
July 16, 2015 | Web First |
The fastest growing Mennonite Church in the world can’t keep up with its need for leadership training and Bibles. The Meserete Kristos Church (MKC) in Ethiopia, a member of... Read More
June 30, 2015 | Web First |

Mennonite Christians in the village of Sidi, Burkina Faso, at a meeting in May 2015. These farmers risk losing access to their land and to their place within the village community because of their faith. They refuse to provide chiefs with items designated for sacrifice to the spirits of the land. (Photo by Siaka Traoré)

In the village of Sidi, Burkina Faso, a group of Mennonite Christians risk losing access to the land they farm and to their place within the village community, because of their... Read More
June 30, 2015 | Web First | Elizabeth Miller and Siaka Traoré, with translating assistance from Lynda Hollinger-Janzen

Kim Penner (left) and Allison Murray planned and facilitated a symposium, “Engaging Women’s Voices on Church, Theology and Mission,” sponsored by Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre, with support from Mennonite Church Eastern Canada. 

Several women in post-graduate theological studies at Toronto School of Theology (TST) challenged the 20 women and men who gathered on a Saturday in early May with new ways of... Read More
June 30, 2015 | Web First | Muriel Bechtel

Because transportation is a huge issue after the earthquakes in Nepal, residents from the affected villages come to central distribution centers and carry supplies back to their homes. (Eastern Mennonite Missions photo) 

A group of Nepali Anabaptist fellowships is reaching out to communities affected by the April and May 2015 earthquakes in Nepal, with a goal of assisting 2,000 families. The group... Read More
June 30, 2015 | Web First | Chris Fretz
In 1962, Canada hosted the Mennonite World Conference for the first time. Twelve thousand delegates attended; 6,000 of these were billeted in local homes. Historian T.D. Regehr... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in the Church | Laureen Harder-Gissing

This painting by Victor Kleinsasser depicts John J. Friesen talking to Hutterite students after class. It was commissioned by the Hutterian Brethren Education Committee and presented to Friesen as a gift.

A new artwork honouring a professor from Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) and commissioned by the Hutterian Brethren Education Committee was unveiled in CMU’s new library on... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in the Church |

Jim Loepp Thiessen and Catherine Gitzel stand in front of the Gathering Church’s store front offices on Activa Ave. in Kitchener, Ont., across the street from the W. T. Townshend Public School, where they gather on Sunday mornings. The congregation celebrated its tenth anniversary in February this year. (Photo by Dave Rogalsky)

Two in three church plants don’t make it past the five-year mark. That doesn’t mean they haven’t been successful, but long life is not part of most church plants. The Gathering... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in the Church |

Rudy Baergen, interim pastor at Waterloo-Kitchener United Mennonite Church (left) chats with Roberson Mbayamvula, pastor at Hagerman Mennonite Church. Baergen was the keynote speaker at the June 11 Lebold fundraising dinner at Conrad Grebel University College and Mbayamvula was last year’s speaker.

A new focus was announced this year at the Ralph and Eileen Lebold Endowment fundraising dinner, because last year it reached its goal of $1 million to fund pastoral training at... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in the Church |

Ziauddin Yousafzai (left) chats with Susan Schultz Huxman about a new peace scholarship that will allow a female student from a region of the world experiencing conflict to study at Conrad Grebel University College in the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies program. Also part of the conversation are Mohan Kendall and Ahmad Shah.

Conrad Grebel University College is offering a $10,000 scholarship to a female Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) student, thanks to a partnership with Ziauddin... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in the World |

Tom and Christine Poovong recruited local volunteers to assist with a newly launched nursery, a community outreach program in Khon Kaen, Thailand. From left to right: Benz Khemma, Tom and Christine Poovong with their young children, and Amp and Naaming Anantasak with their young son.

Northeast Thailand is the poorest region in the country. Democracy is uneven, and peaceful protests can land protesters in barred cells overnight. Since a military coup in 2014,... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in the World | Dan Dyck

Jamie Arpin-Ricci

He pastors Little Flowers Community, a small Mennonite congregation in Winnipeg’s west end neighbourhood that chose to belong to the larger church body through Mennonite Church... Read More
June 30, 2015 | God at work in Us | Deborah Froese
“Church growth strategies are the death gurgle of a church that has lost its way,” is how Stanley Hauerwas describes this book, noting that, “God is making us leaner and meaner.”... Read More
June 30, 2015 | Artbeat | Reviewed by Henry Neufeld

Mattea Nickel

Imagine these words as pictures with no direct meaning. That’s part of what it’s like to have dyslexia. “Dyslexia is a different way of thinking,” says Mattea Nickel, 19. She was... Read More
June 30, 2015 | Young Voices | Jonas Cornelsen

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