Update on South Sudanese students at Meserete Kristos Seminary sponsored by MCA

When Ruth Bergen Braun requested an update on the two students from South Sudan who are being sponsored by MCA to attend the Meserete Kristos Seminary in Ethiopia, I really didn’t know what to say that hasn’t been said before. These are two students whose names are Khan (Isaac) Gatkuoth and Gatjiak (Simon) Tongyik. Both have families. Both are grateful for the opportunity to learn and train for ministry so they can go back and train their South Sudanese Mennonite church members in Gambella, Ethiopia, and eventually in South Sudan.

Climate Action and Indigenous Relations working groups gather

Members from MC Canada’s regional climate action and Indigenous relations working groups gathered in picturesque Pinawa for several days of conversation they hope will inspire and ultimately lead to broader awareness and hyper-local uptake of earth-care and Indigenous reconciliation among congregations.

Fresh eyes on Palestine

Five participants from the MC Canada PIN reflect on their “solidarity pilgrimage” led by the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in occupied East Jerusalem in November.

Processing alongside Art

How do you keep going when it feels like your whole being has dropped into your stomach? How do you find the spirit to create when it feels like the building blocks are made of malice? How can you hold onto a hope that Creator is at work in the world when it seems that many are still choosing to dehumanize, rather than to love…?

Land, Identity, and Faith webinar

You're invited to join in an online conversation about decolonization from South Africa, Philippines, Israel/Palestine, and North America.

An Advent Gift

I think I have always loved studying the Bible. In elementary school, my friend and I went to the same church and attended Sunday School classes. In addition to this, some of us kids gathered for a few weeks in someone’s home one year where they were teaching us about the Bible.

Faithful Leadership in the Climate Crisis: Responding in Hope

Mennonite Church Canada and Anabaptist Climate Collaborative present, “Faithful Leadership in the Climate Crisis: Responding in Hope,” a 6-month cohort for pastors and church leaders. 

Remembrance Day Reflection

This week is Remembrance Day.  As Canadians, we are encouraged remember those who lost their lives in the brutality of war. As Mennonites, we are committed to peace, justice and nonresistance. The Confession of Faith affirms nonparticipation in war as a demonstration of the love of Jesus in the world. “Led by the Spirit… we witness to all people that violence is not the will of God.”

Bethlehem Then and Now Advent Meditations

“Bethlehem Then and Now” - a series of six short meditations which connects the biblical Christmas stories with the contemporary situation in Palestine, including Israel's war on Gaza.

A Courage to Love

“But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” Christ, Matthew 5:43
“… are all summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:9

Global Companions seek deeper mutual relationships

Mennonite church bodies abroad are seeking deeper, more mutual church-to-church relationships with MC Canada as they grow and develop organizational strength.

A weekend of unsettlement, learning and hope

Reflecting on the Climate Action & Indigenous Relations Regional Collaboration

What do the ministries of Indigenous Relations and Creation Care/Climate Action hold in common?  This question brought 25 Mennonites from across Canada together, October 4-6, near the beautiful shores of the winding Winnipeg River in Pinawa, Manitoba.  
 

From Our Students

...this last year at CMU was one that has changed the direction I thought my life was going. I am so incredibly excited to be returning.

Mennonite Church Canada statement lamenting a year of the current Israeli-Gazan conflict

On this 366^th day of the current Israeli-Gazan conflict, we, as Mennonite Church Canada, lament the ongoing violence.

From Our Students

CMU integrates faith into its faculty of science to a degree that few other institutions – religious or not – can achieve, and continues to draw me back as I complete my degree.

A community that’s hard to replicate: Reflecting on RJC post-graduation

As I navigate university life, I realize how unique and irreplaceable those moments were. It's not just the activities or the events I miss, but the incredible people and the effortless sense of belonging that made RJC such a special place. The transition has underscored just how special and impactful that community was, and how much I miss the everyday, spontaneous connections that made RJC feel like home.

The Joy of Being a Camp Chaplain

I’ve had the honour to be invited to Camp Valaqua for several years now, as a chaplain (even though I am a school teacher, not a pastor!). Sometimes people thank me for “giving up” a week of my summer, but let me share with you what I get out of it.

Re-entry

One of the challenges of my job is the transition from the deep intensity of summer camp to the everything else that follows it.

No Small Thing!

...our tradition of simple living, our commitment to peace and justice, our love for and connection with the land, and our ability as a community to organize and work together to get stuff done, which is no small thing!

Introducing MC Canada GYS representatives

Anabaptist young adults from around the world will gather at the fifth Global Youth Summit (GYS) in Germany from May 30-June 1, 2025.

Grow Hope Evangelism

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us…” 1 John 1:3

This verse has rung in my mind ever since meeting Rwandan Grow Hope farmers while on a Mennonite Central Committee Learning Tour. Our group visited MCC partners and farmers doing peace building work through teaching Conservation Agriculture techniques.

Room in our Hearts

Near the end of the article, the author said something that made me pause:
But this should not be a popularity contest. There is room in our hearts and minds for more than one outcry for help.

100 Faithful Climate Conversations

“The most important thing you can do to fight climate change is to talk about it.” ~ Dr. Katharine Hayhoe 

Instruments of Healing

At a recent family gathering in Goshen, Indiana, I was sharing how I was organizing visits to local Alberta Powwows as a way to learn about and celebrate Indigenous ceremony and culture.

My 92-year-old father piped in – “my father was pow-wowed when he was a baby.”

Come Together

As a child growing up in the 1970s, my Hollywood-inspired exposure to Indigenous people included images dominated by buckskin regalia and feather headdresses, drumming, and dancing. I could have easily identified the stereotypes, but I had no idea of the role that any of these identifiers really played within the Indigenous community. They were simply the uniform and associations I had come to expect based on TV shows and media portrayals.

An Introduction

My name is Katie Doke Sawatzky and I am a journalist living in Regina, Sask., on Treaty 4 land and the homeland of the Métis. I live here with my husband Glenn and two children, ages 13 (just—I still can’t believe I have a teenager) and 9. I am the Saskatchewan/Alberta correspondent for Canadian Mennonite for the summer and I’ve been asked to introduce myself, so, hi.

Thai pastors describe first time visit to Canada as “Profound”

Thailand pastoral couple Khampan and Thippewan visited Canada from April 4-29. Tom Poovong, long term MC Canada Witness worker in northeast Thailand, accompanied Khampan and Thippewan and served as a tireless translator as they visited Mennonites and their congregations in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

Malipayon Peace Hub Fundraising Campaign a Success!

Mennonite Church Canada is excited to announce the successful conclusion of a year-long fundraising campaign that raised $235,000 for ministry in the Philippines.

Rooted and Grounded

Last fall, I had the privilege of attending the Rooted and Grounded Conference at AMBS as we explored topics of climate hope. Among others, Avery Davis Lamb’s presentation titled “Making Room in the Anthropocene” has especially stuck with me.

Our First Church Retreat

Over the weekend of June 21-23, we in Calgary First Mennonite Church tried something for the first time - something that many other congregations here in Alberta have been doing for many years: we had a “church retreat” out at Camp valaqua. 

CMU, Estamos, and Gratitude

My cross-cultural experience was a remarkable educational experience that CMU provided for me, one that will continue to shape my thinking and character for many years to come.

MC Canada 2025 Gathering announced for Kitchener, ON

Mennonite Church Canada’s 2025 Gathering will meet at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener, Ont. from July 2-5, 2025.

Sustainable support for Congo pastors

The three Mennonite denominations in the Congo and Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission are working to reinforce local and sustainable support for pastors.  

 

New climate action resources

Mennonite Church Canada's Climate Action has new resources and learning opportunities for our church ministry leaders.

Young Adult Anabaptist Conference for an Active Future

The Young Adult Anabaptist Conference for an Active Future (YAC) was a weekend filled with conversation, growth and hope. We had the opportunity to connect with young adults (and some older adults) from across Canada and the United States. 

Statement from Canadian Interfaith Conversation

The Canadian Interfaith Conversation (including MC Canada) has issued a statement on behalf of over 60 signatory faith traditions and institutions on combatting hate against and between our country's religious communities. 

We are all Treaty People

Sam died while I was talking to him. We were in an early meeting of Treaty talks with First Nations representatives sitting around the room in the basement of an Edmonton hotel.

Loved by the Creator

We are called to challenge the systems and the rules that say that we are not welcome, and it is the job of the church to spread the good news of the full welcome that Jesus came to preach. We are called to share our story of the assurance that we have in Jesus, of the goodness of God’s love. Just like the eunuch, we can go on our way rejoicing, knowing we are loved by the Creator of all things.

A Menno Minute

I’ll admit some bias but I believe that A Menno Minute is a treasured piece of our newsletter. The Menno Minute has become a unique collection of who we are, the people who make up Mennonite Church Alberta.

A Visit to Two Hills

Three weeks ago I was privileged to join with a group of urbanites to visit some strange new people, neighboring Mennonites now living in Two Hills and surrounding community, about an hour east of Edmonton.

New MC Canada Administrative Staff Member

Mennonite Church Canada welcomed Carolina Gouveia Santana to her half-time Administrative Assistant role on April 15, 2024.

Church Leaders to Gather on Parliament Hill in Culmination of Worldwide Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage

Doug Klassen, executive minister of MC Canada, will join a Church Leaders pilgrimage through Ottawa on May 22. He will be joined by leaders from the Anglican, Evangelical Lutheran, and United Churches, as well as KAIROS, which is coordinating the event.

Coming in June! 2024 Mennonite Church Canada AGM

Join our nationwide community of faith for Mennonite Church Canada's Annual General Meeting (Zoom only) on Saturday, June 22.

Colombia Learning Tour 2025

Join Canadian Mennonite University students and people from across Canada to visit the Colombian Mennonite Church.

Intoducing our new Moderator, Keith Retzlaff

“My words will be imperfect, but I’ll try. Bringing my assumptions to the light, I’ll pray, God, I’ll surrender. Bring us together.”

May God bring us together as congregations, MCA, MC Canada and beyond.

MCA at the Global Youth Summit 2025

Liam Kachkar of First Mennonite Edmonton, has been selected as the MCA representative on the MC Canada Team to the 2025 Global Youth Summit of Mennonite World Conference (GYS).  

“To be an Anabaptist for me means to be connected to a global church that is seeking to continue Christ’s work.” Liam said. “Sometimes I forget that I’m not just a church attendee in Alberta but instead part of a larger story.”

Tracking Our Steps

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”

How do I see God at work in Indigenous Relations?

...These are gifts of acknowledgement, of love, of friendship, of mutual aid and the embodiment of Treaty. May the seed of invitation into Sacred Covenant continue to be planted and take root in our congregations and communities. 

Energy Efficient Buildings Part 2

Join us May 1 @ 7:00pm CDT for part two of Energy Efficient Buildings. Guest and author Nelson Lee will help us connect the dots between creation care, building stewardship and the church’s ministry in the world.

Christian Community Development in Rwanda

I was fortunate to participate with 14 others in a recent Mennonite Central Committee Alberta Learning tour to Rwanda. The purpose of the learning tour is to observe and interact with the work of MCC and their partners in relief and development.

Images of Hope

Rwanda. For many it is a country whose name is synonymous with one of the most horrific and brutal genocides of modern history. It is certainly not a country whose name brings to mind images of hope. Yet after a recent Learning Tour with Mennonite Central Committee focused on MCC’s peace and development work in the country, hope is the word that now comes to mind for me. 

Red Dress Day on May 5

Sunday, May 5^th is Red Dress Day across Canada, a day to name violence against Indigenous Women and Girls.

Emissions Reduction Grant Celebration & Launch Party

Looking to improve the sustainability and efficiency of your church building? Looking for some $$$ to help you do it? Learn how on April 24.

Will it Ever Rain Again? 

What is that kernel of wheat?

What lies inside that grain seed?

Does it have a glorious past?

Could we have known what great harvests were coming?

We settled on foreign soil.

They called it Alberta.

Reflections on the Annual Delegate Sessions

Putting it in terms of intercultural's close sibling, intergenerational, we can have people across generations in our communities, but that does not inherently mean we are truly embodying that idea in the life of our community.

MWC Global Youth Summit 2025

ATTENTION: ANABAPTIST YOUNG ADULTS from MENNONITE CHURCH CANADA! Are you interested in being an MC Canada-appointed representative or delegate to the Global Youth Summit (GYS) 2025 in Germany?

Five more Emissions Reduction Grant Recipients Share Their Stories

In 2023, nine congregations received Emissions Reduction Grants from MC Canada. Five more of those congregations share their progress.

Earth Week Invitation to Pray, Learn, Act

April 21-28 is Earth Week 2024! For the Love of Creation has invited us to join a nation-wide movement through local actions across the country to pray, learn, and act.

Being Interrupted

God works in our interruptions.

Relief Appeal for Meserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia

Mennonite Church Canada is launching an urgent relief appeal for Meserete Kristos Church (MKC) in Ethiopia. MKC leaders and adherents have lost their lives in the crossfire of a violent tribal conflict that began in the western region of Ethiopia in 2018.

Collaboration between International Witness and AMBS

Forming Leaders Together - a collaboration between Mennonite Church Canada International Witness and AMBS.

Don’t leave me hanging!

Incredible partnerships await a church that’s ready to extend a hand in invitation to partner or to reach out for the high five of encouragement!  What direction might your next handshake or high five go? You might be left hanging… but you might not!   

a lesson in love

love is not a projection into some back catcher’s mitt - a comfortable place where it can be held tight.

love is a living transforming power that undergoes constant renewal - and is extended like god, into the world.

and our personal experience of love becomes the root of our experience of god.

Emissions reduction grantees shed light on their journeys

Hear from some of the eight churches across Canada that received an Emissions Reduction Grant (ERG) from MC Canada to reduce their carbon emissions.

Ring that Bell! Calling all youth to... Snowcamp!!

I am looking forward to the chaos and joyful noise of Snowcamp.  The flurry of games, singing, and time together always leaves me tired and rejuvenated in the way that only camp does.  We hope you will join us!

Faithful Stewards of the Earth

Together, let us answer the call and take bold steps towards a more sustainable and precious connection with nature. The time to act is now, and by dropping everything for the urgent climate crisis, we can be the stewards of a healthier, greener, and more vibrant world. 

Report back from Maya-Mennonite Working Group

The Maya-Mennonite Solidarity Working Group of the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery will be hosting a share back about our recent delegation to Maya ancestral territory, Monday, Jan. 29 from 7-8pm CT (5-6pm PT / 8-9pm ET).

A Journey of Illness

During the past three years I have been on a journey of illness.  Former moderator of the United Church and cancer survivor David Giuliano called his journey his “Camino de Cancer”.  It is not a journey any willingly travel.  But sometimes things just work out that way.  As someone close to me once conveyed: “These things happen.  Why not to me?”

Students sponsored by MCA dream of planting Mennonite churches in South Sudan

Recently an article in Anabaptist World stated there were no known Anabaptist congregations in South Sudan. Praise God. That is no longer the case.

Jury Duty

How can I truly value a part of the system intended to bring a level of fairness and common connection if I act on that impulse to get out of my duty when called? Our justice system is far from perfect, and aspects are in desperate need of change.  I wonder if jury duty itself could use an overhaul to address its critiques and better work towards its intended goals? But in the meantime, it is the system we have. If people who desire better forms of justice don’t serve when called, who will be left to fill those roles?

One Thing is Necessary

What else did Jesus say about Mary? Not only was she doing the one necessary thing, but she had chosen the good portion. The good portion was necessary, but it also was a choice. God is with us and gives us the words in time of crisis, just as Jesus promised! May we all strive to see the glory of God displayed here in North America.

New funds for women’s leadership training in Asia

Women now studying in Anabaptist Biblical/theological study programs in Asia will be able to apply for a new scholarship through Mennonite Church Canada International Witness.

Under My Tree

Imagine Christmas trees around the world overflowing with gifts of commitments to small acts of peace, freely given and freely received, peace that’s embodied by the Prince of Peace. Together, as influencers of peace, could we change the course of 2024?

Mennonite Church Canada announces Emissions Reduction Grant Recipients

MC Canada is pleased to announce Emissions Reduction Grants (ERG) totaling $23,021 to help one rural and eight urban congregations reduce their carbon footprint.

Steady and Deep

“You too must follow the path of your own race. It is steady and deep, reliable and lasting. It is you. — If you let it happen.” (Chief Dan George)

Help! Why? Thank you!

Help! Why? Thank you! Sorry I’ve neglected you. 

These are the words that describe the prayer life of my teens and early twenties. These words were offered by me to God. Words were the instrument of my prayers. And then one day I couldn’t find the words. I did not know what words to pray. I could not find the words to express what I needed/wanted. The source of my restlessness and unsettledness was a mystery to me, so how could I ask God for help when I didn’t really know what it was I needed?

Never to Return

Millions of Americans are leaving church, never to return…
That seems a rather bold claim.

Statement on Antisemitism and Islamophobia

The horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli citizens on October 7, followed by the brutal siege, bombing, and invasion of Gaza by the Israeli Defence Forces since then, have led to an increase in anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim speech and hate crimes around the world...

Joanne Moyer receives environmental award

Dr. Joanne Moyer of First Mennonite Church (Edmonton) is the 2023 recipient of the Art and Jocele Meyer Award from Mennonite Creation Care Network.

The Liminal Space of Imbedded Leadership

It's now that I am truly trying to figure out what it means to be a leader/pastor in a community, especially to be a young person in such a position.

PIN statement on Palestine-Israel Conflict 2023

In the wake of the brutal attack by Hamas militants on Israeli citizens and the resulting overwhelming Israeli military assault on the people of Gaza, we lament the loss of all lives, both Israeli and Palestinian. We condemn all violence--whether committed by Hamas militants or Israeli soldiers. We lament the hatred, the dehumanization, the militarization, and the growing humanitarian catastrophe that we witness unfolding. 

God is at Work!

 
God is at work in First Mennonite Church Edmonton, and I'm delighted and eager to join in!

Prayer of Lament and Intercession for Palestine and Israel

Since the October 7 Hamas attack near the Gaza Strip and Israel’s crushing military reaction, violence and destruction have escalated in the land we often call “Holy.” As we lament the carnage among Israelis and Palestinians, let us also pray for those working for a future that ends the deep and longstanding injustices that lie at the root of the crisis. 

In Memoriam: Rod Suderman (1959-2023)

Rod Suderman, former International Witness worker with Mennonite Church Canada, passed away on Sept. 2, 2023, of anaplastic thyroid cancer in Surrey, British Columbia. He was 63.

A Season of Tidy Desks

I am so grateful for the amazing work of our staff group. I am so grateful for the parents who entrusted their kids to us.  And I am so grateful for the energy of the campers and their contagious joy in this community. 

Palestine Israel Network Alberta Events

Join others to hear Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac and Rev. Dr. Jack Sara as they visit Alberta!

The Garden and the Table

I think maybe we could even use a single word to describe the lovely place beyond our control where things grow to provide for us outside our plans, like an offering of warm biscuits from a friend that goes with the soup: faith.