Edmonton South Sudanese Mennonite 

The South Sudanese Mennonite Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada was established in 2012.

In 2010, five South Sudanese families living in Edmonton were sitting at home every Sunday morning, unsure where they could worship and belong. Finally, in February 2012, the families got together and decided to approach Mennonite Church Alberta for help. After researching different options, they felt Mennonites were the best fit because the Mennonite church has a strong peace stance and cares about social justice.

First Mennonite Church in Edmonton took the refugee families under its wing, including them in its church services for almost a year while helping them find a place to worship and supporting them while the group applied to be incorporated in late 2012 as the South Sudan Mennonite Church Of Edmonton. Tim Wiebe-Neufeld, pastor of First Mennonite at the time, also offered them a series of classes on what it means to be a Mennonite, which the members highly appreciated.

On 27 January 2013, the South Sudanese Mennonite Church held its first church service in a new rental space at Emmanuel Community Church. The congregation was welcomed as a member of Mennonite Church Alberta in March 2014.

In 2020 the church had approximately 40 congregants. Its leadership team included the pastor, an evangelist, a deacon, a secretary, a treasurer, a minister of children, and a missions leader. Women also served as deacons and wore blue dresses to signify their authority in the church. In addition, every year, the church sent a group of women to the Mennonite Church Alberta women’s retreat.

Bibliography

Braun, Ruth Bergen and Jake Froese. "Walking together--with so much to learn." Mennonite Church Alberta. Web. 29 January 2021. https://mcab.ca/article/9717-walking-together----with-so-much-to-learn.

De Jong, Joanne. "'Who will answer the call': South Sudanese Mennonites in Ethiopia request discipleship training." Canadian Mennonite 24, no. 5 (26 February 2020). Web. 20 June 2021. https://canadianmennonite.org/stories/who-will-answer-call.

"South Sudan Mennonite Church Of Edmonton." Alberta Corporations. 14 November 2012. Web. 20 June 2021. https://albertacorporations.com/south-sudan-mennonite-church-of-edmonton.