Armed with the story of our God, we can make it through this bleak Advent time and have full faith that, as our premier said, “the end of this terrible time is in sight.”
The church, though structured, is made up of relationships, ours with God and with each other. To keep the church healthy and thriving, our attention to interpersonal relationships is vital. Without good connections to each other, we do not have church.
Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” He stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother.”
What are our stories as congregations and as individuals within congregations?
Who tells our stories? How are they told? How do our stories inspire and shape us? What is the purpose of stories? How can we learn from each other’s stories?
The story of Bavak, his driver's license and "just a bit more freedom in this new country which he claims is a wonderful place, given the troubled South Sudan where he has come from."
It was about this time of year, the summer of 1996, when I had to say goodbye to friends in Russia. After three years, that day at the train station was a tearful goodbye.
God brought Siaka Traore of Burkina Faso into our lives in 1979. In spite of opposition from every direction possible, he has always been consistent in responding as Jesus would.
I am a witness to the power of summer camp. We have all had experiences that have molded and formed us, but working at Camp Valaqua was one of my most transformative experiences. It was what transitioned me from an uncertain girl of sixteen to a more self-assured leader.
This winter felt long. I suppose by March or so they all tend to start feeling long. But this year that late winter bleakness was only reinforced by the sadness of Covid-19.
Last week I interviewed an ex-offender who had successfully gone through the Mennonite Central Committee-Alberta Bridges program. He mentioned that when you are locked up in prison you have no internet and no fresh air.
Easter just wasn’t the same this year. Instead of hymns sung by the joyful voices of the full congregation, there was music played through laptop speakers. The online worship services were a far cry from the annual in-person celebrations I so much enjoy.
What was the average age of people at the last church event you went to? When my husband and I attend church events we have sometimes been the only people in our age demographic.
I clicked on the Zoom “join with video” button and was met by the familiar faces of Executive and staff members. Within seconds the doorbell was dinging and new faces were popping up on everyone’s computer screens.
It was barely a week ago that I received news of my first cancelled event: a Mennonite World Conference gathering scheduled to take place in Abbotsford at the end of the month. By Friday MCA had cancelled its Annual Assembly, First Mennonite Edmonton had cancelled Sunday worship services, and a long-planned family gathering was shelved.
by Werner DeJong, Pastor Holyrood Mennonite Church
After preaching a sermon on technology and discipleship in early September,I invited the young adult and adult members of the congregation to attend a new Sunday School class on the same theme.
“Where did you get the neat stones?” I hadn’t expected this question at this past weekend’s Vision 2020 event. In my search for a symbol of our coming together as MCA, I settled on 1 Peter 2’s image of “living stones” to represent the body of Christ. I visited a local landscaper and scrounged up a bucket of small, smooth stones, each unique in shape and colour...
The clanging sound of a bell being struck and the echo of voices cheering in support drift to me through the forest. Someone has just mastered a face of the climbing wall and I smile to myself, music to my ears.
by Donna Entz, Director of North Edmonton Ministry
It is so easy to make assumptions about others. The Muslim-Christian Dialogue forces each of us to realize that we are constantly making assumptions about those not quite like us.