If Mennonites could admit to having icons, I think the bell at Camp Valaqua might be one! Webster’s dictionary describes an icon as “a person or thing widely admired especially for having great influence or significance in a particular sphere”. So much more than a small symbol on the computer screen!
For Dick Braun, a trustee at Osler Mennonite Church in Saskatchewan, the mantra of reduce, reuse, and recycle is simply a way of life passed down from his elders.
Confused about which registration type to choose. Here are helpful explanations for congregational representatives, regional delegates, and participants.
Last Sunday – after weeks of unsettled worship services held downstairs because of furnace issues in our sanctuary – we, at Holyrood Mennonite Church, held a magical worship service to dedicate baby Amie to God in the care of our faith community. This was the culmination of inter-cultural planning that moved from imagination to learning to testing and finally, to adapting and rejoicing!
Here is my story, from the perspective of a relatively new pastor.
We have invited a diverse collection of voices to inform our times of worship and discernment. We anticipate the thoughtful sharing you will bring to the discussion tables.
Mennonite Church Canada invites you to celebrate Earth Month 2025! God calls us to care for Creation which sustains, heals and connects all of us, across the globe. Explore these resources to find your next step in Creation Care!
Our Shared Prayer is an experiment, no doubt, but my hope is, as these prayers open our newsletter each week that at least one over the next year would resonate with you, you specifically, you who are reading this Menno Minute right now.
I have always been a reader, this probably in character for this Old Colony eldest son back there who wanted to figure out many things (nesheah is the Low German word). So this morning I was reading again, not so much to gather news (no end of that since January 20, day one), but to meditate, pay attention along with brothers and sisters, fellow Christians and many other Americans reeling in shock at what they have just done to themselves.
At this 500th anniversary of our faith tradition, I've reflected on our history--both Christianity and Anabaptism. Jesus’s message was radical 2,000 years ago. 500 years ago, Jesus’s message was STILL radical. Today, when the white Christian-nationalist church movement twists God’s good news to only being for them, Jesus’s message is still radical.
Ready for an unforgettable summer? Youth Gathering 2025 is happening from July 2–5, 2025 at the epic University of Waterloo campus – and you don’t want to miss it!
The first work is to admit our limitations and entrust our lives and our churches to the Lord. To surrender, trust, listen, and receive. We can do this. Let the real journey continue, in our hearts and in our churches.
Holyrood Mennonite Church is an intercultural church. For the past 20 years since the church welcomed the first Liberians resettling in Edmonton as a result of escaping their civil war, Holyrood has incorporated this important event in the church calendar.
Venissa Tumbay, representing the Holyrood youth, wrote the following reflection bringing together the thoughts and experiences of the Holyrood Youth who look forward to this event every year.
I enjoy a good poem. Sometimes I don’t understand precisely what the writer is intending, but generally, I like to think I’ve been enriched after reading a poem.
MC Canada is pleased to announce Emissions Reduction Grants (ERG) totaling $18,000 to help two rural and four urban congregations reduce their carbon footprint.
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.
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.
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.
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…?
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.
The planning committee for our Annual Christian Muslim Dialogue this year chose the story of Jonah/Younis as a story beloved to both faith traditions. The story seemed to resonate for our time – a time where many feel the darkness of difficult times and the need to find hope and potentially a path forward.
Mennonite Church Canada and Anabaptist Climate Collaborative present, “Faithful Leadership in the Climate Crisis: Responding in Hope,” a6-month cohort for pastors and church leaders.
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” - a series of six short meditations which connects the biblical Christmas stories with the contemporary situation in Palestine, including Israel's war on Gaza.
“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
Mennonite church bodies abroad are seeking deeper, more mutual church-to-church relationships with MC Canada as they grow and develop organizational strength.
Within Indigenous Relations reconciliation circles, our churches are given many opportunities to invest in community. Read more for examples within MC Canada.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Are we allowed to be a little envious of the Olfert Wiens family? Perhaps. We may be a little envious of them and are certainly very grateful for them.
A forty-year thaw of political relations between North America and China is freezing over again, throttling Mennonite church-to-church relationships that have been carefully nurtured in that time.
...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!
“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.
For the last two years, A Common Word Alberta (ACWAB) Interfaith participants have been focusing on what it means to build good relations with our Indigenous neighbours. Building good relations is the cornerstone of our collective work of reconciliation. Reconciliation offers all of us the possibility to heal from the historic trauma of settler colonialism through the Truth and Reconciliation 94 Calls to Action. And showing up in Indigenous spaces as good guests, I believe, is the heart of this work.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mennonite Church Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Cox as the Event Planner for the MC Canada Gathering 2025 scheduled for July 2-5, 2025 at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener, ON.
Mennonite Church Canada is thrilled to announce Audrey Wichert as the coordinator for the MC Canada Nationwide Youth Gathering scheduled for July 2-5, 2025 at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, ON.
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.
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.
In Edmonton, in the context of World Refugee Day on June 20 and Indigenous People’s Day on June 21, we gather every year to take stock of the impact of war and persecution on civilian populations around the world. We also gather to imagine roles we can play to advocate for justice and to join together as Indigenous Peoples and Settlers to welcome refugees to safety on Treaty Six land.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Join CommonWord for a unique faith formation webinar that Shine leaders are giving for a Canadian audience on Thursday May 23 at 7:00 PM (Central) via Zoom.
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.
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.
I am aware that our current experience of “Land Acknowledgement” is often stilted and boxed and pre-packaged. I understand that, when the 94 Calls to Action were presented at the conclusion of the 7-year Truth and Reconciliation work of the commission, we (those being called to action) perhaps needed a pre-written statement as a starting point.
In the intervening years, I have been challenged by Indigenous people, some of whom have said:
“Acknowledge the land from the heart!”
“Doing something is always better than doing nothing, even if you anglicize the names”
“Including an aspirational commitment to reconciliation was refreshing”
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.”
“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!’”
...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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
April 21-28 is Earth Week 2024! For the Love of Creationhas invited us to join a nation-wide movement through local actions across the countryto pray, learn, and act.
CommonWord, the current bookstore and resource centre of Mennonite Church Canada and Canadian Mennonite University, is celebrating 50+ years of service!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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).
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?”
Younger generations walk with the reality that their entire lives will be shaped by the changed (and changing) global climate. Watch Sandy Plett (MC Canada Climate Action Coordinator) in conversation with Kathy Giesbrecht, Wendy Janzen, Kyle Penner, and Jonathan Seiling about spiritual care for young people in the climate crisis.
“Acknowledge the land from the heart!”