The Challenges of Congregational Leadership

This has obviously been a year of challenge for our congregation. At the same time, we have experimented often and discovered much. 

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CommonWord, Herald Press and MC USA partner for Common Read winter title

Common Read encourages Mennonites to engage in a "common read," every few months, promoting specific books written to nurture Christian faith in our current cultural moment.

“Congregations are often looking for recommended titles for small group study,” says Arlyn Friesen Epp, director of CommonWord. “A Common Read book gives our nationwide church an opportunity to engage a topic collectively.”

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Prayer and response to violence on Capitol Hill

As leaders of Mennonite Church Canada and its regions, we pray for our siblings in Mennonite Church USA and, together with them, lament the escalation of violence that led to Wednesday’s events on Capitol Hill. We condemn white supremacy and Christian nationalism that are revealing themselves in American and Canadian society.  

Christ is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Christ has broken down the dividing wall of hostility. We are called as church communities to be people of God’s Shalom in all that we do.

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A prayer for the New Year

God who makes all things new,

help us to embrace the new.

Open our eyes to a future that will look different than the past.

May we grow through and be changed by these strange times.

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Mennonite Church Canada International Witness invites Canadian Mennonite congregations to participate in Witness Support Networks

Mennonite Church Canada’s International Witness program invites congregations across its nationwide community of faith to join networks of support for Mennonite Church Canada’s International Witness ministries.

“Being part of the network for the Philippines reminds us that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves. We see the work that is being done in the name of God’s kingdom,” said Marlene Friesen from Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Abbotsford, B.C.

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Restoration

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and release to the prisoners;
² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. --Isaiah 61: 1-2a

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Celebrations

I believe that while they may look different, our Advent and Christmas celebrations will be filled with meaning and we prepare to welcome the Christ child, who comes bearing hope, peace, joy, and love.

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More Questions than Answers

Advent is all about waiting for the revelation of God’s mystery. It’s hard to wait for the Messiah; for Jesus to be born. As children it was difficult to wait until Christmas to find out what gifts we might get under the tree. But now life is difficult as we wait for other things.

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Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission appoints new executive coordinators

John Fumana and Bruce Yoder have been appointed to work as the new team of executive coordinators for Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM).

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‘For God all things are possible’: Mennonite Church Colombia continues its witness despite great risk

In late October, Iglesia Cristiana Menonita de Colombia issued a public statement declaring that there have been 60 massacres (killings of five people or more) so far in Colombia in 2020. Victims include young people and small farmers, as well as 200 civic leaders. The violence stems from a decades-long, multi-layered conflict between guerilla, paramilitary and drug cartel groups who fight for control of the country’s land for their own interests.

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Together in Worship launches in collaboration with CommonWord

While Mennonites across Canada and the U.S. eagerly await the arrival of the new hymnal Voices Together, hundreds of online worship resources are already accessible to them through a brand new website that launched this November.

Together in Worship, at www.togetherinworship.net, is an online, curated collection of free and downloadable Anabaptist worship resources. It’s also a place where contributors can submit their own resources to be shared by the wider Anabaptist and ecumenical community.

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A Food Truck Story

A couple of years ago, our Church Council did some brainstorming around how to begin reaching out to our neighbours.

(And so the story begins.)

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Mennonite Church Canada calls for prayer for Ethiopia and Eritrea

As a nationwide community of faith, Mennonite Church Canada calls on congregations to pray for peace and healing in Ethiopia. We ask for prayer for the congregations here in Canada who carry deep concerns for their loved ones in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Pray also for the pastors, leaders and the people of Meserete Kristos Church as they seek to bring God’s peace to the people of their country.

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An Urgent Reality

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.”

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Caring Connections

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.

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International Witness Sunday strengthens relationships across nationwide community of faith

Congregations across Mennonite Church Canada celebrated International Witness Sunday this past October. Mennonite Church Canada declared October 18, 2020, to be the official day, but welcomed congregations to celebrate on whatever Sunday worked for them. The theme of the day was “Sharing gifts. Building relationships.”

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Mennonite Church Canada International Witness supports new Anabaptist resourcing network through Mennonite Partners in China

Mennonite Partners in China, a joint program of Mennonite Church Canada International Witness and Mennonite Mission Network (Mennonite Church USA), is creating an Anabaptist resourcing network to assist Chinese church leaders who want to know more about Anabaptism.

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"The most important peacemaking agenda that we have now": Indigenous justice

In our latest interview, co-editors Esther Epp-Tiessen and Steve Heinrichs, along with graphic designer Matt Veith, share their encounters with 90-plus documents detailing Anabaptist commitments to Indigenous justice, the challenge to the live up to some of them and what a book like Be it Resolved means for the church now.

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The Gift of Covid -- Do not fear...

Although Covid is a nasty bug and has devastated us in so many ways – it has also brought us gifts that we would otherwise not have.

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Meet our Table Talk host and moderator: Kim Penner

Kim Penner is an adjunct professor of Christian Ethics at Conrad Grebel University College and professor of ethics at University of Toronto. She lives in Kitchener, Ont. She will be the conference host and moderator for Table Talk 2020: Does the church still have legs?. 

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Mennonite Church Canada, MC USA and MWC respond to MCEC’s decision to terminate ministerial credentials of John D. Rempel

Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite World Conference have received news from Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC) of the termination of the ministerial credentials of John D. Rempel of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., due to ministerial sexual misconduct and ministerial misconduct.

As church bodies with which Rempel has worked closely over his career as pastor, professor and theologian, we grieve for the victim-survivors harmed by Rempel’s actions and honour their courage in coming forward. We recognize the injustice faced by those within our own faith communities that this news brings to light. We grieve also for our larger church Body, in which Rempel has found support and belonging.

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“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”

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.”

- Matthew 12: 48-50 CEB

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Discomfort and courage on Orange Shirt Day

Orange Shirt Day, Sept. 30, is recognized as a day to honour survivors of Canada’s residential school system. This past month thousands of students across Canada participated in an online event hosted by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) for children and youth in grades 5 through 12.

Paul Peters is director of student life at Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna, Man. He runs extracurricular programs for MCI’s 83 students, which include daily chapels, discussions and activities around faith exploration and discipleship. Peters organized MCI’s participation in NCTR’s Orange Shirt Day this year.

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Meet our Table Talk guest speakers: Jeremy Bergen

Jeremy Bergen is associate professor of Religious Studies and Theological Studies at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ont. He is one of our guest speakers for Table Talk 2020: Does the church still have legs? and will share thoughts on worship.

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Ride for Refuge 2020

7 Riders for Refuge raise over $3000 for the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers!

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Introducing Our Stories

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?

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Meet our Table Talk guest speakers: Sheila Klassen-Wiebe

Sheila Klassen-Wiebe will lead a Bible study during Table Talk 2020, Mennonite Church Canada's study conference on Oct. 24. Klassen-Wiebe is associate professor of New Testament at Canadian Mennonite University.

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God's License

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."

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New anthology documents six decades of Anabaptist response to Indigenous calls for justice

A new anthology published by Mennonite Central Committee Canada (MCC) and Mennonite Church Canada hits the press this fall. Be it Resolved: Anabaptists & Partner Coalitions Advocate for Indigenous Justice is a collection of over 90 documents detailing commitments Anabaptists have made to Indigenous justice and decolonization since the 1960s.

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Meet our Table Talk guest speakers: Bryan Born

Bryan Born is a guest speaker at Table Talk 2020, Mennonite Church Canada's virtual study conference on Oct. 24. President of Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, B.C., Bryan will talk about missiology in today's current context.

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Camp Valaqua: A Place to Belong

The jubilant return of children and youth to Valaqua is something worth celebrating and, when that time comes again, we will! 

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Meet our Table Talk guest speakers: Jesse Nickel

Jesse Nickel, professor of Biblical Studies at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, B.C., is a guest speaker at Mennonite Church Canada's study conference Table Talk 2020: "Does the Church still have legs?" on October 24. He will present on worship in the New Testament.

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An October 31st Invitation to Dialogue with Muslims

Commonalities and connections are often experienced  at informal and formal Interfaith Dialogues. 

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Meet our Table Talk guest speakers: Irma Fast Dueck

Irma Fast Dueck, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Canadian Mennonite University, lives in Winnipeg and will be a guest speaker at Mennonite Church Canada's study conference Table Talk 2020: "Does the Church still have legs?" on October 24. She will present on worship in the life of the church.

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Postures of trust and openness to transformation

In our latest interview, Tany Warkentin, Liaison to Ministry in Africa for Mennonite Church Canada, shares about the relationships between our Canadian congregations and the Burkina Faso Church and ways congregations can learn more and become involved in International Witness ministry in Africa. 

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The Leatherman Church

We are a “multi” church that, like a Leatherman, has more individual facets and creative uses than you might ever discover.

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Leah Reesor-Keller Begins as Executive Minister

What is now possible that wasn’t before? This is a question I want to explore with you as we seek to follow God’s leading for us as the people of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada. We’re on a journey together that requires courageous imagination to open us to seeing where the Spirit is at work among us and in the world. In the midst of the pandemic, in the midst of social upheaval, in the midst of people and creation in crisis, God is busy doing new things, and making a way where there was no way.

Leah Reesor-Keller begins her ministry this week as MCEC Executive Minister. Watch for the video greeting coming to your congregation soon. She anticipates meeting many congregations online over the next months, and in-person as guidelines allow.

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Meet our Table Talk guest speakers: Gerald Gerbrandt

President Emeritus of Canadian Mennonite University Gerald Gerbrandt lives in Winnipeg and will be a guest speaker at Mennonite Church Canada's study conference Table Talk 2020: "Does the Church still have legs?" on October 24. He will present on worship in the Old Testament. 

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‘Deconstructing race’: understanding the breadth of our diversity

When we lived in Nanchong, China, our three-year-old daughter Claire came home from Kindergarten quite indignant that some of her classmates had said her hair was blond. “My hair is black!” she declared. I looked at the golden curls on her head and had to break it to her, “No, your hair is not black.” Years later a neighbour in that same city looked at me closely and declared, “When you first came here you looked like a foreigner and now you look really Chinese, your nose has even gotten smaller.”

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If there is one thing I love about summer vacation it is the way it opens up space.

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What would happen if my congregation was the natural world?

An interview with pastor Wendy Janzen from Burning Bush Forest Church on worshipping with nature and how outdoor church challenges our need for control

Wendy Janzen is the pastor of Burning Bush Forest Church in Kitchener, Ont., a wild church that meets monthly in the outdoors in urban parks and forests.

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Reflections from our Canadian Mennonite Rep

Words, stories, and ideas. 

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Moving towards relationships with our Indigenous neighbours

An interview with Bruce Clemenger and Aileen Van Ginkel from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada on urging churches toward right relationships with Indigenous Peoples

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) is committing to help its affiliate congregations, denominations (including Mennonite Church Canada), organizations and institutions move forward on the path of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

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The Practice of Writing

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to write—certainly long before I would have considered it anything like a “spiritual discipline.”

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Seeing God at Work in MCA, in our Congregations, in Ourselves

A reflection -- albeit within a conversation.

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Holy Ground

Take, take off your shoes.  You’re standing on my holy ground.

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E3 Celebration and Commitment Service

More information to follow

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"Broken as the world is broken": setting our sights on God’s Shalom vision

Sara Wenger Shenk will be the plenary speaker at “Table Talk: Does the Church Have Legs?”, Mennonite Church Canada’s virtual study conference on October 24, 2020.

Wenger Shenk shares about her reaction to the question “Why the Church?” and how crises like COVID-19 and justice movements like the Black Lives Matter help inform her answer to such a question.

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This is Me

By Ruth Bergen Braun

A new MCA Communications Coordinator!

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Guiding healing for those harmed

An interview with MCC’s Jaymie Friesen on the importance of third-party support for victim-survivors of abuse

In spring of 2020, Mennonite Central Committee’s Abuse Response and Prevention program launched its updated website, abuseresponseandprevention.ca, which offers resources for victim-survivors of abuse, those supporting victim-survivors and churches looking to address abuse in their congregation.

Jaymie Friesen is program coordinator for MCC’s Abuse Response and Prevention program. She spoke with Mennonite Church Canada writer Katie Doke Sawatzky about the challenges of her work, the importance of seeking third-party support for victim-survivors of abuse, and the response to the website so far.

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“Listen to the stories of the oppressed”: stories from centres of conflict around the globe

When Lukasz Firla and his fellow team members finally arrived at the house of the family, they were searching for it was around lunchtime. They hadn’t planned on inviting themselves for a meal, but the family welcomed them. Afterwards, the family invited the team to accompany them to the gravesite to observe a period of mourning for the loss of their son, Himdat Osman Darwish, a young man who had been killed by a Turkish bomb exactly one year ago, while driving his car in Iraqi Kurdistan.

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A Prayer from North Edmonton Ministry

Our God, we acknowledge that you have created all people in your image. Over the past few weeks we have again been reminded by street protests in major cities around the world that black people’s lives have not always been treated with respect and human dignity.

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E3: A Vision Led Life

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New MCA Communications Coordinator Named

MCA is pleased to welcome Ruth Bergen Braun from Foothills Mennonite Church as its next Communication Coordinator.

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Personnel Committee

by Doug Wiebe

The closer we live to the heart and will of God, the clearer this unrepeatable grace becomes. Isn’t this the work of the church – of MCA?

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Foothills Mennonite Guesthouse reopening July 1

Beginning July 1, 2020 the Foothills Mennonite Guest House will begin accepting guests who are visiting/supporting family members or loved ones in Hospital.

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Building bridges in Burkina Faso

A Menno Minute

by Donna Entz

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. 

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Open to God's Whisper

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Nationwide Call to Prayer Against Racism

Nationwide call to prayer for Sunday, June 7, 2020

Mennonite Church Alberta with other regions of Mennonite Church Canada is asking all MCA congregations to set aside a specific time of prayer on Sunday, June 7, to join Mennonite Church USA as they lament the injustice and violence suffered by people of colour in the U.S.

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Mennonite Church Canada donates $50,000 to Mennonite World Conference for COVID-19 relief fund; asks constituents to match or exceed donation

Mennonite Church Canada is donating $50,000 to the Global Sharing Fund operated by Mennonite World Conference / Congreso Mundial Menonita / Conférence Mennonite Mondiale (MWC) to help MWC-member churches struggling because of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

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Embodying God's mission with authenticity

At the 2020 Mennonite Church Canada study conference, plenary speakers from Mennonite Church Canada-affiliated schools will share on themes of ecclesiology, worship and mission.

For the five-person team planning the conference, these themes are essential for our time. The global pandemic has scattered our worshipping bodies and introduced new ways of being church together. The team sees the present moment as an opportunity to discern, discuss and explore what we really mean what we say when we are church.

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Engaging the cultural "other"

Next week, May 31 at 2 pm, the group will be unpacking international experiences. New participants are encouraged. The last session is on June 28.

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Open to us a door by Doug Klassen

Yet I feel the need to reflect on this moment. I think it is significant. While this scramble to offer digital worship services is understandable, I believe COVID-19 has revealed how “worship-focused” western churches are at the expense of being missional communities. I knew this, but I had not seen it as starkly as I do now.

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Let's get JAZZED!

A Menno Minute

by Brenda Tiessen-Wiens

Giving to “where needed,” on the other hand, is not as exciting. So to give it a boost, let’s jazz it up!

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After Wet’suwet’en: Re-membering the Church’s “Future Directions”

I was in Wet’suwet’en territory when COVID-19 social-distancing protocols were implemented across Canada. For two weeks I served as a legal observer with Christian Peacemaker Teams. I took vacation time to leave my family in Winnipeg in order to join Gidimt’en clan members and land defenders out on their Yintah (ancestral homeland). I wanted to support their nonviolent struggle for the recognition of their jurisdiction in the face of a government determined to build a fracked-gas pipeline on their territory, at the cost of Indigenous peoples’ full consent and Earth Mother’s well-being.

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Camp Valaqua Committee

Camp Valaqua is dedicated to proclaiming the Good News that God is the Creator, we are God’s people, and the earth is placed in our hands as a gift and a trust. 

Like so many other organisations, camp is in a place of uncomfortable limbo right now.  I’ve been asked a lot lately “How can we help?”

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Mennonite Church Canada study conference goes virtual

“Table Talk: Does the Church Still Have Legs?” will examine what it means to be the church and the role of worship. The conference will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, through Zoom, a virtual-meeting platform.

“Our separation as churches at this time is difficult, but it also presents an opportunity to take a step back and think critically about what it means to be the church,” says Kim Penner, who sits on the conference planning committee.

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One year in

A Menno Minute

by Craig Neufeld

One of the biggest changes for a Pastor in moving to a new congregation, and a new province, is re-establishing a support network. 

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Church in our everyday, everyday as church

Pamela Obonde has worked with children’s and women’s rights organizations in Kenya for the past 17 years. Three years ago she switched her focus to women in the church when she realized the same issues “out in the world” remained the same issues for women in the church. In an interview with Mennonite Church Canada she speaks about demystifying "mission" and working towards shalom in the church.

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Apply online for Student Bursary 2020-2021 school year

Anyone making plans to attend an Anabaptist post-secondary institution in the fall? Application portal is now open!

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Mennonite Church Canada live-stream service for Sunday, May 3, 2020

Ontario churches in Vineland, Hamilton and Niagara will live stream this Sunday's service.

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Encountering, a reflection

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Camp Valaqua cancels summer camps

It is with a heavy heart that I write to let you know that Valaqua has recognized the need to cancel our summer camp program for 2020.

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Web of connections by Jeanette Hanson

One evening, Pastor Duan invited several people from different agencies, including myself, to a banquet. The banquet setting is the meeting table for people from all walks of life in China. It also signals the beginning of relationship building. It is understood that the relationships around the table must be acknowledged and established first before people can work together.

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U.S. and Canadian Mennonite Churches publish letter of encouragement during Holy Week

Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) and Mennonite Church Canada have published a letter of encouragement to constituents this week during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Assembly 2020 Reflection

A Menno Minute

by Brenda Tiessen-Wiens

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.

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An Open Letter of Gratitude from Jack Suderman

I am profoundly humbled by the focus on protecting the vulnerable. I am humbled by the multiple ways that family, friends, church, community, society and nation are pulling together for our sake. I don’t feel as though I deserve so much attention, sacrifice and care, but I am deeply impressed.

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My Time on Human Resources at MCA

A Menno Minute

by Michael Ediger

I have just completed two terms on the Personnel Committee at Mennonite Church Alberta, and Goodness, how quickly the time has gone by!

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Congregations across Mennonite Church Canada offer online worship services during pandemic

Mennonite Church Canada, in collaboration with its regional churches and their local congregations, will share worship services each week for congregations across our nationwide community of faith. These services are available through links on the Mennonite Church Canada worship resource webpage: https://www.mennonitechurch.ca/worshipservices. They will also be available on regional church websites.

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We are in this together

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Mennonite Church Canada offers pandemic preparedness web resources for congregations

As of March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) is now describing the global outbreak of the coronavirus as a pandemic. This move is not to incite fear but to motivate governments to ramp up their preparation efforts before the virus spreads more quickly in their own countries.

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Caring for the vulnerable (John 4:27a)

I planned to preach at Eigenheim Mennonite Church in Rosthern, Sask., this coming Sunday, March 15. My sermon was nearly complete. I followed one of many preachable paths in John 4 and felt good about its conclusion. Now in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, my plans have changed. I’m going to preach via video streaming, much like multisite churches do. I’m also changing my sermon.

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When to speak, what to say: a Lenten reflection

A Menno Minute

by Doug Klassen, Executive Minister Mennonite Church Canada

Last weekend’s news regarding L'Arche founder Jean Vanier’s sexual abuse of at least six women had me feeling deeply grieved and angry.

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When to speak, what to say: a Lenten reflection

Last weekend’s news regarding L'Arche founder Jean Vanier’s sexual abuse of at least six women had me feeling deeply grieved and angry. A week later I think I know why. The same feelings of anger and exasperation came over me a few years ago when I learned of a beloved, former spiritual director of mine who was abruptly relieved of his duties as a priest in a Winnipeg parish.

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Restoration of Relationship: Making peace with all creation

by Randy Heluza-DeLay

originally published in Leader magazine
Winter 2019-2020 issue

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Fund for theological education now extends to pastors ministering to congregations

Mennonite Church Canada’s church leadership ministers are pleased to announce that pastors currently ministering to Mennonite Church Canada congregations can now apply to the Company of 1000 fund to help cover the tuition of academic courses they wish to take alongside their ministries.

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New websites launch for Mennonite Church Canada and regional churches

Mennonite Church Canada is pleased to announce the launch of new websites for its five regional churches and for the nationwide church.

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One of first mission workers to Colombia leaves 75-year legacy of ministry

After 103 years and 44 days of life, Mary Hope Wood Stucky died Feb. 8 in Bogotá, Colombia, leaving a legacy of mission work spanning three quarters of a century.

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