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With suitcases full of work clothes and spirits full of enthusiasm, 13 people from Mount Royal Mennonite Church in Saskatoon traveled to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The group served together on the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) project to rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Fiona in 2022.

A glimpse into how Mennonites lived and farmed a century ago awaits those who tour the recently opened housebarn at Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, B.C. The design is a slightly scaled down replica of a housebarn owned by Mennonites in the Russian village of Neu-Osterwick near Zaporizhzhia.

The Glenlea Mennonite Church family was thrilled to ordain Cheryl Braun on June 11, in the presence of not only the local congregation but also many of Cheryl’s friends and family who came to show their support.

After eight years of study, Ian Funk was thrilled to finally receive his Master of Divinity degree in May, albeit in absentia.

Funk, pastor of Langley Mennonite Fellowship, completed his MDiv courses from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), located in Elkhart, Indiana, through the seminary’s distance education program, which combines online and hybrid classes.

Pastor, professor and rock music impresario—David Cramer’s CV is diverse.

Standing at an intersection of mile roads on the more-or-less open prairie near Neubergthal, Manitoba, David Scott explained how members of the Ojibwe Grass Dance Society once called that area home.

“This landscape has changed so much,” he said, noting that he came to the area in his youth for ceremonies.

One hundred years ago, the first of 21,000 Mennonites who left the former Soviet Union boarded a train in Quebec City for new lives across Canada. On July 6, some of their descendants, along with others, will replicate that journey. Over 120 people have signed up for all or parts of, “Memories of Migration: Russlaender Tour 100,” a three-stage train trip from Quebec City to Abbotsford, B.C.

Cathy Abbott remembers the preacher’s phrase that got her to consider taking a big step toward providing shelter for refugees arriving in Canada.

It was 2015 and Canadians were learning about the Syrian refugee crisis. The conflict had pushed millions of people to camps in neighbouring countries, with millions more displaced internally.

There was no magic lamp or genie involved when MaryLou Driedger made her wish, just a felt tip marker and a famous pond.

To the sounds of much laughter, along with moments of sadness, the Rosthern Junior College (RJC) class of 1960 met in Saskatoon on May 18-19 to mark 63 years since graduation. Given that students generally complete high school at age 18, most of us at the reunion had reached the age of 81. More than one walker and cane were noted.

Art Koop was cleaning up after teaching his last class of the day when the emergency alert blared from his cell phone. The message called for an immediate, mandatory evacuation. A wildfire threatened Edson, Alberta, the community where Koop lives and works. The sky was an eerie orange colour and thick with smoke.