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Project explores legacy of 1920s trauma on Mennonite women

Mennonites in a train car en route from Russia to Canada in 1923. (Photo by Arthur Slagel, courtesy of Mennonite Heritage Archives)

Nearly 100 years have passed since 21,000 Mennonites fled disease, starvation and violence in some of the same areas now experiencing war in Ukraine. Many came to Southern Manitoba, and their trauma quietly came with them.

A struggle for blessing

Anita Shevchuk is eager for a new future. (Photo courtesy of Anita Shevchuk)

Anita Shevchuk moved from Ukraine to Mexico, where she married, then to Canada. (Photo courtesy of Anita Shevchuk)

Anita Shevchuk (left), Cheryl & Bob Wideman. (Photo courtesy of Anita Shevchuk)

When 19-year-old Anita Shevchuk found herself in the streets of downtown Toronto in the summer of 2022, she held onto her faith in God and her then-husband’s promise that everything would be okay.

Congolese churches build a new future

People visit outside following a service at a Mennonite Brethren church in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of Congo. (Justin Makangara/MCC/Fairpicture)

Antoine Kimbila, general secretary of CEFMC, speaks at a church in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of Congo, in February. (Justin Makangara/MCC/Fairpicture)

Map of the conflict zone in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Photo by Betty Avery)

Ever since survivors of brutal fighting in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo fled to the city of Kikwit in 2017, the Mennonite Brethren Church has been ministering to them with faith and action.

Soup enterprise invites new partners

Amanda has worked at The Raw Carrot since its inception nine years ago. (Photo Courtesy of The Raw Carrot)

Leah Cober serves as kitchen manager for the MCC/Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church branch of The Raw Carrot. (Photo Courtesy of The Raw Carrot)

(Photo Courtesy of The Raw Carrot)

(Photo Courtesy of The Raw Carrot)

A simple job creation project that started with two women’s concern for a young church member is now seeking new church partners to expand beyond its four current locations.

Three cheers for us

Yael, a Grade 7 student from Calgary, won third in the Original Artwork category for her piece, “The story of Christmas.” (Photo courtesy of Menno Simons Christian School)

Canadian Mennonite received seven awards from the Canadian Christian Communicators Association in May.

Ernie Regehr presents analysis of Ukraine war

Ernie Regehr (Photo courtesy of Conrad Grebel University College)

Ernie Regehr—a prominent Canadian voice on disarmament and peacebuilding for over 40 years—shared his unique analysis of the Ukraine conflict at Grace Mennonite Church in St. Catharines, Ontario on May 6.

Regehr co-founded Project Peacemakers in 1976 and currently serves as a research fellow at Conrad Grebel University College. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2003.

Philippines learning tour

Coffee beans drying outside at the Malipayon Peace Hub. (Photo by Dorothea Enns)

Over brunch on Sunday, April 23, at Niagara United Mennonite Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, two members of the church shared about the Mennonite Church Canada learning tour to the Philippines. Dorothea Enns and her niece Anita Dong spoke about the time that they and 10 others spent in the Philippines during the January 12 to 22 trip.

Grebel grandma

Mark Leistra, Leola Roth and Owen Roth enjoy an intergenerational supper together. (Supplied photo)

While cousins Adam and Owen Roth had grown to “love the Grebel community,” as first-year students at Conrad Grebel University College, one crucial thing was missing from their new lifestyle: supper at Grandma’s.

MC Alberta hosts first ever Taste of MCA event

Reuben Tut, left, Manas Ngongjock, Shim Beack, Joon Park, Tim Wiebe-Neufeld, Tracy Brown Ewert and Zander Ewert share smiles and stories around the table. (Photo by Jan Wilhelm)

A Taste of MCA event drew people from ages 1 to 100, including young Sarah Sin and her mom, Lal Pui. (Photo by Jan Wilhelm)

A large crowd packs out the Bergthaler Mennonite Church near Didsbury. (Photo by Tim Wiebe-Neufeld)

A chin choir performs at the event. (Photo by Tim Wiebe-Neufeld)

There was no shortage of delicious cuisine served up at A Taste of MCA. (Photo by Tim Wiebe-Neufeld)

Italians Lahna, Walter, and Emily Giugovaz sit beside South Sudanese Reuben Tut and Manas Ngongjock. (Photo by Jan Wilhelm)

When most people think of Mennonite cuisine, they think of perogies and farmer sausage, or perhaps fresh rollkuchen dipped in Rogers Golden Syrup.

Yet at A Taste of MCA, a Mennonite Church Alberta event at Bergthaler Mennonite Church near Didsbury, on April 12, the menu featured dishes like chicken biryani, chicken kabobs and roti, injera and spicy lamb, corn soup and sticky rice.

Kelowna church sells property and moves

Kelowna First Mennonite Church, built in 1989, sold its property to an MB church, and now worships next door in the theatre room at the Northwood Retirement Resort. (Northwood Retirement Resort photo)

Members of Kelowna First Mennonite Church are selling their church building, but that doesn’t mean they are closing their doors. As of May, the small congregation is meeting in a nearby seniors residence.

U2’s Mennonite string section

The Joshua Tree made U2 superstars. The band—Larry Mullen, Jr., Adam Clayton, Bono and The Edge—is pictured here in 2017. (Photo by Olaf Heine)

The Armin String Quartet, pictured circa 1960. From left to right: Adele, Paul, Otto and Richard. (The Canadian Mennonite photo collection / Mennonite Archives of Ontario)

U2 performs at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., in June 2017 as part of a tour commemorating The Joshua Tree’s 30th anniversary. (Photo by Aaron Epp)

There was nothing unusual about it when Richard, Paul and Adele Armin walked into the recording studio on New Year’s Eve in 1986. It was just another job, really.

Ottawa group uses unique fundraising method

Linda Redekop, left, and Maria Rigby have been part of Ottawa Mennonite Church's refugee resettlement work since its start. (Photo by Carla Klassen)

For more than 20 years, a refugee support group at Ottawa Mennonite Church has used an unusual fundraising method that has allowed it to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent subsidy to newcomers. The rising cost of living has made this support all the more important.

School’s out

Graduating students make their way across campus to the ceremony at CMU in 2019. (Photo courtesy of CMU)

Hundreds of students are preparing to graduate this month from post-secondary institutions supported by Mennonite Church Canada and its regional churches.

First Enneagram Prison Project launches in Saskatchewan

Amanda Dodge, centre, and Leanne Schellenberg, right pose with EPP lead guide Laura Hooper. (Photo by Laura Hooper)

‘The Enneagram is a widely used, comprehensive, broad based personality theory that has been utilized and studied in contemporary psychology and psychiatry,’ according to EPP Canada’s website. (enneagramprisonproject.ca diagram)

These days, if someone asks, “What number are you?” they are likely not asking your age. The Enneagram, a personality typing system based on nine types, has exploded in popularity over the last 20 years. Now Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Saskatchewan is helping to bring the Enneagram into correctional facilities.

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