Young Voices

A potluck plate full of Mennonite cultures

During his internship, Andrew Brown, centre, happened to meet John Redekop, left, and Peter Redekop, right, who were part of a group of Mennonites Brown researched. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Brown)

Andrew Brown, left, stands with members of the Mennonite Brethren Historical Commission. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Brown)

This spring I was awarded an archival internship with the Mennonite Brethren Historical Commission that allowed me to travel to various Mennonite Brethren archives in North America to learn how they work, as well as to do some of my own research.

On the outside looking in

“Three people in their early 20s—a Catholic, a Mennonite Brethren man and a United Church member—walk into a Mennonite Church Canada assembly.” It may sound like the set-up to a joke, but it’s exactly what happened last month.

Learning to be grateful

Much of Claudia Dueck’s volunteer work at Kilometre 81 involved doing laundry. (Photo courtesy of Claudia Dueck)

Established by Mennonites, Kilometre 81 treats people with leprosy, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. (Photo courtesy of Claudia Dueck)

Dueck, far left, makes music with some of her fellow volunteers. (Photo courtesy of Claudia Dueck)

Dueck enjoys the Paraguayan scenery on a day off. (Photo courtesy of Claudia Dueck)

Sewing bandages for Kilometre 81 patients was meaningful for Dueck. (Photo courtesy of Claudia Dueck)

When Claudia Dueck thinks back on the voluntary service she did in Paraguay earlier this year, it’s the Tuesdays that stick out the most.

‘We’re not your stereotypical teenagers’

When an intense rainstorm started just as Mennonite Church Canada Youth Assembly 2016 participants set up their tents during the first afternoon of their canoe trip, organizer Krista Loewen was apprehensive.

Laments and hopes for MC Canada

EVI members Laura Carr-Pries and Peter Epp speak to delegates during a seminar at Assembly 2016. (Photo by Aaron Epp)

From left to right: EVI members Alex Tiessen, Anneli Loepp Thiessen, Jonas Cornelsen, Laura Carr-Pries and Tim Wenger stand in front of an art piece featuring the laments and hopes of MC Canada Assembly 2016 delegates. (Photo by Aaron Epp)

When Laura Carr-Pries got together with fellow students at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg last year to discuss the challenges facing Mennonite Church Canada, she wasn’t sure how things would go.

Exploring alternative ways of living

Erwin Cornelsen, left, and Jonas Cornelsen, pictured in 2013, are looking foward to spending time together now that they live together (Photo courtesy of Jonas Cornelsen)

'[He] delights in walking through each day and naming where God is at work,' Jonas Cornelsen, left, says of his Opa Erwin. (Photo courtesy of Jonas Cornelsen)

Jonas Cornelsen jokes that, at the age of 22, he’s retired.

While most of his peers are looking to start their careers, the Winnipeg native and recent university graduate moved to Vancouver last month to live with, and care for, his 97-year-old grandfather, Erwin Cornelsen.

Follow the money

Participants in MCC’s 2016 Uprooted learning tour include, clockwise from top left: Thomas Coldwell (MCC Alberta), Andrew Brown, Alannah DeJong, Allison Goerzen (MCC Alberta), Jana Klassen, Carol McNaughton and Maria Alejandra Toro. (Photo by Thomas Coldwell)

The Uprooted learning tour includes a stop at Cafe Justo, a cooperative in Mexico that allows poor coffee farmers to remain independent. (Photo by Thomas Coldwell)

Locals cross the river between Guatemala and Mexico. Uprooted looked at issues surrounding migration in Central America and peacebuilding projects in the region. (Photo by Carol McNaughton)

Uprooted participants were told that the Goldcorp Marlin Mine in San Miguel, Guatemala, has negatively affected the community. (Photo by Carol McNaughton)

What is the real cost of the things we buy?

Sharing faith through teaching Sunday school

Some teachers want their lessons to run smoothly, but not Benjamin Weber.

“I like a healthy amount of chaos,” says Weber, 29, who teaches the youth Sunday school class at Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont. “I open the floor and let them ask me about anything. Usually it’s about current events, so we relate that back to the topic at hand.”

The power of film

Watching great films is a spiritual experience for Winnipeg filmmaker Paul Plett. (Photo by Aaron Epp)

Paul Plett calls Citizen Kane ‘such an amazing representation of what film can do.’

For Paul Plett, watching Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope is ‘a religious experience.’

That filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola was able to make Apocalypse Now given the obstacles he faced is part of what makes the film great, Paul Plett says.

‘If I could make one movie . . . that is to people what The Princess Bride is to me, then I’d be happy,’ Plett says.

“Watching great films is a very spiritual experience for me,” says Paul Plett. “It hits a tuning fork in [my] heart and my whole soul reverberates.”

Raising awareness, raising funds

A young man from southern Ontario is cycling across Canada this summer to raise awareness of mental health issues, while also raising funds for the Defeat Depression campaign.

‘It’s fun being on this ride together ...’

Three recent graduates of the University of Waterloo (UW), Ont., who resided at Conrad Grebel University College, are pouring their energies full-time into their own startup company.

Perry Everett, Graham Thomas and Benjamin Rasera graduated in April and are the founders of Arylla Inc., which aims to bring an end to the counterfeiting industry.

‘I am still holding out hope that I will be free of this one day’

Melanie Kampen manages her anxiety with medication, counselling and exercise (Photo by Aaron Epp)

Ariel Brandt describes his anxiety as 'utterly terrifying.' Still, he remains hopeful. (Photo courtesy of Ariel Brandt)

What is it like being a young adult journeying with mental illness? Canadian Mennonite spoke with three people from Mennonite Church Canada congregations to find out.

Melanie Kampen

Melanie Kampen sought help for her anxiety when it got so bad last summer that she couldn’t get out of bed.

Six tips for better self-care

From the time you are 15 or 16 to the time you are 26 or 28, your brain undergoes rapid cognitive changes.

Contradicting the status quo

Johnny Wideman co-wrote Yellow Bellies with his fellow Theatre of the Beat member, Rebecca Steiner. (Photo courtesy of Johnny Wideman)

Rebecca Steiner was happy to have CMU students do research in the Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives. (Photo by Aaron Epp)

Kayla Drudge, a music student at CMU, focussed on music in her research for Yellow Bellies. (Photo courtesy of Kayla Drudge)

After exploring lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer inclusion in the Mennonite church in This Will Lead to Dancing, the Stouffville, Ont.-based theatre company Theatre of the Beat is setting its sights on the experience of conscientious objectors (COs) for its new production.

The things that are most worthwhile

The following article was originally given as a short speech at a community supper at Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo, Ont., where Maia Fujimoto lived in residence for two years.

Climbing toward a greater unknown

Spending time with his band mates is one of the first things Oh Village singer/pianist Scott Currie mentions when asked about the best part of making Ocris, the band’s second full-length album.

Outside his comfort zone

Six months into his first pastoral job, Moses Falco feels very inadequate. “Am I really cut out for this?” and “Do I have the skills to be in this position?” are questions he has discussed with members of the church council and deacons.

Take a look, it’s in a book...

When Katrina Sklepowich was assigned to write a weekly blog as part of her school work, focussing on literature was an obvious choice.

Flipping on the pastor switch

Ask Amanda Zehr what her favourite Bible story is, and she points to John 9, where Jesus heals a blind man.

Researching the past to understand the present

Stefan Epp-Koop is the author of We're Going to Run This City: Winnipeg's Political Left after the General Strike. (Photo by Aaron Epp)

Protests by unemployed Winnipeggers were common throughout the 1930s in response to low levels of unemployment relief. (Photo courtesy of University of Manitoba Press)

Epp-Koop admires the desire of the people in his book to make Winnipeg a better place for the city’s marginalized, working-class citizens. (Photo courtesy of University of Manitoba Press)

“Why couldn’t I have been more interested in Caribbean history?”

That’s what historian Stefan Epp-Koop asked himself during a December 2007 visit to Winnipeg, as he trudged through a deep layer of fresh snow in -30 C weather to the City of Winnipeg Archives.

Welcoming the vulnerable

From Feb. 18-20, I was part of a group of 30 students and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) staff from across Canada who met in Ottawa for the annual MCC Student Seminar to learn about refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons. We heard from United Nations staff, MPs, MCC staff who work with refugees, and volunteers who assist newcomers to Canada.

Helping students see beyond stereotypes

When Naomi Chan moved from Hong Kong to Rosthern, Sask., for school, the only thing she knew about the town is that it’s small.

Chan, an international student at Rosthern Junior College (RJC), went from living in one of the world’s most densely populated metropolises, to living 40 minutes north of Saskatoon in a town of just 1,600 and attending a school with a student body of 75.

Savvy students scrutinize ‘digital citizenship’

Micah Neufeld, left, pictured with Aidan Morton Ninomiya, says Rockway’s digital citizenship event reinforced the importance of communicating with care online. (Photo by Charles Kruger)

Ruth Charette knows it’s important to be careful when using social media. (Photo by Charles Kruger)

Rockway students are very savvy when it comes to digital connection, says Helmi Wiebe, the school’s librarian. (Photo by Charles Kruger)

Students Emily Woodall, left, and Emily Loberto answer questions about bullying. (Photo by Charles Kruger)

For Ruth Charette, spending time online is a good way to both get her homework done and have fun playing games and watching funny videos. Using social media apps like Instagram and Snapchat, meanwhile, allows her to connect with her friends through pictures and videos, so they can keep each other updated on what they’re doing.

Making a Mennonite

‘Not going back to camp will be tough,’ says Andrew Brown of his experiences at MC Manitoba’s Camp Moose Lake. (Photo courtesy of MC Manitoba)

‘At camp, I got learn what it means to follow Jesus.’ (Photo courtesy of MC Manitoba)

‘I made great friends at camp,’ says Andrew Brown. (Photo courtesy of MC Manitoba)

‘I wanted to give campers the same great experience I had.’(Photo courtesy of MC Manitoba)

‘I returned to camp every summer because I loved everything about it.’ (Photo courtesy of MC Manitoba)

I did not grow up attending a Mennonite church. Growing up two hours southeast of Winnipeg in Piney, Man., I attended International Christian Fellowship, a small congregation that includes an interesting mix of people and theological backgrounds. It is an international amalgamation of American and Canadian churches on the U.S.

Cohabitation focus of discussion event at CMU

What is the significance of youth pastors living with their partner outside of marriage? How do young people respond to this information? Sexuality, spirituality, marriage, cohabitation and the church community all pertain to this conversation. The reality of cohabitation questions long-held views of marriage.

Young Voices

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