Young Voices

Reaping the whirlwind

Rev. Dr. David Widdicombe, rector at St. Margaret’s Anglican Church in Winnipeg, speaks about Just War theory at CMU last month. (Photo by Jonas Cornelsen)

Peter Brown (Photo by Jonas Cornelsen)

Lisa Obirek (Photo by Jonas Cornelsen)

Matthew Dyck (Photo by Jonas Cornelsen)

Late arrivals had to find their own chairs as students, academics and commu-nity members filled Marpeck Commons at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) on Feb. 26 to hear Rev. Dr. David Widdicombe explain what it means to “sow the wind” by misusing Just War theory.

Saskatchewan youth speak out

Members of the Saskatchewan Mennonite Youth Organization, from left to right, front row: Marcus Kruger, Kirsten Hamm-Epp and Jesse Neufeld; middle row: Dannica Funk, Gabby Martin, Brandon Jantzen and Robyn Martens; and back row: Zachary Stefaniuk, Anna Epp and Hailey Funk.

Mennonite youth in Saskatchewan are raising their voices and offering a perspective on some of the controversial issues facing the denomination.

‘God was there’

Although she was diagnosed with cancer at the start of her Grade 12 year, Allegra Friesen Epp graduated on time last June.

before her cancer diagnosis.

Allegra Friesen Epp, centre, stands with her brothers Bryn and Caleb in the Indian Ocean last summer.

The Dream Factory, an organization that grants the wishes of young people battling life-threatening illnesses, made it possible for Allegra Friesen Epp and her family to travel to Tanzania last summer.

While in Tanzania, Allegra Friesen Epp and her family shared a meal with a local family. It was one of the biggest highlights of the trip.

The Friesen Epp family stand with Darryl and Shirley Peters, a couple from Winnipeg who now live in Tanzania and helped them organize their trip.

Allegra Friesen Epp’s dream trip to Tanzania included a safari where sites like this were common.

Allegra Friesen Epp’s dream trip to Tanzania included a safari where sites like this were common.

Allegra Friesen Epp’s dream trip to Tanzania included a safari where sites like this were common.

Allegra Friesen Epp’s dream trip to Tanzania included a safari where sites like this were common.

Making plans for university and picking out a graduation dress are typical activities for teenage girls in Grade 12, but Allegra Friesen Epp had something extra to contend with as she did those things last year: battling cancer.

Five reasons young adults may leave the church

Harrison Davey, left, and Danielle Morton participate in a panel discussion at CMU exploring why young adults choose not to attend church.

Kirsten Hamm-Epp, left, area church youth minister for Mennonite Church Saskatchewan, says that young adults want to be involved in worship by doing more than just reading Scripture.

Danielle Morton, left, pictured with Lukas Thiessen, says many of her peers feel like the church doesn’t need them.

For years, congregations have searched for a secret that will keep young people in the pews. Debates are had around worship style, young adult groups and the role parents play.

Glimpses of God’s kingdom

Working with people with disabilities has given Mike Wiebe a glimpse of the kingdom of God. (Photo courtesy of Mike Wiebe)

A friend throws a pie in Mike Wiebe’s face during an adults with disabilities week at Camp Moose Lake in Winnipeg. (Photo courtesy of Mike Wiebe)

Last semester I took a class at Canadian Mennonite University entitled Anabaptist-Mennonite Theology. The course aims to analyze the works of contemporary Anabaptist-Mennonite theologians to gain an understanding of what Anabaptist-Mennonite theology looks like in the church and world today.

Where is God at the gym?

Honouring God with our bodies can be difficult sometimes, but ultimately it’s worth it, says Amanda Zehr. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Zehr)

I am not a huge fan of going to the gym. I know exercise is good for me, but so is eating vegetables, and I’m not really into that either. At the end of a work day, even though I know a trip to the gym will be good for me, it’s just so much easier to sit down with some Cheetos and watch Netflix.

‘Keeping it Riel’

The Riel Gentlemen’s Club are pictured at the forks of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in Winnipeg. Jesse Krause is pictured carrying the flag. (Photo courtesy of The Riel Gentlemen's Choir)

The members of the Riel Gentlemen’s Club pose in front of a Louis Riel statue in Winnipeg. (Photo courtesy of The Riel Gentlemen's Choir)

The Riel Gentlemen’s Club sings at Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg on Louis Riel Day, 2012. Thomas Epp is pictured at left. (Photo courtesy of The Riel Gentlemen's Choir)

If an outsider were to walk into a Riel Gentlemen’s Choir practice, it would seem to be a combination of an alternative choral experiment, a boy’s club, a Manitoba fan club and a Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) reunion.

365 days later . . .

Photo courtesy of Paul Loewen.

Reading the Bible 30 to 40 minutes at a time is more meaningful than reading it three or four chapters each day for Paul Loewen, who began 2014 participating in A Year of Reading Biblically, but didn’t finish.

Photo courtesy of Ian Epp.

Knowing that his wife Kirsten was also reading through the Bible kept Ian Epp going throughout the year. They often discussed what they were reading and gently teased one another when they fell behind.

Aaron Epp photos by Matthew Sawatzky.

“It’s been a whole year already? Crazy!”

That’s what a colleague wrote to me in an e-mail when I told her that Canadian Mennonite’s Year of Reading Biblically (YORB) had wrapped up and that I was writing my final reflection on the experience.

What’s so funny?

Photo by Margita Braun.

Long-time friends Jorge Requena, and Orlando Braun formed Prairie Boy Productions in 2013. That Mennonite Joke is the company’s second project.

Photo by Aaron Epp.

When forming the idea for his latest documentary, Winnipeg filmmaker Orlando Braun turned to his Mennonite background for inspiration.

Photo courtesy of Matt Falk.

Matt Falk stars in That Mennonite Joke. The comedian says the things he is learning while filming the documentary are informing his stand-up act.

Photo by Margita Braun.

On the set for That Mennonite Joke. The documentary explores the roots of Mennonite humour in North and South America.

Photo by Margita Braun.

Winnipeg-raised Orlando Braun, worked in the film industry in Los Angeles and New York before returning to his hometown. His latest project is a story “that has to be told,” he says.

Orlando Braun has always been fascinated by filmmaking. He recalls being a child and making detective films with his father’s camcorder, but never thought he could one day make a living making movies.

“It didn’t even occur to me this is what people do as a job,” the 33-year-old Winnipegger says.

What’s so funny?

Orlando Braun has always been fascinated by filmmaking. He recalls being a child and making detective films with his father’s camcorder, but never thought he could one day make a living making movies.

“It didn’t even occur to me this is what people do as a job,” the 33-year-old Winnipegger says.

‘An even bigger vision’

Kristina Toews, left, pictured with a church member at Iglesia Menonita de la Ciudad Berna. Toews’s experience at the Global Youth Summit in Paraguay in 2009 and her involvement with the Young Anabaptists (YABs) Committee have fuelled her passion for the global church. (Photo courtesy of Kristina Toews)

Kristina Toews, pictured outside of Bogotá, Colombia, where she works for Mennonite World Conference, encourages young adults to attend the Global Youth Summit in Mechanicsburg, Pa., this summer. (Photo courtesy of Kristina Toews)

Kristina Toews, left, stands with members of the YABs Committee at a meeting in 2013. (Photo courtesy of Kristina Toews)

If you are a young adult considering going to the Global Youth Summit that will immediately precede the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) assembly in July, Kristina Toews thinks you should do it.

From Macau to Manitoba

Photo courtesy of Innovation Manitoba.

Chris Karasewich, a local entrepreneur with ASAP Marketing, left, and Matt Veith, a Mennonite graphic designer, centre were presented with a provincial tech award worth $7,500 by Kevin Chief, Manitoba’s minister of jobs and the economy, at last November’s Ramp Up festival for entrepreneurs.

Winnipeg graphic designer Matt Veith stepped out of his comfort zone last November and helped develop a business idea at Ramp Up Manitoba, an entrepreneurial festival. It paid off. He and his project partner, Chris Karasewich, were presented with a provincial tech award worth $7,500 by the province’s minister of jobs and the economy.

From Macau to Manitoba

Chris Karasewich, a local entrepreneur with ASAP Marketing, left, and Matt Veith, a Mennonite graphic designer, centre, are presented with a provincial tech award worth $7,500 by Kevin Chief, Manitoba’s minister of jobs and the economy, at last November’s Ramp Up festival for entrepreneurs. (Photo courtesy of Innovation Manitoba)

Winnipeg graphic designer Matt Veith stepped out of his comfort zone last November and helped develop a business idea at Ramp Up Manitoba, an entrepreneurial festival. It paid off. He and his project partner, Chris Karasewich, were presented with a provincial tech award worth $7,500 by the province’s minister of jobs and the economy.

Drawn to the story

Photo by Aaron Epp.

Once a Christian, Lukas Thiessen now identifies as an atheist. He identifies the Bible as one of the books that has most influenced his life, and still reads stories from the gospels every Easter.

Photo by Gerhard Epp.

For me as a Christian, belief in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, is what makes the story important. I want to believe that the stories in the Bible are somehow more important than any other story.

(Aaron Epp)

Do you know any atheists who celebrate Easter? I do.

As you read this, A Year of Reading Biblically—the challenge I and a number of Canadian Mennonite readers have undertaken to read through the Bible from cover to cover in 2014—is over. But as I write this, it’s mid-December and I still have a few weeks left to finish.

Celebrating generosity

The 2014-15 CMU Student Council on Tuition Freedom Day, an annual celebration recognizing the generosity of donors, churches and the Manitoba government in supporting education at CMU. (Photo courtesy of CMU)

Tuition Freedom Day is celebrated with speeches, balloons, pizza and fellowship. (Photo courtesy of CMU)

A group of students leads singing at the 2014 Tuition Freedom Day on Nov. 24. (Photo courtesy of CMU)

Amber Neufeld enjoys organizing Tuition Freedom Day. (Photo by Aaron Epp)

For the past two years, I have had the pleasure of being activities vice-president on the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Student Council. Along with all the elections, blood donor clinics and fun social events I’ve planned, I have also organized a very special day that is close to my heart: Tuition Freedom Day.

Intimacy is not an invitation to abuse

Every 17 minutes, a woman in Canada experiences sexual assault. (Photo courtesy of istock.com)

Every 17 minutes, a woman in Canada experiences sexual assault. Many times these women are assaulted by someone they know, sometimes even by someone they’re in a romantic relationship with.

The latter was true for Jessica (a pseudonym), who grew up attending a Mennonite Church Canada congregation and agreed to speak to Canadian Mennonite anonymously to protect her identity.

Rocking in ‘Color’

Band photos courtesy of James Shiels.

Being in a touring rock band means being away from home, which can be difficult for members of the Color. Ultimately, connecting with audiences and sharing their faith with people across Canada makes it worth it.

Made up of four young men from southern Manitoba, the Color recently wrapped up their ‘One Sure Thing’ headlining tour, which takes its name from a single the band released on iTunes this past July.

The Color, a Christian rock band from southern Manitoba, connects with audiences of all ages.

Nicole Block is a youth leader at Trinity Baptist Church in Kelowna, B.C.

As a youth group leader at Trinity Baptist Church in Kelowna, B.C., I know how difficult it can be to capture young people’s imaginations. But when the Color, a Christian rock band, played for our youth group during a recent event, the foursome quickly caught everyone’s attention.

Different ways of doing church

The trip to England included a walking tour of Tower Hamlets, the original community in which Urban Expression is located.

Humpty Dumpty Club, a weekly music and playtime for toddlers and their parents, is one of the many avenues Urban Expression uses to connect with the local community.

Photo courtesy of Ellery Penner

Ellery Penner was one of eight young adults from Mennonite Church Eastern Canada that travelled to England this past October to learn about Urban Expression, an Anabaptist ministry focused on bringing creative and relevant expressions of the Christian church in under-churched areas of the inner city.

Early this past October, I sat with a cup of peppermint tea in a church in the small town of Cobridge, England. The church had four walls, long windows and high ceilings. In place of pews, however, I sat on a well-worn second-hand couch. As I looked around, I found toy boxes where the pulpit might be and family photos in place of an altar.

Inviting the whole family to the table

Photos courtesy of Mennonite Church Manitoba.

Gerald Ens

Megan Klassen Wiebe

The three bread cloths that are being sold were designed by Lisa Obirek, Nicole Lea and Kayla Hiebert.

It’s been 25 years since a Mennonite World Conference (MWC) assembly has been held in North America, but next year Mennonites from all over the world will congregate in Harrisburg, Pa.

Some Manitoba Mennonites want to take the opportunity to be good hosts. They wonder, what’s the point of a family gathering if half the family can’t make it?

‘Sweet’ memories

Photo by Gerhard Epp.

Aaron Epp has memorized Scripture on occasion in the past, but it has never been a habit.

Photo by Aaron Epp

When choosing Scripture to memorize, picking a passage that speaks to you is key.

Every Sunday after church, a woman in my congregation hands out candy to children in Sunday school who can recite a Bible verse from memory.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Young Voices