Volume 20, Number 16
Canadian Mennonite: A lighthouse
In reflecting on Assembly 2016 in Saskatoon, one thing is certain: We are entering a period of uncertainty in the life of Mennonite Church Canada and its area churches. The most hopeful sign in this state of affairs is that the delegates had enough faith in our leaders to begin a new process with few specifics.
We can always afford to be generous
Peach Blossom Church almost always meets its budget, although some years involve more drama than others. It still engages a full-time pastor, fixes the roof and supports mission workers. In 15 minutes, it can raise $5,000 to send the youth group on a mission trip.
Readers write: August 15, 2016 issue
What about the pastors who are forced to refrain from moonlighting?
Re: “Meet the pastors who moonlight,” June 20, page 4.
Creating space
After nine years of working together on the Being a Faithful Church (BFC) process, by an 85 percent majority, delegates at Assenbly 2016 in Saskatoon approved the BFC7 recommendation. (See “Delegates vote to allow space for differences.”)
Battleground
We have abandoned the battleground.
India crate
Helen Warkentin was a long-term missionary to India from 1920 to 1957, and took many orphans ‘under her wing.’ She received support from family and friends back in Winkler, Man. Pictured, Manitobans proudly gather around a large crate of goods they are sending to Warkentin, to be used for the care of the poor in India.
‘What begins in God goes back to God’
Kathy Reidt, representing the congregation, left, Pastor Walter Jantzen and Ryan Siemens, MC Saskatchewan’s area church minister of congregational and pastoral relations, lead worshippers in a litany of release and blessing at the closing service of Horse Lake Mennonite Church. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
Walter Jantzen has ministered at Horse Lake (Sask.) Mennonite Church for 59 years. At the church’s closing service on June 26, Jantzen shared the congregation’s history, which dates back to the late 1920s. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
Shelley Romanuk holds her daughter as she reflects on her experiences growing up in Horse Lake (Sask.) Mennonite Church, while her grandfather, Pastor Walter Jantzen, cradles his great-granddaughter. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
Since 1958, this building has been home to Horse Lake (Sask.) Mennonite Church. The congregation purchased the building from Tiefengrund Mennonite and moved it to its current location north of Duck Lake, Sask. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
It had probably been a while since Horse Lake Mennonite Church welcomed so many worshippers. Filling every pew, they gathered to celebrate the life of this small country church and to grieve its closing.
During the decommissioning service, held June 26, Pastor Walter Jantzen shared the church’s history.
Wideman Mennonite celebrates 200th anniversary
Hannah Taylor, left, Linda Ramer and Milissa Fortier stand beside an 'open door' welcoming guests to a barbecue and hymn sing that were part of Wideman Mennonite Church's 200th-anniversary celebrations over the weekend of July 23-24. (Photo by Joanna Reesor-McDowell)
Bob Wideman, chair of Wideman Mennonite Church’s council, and his young friends wait expectantly for the homemade ice cream to finish churning at the barbecue celebrating the Markham, Ont., church's 200th anniversary. (Photo by Joanna Reesor-McDowell)
Martha Reesor Schatti, left, and Lois Hoover enjoy pictures and stories on the timeline depicting the 200-year history of Wideman Mennonite Church in Markham, Ont. (Photo by Joanna Reesor-McDowell)
Hundreds of friends from near and far attended Wideman Mennonite Church‘s 200th-anniversary celebrations over the July 23-24, 2018, weekend. It was a culmination of special activities over the past few months that helped members mark this significant milestone.
MFC hopes to expand ministry with name change
Mennonite Foundation of Canada (MFC) will change its name to Abundance Canada in October.
The future of neo-Anabaptism
“We are not living in the 16th century, and whatever is called Anabaptism today inevitably looks and sounds quite different,” said Paul Martens during a recent talk entitled “Neo-Anabaptism is dead: Long live neo-Anabaptism” at the Menno Simons Centre in Vancouver. Hence “neo-Anabaptism” is a way of naming the connections between the past and present: a new way of understanding the past.
The right to die and the art of suffering
The ongoing discussion about medical assistance in dying has publicly raised questions that extend beyond the realm of politics and public policy to the bedrock of morality.
Jake and George
George and Jake are great friends
George, 3, is a child who attends Southview Child Care, located in the First Mennonite Church building. Jake Baergen is a member of First Mennonite and 77 years George’s senior.
‘Living autonomously’ in the Age of the Spirit
True to its name, this year’s Skylight Festival focussed on how the church can regain its place in a post-Christian society, exploring a larger movement of faith, arts and justice for this time.
Balance and beauty found in The Harmony Tree
Yearning for eloheh (ae-luh-hay) is clearly evident in Randy Woodley’s new children’s picture book, The Harmony Tree, published by Mennonite Church Canada this year. Richly illustrated by Ramone Romero and with an afterword by theologian Walter Brueggemann, the story speaks about healing and community through a deeply rooted, God-centred indigenous view of creation.
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.
World record for relief *
Volunteers on antique threshing machines raised funds that the Canadian Foodgrains Bank will use to help small-scale farm families in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya learn to grow more and better food, so they can better provide for their families. (Photo courtesy of Canadian Foodgrains Bank)
(Photo by Shaylyn McMahon)
(Photo by John Longhurst)
(Photo courtesy of Canadian Foodgrains Bank)
(Photo by John Longhurst)
(Photo by John Longhurst)
Manitoba became home to another world record on July 31, 2016, when 139 antique threshing machines harvested a field simultaneously for 15 minutes at the 62nd Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede held at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin. Nine others started, but, for various mechanical reasons, couldn’t finish the 15-minute test.
