Relief sales succeed without main event

Jun 29, 2020 by and

Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale board chair Jim Robb presents a $500,000 donation to Mennonite Central Committee Central States executive director Michelle Armster. — Tim Huber/MWR

NORTH NEWTON, Kan. — COVID-19 stopped the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale’s main event, but it couldn’t stop people from coming together to support Mennonite Central Committee. They’ve already raised...

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A bid for something new

May 4, 2020 by

If nearly every congregation — large and small — can find a way to worship online, it stands to reason that relief sales can collect donations in similar fashion. Some already do. Events such as those...

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MCC fundraisers get creative

May 4, 2020 by and

Calvin Certain, right, distributes fritters to Benjamin Certain on April 18 in Fresno, Calif. Certain and his wife, Christine, along with Edd and Ingrid Russell, fried more than 100 fritters to give away with donations to Mennonite Central Committee encouraged. — Christine Certain

Matt Schmidt hates running but loves supporting Mennonite Central Committee. When the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale’s main event was canceled, it opened up opportunities for volunteers like Schmidt to take...

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Canada’s curling clergy put faith, fellowship on ice

Mar 23, 2020 by and

Gerald Heimpel, left, and Reid Kennel sweep a rock on March 5 during the Friars’ Briar, an annual Canadian clergy curling tournament held this year in Waterloo, Ont. — Emily McFarlan Miller/RNS

WATERLOO, Ont. — David Martin couldn’t catch a break. Even when he made a perfect shot, his opponent caught a lucky bounce and beat him. Things went so bad, his teammates started quoting the Psalms. “You...

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Forest church combines worship with great outdoors

Nov 18, 2019 by and

Wendy Janzen, standing, leads a forest church worship experience Oct. 20 at Petersburg Crown Land Trail in Wilmot, Ont. Listening are, from left, Joel Musser, Hendrike and Felix Isert Bender, Hannah Cressman, Camile Cressman and Jessica Rivers. — Greg Yantzi

While giving a weather report at the beginning of a worship service is usually cliché, on Oct. 20 in Wilmot, Ont., it would have been redundant. Wilmot Forest Church — a new initiative of Burning Bush...

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Canadian MB leaders apologize for financial losses

Nov 6, 2019 by and

Elton DaSilva, left, executive director of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, talks with James Toews, pastor of the Neighbourhood Church of Nanaimo, B.C., during a break at the Oct. 23 annual general meeting. — John Longhurst for MWR

WATERLOO, Ont. — Discussion about ­financial losses dominated the annual general meeting of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches on Oct. 23 at Waterloo Mennonite Brethren Church. Results...

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A different kind of disaster

Sep 30, 2019 by

Geronimo Henry, a survivor of the former Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Ont., says of his experience at the school, “I find it hard to forgive. It took my childhood from me.” He is sitting at one of the tables built by MDS volunteers. — John Longhurst

BRANTFORD, Ont. — For Tim­othy Khoo, meeting survivors of a residential school made history personal. “There are names and faces,” he said. “It’s not just textbook information now.” Khoo, 16,...

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An amazing Sunday afternoon drive

Aug 20, 2019 by

Buggies are parked outside Martindale Meetinghouse near Heidelberg, Ont., as instruction classes focused on the Dordrecht Confession take place inside. — Sam Steiner

I’ve long had a respect for the Old Order and other conservative Mennonites of our region, and have been pleased to live in proximity to them. So it’s not surprising that one Sunday afternoon in June, our...

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