♪ The snow had slowly melted, the sun shone, and the yesteryear’s leaves were brown and crispy, ready to be dislodged from the soon-to-be green lawn. We incentivized the children and sent them off as small conquerors of leafy kingdoms. The first day went well.

♪ On Thursday, May 16, 2024, Kiara Belen was crossing the highway on her bike five blocks from our home as she was coming home from school at 5:30 in the afternoon, when she was hit by a pickup truck and immediately was in the arms of her Saviour.

♪ It is a privilege to speak at this EMC conference. I am not a Mennonite, but most of my best friends are, and my ancestors were Scottish, so I am cheap. I once said to my wife, “You are only getting one cup of tea from a teabag; you can do better.” So, I am an honorary Mennonite. Better yet, I am with brothers and sisters who love and serve Jesus.

♪ Written reports from four of EMC’s nine regions were easily available online but, since they didn’t figure in the meeting’s agenda, I had not taken time to read them.

♪ A FEW YEARS ago, after an Abundant Springs* weekend, we heard back from Briercrest about how respectful and well-mannered EMC students were compared to some of their other groups. Naturally, we congratulated ourselves because that spoke so well of the students, families and ministry leaders in EMC churches.

♪ … the Roman empire had perfected the art of conquest. They controlled the vast majority of the known and civilized world, and no nation or group posed any serious threat to their authority. Rome clung to power through military might, rigid bureaucracy, and good old-fashioned fear. But Jesus was subversive; he taught differently on what true power looked like. Instead of power to conquer and dominate, Christ spoke and modelled power to submit and serve.

♪ In the last few months, over 90 EMC youth leaders attended one of the Youth Worker Community (YWC) Conferences (sixty-plus in Winnipeg and thirty-plus in Calgary). There were many great workshops on a variety of themes which gave attendees a lot to think about and process: helping students discover and grow spiritual discipline, how to lead teenagers to Christ, managing small groups and making the most of events and experiences, among others.

♪ In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul reminded the Ephesians that God “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4 NET here and throughout). As if his point wasn’t clear enough, Paul in the very next verse adds, “He [God] did this by predestining us to adoption as his legal heirs through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:5). This is far from the only time Paul mentions predestination. In Romans 8:29 Paul talks about those who are “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

♪ GORDON UTZ WAS one of those guys who, like me, got into a little trouble in high school. Tall, handsome, hilarious and a good hockey player—I’m talking about me, of course (just kidding!). I’m talking about my classmate, Gord. Recently his brother Stan said, “You gotta talk to Gord; you won’t believe his story.” So, I did. As we spoke, it was like we pushed rewind and were back in grade 10.

ON MAY 3, 2024, Canadian Christian Communicators Association (CCCA) announced their awards that names the best work of its member community for 2023. The Messenger (and EMC) won in six categories. Check them out!

STEINBACH BIBLE COLLEGE is saying goodbye to long-time Bible professor, worship instructor and registrar Arlene Friesen.

♪ ALEX IS THE boy nobody wants in their class. He’s in grade two and has seemingly limitless energy and zero attention span. His comments and questions are never on topic, and everybody is convinced that he is learning nothing. He’s usually facing away from the teacher, making faces or jokes as they try to teach, and the end of the year is a relief because he is finally somebody else’s problem.