The Personnel Committee of the EMC General Board is very pleased to announce that Adrienne Funk has been hired to fill the role of Communications Assistant. This appointment is effective April 1, 2022. Adrienne will fill the position recently vacated by Andrew Walker.
Category Archives: News
Layton Friesen leaves EMC for SBC role
STEINBACH, Man.—We are saddened to report that Layton Friesen will be concluding his time as Conference Pastor with the EMC.
Rolf Kruse Begins as EMC’s Interim DGO
The Personnel Committee of the EMC General Board is very pleased to announce that Rolf Kruse will join EMC national office staff as the Interim Director of Global Outreach. Rolf begins his work in this role on January 4, 2022, in a term anticipated to be between nine and eighteen months.
Rolf’s primary responsibilities will be providing support and guidance for EMC missionaries, developing new outreach opportunities and assisting churches with their missions emphasis. Rolf comes to EMC with more than 20 years of experience working cross-culturally, most of it together with his wife Angela.
He speaks Amharic and greets in many languages including Arabic and Low German. He has a passion for sharing the gospel. Rolf enjoys recreational soccer especially barefoot in the rain.
Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Rolf as he begins his journey with EMC. You will be able to reach him at rkruse@emconference.ca or 204-326-6401.
– EMC Personnel Committee
EMC Posts Preliminary Financial Results
There has been much uncertainty in our world in the past two years, fueled by the pandemic and the various opinions on how society ought to deal with it. Considering this uncertainty, the General Board requested a reduction in the EMC budget for the 2021 fiscal year. The resulting budget was ten percent less than the previous year, with the hope that donations from churches and individuals would support this reduced budget. Continue reading EMC Posts Preliminary Financial Results
Erica Fehr Appointed as DCA
The Personnel Committee of the EMC General Board is very pleased to announce that Erica Fehr has been appointed to the role of Director of Communications and Administration. This appointment is effective as of January 1, 2022. The appointment is part of the ongoing implementation of the recommendations made by the EMC Transition Consultant. Continue reading Erica Fehr Appointed as DCA
Thanks to Departing Staff
EMC is grateful for the dedication and service of Ken Zacharias, who has served as Foreign Secretary to the Board of Missions, and more recently as Director of Global Outreach. During his 16 years of service, Ken supervised the expansion of EMC Missions into Guadalajara, Mexico and ministry in Bolivia. He also spearheaded the more recent expansion efforts to south Spain. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Ken and his wife Val and wish them joy as they enter retirement.
EMC is grateful to Andrew Walker for his eight years of service on the national office team. Andrew has provided graphic design and video production expertise to the communications team. He also served as Assistant Editor of The Messenger. Andrew is returning to school for further training in graphic design. We extend our thanks and best wishes to Andrew and his wife Aubrey in this new phase of their lives.
– EMC
MCC releases research findings on historical entanglements with National Socialism
by MCC Canada
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has released the findings of its research on the organization’s historical entanglements with German National Socialism (or Nazism) and its legacy before, during and after the Second World War. Articles examining this history are available in the Fall 2021 issue of Intersections: MCC Theory and Practice Quarterly. Continue reading MCC releases research findings on historical entanglements with National Socialism
Only God Could Turn Disaster into Ministry
By MWC
INDONESIA—In multi-religious Indonesia, many people have never been inside a church. The pandemic is changing that for residents of Semarang (population 1.8 million) and surrounding area.
In coordination with the local government, police and military forces, the 2022 MWC Assembly host venue JKI Injil Kerajaan (Holy Stadium) is holding a vaccine clinic, dosing up to 8,000 people per day in a country struggling to vaccinate citizens amid a severe infection wave. Continue reading Only God Could Turn Disaster into Ministry
The Great Mwenezi Cook-Off
Men Can Cook competition transforming a community in Zimbabwe
By Jason Dueck
All of Joseph Gudo’s hard work was summed up in one small plate of food. He’d laboured for months in the field and uncountable hours in the kitchen all in service to this dish—a neat pile of mashed cowpeas (or black-eyed peas), buoyed by a bold pinch of cayenne pepper and dressed up with pops of colourful diced tomatoes and green peppers. This was everything he’d been working for, his heart and soul on a plate.
That simple meal was the dish that won Gudo and his teammates the top prize in the very first Men Can Cook competition. It also cemented what he’d been learning all year—that cooking wasn’t solely a job for women. Continue reading The Great Mwenezi Cook-Off
MDS Canada calling for volunteers to help with B.C. flood clean-up
Volunteers needed for December 6 in Princeton
WINNIPEG, Man.—Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada is calling for volunteers to help with cleaning out homes in Princeton, B.C. following the catastrophic flood that hit that town in mid-November. Around 20 volunteers are needed by December 6 to help people in that interior community clean out their flooded homes.
The call comes after a visit to Princeton on November 23 by Ross Penner, Director of Canadian Operations for MDS Canada, and Walter Wiebe of Abbotsford, who is serving as response coordinator on behalf of the MDS B.C. Unit. Continue reading MDS Canada calling for volunteers to help with B.C. flood clean-up