News

MDS Canada calling for volunteers to help with B.C. flood clean-up

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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 →

News

MWC General Secretary Says, ‘Politics Matters’

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By MCC UN/MWC

What Is God’s Kingdom and What Does Citizenship Look Like? Mennonite World Conference general secretary César García explored these questions in a book in the “The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith” series by Herald Press in February 2021.
Mennonite Central Committee’s United Nations Office asked him questions about the subject. This is a shortened version of an interview originally published in the May 2021 UN Office Global Briefing. Continue reading MWC General Secretary Says, ‘Politics Matters’ →

Features

Church Renewal: Can These Bones Live?

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God calls for reform and renewal of churches in exile

By Terry Hiebert, Ph.D.

It started with a Bible study. Young families sensed God moving in revival. The good news of salvation in Jesus transformed their lives. Bible studies formed to discover the meaning of new life in Christ. Still, their church remained traditional and legalistic. Ministers resisted these new gospel songs and “born again” sermons. Eventually the young leaders started a church to proclaim Jesus for lost friends and family. Continue reading Church Renewal: Can These Bones Live? →

Editorials

Pray for God’s Peace, Power, Protection

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By Rebecca Roman

By the time you’re reading this, International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (November 7, 2021) will have passed. However, the need for prayer remains.

According to Open Doors USA, in the last year there have been:

  • 340 million Christians living in places where they experience high levels of persecution and discrimination;
  • 4,761 Christians killed for their faith;
  • 4,488 churches and other Christian buildings attacked;
  • 4,277 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned.

Continue reading Pray for God’s Peace, Power, Protection →

Letters

Letters September 2021

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A Mistake to Assume, Rather than Seek to Understand

By Jen Isaac, Morweena, Man.

I recognize the frustration of those who feel held back by EMC policies in regards to women in pastoral roles. However, I am saddened and disappointed by how quickly we assume the worst of our brothers and sisters in Christ who disagree with us.

I have heard it said that in the discussion of women in leadership we need to keep two things in mind. Egalitarians don’t have their beliefs because they are throwing out Scripture, and complementarians don’t have their beliefs because they want to “keep women down.”

If you believe women shouldn’t be pastors because you believe the Scriptures say this, that is not sexism. You just interpret Scripture differently than egalitarians. If you have this belief because you feel women are inferior, that is sexism. It’s about the heart. We damage the church when we attack each other instead of trying to understand each other’s hearts. Continue reading Letters September 2021 →

Columns, Growing Together

Old Testament Violence Condensed Show Notes

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Editor’s Note: This is the condensed version of an interview with Dr. Lissa Wray Beal for the full video and text transcript click the link here. 

Have you also had to wrestle through these questions or even wrestle with your faith in God as a result of some of these things that the Old Testament bears witness to?

I would say yes and no to that. I mean because I was so captivated by the love of God and that has always been a pretty firm bedrock for me out of which I have been able to question. So, when I see things that are hard to understand or troubling in the text, I’ve felt I’ve been allowed to question. I think God invites us to question and to wrestle with that. Continue reading Old Testament Violence Condensed Show Notes →

Abbeydale Christian Fellowship, With Our Churches

Application for Conversion

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Abbeydale Christian Fellowship

by Ivy Plett

CALGARY, Alta.—“Conversion” must be one of the most versatile words in the English language. One can “convert” almost anything. A pile of old shirts can be beautifully converted into an heirloom quilt, or a seemingly useless piece of wood can be converted into a beautiful gift for a loved one. Continue reading Application for Conversion →

Columns, His Light to My Path

Taking Root and Bearing Fruit

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By Karla Hein

“The survivors that are left of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and survivors out of Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord will perform this” (2 Kings 19:30–31 NASB).

COVID-19 has slapped humans in the face and left churches fragmented and stunned. One cannot simply blame the illness for our fatigue. The social climate has heated up with many cultural and doctrinal conversations—a deluge of words that can cause confusion and distort the truth. When social restrictions began to relax in my province, people emerged from their homes as if struggling free from a tight-fitting cocoon. Eyes blinking in the bright light and wings still fragile, they considered whom to trust. Continue reading Taking Root and Bearing Fruit →

A publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference