Volume 7, number 12
June 16, 2003
Winnipeg, Man
After attending the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) meetings in Ontario May 21-23, Dan Nighswander, general secretary of Mennonite Church Canada, is positive about forming closer ties with this ecumenical organization.
He found the meetings “a stimulating and enriching experience,” and was pleased that the CCC responded with “great enthusiasm” to the news that the MC Canada General Board is recommending to delegates this summer that MC Canada become full members of CCC.
The July 9-13 assembly in St. Catharines will include a seminar in which representatives from the CCC and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) will talk about their visions and respond to questions. MC Canada is also recommending membership in the EFC.
“We have many connections with the programs of the CCC,” continued Nighswander, “and there are more opportunities to connect on projects where we have common interest.” He cited examples:
• Bill Janzen (Ottawa Mennonite) serves as a member of the Commission on Justice and Peace and had input into addressing the government and Canadian public on the Iraq “war on terror;”
• Keith Regier (Breslau Mennonite) serves on the Canadian Ecumenical Anti-Racism Network which is planning a training seminar for the CCC Council at its November meeting;
• CCC is involved in the future of health care, making a presentation to the Romanow Commission and organizing provincial gatherings. Harry Wiens (Altona Mennonite) is involved in these health care discussions.
• Carol Penner (Welcome Inn, Hamilton, Ont.) represented Mennonites at an ecumenical prayer service in Toronto on March 22. The report of that service published in Canadian Mennonite (April 7) was passed around the CCC table.
•Some CCC churches are initiating studies on AIDS and the CCC is being invited to explore what the churches can say to one another about AIDS. A Mennonite may be appointed to this group.
A highlight of the meetings for Nighswander was an evening when members joined the National Muslim-Christian Liaison Committee for dinner at a nearby mosque that serves the Bosnian community. Presentations were made to one Christian and one Muslim who have contributed significantly to relationships between the two faiths.
A speaker addressed the role of women in the Muslim faith (from a very “liberal” perspective), and there was a chance to speak with the imam about Islam and his community.
“A young woman spoke to me with great appreciation for the dialogue between her mosque in Stouffville and the Mennonites of Markham area,” said Nighswander, “with special recognition of the role of Pieter Niemeyer, a pastor at Rouge Valley Mennonite Church.”
“Since I know that a number of our people are involved in dialogue with Muslims,” concluded Nighswander, “I was happy to hear this story and that it was making a positive impression.”
—Leona Dueck Penner
Manitoba churches join in celebration
Our multi-cultural church
This supplement was coordinated by Samson Lo, director of Multi-cultural Ministry for
Mennonite Church Canada. He works our of Vancouver B.C.
Mix of cultures presents a challenge
Photo: Samson Lo, director of Multi-cultural Ministry for MC Canada.
With globalization trends, the world is becoming more urbanized (42%), internationalized (Anglos increasingly in the minority), and Asianized (50% of babies born globally are Asian). Every city is increasingly a mosaic of different cultural, language and ethnic groups.
Churches should reflect the same kind of mix. Cross-cultural church planting requires extreme sensitivity to different cultural values and patterns.
In Mennonite Church Canada, there are over 40 congregations who represent cultures and ethnic backgrounds newer to MC Canada, according to the Diversity Project Report. “On the average, over 2,000 persons from across Canada worship weekly in 11 different languages in over 40 distinct congregations. The total number of persons of their culture that these churches relate to is considerably higher.”
In anticipation of this comprehensive study, Hugo Neufeld wrote: “MC Canada congregations are moving from what was once a group of churches consisting of primarily one main culture, to peoples of many backgrounds.” This is a most “positive development” and “there is a need to move toward a newer more mature phase.”
After the Multi-cultural Ministry Consultation in Saskatoon last July, in which over 70 participants from diverse ethnic groups and congregations participated, all these groups became very excited, realizing that their voices would be heard and their needs recognized. This is true especially after Canadian Mennonite published reports on the consultation.
As a result there is extensive awareness of what has been happening and of the formation of the Multi-cultural Ministry office in MC Canada as of February 2002.
The purpose of Multi-cultural Ministry is to build connections with the multi-cultural congregations of Mennonite Church Canada, and to ensure that they are better served by MC Canada programs and better represented in denominational leadership.
It is undeniable that Multi-cultural Ministry will take a concerted effort to bring everyone together. Besides diversity in culture, language, tradition, practice and custom, there are also geographical challenges—the fact that our multi-cultural congregations are so widely dispersed in different cities. How do we bring them together, both physically and in spirit? How do we break down the tangible and intangible barriers between groups? How do we learn to appreciate one another?
It is most important to build cross-cultural relations. In the face of rapid social changes, we must affirm our belief in “one church with many peoples,” and make every effort to ensure that the ministry of MC Canada is sensitive and able to cater to the needs of our times.
It is our hope that this office will help to build a bridge to facilitate communication between multi-cultural groups, as well as between these groups and other groups and congregations in MC Canada.
—Samson Lo
Photo: Eun Young Kwon (Key) and her daughter, Kaeul,
were part of the Korean congregation at Charleswood Mennonite Church.
Photo by Lynette Wiebe
Multi-cultural leadership training fills need
In the past several years, the need for leadership training within the various cultural groups has arisen within Mennonite Church Canada.
Maurice Martin, as director of Congregational Leadership Development, shaped a program using the Pastoral Studies Distance Education curriculum of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Thus a three-way partnership was formed between AMBS, area churches, and MC Canada.
The curriculum is for pastors or lay leaders who want more training but are unable to leave their congregations for study. The program is designed to be accessible to a broad range of leaders within groups which do not have English as their first language. It is taught on a certificate level, and can be done with minimal time away from other duties. It can also be taken for credit.
There are five units in the program: Church and Ministry; The Biblical Story; Anabaptist History and Theology; Preaching, Worship, Evangelism; Pastoral Care and Counselling, Administration.
On March 1, 2003, about 65 persons from Hmong, Laotian, Korean and Chinese congregations in MC Eastern Canada met at Steinmann Mennonite Church to study the Anabaptist History and Theology unit. Martin gave his lectures in English, followed by discussion in the various languages, led by persons from within each group.
In the following weeks, participants will individually complete the 10 lessons as well as meet with others in their language group for discussion. The course will conclude on June 28 with a plenary session at First Mennonite Church in Kitchener.
This pattern will be followed for subsequent units, both in MC Eastern Canada and, beginning in fall, in MC Manitoba. It is hoped that it will also be offered in other places across Canada.
The Spanish-speaking groups in MC Eastern Canada will have their own training program because curriculum is readily available and there are persons able to teach in Spanish. Five courses are being developed within the framework of a “School of Discipleship” (Spanish). Noe Gonzalia and Rebecca Yoder Neufeld will teach the first course in biblical studies this spring and fall.
In Winnipeg, however, the Spanish group will meet with the Asian groups and use the AMBS curriculum.
The Korean group is in the process of translating the AMBS curriculum for their use. Other groups may decide to do this as well. Two words which might describe the multi-cultural leadership training program are “flexible” and “accessible.”
Photo: Members of the Edmonton Chinese Mennonite Church prepare food for the relief sale.
Faith journey of Chinese Fellowship
Chinese Fellowship of Grace Mennonite Church in Regina is a very small group. The nature of the fellowship is quite different from other fellowships in the church, because the majority of our attendees can only stay three to four years. Each year new students come and members leave.
Therefore it seems that we are in an intensive faith course at Grace Mennonite Church. God sends raw materials (non-believers with atheism background) to us, and after a few years the ready products are sent out to be his witnesses. We thank God for providing the environment for us to build our faith.
The year 2002 was a challenging one to Chinese Fellowship. Since 1999, God had encouraged us to take a big step by doubling our financial contribution to Grace. We learned that as long as we remain faithful in giving, God will take the whole responsibility.
In the beginning of 2002, however, a new challenge came to us. The conference was going to cut their support of our ministry by $3,000. We decided to pick up the amount even though we didn’t know where the money would come from.
As I quietly thought about it, a question came to my mind: “Could you pass the test by simply trusting me?” There was no other place we could turn for help. The result of our fundraising last March wasn’t very satisfying; therefore we cancelled our second fundraising last September. We realized that our only way was to focus on God’s help through prayer.
That year was a faith trial to Chinese Fellowship. Our attendance decreased throughout the year. However, God was watching over us and finally, last October, he provided an unfamiliar Christian couple from the university to pray for the difficulties we were facing. It was a surprise to me. How could they know our difficulties?
The next day our attendance increased, and the last week of December we were informed by our church treasurer that we had reached $20,018. Former members outside Regina gave more than usual. God had helped us to cope with our financial difficulty. (Our contribution to Grace Mennonite in 1993 was $3,500; last year it was up to
$ 21,500.)
The increase was remarkable given our unstable membership, with only four members having jobs. God worked a miracle. We have learned a great lesson about faith. Faith is not looking for help by our own effort. It is not monitoring other people’s pockets. Faith is being willing to take the whole responsibility, to open our own pockets to God first, and leaving the rest to God.
Besides the difficulties mentioned above, my next concern was our Christmas outreach celebration, I wondered how many non-believers would show up. When I raised my concern to God, a statement suddenly came to me: “Why not fasting?”
The next day, I started to fast. God enabled me to do it. And God brought many new people to our celebration. In past years, people would not stay after the meal, but at last year’s celebration people didn’t want to leave.
God has been gracious to us. He created crisis in order to help us to grow and to experience his marvellous ways of solving our difficulties. There are currently three people studying the Bible individually with me on weekdays. I am encouraged to see their eagerness to learn God’s word. All three have accepted the Lord as their personal Saviour. I praise the Lord. Amen.
—Magdalena Widjaja
The writer is pastor of Asian Ministries at Grace Mennonite Church in Regina.
Photo: Youth from Toronto Mennonite New Life Church lead singing at a youth retreat.
The testimony of Phuey Muey Chan
Phuey Muey doesn’t think of herself as a person to give testimony to her faith. She says she is shy, had no formal education, grew up on the edge of society, was abandoned as a child, felt as handicapped as if she were blind or deaf. But she is happy to tell her story.
She was born in Vientiane, Laos, on July 10, 1958. She had two brothers and two sisters. When she was about 11 years old, her father and both grandparents died. This was more than her mother could bear so the children were sent to other homes. Phuey Muey was sent to a distant relatives where she took care of the children and was not permitted to attend school. She never learned to read or write.
She heard of Christians who believed in God—a God who helped people. Even though she didn’t know who God was, each night she asked this God to help her read and write. Gradually she learned and kept a diary of her journey. Her relative found the diary and was surprised that one could learn to read and write without a teacher. Phuey Muey began to believe because of this miracle.
On October 19, 2002, Phuey Muey attended an Ontario women’s meeting at Waterloo-Kitchener United Mennonite Church. The guest speaker was Jane Burke, former missionary, who used quilts to make spiritual applications. This presentation made a profound impact on Phuey Muey and she wanted to share her response with a larger audience.
She had become a Christian at the Laos Mennonite Church in St. Jacobs in 1998, and experienced new life. Before she felt abandoned, now she felt part of something bigger. The old and new quilts displayed on that day in 2002 helped her to understand how her life was before she was saved and how God put her life together in a beautiful new thing.
The old ripped quilts reminded her of her life prior to being a Christian when she didn’t even realize her wrongdoings. Now she realized again how much God loved her and John 3:16 came to mind. She saw that pieces of material that are separate from others are nothing, but put together they make a beautiful whole and make people warm.
Burke spoke of her nervous breakdown and how she felt she had to be involved in everything. The doctors told her to slow down and do something she’d always wanted to do. She spent much time on each quilt, likening it to the time God spends working in each of our lives. Each quilt is important, beautiful.
She was especially attracted to the “Spider Web” quilt showing light shining out in different directions, symbolic of God’s reaching out to her. This was very personal for Phuey Muey and she feels a need to reach out to tell someone else the good news.
One quilt was divided into four squares—it looked damaged and blurry. When a cross was placed on the middle, its whole appearance changed. It became a beautiful picture for Phuey Muey of how Christ came into her life and made a difference. The “Tree of Life” quilt symbolized how God wants her to be like a tree bearing fruit, being a part of God’s people with new life. She wants to be like a quilt, bringing warmth to people.
Phuey Muey was married in 1975 in Laos and has four children. They came to Canada in 1988. She works at a clothing factory in Kitchener and attends Grace Lao Mennonite Church.
—Recorded by Doris Kramer
African feast launches young adult adventure
Winnipeg, Man.
Photo: The Manitoba group on its way to Zimbabwe. From left: Lori Fast, Korey Dyck, Lisa Martens, Virginia Gerbrandt, Leah Bueckert, Kevin Stoesz, Heidi Paetkau, Bonnie Unrau, Leah Bock, Brent Falk, Anne Whitford, Reynold Fast. Missing is Vicki Friesen and coordinator Sonja Friesen.
Combine a youthful desire to experience the adventure of Mennonite World Conference Assembly in Zimbabwe with an evening of African food, music and dance; mix in some exotic visual decor and a generous audience and you have a fundraising success.
The Southern African Feast at Bethel Mennonite Church here on May 24 raised $7,000 for the 13 young adults from Manitoba who leave for Zimbabwe on August 3. The event not only met financial goals but provided the 160 supporters with an enjoyable evening of “crossing cultures.”
Most of them happily left behind their own culture as they:
• dipped Nshima (cornmeal porridge) into Seswaa (beef) and Pudi (goat) stew with their fingers, and sipped milky-sweet Roiboos (red-bush) tea,
• stretched their minds with quizzes,
• watched an African fable/slide show,
• listened to Africa mission speakers,
• clapped as Nigerian women danced,
• danced their way forward in an African-style offering, waving their contributions.
The event was organized by the young people, along with Sonja Friesen, coordinator from Mennonite Church Manitoba, and Kathy Fast of MC Canada who was supervising chef. The group plans to visit Brethren in Christ churches prior to the Assembly Gathered. After the assembly, they will visit some tourist sites.
“It was a delight the way everything came together,” said Friesen. “This broad representation of rural and urban young people, aged between 20-30, met together about once per month for the past year, to worship and plan; they created their own mission statement, brought their own ideas.”
She added that it was wonderful to have Gary Prieb, director of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM), present to encourage the young people. Also participating were Arnold Harder, long-term Congo mission worker, and Peter Rempel, AIMM chair. They were having AIMM meetings in Winnipeg.
“This was more than just a few kids getting together to raise money for an overseas experience,” noted a guest. Having various church representatives present “made this a broader, church-sanctioned, community-based event.”
Rempel spoke about the importance of nurturing relationships with a suffering but vibrant African church by sending young people to Zimbabwe in spite of the political tensions.
One guest with experience in Africa appreciated the opportunity to talk about Africa in a receptive atmosphere. “The music, food, dance, felt very familiar....” The evening provided a trip down memory lane for those who worked in Africa when churches were just beginning to get their independence.
“It’s exciting to see a new generation going to MWC, hosted by a mature African church,” he said.
As for the young people themselves, joyful enthusiasm for this adventure was evident in their faces as they welcomed guests into a beautifully decorated dining room, served meals which they’d helped to prepare, poured tea and shared stories.
This was the first of two events. The second, hosted by the Winkler Evangelical Mennonite Mission Church on May 30, drew 75 people and raised over $2,600.
This feast ended with a blessing from Bob Wiebe, MC Manitoba director of Education Ministries. “This venture also has the possibility to change perceptions of God’s world for these young adults. May they never be the same.”
—Leona Dueck Penner
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