TheChurches 8-08

Baergens finishing
tasks in Colombia

Dreams for the future and the demands of the present are crowding Rudy and Helen Baergen’s schedule during the final months of their Mennonite Church Canada Witness assignment in Colombia.

As the only full-time professors at the seminary in Bogot

á, they keep getting requests. Seventy-four students took a course in theology last year. The Baergens have done considerable teaching in outlying areas—in places like La Mesa, Medellin—and are planning to go as far away as Venezuela in the next weeks.

Rudy will be acting director of the seminary until April 30 while director Alix Lozano is on leave.

In addition to daily demands, a vision for a pre-university School of Leadership is emerging. The goal is to have a two-year decentralized, interdisciplinary program for training in church work, mission and evangelism, community development and conflict transformation.

“We have been pleased by the level of interest within the Anabaptist community for this program,” says Rudy. Next steps are to finalize the curriculum, put administration in place, and deal with the financial implications.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the seminary is facing a challenge. There are no plans to find successors for the Baergens. Instead, MC Canada Witness is planning to fund a full-time Latin American position at the seminary. “The dream is to have a director, an academic dean and several teaching staff on full-time salary,” says Rudy.

The Baergens will move to Winnipeg this summer where Rudy will take on the pastoral leadership of Bethel Mennonite Church. As they near the end of their term, the Baergens feel blessed by the many relationships they have established.

“We feel affirmed that our work and presence has been appreciated in this difficult context. We pray for sufficient energy and wisdom to do our endings well,” said Rudy.—MC Canada release

Mennonite Church Eastern Canada

Explore committee on
pastor-church relations

“Like porcupines, we need each other, yet we needle each other.” This is how one writer describes the pastor-congregation relationship. On March 27, the Leadership Commission conducted a workshop to help congregations of MC Eastern Canada explore the value of having a Pastor-Congregation Relations Committee.

Leroy Shantz, chair of the Leadership Commission, Muriel Bechtel, Minister of Pastoral Services, and Betty Pries were resource persons for the event, held at Waterloo North Mennonite Church.

They first described what such a committee is not. It is not for salary review, pastor evaluations, or pastoral search. It is not a channel for complaints regarding the pastor or a disciplinary body—that belongs to the Leadership Commission.

The committee would be three to five people who pay attention to issues that arise in pastor-congregation relationships, both spoken and unspoken. It is a safe, confidential place for the pastor or the pastor’s family to bring concerns. It helps the pastor recognize what changes in leadership style may be needed. It tries to understand what it it is like to be a pastor.

In short, the committee is interested in helping the pastor be the best pastor he or she can be, and helping the congregation be the best “employer” it can be.

The group of over 50 participants divided into buzz groups to examine case studies of situations in which a Pastor-Congregation Relations Committee could be helpful. Several congregations talked about the committee they have in place. It became clear that there is a variety of ways to do this work. Even without a committee, elders or others can be given the mandate to do this important work.

Resource packets on pastor-congregation relationships can be obtained from the MC Eastern Canada office, including the Faithful Servant, Faithful Employer document and a conflict resolution policy.

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Spring retreats
offered in Manitoba

The annual 55 Plus Retreats continue to be popular events, offering experiences of worship, fellowship and recreation with other seniors in a natural setting. Speakers at this year’s retreats will focus on fruitful living in the senior years.

The Camp Moose Lake retreat from May 31-June 2 will feature Larry Hirst speaking on “Bringing forth fruit in old age.” He will cover such topics as bearing fruit despite losses, bearing the fruit of joy in the valley of the shadow of death and bearing fruit as we minister to the sick and dying.

Since June 2001 Hirst has been chaplain at Bethesda Hospital and Place in Steinbach.

Jake Harms and Jake Neufeld will be the resources for the 55 Plus Retreat at Camp Koinonia on June 7-9 on the theme “Aging—bane and blessing.” Neufeld is a senior lay minister in the Whitewater Mennonite Church in Boissevain. Harms, a retired pastor, is involved in a ministry to seniors in the Douglas Mennonite Church in Winnipeg.

Retreat directors can be contacted for details: Camp Moose Lake—Abe and Susan Wiebe, phone (204) 326-9322.; Camp Koinonia—Jake Harms at (204) 669-1349.

Camp Koinoia will be host to the June 4-6 birding retreat under the leadership of experienced birders Adolf Ens of Winnipeg, Fran Giesbrecht of Landmark and Robb Nickel of Winnipeg.

The environs of Camp Koinonia in Turtle Mounain Provincial Park provide many species for observation and enjoyment. There will also be opportunity for other leisure activities as well as a service to celebrate God’s activities as Creator.

For families eager to get out and enjoy spring, Camp Assiniboia will be hosting a Family Fun Fest on June 5. Ropes courses, pony rides, face painting, and a silent auction are just a few of the activities offered. For more information call 204-864-2159.

News from Rosthern
Junior College

Rosthern Junior College is announcing the resignation of two staff members at the end of the current school year. Pat Cooley, who has been teaching English, will be retiring this year. Fion Ko, who first came to the college as a student, will be finishing her work as resident dean in the women’s dorm.

The Student Recruitment Committee has announced a tuition savings plan. The idea is simple: set aside a small amount of money for your child each month and let it accumulate for five or ten years until your child is ready to enter RJC. The program is administered by Mennonite Trust of Waldheim. No money or interest would be lost if the student decides not to attend RJC when the plan matures.

Unlike government plans, the RJC plan has no tax implications. It’s simply a savings plan to ensure tuition funds. Call the school for more details at (306) 232-4222.—From RJC releases

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Camp Valaqua
dedicates new spaces

Photo: Dedicating the Swift Current Meadow last May are, from left: Brian and Colleen Dyck, Ray Friesen and John Piera, Valaqua committee chair.

One of the projects at the May 8 workday at Camp Valaqua will be work on the “Meditation Trail.” The trail recognizes the donation that came to the camp from the sale of the Alberta Mennonite Home for the Aged in Coaldale in the early 1990s.

The trail is meant to encourage self-directed spiritual reflection. It will have signpost inscriptions along the way. The “Meditation Trail” will be dedicated at the fall workday on October 16.

Camp Valaqua dedicated two other projects last May. The Vauxhall Cabin recognized the funds that came to the camp from the sale of the Vauxhall Mennonite Church. The old cook’s cabin was renovated into a wheelchair accessible cabin with a bedroom, bathroom, living room and deck. The Vauxhall project included expanded boardwalks to the forest campfire circle and to the main lodge.

The Vauxhall Cabin provides the camp with multi-use accommodations for summer camp volunteers and rental groups.

Swift Current Meadow was also dedicated last May. When Swift Current Bible Institute (SCBI) closed, it donated funds to Camp Valaqua for purchasing additional land. The meadow recognizes that SCBI’s work in inspiring Christian faith continues at camp. A bench and an inscribed rock mark the site.

Ray Friesen, the last president of SCBI, dedicated the site. Colleen Dyck, a former student, and her husband Brian sang “The years go by.” The Swift Current Meadow is located on a bluff overlooking the main lodge.—From Valaqua releases

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Seminar for
new pastors

Clarifying the Call is a mandatory seminar for all new pastors to Mennonite Church B.C. The seminar deals with church polity and is run by the Church Ministries committee.

This year’s seminar was scheduled for early May but the date has been changed to June 3 at the conference office in Abbotsford. For more information, contact Henry Kliewer at (604) 850 6658.

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Unless otherwise credited, the articles in TheChurches pages were written by: Leona Dueck Penner (Mennonite Church Canada), Maurice Martin (Eastern Canada), Evelyn Rempel Petkau (Manitoba), Karin Fehderau (Saskatchewan), Donita Wiebe-Neufeld (Alberta), Angelika Dawson (B.C.).

The existence of the church is a miracle! Given the internal propensity to self destruct, and external forces that oppress, no other explanation seems adequate.

From its birth in political and religious opposition through centuries of persecution, compromise, weak discipleship, factionalism and materialism, the church has survived. It not only has survived, but in many parts of the world it is growing by leaps and bounds!

The church exists and thrives for one reason. It is God’s church and it will not fail. Hell with its dark fury cannot subdue it, for Christ himself is her head.

For us who find ourselves in the middle of strident voices from both right and left, who are working hard to bring organizational and financial stability to a new entity, who find ourselves in the middle of congregational and conference “brush fires,” or who are just plain trying to “do church”—what possibilities does this miracle suggest?

The metaphors of Peter and Paul are instructive. We are a spiritual house, suggesting that buildings and structures are only secondary. We are a holy priesthood, the forgiven and forgiving people of God. We are a chosen people with unique privilege and responsibility. We are a holy nation, suggesting a sanctifying presence among the unholy nations, a kind of political force knowing no boundaries and needing only God’s armour for its battles. And we are the body of Christ, suggesting functional harmony as each member takes his or her place.

As the church faces pressure to conform to the “isms” of the culture, and as we seek to give definition and shape to that sometimes elusive thing we call the missional church, such metaphors can help breathe new life. We have grown accustomed to defining the church by its activities—what it does or produces, but any activity must spring from identity.

We are the church birthed by God, reflecting Christ to the world, driven by the power of the Holy Spirit and living in harmony as all members function according to their gifting.

The miracle of the church is that God uses the likes of us “cracked pots” to carry out his divine mission on earth!

Jim Shantz, Conference pastor, Mennonite Church Alberta

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