Canadian Mennonite
Volume 11, No. 02
January 22, 2007
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Mennonite Church Canada
Mennonite Church British Columbia
Mennonite Church Alberta
Mennonite Church Saskatchewan
Mennonite Church Manitoba
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada
From our leaders
Mennonite Church Canada
Prayer requests
As we enter the New Year, remember to give thanks and pray for Witness workers around the world, especially those involved in new initiatives, such as:
• Jeff and Tany Warkentin, who invite prayers for “continued [personal] guidance” as they seek to give leadership to a new church plant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. They are thankful for the unified and supportive nature of their church community and the wonderful relationships they have developed. They now have enough church members—mostly university students—to form two soccer teams.
• Tim and Cindy Buhler, presently itinerating in Canada, invite prayers for a number of new believers in Macau who have been challenged with life situations that have rocked their faith and fellowship. Also, be in prayer for the government leaders of Macau.
• Rejoice with Todd and Jeanette Hanson and the Nanchong Christian Church as they are in their last stages of a church building project. The first service in the new building was filled to capacity with approximately 1,500 congregants who sang and gave thanks for the opportunity to worship together in this space. The Hansons ask for prayer that their connection with local churches will be a mutual source of encouragement and support with congregations in North America, and that Todd will find the vision and energy to embrace his new position with Mennonite Partners in China (formerly China Educational Exchange).
Mennonite Church British Columbia
Meeting may decide future of B.C. WIM
B.C. Women in Mission will convene for its annual business meeting on Feb. 10 at Bethel Mennonite Church of Langley, beginning at 2 p.m.
Sue Kehler of Abbotsford will lead in a devotional and prayer time on the theme “Seeking God’s direction and guidance.”
According to president Veronica Thiessen, this is a crucial time for the organization, as its future is uncertain.
It has been difficult even to get a full slate of delegates to let their names stand for executive positions, and at this meeting it may be decided whether B.C. Women in Mission will even continue.
“We encourage as many women as possible to attend this important meeting,” Thiessen says.
No business meetings were held last February, as a suitable date could not be found. Instead, normal business took place at the spring inspirational day in May.
Mennonite Church Alberta
Pastors reflect on Advent events
In the Mennonite Church Alberta December newsletter, a number of pastors reflected on the importance of the Advent season and congregations gave brief reports of significant happenings in their churches.
Pastors commented on the sense of unity between congregations and communities during Advent worship services, the rewards coming from the effort put into preparing and attending services, the infectious enthusiasm of the message of Jesus’ arrival, and a sense of awareness of the larger world and its need for Christ.
A number of congregations participated in special projects or events during the festive season:
• In Rosemary, Sunday school children filled stockings with toys and candy for local underprivileged children.
• Edmonton’s Holyrood Mennonite donated 164 pairs of prescription eyeglasses to the Christian Blind International organization.
• Tofield Mennonite participated in an annual carol festival with its area ministerial.
• Edmonton First Mennonite celebrated the arrival of two young women from a Thai refugee camp, Nhaw Nhaw and Thaw Thaw Simon, into their fellowship on Dec. 10.
• Foothills Mennonite in Calgary continues to participate in the “In From the Cold” program, opening the church to provide occasional shelter, food and fellowship to homeless families. The congregation is also considering setting up a guest home to house people travelling to the city for medical procedures.
• Due to the exciting growth of its youth population, the Trinity Mennonite Church council has put forward a motion to consider hiring a part-time Young Life staff position.
Mennonite Church Saskatchewan
New program helps ex-offenders
The Saskatoon office of the Person to Person program is presently working with a group of released offenders. Designed by a Winnipeg community chaplain, the new Forward Step program is not to be confused with the Circle of Support program.
“It’s designed to help ex-offenders integrate back into the community,” says Helmut Issac, a worker in the MCC-supported program.
Following the basic idea of the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program, Forward Step fills a need that a regular AA group cannot, in that it creates a safe place for former inmates to share their experiences. Issac explains that within the criminal world, there is a certain hierarchy that comes into play, so certain released offenders are not welcome—based on their crime. The new Forward Step program can be a haven for these marginalized individuals, he says.
“We try to have an outing, like bowling or a pizza night, once a month,” which also helps to build a sense of community, Isaac says.
Mennonite Church Manitoba
‘Living on the edge’ at annual meeting
Bethel Mennonite Church in Winnipeg is hosting the MC Manitoba annual delegate session on Feb. 23 and 24. This year the focus will be on the second part of the theme: “Rooted in the centre—Living on the edge.” Keynote speaker Len Hjalmarson, a church planter and writer from British Colombia, will speak to delegates on “Living on the edge.”
The agenda includes further discussion on the MC Manitoba “Our health/Our future” study. MC Manitoba embarked on this study last year and reported on it briefly at the 2006 fall delegate session. Four related issues were identified: leadership development, youths and the church, dealing with conflict/change, and responding to the cultural context.
Another session will look at camping ministry issues, including a summer volunteer honorarium increase and accountability in the regional committee structure.
“We will be looking for some direction related to these issues,” said Edgar Rempel, executive director.
A leadership conference will be held during the day on Feb. 23 at a location to be announced. Hjalmarson will address the issue of change, and the fears and concerns of leaders in the face of change.
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada
Bibby to headline School for Ministers
This year’s MC Eastern Canada annual School for Ministers—a joint program with Conrad Grebel University College—features sociologist of religion Reginald Bibby of the University of Lethbridge, Alta. Scheduled for Feb. 20 to 22, Bibby will present three lectures on “The role of the church in contemporary Canadian culture.”
Bibby has been surveying and reporting on the state of religion in Canada for the past three decades, publishing books such as Fragmented Gods and Restless Gods. Until recently, his reporting has been technical and non-parochial, but in his most recent book, Restless Churches (Woodlake/Novalis, 2004), he used his research and interpretation to “call for people…to take up the challenge…of implementing a strategy for a ministry that touches people who are not actively involved in the nation’s churches.”
Bibby’s presentations will be framed by daily worship, extensive time for pastors to relate to each other, and by afternoon workshops. These focus on various strategies of outreach, covering the spectrum from postmodern worship and church planting to the Logos program and the role of the church in a multi-faith neighbourhood.
On Feb. 21, Bibby will present the second annual Rodney and Lorna Sawatsky Lecture on “The elusiveness of paradise: The legacy of Canada’s baby boomers.” The lecture begins at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall and is open to the public.
To attend the School for Ministers, contact Joan School at MC Eastern Canada (519-650-3806).
From Our Leaders
God’s work in progress
In this year’s texts for Epiphany Sunday (Jan. 7), Paul pushes us beyond what “we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20) with his claim that it is “through the church [that] the wisdom of God in its rich variety” is “made known...” (3:10). Paul had the audacity to believe and preach that this commonplace community made up of former enemies—Jews and gentiles—was vital to God’s epiphany!
How can that be? As I work with the nitty gritty of relationships between congregations and pastors, I am alternately fascinated by the possibilities and stunned by the presumptuousness of such a vision! I have witnessed how well-intentioned pastoral searches and review processes have hurt pastors and divided people, turning some away from the church. Is it possible for these all-too-human processes of the church to be instruments for fulfilling the desire of Jesus that all “might have life and have it to the full”?
The answer to that question depends in part on whether congregations and pastors can learn new ways of understanding and living out the covenant relationship between them. The 1966 version of the Random House Dictionary defines “covenant” (in an ecclesial context) as “a solemn agreement between the members of a church to act together in harmony with the precepts of the gospel.”
In a recent conversation with a seasoned chair of a congregation’s governing board, I asked how things were going with the new pastor who had been installed a year or more ago. He responded by saying, “In general, things are going well. There were a few things that came up in our first review, but we’re working at them together. We see this relationship as one in which pastor and people are in ministry together, and so we expect there will be growth and learning for the pastor as well as for us leaders.”
The temptation is to search for the “perfect fit” between pastor and congregation and to look for “quick fixes” for any gaps that we discover. However, that congregational leader has caught the vision that the covenant between congregation and pastor includes a robust commitment to the ongoing growth of both pastor and people, so that all may experience life in its fullness.
In Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas, Jan L. Richardson describes the experience of walking into an unfinished “wedding house” in the woods with other guests gathered to celebrate the wedding feast. “Walking in, I found myself stunned by the grace of its incompleteness,” she writes. “Here was the wedding house, unfinished but waiting to celebrate the meeting of souls. Here were the guests, waiting to dance under the night sky.”
In the spirit of Epiphany, can we be open to God’s wisdom and see in our relationships between pastor and congregation a “work in progress”? Can we see in its incompleteness the possibilities for God’s grace and our best human efforts to accomplish more than we can ask or imagine? I hope so!
Unless otherwise credited, the articles in TheChurches pages were written by Canadian Mennonite’s regional correspondents.