Canadian Mennonite
Volume 12, No. 10
May 12, 2008
Up the creek with paddles
Church secretaries help Camp Squeah Paddle-a-thon set a new fundraising record
Hope, B.C.
 |
The coldest April weekend in recent memory couldn’t squelch the enthusiasm of 35 paddlers who braved the waters of the Fraser River from Hope to Ft. Langley in the 10th annual Camp Squeah Paddle-a-thon.
In one canoe were some first-time rowers, one retired and three current Mennonite Church B.C. secretaries who decided to stretch their comfort zone from the office to the great outdoors. MC B.C. office administrator Janette Thiessen wanted to celebrate a milestone birthday by participating, and invited other church support staff to join her. Despite chilly wind and a leaky canoe, the women found warm fellowship as they battled fatigue and sore muscles to show their support for Camp Squeah.
Cheryl Dyck, secretary of Cedar Valley Mennonite Church in Mission, said she took part because “God had placed a desire in me to do something for a ministry that was meaningful to me.” She garnered financial support by wearing her lifejacket and bringing a paddle to church for several Sundays.
Also in the canoe with Dyck and Thiessen were Charlotte Epp, retired secretary of Peace Mennonite Church in Richmond and the oldest participant, and Belinda Rempel of First United Mennonite, Vancouver.
“It was an awe-inspiring trip,” said Epp, noting that the scenery on the river gave a much different perspective than travelling the highway.
Squeah executive director Rob Tiessen expressed thanks for the “overwhelming sense of blessing at the amount of support received through bursary money raised, goods and services donated, and volunteer ground crew support so generously offered.”
This year’s paddle-a-thon was the most successful ever, raising $71,500, a huge increase over last year’s total of $50,000. Funds help volunteer summer student staff with post-secondary education costs.
Three men and a canoe
Saskatoon, Sask.
 |
It’s a simple equation. Three men plus two winters equals one canoe.
Two years ago, Scott Fischer from Wildwood Mennonite Church in Saskatoon had an idea to build a canoe. Friends Paul Funk and Don Epp, also from Wildwood, teamed up to help him. Each had something to contribute to the cause. Funk had the space for the project—an extra big garage—and Epp had built a kayak before and knew the basics of boat-building.
Together, the three friends decided to take their weekly “guy’s night out” and turn it into a chance to hone their woodworking skills and learn something new.
“We had a goal to learn a new skill,” says Epp.
But the story didn’t stay centred in Saskatoon. Epp’s cousin, a retired homebuilder in B.C., donated the cedar to build the canoe. He shipped it to Edmonton and Epp drove there to pick it up.
“It was destined to be firewood,” admits Epp, a maintenance worker at Bethany Manor Seniors Housing.
Using eight-foot strips of cedar, the trio took its time over two seasons. Originally destined for last year’s Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Relief Sale, the canoe wasn’t finished in time. But the men felt better when another canoe was offered to the sale to be sold.
For now, a mini-workshop set up inside their church, complete with a series of photographs Fisher took during the construction process, allows people to see how it was all done. Next, it is off to this year’s Relief Sale in June—and then the open water with the highest bidder on board.