The Messenger Vol. 51 No. 8 August 2013

The Messenger Volume 51 No. 8 August 2013

Convention 2013 Living as KINGDOM People

ALSO INSIDE:

The kingdom of God and discipleship page 6 The action of mercy page 8 The simple life page 10 $2.00

Editorials

Take a risk!

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hat’s a risk worth taking?

A friend once practiced firing a 300 Winchester Magnum rifle without hearing protection because, he said, his ears needed to get used to the noise. His ears, however, would only appear to get used to the blast; in reality his hearing was likely damaged.

Some people work in a mine or in a smelter, a tough environment. Compared to the risks on the job, what’s the big deal about smoking or drinking? some think.

In an oil economy, for instance, there’s talk about money and hard work, but how much discussion is there of risky behaviours and their effects on family life? In a one-industry community, such as I served in as a pastor, some folks think: Work hard, play hard; the results can be to sin hard and die hard.

Some young people have a motto: Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse. Ever see how good looking is a corpse when it’s smeared over a highway?

Some people who turn to drugs or alcohol dismiss becoming a Christian as a crutch. Yet Jesus knew about risk taking.

He said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:25, Matt. 16:26, Mark 8:36).

Jesus says risk-taking behaviour can result in the worst possible deal.

Gutsy, bold people can turn out to be shortsighted, wrong, and ever so foolish.

What’s a risk worth taking? Finding out about Jesus.

– Terry M. Smith

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The Judge judged in our place

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ome people ponder the eternal fates of people alive today or of historical figures such as Hitler. They puzzle over the factors to be taken into account at the final judgment (Rev. 20:11-15).

However, at the judgment we will likely not have concerns for the sins of others, only our own. Simply by the opening of our consciences and memories in God’s holy presence, responsible humans will know that condemnation is fitting (Rom. 3:23). Nothing need be said.

But do not despair as you read this. For in Christ “the Judge was judged in our place” (Karl Barth). Here is the supreme word of grace, unmatched among world religions.

Do Hinduism and Buddhism with their higher reincarnations based on merit compare?

Does Islam with its judgment via a scale that tilts

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toward the greater weight of good or evil deeds?

Does Judaism with its atonement by repentance? Does the common thought in Canadian society that if heaven is real, we get there by being good? None compares.

Jesus is true God and true man, the one mediator uniquely equipped to bring the Divine and humanity together.

God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself through the cross (2 Cor. 5:19-21; Col. 1:19-23).

Playing judge is not our role. Christians are but beggars given grace.

Our task is to carry the news that “the Judge was judged in our place.” With that comes the ancient, necessary call of Christ: “Come, follow Me!” (Mark 1:17).

– Terry M. Smith

Here is the supreme word of grace, unmatched among world religions.

Table of Contents Features

Columns

6

The kingdom of God and discipleship

21 An Education App

The Action of Mercy

24 A Reader’s Viewpoint

– Dr. Timothy Geddert

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– Ervin C. Dueck

10 The Simple Life – Javan Rowe

12 EMC Statement of Core Values 13 EMC Vision Statement 14 Ministerial explores ‘creative’ non-violent resistance – Terry M. Smith

17 Council approves statements, faces fiscal shortfall – Terry M. Smith

20 Golf links with missions – Len Barkman

A national learning plan – Terry M. Smith Should you send your pastor on a ministry trip?

– Travis Thiessen

28 Further In and Higher Up Can I get a witness for the Lord?

– Layton Friesen

page

14

34 Here and Far Away

Following the instructions – Jocelyn R. Plett

35 Stewardship Today

Talking to survive seasonal shopping – Dor Zerbe Cornelsen

page

8

36 Kids’ Corner

Who’s in your backyard?

– Loreena Thiessen

Departments 2

Editorials

3

Pontius’ Puddle

4 Notes 22 With Our Missionaries

page

10

25 With Our Churches 29 News 30 In Memory 32 Calendar 33 Shoulder Tapping

Cover Photo: Andrew Walker www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 3

The Messenger

Notes

Volume 51 No. 7 August 2013

Guidelines for letters

Policy on published items

Submissions to The Messenger should be sent to messenger@emconf.ca.

The Messenger is the monthly publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. It is available to the general public.

Its purpose is to inform concerning events and activities in the denomination, instruct in godliness and victorious living, inspire to earnestly contend for the faith.

Letters, articles, photos and poems are welcomed.

Unpublished material is not returned except by request.

Views and opinions of writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the position of the Conference or the editors. Advertising and inserts should not be considered to carry editorial endorsement.

The Messenger is published by the EMC Board of Church Ministries, 440 Main St, Steinbach, Man., and is a member of Meetinghouse and Canadian Church Press.

Change of address and subscriptions Undelivered copies, change of address and new subscriptions should be addressed to: 440 Main St, Steinbach, MB R5G 1Z5 Phone: 204-326-6401 Fax: 204-326-1613 E-mail: messenger@emconf.ca www.emconference.ca/messenger Second-class postage paid at Steinbach, Manitoba.

ISSN: 0701-3299 Publications Mail Agreement Number: 40017362 We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage for our publishing activities.

Advertising The Messenger does not sell advertising, but provides free space (classified and display) to enhance our Conference, its churches, boards, and ministries; inter-Mennonite agencies and educational institutions; and the wider church. Ads and inquiries should be sent to messenger@emconf.ca.

THE MESSENGER schedule: No. 10– October 2013 issue (copy due September 20)

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Subscriptions are voluntary and optional to people within or outside of the EMC. Subscriptions are purchased by the Conference for members and adherents.

Does your church have a handrail, permanent or removable, on the sanctuary platform’s steps? It aids the safety and dignity of children, seniors, and other people of varied abilities. It is practical, simple, inexpensive, and often overlooked.

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Subscription rates 1 year $24 ($30 U.S., $45 foreign) 2 years $44 ($55 U.S., $85 foreign) 3 years $65 ($82 U.S., $125 foreign) Manitoba residents add 8% PST. Digital only subscriptions: $15 per year.

Single copy price: $2

An overlooked fixture

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ASSISTANT EDITOR ANDREW WALKER

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EDITOR TERRY M. SMITH

Letters published are generally to comment on issues raised in The Messenger. The magazine reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, legality, and taste.

Letters by regular mail and by fax must contain a handwritten signature with at least the writer’s first and last names and an address. For letters by e-mail, the writer’s name and e-mail address are deemed to be an electronic signature. The writer’s regular postal address is to be included in e-mail correspondence.

The writer’s name and general address are to be published.

In sensitive matters, names may be withheld.

Letters to the editor should be 250 words or less.

The Messenger’s policy on originals of published items: letters to the editor are to be retained for a year.

Originals of all other categories are to be retained for four months or can be destroyed sooner at the editor’s discretion. After their respective time periods, the originals of print materials can be destroyed.

– Board of Church Ministries March 14, 2013

emc 1812 ~ 2012

Evangelical Mennonite Conference

Quarterly Financial Report 2013 Receipts and Transfers Disbursements Excess/Shortfall

Jan–June 2013 613,853 966,731 –352,878

Jan–June 2012 635,411 861,959 –226,548

– Board of Trustees

Convention 2013 Offerings Steinbach Bible College Convention Expenses Missions Projects Total

2,934.70 23,014.00 31,300.37 $57,249.07

Note that the contribution towards Convention Expenses includes all offerings towards meals.

Thank you for your generous giving.

– Tim Dyck General Secretary Board of Trustees

Columns • Writings Shared Menno Simons’ Life and Writings: A Quadricentennial Tribute (1536-1936), Harold S. Bender and John Horsch (Mennonite Publishing House, 1936; reprinted, Gospel Publishers, 2004). 110 pp. $3.95. Reviewed by Terry M. Smith, executive secretary, BCM

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his slim book first published in 1936 marked the 400th anniversary of Menno’s leaving the Roman Catholic Church (1536). Its biography of Menno, based on Horsch’s earlier work and improved upon by Bender, was later reproduced in The Complete Writings of Menno Simons (Herald Press, rev.

1984) and remains useful.

The second section contains selected writings translated from Dutch by Horsch. Sadly, readers of the later Complete Writings, translated by Leonard Verduin, will not find it easy to match passages.

As Bender says, “…many who will not read the complete works…will no doubt be glad for a more convenient collection of the best of Menno’s thought” (vi). Yes, indeed, but updates are much needed.

Seventy-five years of further historical study should be drawn upon while revising Menno’s biography; and any future volume would do

well to include a short overview of his theology, including changes in his perspective during a lengthy ministry in a tumultuous period.

Horsch somewhat helpfully divides Menno’s thought into the traditional categories of systematic theology and then adds topics. Still, the selections seem too brief, even at times fragmented. One wishes for a section on grace, the inclusion of more familiar selections of Menno’s thought, and an introduction (with date and context) to each passage. In any future edition Verduin’s translation needs to be used.

The importance of Menno Simons warrants more than this sometimes awkwardly brief volume, but for now this is what we have and Gospel Publishers (Church of God in Christ, Mennonite) has helpfully kept it in print.

The Jesus Tribe: Grace Stories from Congo’s Mennonites (1912-2012), Rod Hollinger-Janzen, Nancy J. Myers, and Jim Bertsche, eds. (Evangel Press, Nappanee, IN, 2012), 268 pp. $15. ISBN 0936273496. Reviewed by Kayle Penner (Kleefeld), BA.

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ctions speak louder than words.”

This is the exact mentality needed when reading The Jesus Tribe, a project of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission that looks at 100 years of ministry in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Just by reading the stories of dozens of Mennonites we can grow through example—both by the examples of those who went to Africa and those nationals who became AnabaptistMennonite by faith. By pure example they are showing readers how to live a Christian life.

Prepare to be inspired by fellow Mennonites who are risking their lives, their friends and families, and their reputation to minister to

those who need it. Be encouraged by their willingness to put everything on the line for Christ.

They do not tell us what to do, how to live, or what to say. Their inspiring stories are just that: stories.

They are living the life of Christ and trying to further His kingdom by integrating themselves into the Congo culture.

If you are curious enough to read about Mennonite missionaries, then I would encourage you to pick up this book for a light and easy read.

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The kingdom of God and discipleship Message two of four

by Dr. Timothy Geddert

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hat exactly does “Kingdom of God” (“he basileia tou theou” in the original), mean and how does it relate to Christian discipleship? Here are some basic convictions.

1. The word “kingdom” really means something more like “reigning.”

Traditionally “basileia” has been translated “kingdom,” but that makes us think of territory.

A kingdom is the territory over which someone is king. So we imagine God’s kingdom must be the territory over which God rules.

But God’s kingdom is not some territory; it is the reigning activity of God. Consider this verse: “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19.) It does not say “God reigns over all” (though God does that). It says “God’s kingdom rules over all.”

God’s kingdom is not the territory over which God rules. God’s kingdom is God’s reigning; God’s active achievement of God’s purposes.

In heaven God’s throne is established. On earth God’s throne, God’s reigning, is still in the process of being established. So we pray, “May your kingdom come. May your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

We do not pray that the territory over which God is king will come floating down from heaven, but rather that God’s will come to pass more fully on earth, that God’s reigning be more fully experienced in our churches, in our world.

2. “Kingdom of God” and “Kingdom of Heaven” are interchangeable titles for God’s reigning.

First century Jews often avoided the word “God.” They spoke of “the Highest” or “the Power” or “the Mighty One” or simply “Heaven.” So “The

Kingdom of Heaven” became an alternative way of saying “Kingdom of God,” but referring to exactly the same reality, that is to God’s reigning.

3. God’s Kingdom (God’s Reigning) should be understood most centrally as “God at work.”

It is God at work, pouring out grace, redeeming people, inviting us to respond in faith and obedience. God is at work in the church as we embody God’s reigning on earth; God at work in the world as God’s will is done on earth, as in heaven. “God at work” is perhaps the best short definition of what God’s “reigning” is all about.

4. God’s Kingdom is already and not yet.

The kingdom is not fully here, but it is in the process of coming.

God’s will is being done on earth (though only in part). God’s kingdom is already inaugurated, but not yet consummated.

We speak of living between the times, of living simultaneously in an unredeemed world and in God’s kingdom, of living still in “this age” but already “in the age to come.” Our discipleship aims to live kingdom values, yet always taking into account the realities of a fallen world.

How does these basic convictions help us understand Christian discipleship from a “Kingdom Perspective”? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Discipleship and ethics never begin with human effort; they begin always in response to the sovereign grace of God. God’s kingdom is a kingdom of love and peace; God’s will is to restore creation to God’s original intentions, and to begin with those who follow Jesus. But our participation in God’s work is always a response to God’s grace poured out on us first. Kingdom ethics is our grateful response to God’s grace.

2. Christian discipleship is at its heart a communal ethic.

Discipleship and ethics never begin with human effort; they begin always in response to the sovereign grace of God.

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PHOTO: ANDREW WALKER

3. Discipleship is for the purpose of witness.

Acts 1:8 promises Jesus’ followers that they will be “witnesses.” They will not be the ones doing the persuading (the Holy Spirit does that). They will be the evidence of the truth of the Gospel. They will experience in their communities what only the Gospel can accomplish—lives transformed, communities of love and self-giving springing up, people caring for “the least of these,” barriers coming down between rich and poor, strong and weak, Jew and Gentile.

They will be living proof that God’s will is being done on earth as it is in heaven, that God has already begun the transformation of creation.

The Kingdom of God is not only future, but even now breaking into a fallen world, a world under reconstruction by the risen Christ and his redeemed community. Our lives of discipleship bear witness to that.

God’s Kingdom majors on grace and mercy, not rules and self-righteousness.

4. Disciples of Jesus prioritize mercy over holiness (at least holiness as defined by his religious culture).

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In some ways Jesus was a radical individualist for his time and culture. He called individuals to faith, to a costly faith that might well divide families. But those who responded to his call became a brand new family, brothers and sisters gathering around Jesus to learn the will of God (see Mark 3:34-35).

God wants to reign in our individual lives as we choose to follow Jesus in faith and discipleship. But God wants to reign in the church as we discern together what it means to live ethically faithful lives in a fallen world that lives by different values. As visible Christian communities, we demonstrate before the world that God is already at work, establishing his reign on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus, of course, promoted holiness, but not the kind the Pharisees promoted. They paid scrupulous attention to every detail of the law, judging those who did not and building high walls to keep themselves apart from such people. But “holy” really means “set apart.”

Jesus’ followers are set apart in that they tear down such walls, learning from Jesus to be like God, who sends sun and rain on the evil and the good. When Jesus said, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48) he really meant: Be set apart (unlike the others, but like God); let your love extend to friend and enemy, evil and good. Or, as Luke’s Gospel rewords it: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). God’s Kingdom majors on grace and mercy, not rules and self-righteousness.

5. Jesus’ discipleship teaching is most clearly expressed in the Sermon on the Mount.

Here we are clearly taught that God’s grace and blessing precedes our discipleship efforts (that is why the Beatitudes come first). Here we are invited to be salt and light, Kingdom influences in a lost and dark world.

Here we are taught that discipleship is imitating God, loving as God does, forgiving as God does. Here the focus is on the heart—the heart of the law, the heart of the disciple, the heart of the community.

Here we are invited to swim upstream, living kingdom values in a world gone mad. And here we are assured that if we seek God’s kingdom first, God will meet all our needs along the kingdom journey, until we meet the king face to face.

Tim Geddert, BA, MDiv, PhD, is professor of New Testament at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary, which is in California. He adapted this article from his message prepared for Saturday evening.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 7

The Action of Mercy

PHOTO: ANDREW WALKER

by Ervin C. Dueck

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enowned American author Mary Flannery O’Connor wrote numerous short stories that focus on the racial tensions of the US southern states in the mid-20th century.

In one story, O’Connor tells us how Mr. Head experiences the mercy of God after he abandons his grandson Nelson. While the story exposes Mr. Head’s racism to the readers, he remains ignorant of his prejudice. Mr. Head is, however, very aware of his “great sin” of abandoning Nelson and the story focuses on the mercy that sweeps over him when the two are reconciled.

Mercy covers great sin

O’Connor’s story is of interest as the narrator speaks profoundly about mercy, emphasizing its vast limitlessness and its availability to the humble. The story portrays Mr. Head’s decision to take Nelson to visit the big city, which the narrator describes with allusions to Dante’s Inferno.

The journey is a figurative trip to Hell and Mr. Head speaks to Nelson of the city sewers and rats in terms analogous to Dante’s hellish pilgrimage. Mr. Head plays the role of Virgil, Dante’s guide. Over the course of the story, Mr. Head’s pride and Nelson’s arrogance produces contention.

Mr. Head tries to teach Nelson about the city, but the boy rejects the teaching and boasts about the city although he has never seen it.

When the two take a mid-day rest in the heart of the city and Nelson falls asleep, Mr. Head

decides to teach his grandson a lesson. He chooses to hide from Nelson and allows the boy to think he is lost.

Once awake, the abandoned boy is terrified and wanders around aimlessly, desperately trying to find his grandfather; all the while Mr. Head watches his grandson from a safe distance.

The boy soon gets into trouble with the police and Mr. Head approaches to ensure Nelson’s safety. But when the police ask Mr. Head if he knows the boy, in true peterine fashion Mr. Head denies knowing his own flesh and blood.

The two finally meet up again, but Nelson is vehement and Mr. Head feels the shame of his sin. Walking home through the city, they happen upon an artificial lawn statue of a small black boy and are miraculously reconciled: “They could both feel it dissolving their differences like an action of mercy. Mr. Head had never known before what mercy felt like because he had been too good to deserve any, but he felt he knew now.”

Thus mercy, O’Connor may be saying, is something we cannot feel or experience when we think ourselves too good for it. The story sees the work of God as humbling the proud and exalting the humble.

Too good for mercy

Similarly, in the book of Job, God asks Job if he has a hand like God’s, if he can look upon all who are proud and bring them low (Job 40:912). God then speaks to Job of Leviathan and Behemoth, the two great creatures of God that no one can tame.

Humans cannot humble these powerful beasts as they are

Struggling with God will leave a mark and we walk differently as a result; it humbled Jacob and it will humble us.

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massively intimidating and tremendous in size, yet their Maker can walk up to them without fear.

If you attempt to battle them, you “will remember the struggle,” God tells Job sarcastically (Job 41:8).

The primary activity of God is humbling the Mary Flannery O’Connor proud, bringing them low, and then giving them mercy.

The Job passage is analogous to Jacob “wrestling” with the angelic (divine?) being. The hip in wrestling is the pivot point of power, but the hip is also closely associated with progeny power, something of which the patriarchs were well aware.

The fact that God dislocates Jacob’s hip is significant in two ways: it instantly disables Jacob and it implies that God does not need Jacob’s “hip power” to fulfill the promises of blessing and offspring. The event changes Jacob’s name from Deceiver to Israel—prince of God or wrestler/struggler with God. The story is a familiar one and it is easy to forget that Jacob walks away “limping because of his hip” (Gen. 32:31). Jacob’s limping is a reminder that he has struggled with God, and it is quite possible that his hip never completely healed.

The narrative is an apt illustration of what it means to struggle with God. It reminds us that people who encounter God, much like those who tangle with Leviathan, have a remembrance of the struggle. They also might, like Jacob, walk with a limp, be it physical or otherwise.

Struggling with God will leave a mark and we walk differently as a result; it humbled Jacob and it will humble us. But while it humbled Jacob, it also provided him with the infinite mercy, a mercy that imposed no stipulations and completely covered his choices and his deceptions, just as it covers all of our choices and sins.

Not surprisingly, both James and Peter reiterate Proverbs 3:34, noting that God resists the proud but he gives grace to the humble (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5).

O’Connor conveys this same infinite mercy in her story. When Mr. Head and Nelson are reconciled, O’Connor describes it as an “action of mercy” and suggests that God’s mercy is

evident by the fact that while he humbles us, he does not show us the degree of our depravity.

So while Mr. Head “had never thought himself a great sinner before…he saw now that his true depravity had been hidden from him lest it cause him despair.”

In other words, if we truly knew the extent of our depravity, might we not all despair? Hiding some of our depravity might indeed be a grace from God, ensuring we do sink into despair.

True depravity is hidden

O’Connor exemplifies this aspect of God’s mercy by regularly redeeming one part of her character’s flaws while allowing other defects to persist.

Our experience of progressive sanctification concurs—the Holy Spirit points out certain sins, seemingly leaving others for another season, or ostensibly ignoring them completely.

There is a great danger in seeing all our sin at once, as we might never be able to accept the mercy of God, thinking ourselves beyond salvage. In many ways, we do not need to know all our sin, as O’Connor suggests it may be enough to know we have conceived in our hearts the very sin of Adam.

The sin of Adam is rooted in pride and pride is the most lethal of the seven deadly sins because it is present in each sin. Consequently, the knowledge of one sin is enough for us to humbly cry, “What a wretch I am! Who will save me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24).

Mercy is infinite

By the grace of the Merciful God, the humble also cry out, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord,” for there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” (Rom. 8:1). It is at this juncture that we realize the profound: mercy imposes no conditions, mercy does not obligate, and mercy extends to the far reaches of all our sin, even the sin we do not know we have and the sin God refuses to show us.

Ervin C. Dueck, BTh, MTS, MA (English literature), has served as a youth pastor, a chaplain, a Bible teacher, and an English teacher (at Pacific Academy, a Christian high school). He attends North Langley Community Church, a Mennonite Brethren congregation.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 9

PHOTO: DESIGN PICS

The Simple Life

by Javan Rowe

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he simple life can be so difficult to obtain when we live in such days of ever-improving technologies. We acknowledge that God created this world and everything in it, including us. He provided us with skills and talents to do wonderful things with His creation.

The problem is we have made creation king, to the detriment of our relationship with the Lord. We have allowed the simplicities of life to be overcome by the complexities of a fast-paced, high-tech existence.

In short, we have fallen for idolatry and have drowned out God.

Too much stuff

It is difficult to find contentment when our culture is inundating us with increasingly more stuff; and I am certainly not immune to this. I experienced much financial turmoil and grief before I discovered the ensnaring nature of material things and discovered contentment.

After all, I enjoy technology as much as the next person. It can be easy, though, to allow these modern conveniences to overtake our focus.

How many of us have heard the phrase: “They just don’t make things like they used to”?

Though we may have rolled our eyes when our parents said this, we find ourselves saying the same thing later in life. There is actually some truth to this statement because manufacturers often develop ways to produce more goods with less staff for lower cost. The result is many times a lesser quality of item.

The same applies to our own lives. We have

this conveyor belt onto which we cram as many things as possible, thinking the more we have the better off we are. As a bumper sticker said, “The one with the most stuff wins.”

We feel—at least on some level—our worth is verified by the abundance of things. We claim God is at the forefront, while our daily routines prove otherwise. We have sacrificed quality for quantity.

God is blurred because we have set our vision on His creation rather than Him.

Take a breath

If we could stop and take a breath we might realize what distractions are compounding our lives and removing the spotlight from our Creator. Paul gave instructions on how to silence the noise even when culture works against us.

He suggested we “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life” (1 Thess. 4:11). This certainly does not come naturally to us, but it is something toward which we should strive as our “ambition.”

I heard great advice regarding taking a breath by a man on the radio. This man’s life was in the express lane, to the point he was hospitalized with a nervous breakdown. He then suggested a fast from technology in order to slow down and listen for the Spirit’s voice. This is something I have tried to do on occasion, at least on a small scale.

Now, I am not necessarily calling us to a lengthy fast (unless the Spirit leads in this way, of course). But, there is something to be said about turning off the radios, television sets and MP3s to listen for the Holy Spirit’s voice.

God is blurred because we have set our vision on His creation rather than Him.

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I enjoy walking silently through the woods at a nearby park, taking in the visual artistry and melody that is nature. This quietness always initiates a wonderful time of conversion between the Lord and me.

It is when we stop to take a breath that the Lord can breathe more clearly into our lives.

The problem is we tend to focus so much on what we have that our blessings become idols

Avoid comparisons

Comparison to others is the greatest cause of our purchasing what we do not need. We see the latest advertisements. We witness peers enjoying the goods we lack, so we buy. After all, who wants to be left out?

Undue stress is created by purchasing without any sort of financial plan or strategy.

Unfortunately, many people then go into debt to obtain immediate satisfaction. Even my own elementary school aged children fall prey to this type of thinking.

One way to combat this tendency to compare is to concentrate on living our daily lives is such a way that we “may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thess. 4:12). We can mind our own business and find spiritual balance by not worrying what others have, living within our means, and settling for God’s present blessings for us.

True contentment

Contentment does not come naturally, but it can be learned. Paul revealed, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Phil.

4:11). The secret, he gave, is this: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Phil.

4:13).

It is not our level of possessions that matter, but contentment for what God has chosen to give us. Paul learned to make a conscious choice to be content, regardless of his situation.

Paul found that lasting strength comes from the Lord. Contentment is developed through trusting in God’s promises, such as the assurance that He will never leave us or that He cares

for us more than birds or any other animal.

No matter how difficult our circumstances, we can consider ourselves blessed that God created us, sustains us, and works to develop a relationship with us. Christ can make us strong as we learn contentment. It can truly be fulfilling to return to the basics of God, church, family, friends, vocation, ministries, and enjoying God’s creation. The rest is overflow, or simply noise.

Enjoying without overindulging

Though freedom from material things can benefit us greatly, we must remember that technology and possessions are not evil in and of themselves. After all, doesn’t Scripture remind us God wants good things for His children? The problem is we tend to focus so much on what we have that our blessings become idols. But, it does not have to be this way.

We can enjoy our conveniences and allow them to draw us closer to God, rather than drowning out His influence. For instance, I have a flash drive plugged into my car so that I have over a hundred albums from which I can choose.

Instead of allowing this technology to pull me away from the Lord, I listen to a variety of worship music on the way to work so that my drive time is praise time.

The writer of Hebrews said, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have” (13:5). The scope of this verse also applies to those things money buys.

The verse does not say we are to be free of money and possessions, but free from their ungodly pull. Possessions tend to overtake our lives, devalue over time, and leave us empty. The good news is the Lord will not leave us, nor will He devalue and go out of fashion.

Less really can be more. When we peel back the veneer that coats our lives, we find our God-relationship is the only truly vital thing left.

Everything else is a fringe benefit. Only when we realize this and work to cut back or remove unnecessary excess will we find ourselves enjoying the simple life.

Javan Rowe is a Christian writer out of Columbus, Ohio, where he lives with his family and connects with a Baptist congregation.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 11

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EMC Statement of Core Values The Core Values listed below are the principles that identify who we are as a Conference of Churches. These values speak to our enduring convictions about what is most important to us.

All of our ministries are guided by these basic values:

1. We Value Relationships and Christian Community

As a family of churches we affirm that, in Christ, we are part of a shared faith story, historically and theologically, and that this fellowship builds us up. In offering mutual support, we learn from one another and are enriched together.

We value the cooperation this relationship affords, realizing we can do more together than we can individually.

Eph. 4:3-6; Gal. 3:26-29; Rom. 12:4-5

PHOTOS: ANDREW WALKER

2. We Value the Truth

Jesus is the Truth, and he is faithfully revealed in Scripture. We hold Biblical doctrine to be of primary importance, and seek to interpret the Scriptures together. We value the theological approach of the early Anabaptists who read Scripture through the lens of Christ.

2 Tim. 3:16-17; Josh. 1:8; Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39 Gerald Reimer

3. We Value People

Human beings are created in God’s image, and his desire is for all people to be reconciled to himself through Christ. That is our desire, too. With compassion we seek to carry the good news of salvation in Christ to people near and far.

John 3:16; Luke 2:10-11; 2 Cor. 5:20; Matthew 18:14

4. We Value Obedience

We believe to love Jesus is to walk in reverent obedience to him. He calls us to a life of love. Within this calling we are to obey the commission of Christ to make disciples of all nations.

John 14:15,21,23; Rom. 13:8-10; 1 John 5:1-3; Matthew 28:18-20

David Funk

5. We Value Discipleship

We value people growing in maturity as they follow Christ in a life of worship, prayer, and deepening faith. We value the calling and developing of mature Church leaders. We want our faith to be seen in a life of integrity and authenticity. We want to discern God’s leading for our lives, individually and corporately.

Mark 8:34-35; Rom. 12:1-2; James 2:17; Eph. 4:13

This statement was approved

by Conference Council on July 6, 2013.

George Nikkel adds to the council’s discussion.

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EMC Vision Statement The EMC is a movement of people advancing Christ’s kingdom culture as we live, reach, gather, and teach.

We envision… influencing our culture as we dare to live our lives with Jesus Christ as Lord. taking risks to reach many people groups in urban centres, locally and abroad. life-changing experiences when we gather,

Tim Dyck

as God challenges, renews, and fills us with His Spirit. teaching the gospel with a Christ-centred approach to Scripture, affirming Anabaptist convictions.

This statement was approved by Conference Council on July 6, 2013.

A musical team from Region One.

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Ministerial explores ‘creative’ non-violent resistance Geddert: Be passionate peacemakers while drawing the line differently

Devotional

John Dyck (Hillside) spoke of how God doesn’t give up on us and listed some people who have influenced him. “Leadership does not happen in a vacuum,” he said. Keep involved in people’s lives, including those wondering about serving in leadership.

Loving Our Enemies

Ward Parkinson, conference pastor, introduced Dr. Timothy Geddert, professor of the New Testament at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary, a Mennonite Brethren institution in California.

Geddert, raised in Saskatchewan, spoke of how Anabaptist churches have been known

PHOTOS: ANDREW WALKER

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A CRETE, Alta.—EMC ministerial members were updated on an early stage of the Statement of Faith’s review, explored radical peacemaking amid diverse views, and were informed of future ministerial events.

Peter Janzen, interim pastor of La Crete Christian Fellowship, welcomed ministerial members on July 5, 2013, to their most-northerly national gathering in conference history.

David Funk and Tim Geddert respond to questions.

not intended as an ethic for the world, he said, though non-Christians could benefit from it.

Further, the passage is not about non-resistance, but active non-violent resistance.

Drawing upon the work of Walter Wink, he said that after receiving a backhanded slap by one who considers us an inferior, we offer our left cheek because we expect to be treated as an equal. Offering one’s shirt as well as cloak means to stand naked in court, which embarrasses the one suing.

Walking an extra mile means a soldier will plead for you to stop because he is going beyond what is legal and might get into trouble. In each act, we become more than a victim, said Geddert.

The Sermon on the Mount is for disciples to live by both within and outside of the Church. It is to be taken seriously, but not literally in each instance, he said.

How literally do we take the Sermon when it comes to military service? he asked. Geddert says he refuses to serve in the military because he can better testify his ultimate allegiance is to God’s kingdom, doesn’t want to risk killing a fellow Christian in his country’s name, nor kill a non-Christian who would be prevented from entering a relationship with Jesus.

“God has not called Jesus’ disciples to defend the lives of others with violent action.” as “peace churches” and of a time when it was “pretty clear what that meant.” A consensus among Anabaptists (with some diversity) existed partly because Anabaptists and other Christians weren’t talking much, he said. Today there is more contact and some “confusion” results. He has learned to respect other people’s views.

Looking at Jesus’ counsel to “turn the other cheek,” to give away one’s shirt as well as cloak, and to walk “a second mile,” Geddert said Matt.

5:38-48 seems clear in its instructions and yet impossible to do. The Sermon on the Mount is

14 The Messenger • August 2013

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However, the primary reason is that the New Testament “calls me to choose against violence,” said Geddert. “God has not called Jesus’ disciples to defend the lives of others with violent action,” he said.

Early Anabaptists died not for baptism, but because the true faith cannot be promoted or defended with the sword. Would you choose to join a church that dies for its convictions or kills for them? he asked.

To blindly follow a human command is inappropriate; Jesus trumps all other obligations.

Radical Peacemaking

How do we talk about radical peacemaking within Anabaptist churches? We are called to be radical peacemakers even while diverse in our positions, Geddert said.

Imagine, he suggested, the Canadian equivalent of Sept. 11, 2001. In the aftermath of such a terrorist attack, “what options did we have?”

He then asked how many people assumed the question was: what options did we have as a country, rather than as a church? If our deepest identity is as a Canadian, not as a Christian, we are denying Jesus, he said. We will, then, fill our churches with patriotic people who don’t know about a radical countercultural Jesus to whom we ultimately pledge our loyalty.

“Jesus is Lord” is a Christian conviction only if it is grounded in Jesus Christ. If a Canadian sends a missile to destroy a munitions depot

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Ward Parkinson

in Libya with the possible collateral damage of killing innocent people, as a Christian they can only do so if it is an expression of Jesus as Lord, he said. To blindly follow a human command is inappropriate; Jesus trumps all other obligations.

“Violent actions are justified by the Lordship of Jesus, or not at all,” he said. Christians disagree on where to draw the line, but the basic question “is Jesus Lord?” overrides country and church, though we need the church to help us sort this out.

We disagree, cannot make others agree, and might want to convince others, but we need to draw the line because of Jesus. Because of our

common faith in Christ, the distance between Christians who disagree on the use of force is closer than the distance between Christian and non-Christian pacifists, he said.

Moving beyond “caricatures,” how can we be passionately involved as peacemakers and be known as a Peace Church while disagreeing on whether violence is sometimes needed even by a Christian? he asked.

Statement of Faith Review

Ed Peters highlighted the committee’s preliminary report, saying that input from EMC churches is central to the process. The committee plans to prepare a series of lessons with questions on the Statement’s 13 articles to help evaluate the article and its use of Scripture.

Peters stressed the need for church involvement. Does the Statement still say what we want? How do we make our beliefs come alive for a new generation? How do we invite opinions yet convey grace?

The handout outlined a process: study materials will be introduced (Nov. 2013), ➢

Ed Peters speaks during question period.

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in November: a seminar on when leaders are required to report to legal authorities (Nov. 29), a ministerial retreat (Nov. 30 to Dec. 2), and a new leaders’ orientation (Dec. 2-3).

Q and A with Geddert

• Non-pacifists brought us our freedom in Canada. How do we recognize them? (God has given the state the mandate to protect, Darren Plett encourages pastors to go to Abundant Springs. but in the Church only God has a monopoly on violence. We recognize the two separate the churches will study the lessons (Jan. to June mandates.)

2014), the committee will review churches’ responses and hold two study conferences (July to Dec. 2014), the committee will write a new Statement of Faith (Jan. to June 2015), and it will be presented at ministerial and conference council meetings (July 2015).

➢

There are three ministerial events in late 2013: a seminar, a retreat, and an orientation.

Abundant Springs

Darren Plett spoke of being present as a pastor at three biennial Abundant Springs; he encouraged senior pastors to go there without an agenda but to cheer on the youth. The EMC is blessed to have Gerald Reimer as our Conference Youth Minister, he said.

•

Some tribal people are being hurt by those who want the diamonds discovered on their land. How are we to be an active pacifist in the line of fire? (Sometimes we need international help or we need to choose faithfulness over diamonds. Psalm 72 speaks of a good king who uses force to restrain powerful people who oppress others.)

There was also a sharing and prayer time for congregational and personal needs. New ministerial members were introduced.

– Terry M. Smith

Erica Fehr and Diana Peters pause during break time.

Vision and Values Statements

Ward Parkinson said that, after a lengthy three-year process with input sought from churches and regions, the EMC’s draft vision and core values statements were ready to be presented to conference council.

Future Events

BLO chair David Funk highlighted three ministerial events to follow conference council Convention goers mingle during coffee break.

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Council approves statements, faces fiscal shortfall Budget deficit is a ‘record we are not proud of’

PHOTOS: ANDREW WALKER

General Board

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Council votes to approve statements.

A CRETE, Alta.—Conference council delegates on July 6, 2013, approved statements on EMC’s core values and vision, were updated on the early stage of the EMC Statement of Faith’s review, and were informed about the current “record” shortfall in giving to the national-international budget.

Devotional

Darren Plett (Pleasant Valley) said that, despite disagreements, a community of people is the best reflection of a Triune God who does not allow us to be Christians by ourselves. We are together, but different. “We need different,” said Plett.

Board of Church Ministries

Photos were shown from Abundant Springs 2013 (AS) held on May 17-20, and both assistant editor Andrew Walker and conference youth minister Gerald Reimer spoke positively of the event. With its having an attendance of 100 fewer youths than previously, Reimer strongly encouraged churches that did not attend AS to use the next two years to plan and fundraise for AS 2015.

Terry Smith, executive secretary, asked how the conference can maintain “a measure of conference loyalty” and counter biblical illiteracy within our churches and society. Mike Funk has proposed a national learning plan, which is an unusual step for an evangelical denomination.

Input was welcomed. The BCM needs more board and committee members, Smith said.

The board is involved in convention planning, including the plans for the bicentennial celebration in 2012, said moderator Richard Klassen. It is involved in the Strategic Planning Process, appointed Abe Bergen and Robyn Penner Thiessen to MWC’s Global Anabaptist Survey Project, and responded to the creation discussion, he said.

Board of Leadership and Outreach

David Funk, chairman, said “there is never a dull moment” on the BLO. At the end of Nov. 2013, there will be three events to coincide with the conference council meeting: a seminar on when a church leader is legally required to report a matter, a ministerial retreat, and a new leaders’ orientation.

Ed Peters briefed the council on the preliminary stage of the Statement of Faith’s review process, highlighting the need for “input from conference churches.”

Churches are encouraged to explore the StateCharles Koop ment and respond to its articles and the Scriptures cited within it, he said.

Charles Koop, church-planting coordinator, spoke of the need for evangelism. Oscar Hernandez spoke of the Hispanic outreach in Dauphin.

Travis Unger highlighted the community emphasis within Many Rooms Church Community and the challenge of leadership issues. ➢

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Moderator Richard Klassen with SPC members Tim Dyck, Ward Parkinson, and Garry Koop.

➢

Ward Parkinson, conference pastor, highlighted the ministerial retreat on Nov. 30-Dec. 2, and said the Social Concerns Committee’s role to “prick our collective conscience” in living the gospel in our country and communities. Many churches are engaged in a pastoral search process and a guide is available. A church needs to be “a greenhouse,” not “a botanical garden,” he said.

Vision and Value Statements

Board of Trustees

The board has appointed general secretary Tim Dyck as a stewardship advisor to assist in fundraising through 2013, said chair Leonard Plett.

The EMC’s national-international budget shortfall of $357,000 as of June 24 “is a record we are not proud of,” but it can be “overcome,” he said.

Plett requested that delegates report the financial need to their churches, that churches send in what was planned, and, if possible, not wait till year’s end. The BOT responds to requests by boards and doesn’t want to dig into its reserves or cut back on conference programs, he said.

The Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) introduced the proposed EMC statements on vision and core values, a three-year process involving input sought from all EMC churches and regions. The statements were highlighted and then, in a preliminary way, delegates were asked Board of Missions to hold up cards that were green (proceed with Anthony Reimer (chair) said the BOM recently statements), red (stop), or yellow (caution, some reflected on how it is 60 years since it began concerns). The moderator said most delegates in 1953 with a budget of $4,500. Missiologist chose green, while some opted David Shenk has said Canadian for yellow.

Mennonites make the “best” Discussion revealed that missionaries, said Reimer, who some delegates had concerns described EMC workers as about specific wordings, but the “cream of the crop.” The no amendments were formally BOM wants to be fluid and proposed or voted on. The vibrant. On June 25 there was SPC stressed that there had a productive meeting on the been a lengthy consultative “insider” movement. process with the churches and Ken Zacharias, foreign that the proposed wording secretary, spoke of ministries reflected what churches had started by missionaries who highlighted—and because of have handed them over to feedback from churches on a nationals and left—including previous draft, one value had in northern Mexico. The been removed from the core churches in Mexico have gone values statement. through challenges because of Ken Zacharias After prayer and voting, each leaders’ deaths, but are carrying motion to accept the statements passed by the reon well. Verna Doerksen spoke of her Low Gerquired two-thirds majority, the moderator declared. man translation work in Bolivia.

18 The Messenger • August 2013

n tio en nv Co A vice moderator is needed and being sought, said Richard Klassen.

Verna Doerksen

Affiliate Organizations

The EMC reinforces its evangelical connection partly through the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, said EMC representative Tim Dyck.

EFC is a voice for the evangelical church in Canada; it is concerned about the loss of faith among young people, is responding to abortion, and seeks the reforming of prostitution laws, he said.

The EFC is part of the World Evangelical Alliance, which has provided guidance on translation principles. “So you see your local church, which is part of the EMC, which is part of the EFC, which is a part of the WEA, is engaging in serious matters of faith and ministry” with a Christ-centred approach, said Dyck.

The Mennonite Historical Society of Canada promotes an understanding of Anabaptist history both nationally and globally through diverse projects of publishing and networking, said Terry Smith, highlighting from a report by EMC representative Glen Klassen and MHSC chair Lucille Marr. One project: in December 2013, MCC will release its 50th anniversary history book written by Esther Epp-Tiessen.

Thirteen years ago Canadian Mennonite University, two U.S. Anabaptist seminaries, and five Canadian Anabaptist denominations began a discussion about providing graduate Anabaptist studies in Canada, said CMU representative Abe Bergen. The program has now developed into CMU’s Graduate School of Theology and Ministry, which offers MA programs.

Two staff members teach on behalf of the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary: Andrew Dyck and Pierre Gilbert. A graduate school advisory council has been formed with Ward Parkinson as chair, said Bergen.

Mennonite Disaster Service has been involved in southern Alberta, the largest natural disaster in the province’s history, said a local representative.

Other MDS units are involved in responding across other provinces and in the U.S. About 800 Canadians serve yearly in the U.S.

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Vice Moderator

Question and Answer Period • •

•

Veteran missionaries have died: Jake Kroeker (Mexico), Edwin Friesen (Mexico).

The EMC was asked, and has agreed, to participate in the MWC’s Global Anabaptist Survey to look at the Anabaptist church around the world. As more information is learned by EMC representatives, churches will be contacted, said Abe Bergen.

A retired pastor’s wife counseled older leaders to adopt a young leadership couple and pray for them.

‘With a Bang’

At the close of the meeting, Richard Klassen told delegates that he had served on the General Board for 23 years (less six months), including for four years as moderator. He decided, in his words, to “go out with a bang” and walked to the piano where he played a rousing, intricate rendition of “I’ll Fly Away.”

This quiet, unassuming servant of God received a round of applause and cheers from delegates, most of whom were likely Elections unaware that he could play in such Moderator a majestic manner.

Abe Bergen (Reg. 8) The conference’s new moderator, Board of Church Ministries Abe Bergen, a minWes Kroeker (Reg. 8) ister from Kleefeld, Henry Friesen (Reg. 5) has two to four Two more needed years to think of how he will surBoard of Leadership and prise delegates.

Outreach Meanwhile, the Glenn Plett (Reg. 5) financial deficit, Keith Hillier (Reg. 8) the Statement of Faith’s review, Board of Missions and other matters Beth Koehler (Reg. 8) remain at hand.

Sidney B. Reimer (Reg. 7) – Terry M. Smith Board of Trustees Allister Penner (Reg. 7)

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Golf links with missions

B

Harold Penner

urkina Faso has had a prominent place in EMC Missions since the 1980’s.

Working in partnership with Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission we have seen growth and vitality in the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Burkina Faso.

Each year young pastors are being commissioned to plant churches in remote rural and urban settings.

Economic circumstances are often hard, particularly for pastors serving fledg-

ling congregations.

For several years now EMC Project Builders has discussed with church leadership the potential for micro-loans to assist pastors and local believers in their efforts at self-sustainability within the church. In the past year courses have been taught on important aspects essential to operating a small business.

We are now working on the final details of structuring a micro-loan fund that will become available to pastors and church members for start-up costs for a small business. The intent is that this will become a revolving loan fund that, as loans are repaid, will become available to other qualifying candidates.

We are encouraged by the solid business leadership provided by Siaka T., himself a successful businessman, who has dedicated his life to serve the church. This is a prime example of what Project Builders is all about: to enable the local church to fulfill its purpose in spreading

Janine Parkinson

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Darrel Guenther

the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the country.

And this is where the EMC Golf Tournament of June 20 at Steinbach Fly In Golf Course, had its essential role of raising funds. This year we again had excellent support from our sponsors and a full flight of 150 golfers.

Twenty… Thousand dollars was raised. Half will go to the micro-loan project in Burkina Faso and half to Inner City Youth Alive.

In each of its nineteen tournaments, Project Builders have provided funds for every aspect of ICYA’s ministry. Kent Dueck quickly express gratitude for the many ways we have worked together to bring light to desperate needs in the core area of Winnipeg.

The golf committee has asked, “How long will these tournaments work as a fundraising tool?” When we have such a supportive and enthusiastic group of sponsors and golfers, it can only be seen as a wonderful way to support these important programs.

The golf tournament is only one part of our funding program. Project Builders counts on its membership to give an annual contribution of at least $250 towards an annual budget of over $125,000. This makes growing our membership an important part of our work. To learn more go to www.projectbuilders.ca. Executive members are also available to make a presentation to your church, Sunday School or other venues.

Project Builders also had an opportunity to share in a late night golf experience at the EMC convention in La Crete, Alberta. After the Saturday evening session, some 36 golfers participated in a nine-hole Texas Scramble at the La Crete Golf Course.

Most teams finished before impending darkness settled in at around 11:30 p.m. It was great to connect in this way with folks from across the country. A special thanks goes to David Fehr who so capably organized this event.

– Len Barkman

Columns • An Education App

A national learning plan Should the EMC establish a national learning plan? Mike Funk, an EMC youth pastor, wants to see more uniformity of teaching in EMC churches.

Whether in western, central, or eastern Canada, if a child (turned teen turned adult) is raised in any of our churches, there should be, to paraphrase, some way of saying and tracking that, “At this age, they will be taught this” and “At that age, they will be taught that.”

From my research, it is difficult to find an evangelical denomination in Canada or in the U.S. with such a plan. A Christian Education resource person with Mennonite Church Canada said that Gather ’Round, an Anabaptist curriculum, has only a 25 per cent “buy in” from congregations. One curriculum developer from MennoMedia said that if the EMC wants to develop an age-based learning plan, we would likely have to invent it.

The EMC is clearly too small to develop a yearly curriculum for a range of ages. As well, we currently do not have enough willing people to serve on the Board of Church Ministries or on its related committees (or involvements): National Youth Committee, Archives Committee, Education Committee, and Inter-Mennonite Chaplaincy Association Inc. Still, the EMC does try to provide some uniformity of teaching. How? We have a joint Statement of Faith and Church Practices, voluntarily work toward common goals, have Steinbach Bible College to train church leaders, and expect pastors to go through the ministerial examination process.

We also provide materials. For instance, the EMC provides a minister’s manual to instruct members at various stages of life and The Christian Life booklet to help as people explore becoming Christians, being baptized, or transferring their membership. As well, we hold national gatherings such as ministerial and conference council meetings. Another national gathering, Abundant Springs, is a powerful antidote against secular living.

Also, 25 years ago we had an EMC Education Director—Walter Reimer. Today, national

education is part of my role. To both invite and educate people, it’s important how we study, listen, and discuss.

Would your local church be willing to participate in and help to fund a national learning plan?

Christian education is multi-faceted, intergenerational work. It includes the influences of parents, wider family, and church family; worship services and Sunday School, youth group and Bible camp, Vacation Bible School and more.

Given local church autonomy within the EMC, a national learning plan is a challenge. But it is a good one. One modest idea would be for a committee to develop a pamphlet of age-based markers (goals based on learning stages and appropriate doctrines and application) and a list of resources (to be regularly updated).

For this to become a reality, we either need a specialist or a committee of educators and theologians to take it on as a project. From within your congregation, who would be suitable to serve on such a focused committee?

For this project to move ahead, we invite you to forward the names of people—all of this subject to the BCM’s approval.

by Terry M. Smith

Would your church participate in such a plan?

Births DOERKSEN— to Eric and Rebekah Doerksen of Winnipeg, Man., a daughter, Elena Aida Mae, on May 3, 2013.

GUDERIAN—Rob and Becky Guderian of Winnipeg, Man., a son, Alexander William, on July 12, 2013.

KOOP—Scott and Angela of Calgary, Alta., a son, Seth Wiliam, on May 21, 2013.

KROBEL—Jason and Trish of Winnipeg, Man., a son, Samuel Logan, on May 28, 2013.

LOEWEN-WATSON—to Brent and Tanya of Winnipeg, Man., a daughter, Ganya Lily, on June 9. Our sympathies to them as Ganya passed away about an hour after her birth.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 21

With Our Missionaries

A time to remember God’s faithfulness

Henry and Caroline Krahn

Henry and Caroline Krahn will be serving as ministry hosts at the San Jose Ministry Centre located three and a half hours east of Santa Cruz. Low German-speaking Mennonites from three colonies located within an hour’s drive from the centre will be able to come to “rest” and to receive a listening ear and biblical encouragement.

22 The Messenger • August 2013

In two extended periods, Judy and Dave Schmidt have served under the EMC Board of Missions since 1974.

ministry—a shelter for women with HIV (and children).

Since it is a long process to get the legal work done, the hotel has continued to operate to generate some income for the ministry.

Meanwhile, as the project is being drawn up, we have met with numerous government organizations; and they have been supportive, informing us that just like the drop-in centre, a hospice for HIV women would be unique for Paraguay.

Since I have delegated my responsibility in the drop-in centre, we are moving ahead with plans, beginning in September, to again have women live with us who are facing special needs (sick, abandoned, homeless). For this we need your continued prayers for health, wisdom and love for these people, and for the needed workers and funds to make this project possible.

– Judy Schmidt

••

PHOTO: KRAHNS

Krahns to serve in Bolivia

PHOTO: SCHMIDTS

PARAGUAY

Fifteen years ago, God planted a seed vision in my heart.

When my dear friend Alicia died in September 1998, I had already become acquainted with many others living with HIV-AIDS, and God was not allowing me to just walk away from the many opportunities to love these people and share God’s Word with them.

We began to allow some women with HIV to come live in a small house that we had built in our backyard—some for short periods, others for several years. All this time the vision was growing.

With my husband Dave, we were seeking God’s will. At that time it seemed impossible to start a hospice for these women since the medical costs were so overwhelming. We decided to begin with a drop-in centre.

Ten years ago, in 2003, a house was purchased and Alto Refugio (High Refuge) had its beginning. Over the years we have registered more than 4,000 adults with HIV and some 1,500 children affected by HIV. Many people have contributed to the work force, and, most importantly, a couple has joined as administrators—Bertram and Elsa Hein. We continue to pray that God will continue to provide workers, especially someone to come as director in the near future, since we are nearing retirement.

Because of the donation of a lovely hotel in 2011, we felt it was time to move on to the next phase of this

Henry and Caroline have been serving in the Picture Butte Mennonite Church (EMC) for the past seven years as tentmakers, and they will now be the first missionaries being sent out from the Picture Butte church.

The church commissioned them for this service on August 11. The Krahns are gifted to serve and they will be a blessing to their co-workers, Bill and Martha Kehler, in San Jose. They will begin serving in Sept.

Henry and Caroline Krahn are the first missionaries that the EMC Board of Missions is sending to Bolivia under the partnership agreement with the EMMC and the EBMC (La Crete). During the past two years we have had many positive discussions together as agencies, and we are looking forward to having our missionaries serve together.

– Ken Zacharias, Foreign Secretary

With Our Missionaries

How God can reach a woman ETHIOPIA

Two months ago, a woman came to my door seeking medical help. This is not unusual, but what was unusual was that this woman was still alive to tell her story.

She came from a village about five kms away. Her leg had a long wound stretching nearly from her ankle to her knee.

I had never seen a wound like this before, and, after some email correspondence, discovered that what I was seeing was proud flesh (scar tissue in massive amounts) that had formed because of delayed healing.

The wound was two months old, but because it had only been treated for a brief time at a clinic far from her village, it had become infected. She had heard that there was someone in Gesses who helped people with medical needs.

This was not going to be a quick fix, so I encouraged her to live in Gesses for the next two months with her relatives. She agreed and began coming for washing and bandage dressings two times a day.

Since part of this required soaking her leg in warm water for a half hour, I let her listen to the newly-translated Gumuz songs. It didn’t take long and she had memorized all 10 songs that I had recorded.

She began coming to church on Sunday mornings, and

since she already knew the songs better than the other woman in the church, she immediately felt comfortable in the worship service.

As I washed her wounds day after day, she saw love poured out in a practical way. Our children served her food, cared for her four-month-old baby, and even gave her their allowance money so that she could buy some beans or peanuts.

She saw love in our family while listening to a Gumuz song from 1 John: Love comes from God/Whoever knows God, loves God/Let us love people because love comes from God. And even when her coming was inconvenient in my schedule, I knew this was my greatest opportunity to show a Gumuz woman who Jesus is: To pour out compassion on someone physically and spiritually. And we had the opportunity to see her respond to that compassion by believing in the One who loves best.

While she was hearing God’s word in Gesses, Gumuz men had just begun cycling to her village each Friday to teach these same truths to a group of men, women, and children.

God’s timing was perfect. The gospel came to one individual in a powerful way and it is coming also to her village.

– Angela Kruse, Serving In Mission

••

To be a part of God’s big picture WISCONSIN

PHOTO: KIM AND DAVE FIELD

Our family is celebrating We are so glad we our fourth anniversary have you as partners. here at New Tribes Bible One one day in Heaven Institute. God is so good we will get to see our to us. small part of God’s big We love what we get picture, and we will to do here. The Lord praise Him. uses His Word to affect We thank you from the the students and we bottom of our hearts for build relationships with your prayers, for helping these young people just with our financial needs, before they head out and for being our partners.

The Spring 2012 graduating class from New Tribes Bible Institute. into the rest of their lives. How cool is that!

– Kim and Dave Field Dave and I did a little math, and we figure around 400 students have graduated during our time here. We can only Kim and Dave Field (Steinbach EMC) serve with New imagine how much God can do through that many people Tribes Mission through its Bible Institute in Waukesha, who are walking with Him. How many unreached people Wisconsin. will get to hear the gospel?

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Columns • A Reader’s Viewpoint

Should you send your pastor on a ministry trip?

W

by Travis Thiessen

hen I was asked to travel to India with AIM to speak at leadership seminars, I was immediately interested as I had been to India many years ago. The leadership in my church supported my desire, knowing they would get a better pastor out of the deal.

The leaders I ministered to in India have little opportunity to receive even the most basic biblical training. They will take every word that I share with them to the unreached areas of their country.

In a time when churches are losing their vision for missions, a trip like this can rekindle this vision for a pastor. It was wonderful to teach people for whom the Gospel was “Good News” and not the same old news.

However, what I want to focus on is how this trip changed my personal faith. The greatest impact of joining AIM on a ministry trip was meeting the indigenous leaders themselves. I will forever be moved by what I saw during my visit to Orissa India.

Two hundred and fifty leaders gathered in a cricket stadium. Most if not all had experienced violent persecution from militant Hindus in the past year. Some had lost loved ones who were brutally murdered and many had lost their homes.

All had experienced the fear of a brutal assault led by a militant group who hate Christians and believes they have no place in India. As I stood in front of these leaders in that auditorium I was humbled in heart. I saw their shining expectant faces as we opened up the Word of God. It was during worship when they struck out in unison to sing the “Kui Song” that I

All had experienced the fear of a brutal assault led by a militant group who hate Christians and believes they have no place in India.

24 The Messenger • August 2013

was reduced to tears. It was a song written in response to the brutal oppression they had experienced: Let us be strong in the Lord Let us endure for the sake of the Lord Those who persecuted us Let us not curse those who persecute us Let us bless them, Let us not think of taking revenge Because we have learned from the Word of God Right then I saw something that was missing in my life and the life of my church. We had all the right theology. We have highly educated leaders. What we don’t have is this faith and commitment to Jesus Christ that is willing to believe and to move forward with great hope in the most difficult circumstances. We don’t have a faith that considers Jesus the pearl of great price for whom we are willing to sell everything.

Joining AIM on a ministry trip brought me face to face with Christian leaders who lived, breathed, and—if necessary—died for Jesus. It has caused me to re-evaluate my faith and commitment to Christ Should you as a pastor consider a missions trip? Should you as a church send your pastor?

I would answer that question with a resounding yes! Not only will you invest your ministry in a people who will appreciate it deeply, you will come back visibly moved by the commitment and faith of the people that you have met.

Travis Thiessen is an ordained EMC minister who has served as the senior pastor of Ridgewood EMC. He now serves with Advancing Indigenous Missions.

Copies now available free.

Contact info@ emconf.ca or 204-326-6401.

With Our Churches Portage Evangelical Church

Releasing your child into missions

PHOTO: PLETTS

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man.—Greetings from Jeremy, I think of Lori every time I hear Pastor Glenn Loewen Lori, and Monty Schierer, PEC’s missionaries with YWAM ask parents this question. As you hold your newborn, you (Youth With A Mission) in Townsville, Australia. may think high school graduation and life after that are Last fall Lori, our daughter, challenged her home many, many years away. church and Canadian friends to Believe me, those years pass very participate in a building blitz at the quickly and that question you might YWAM base: to renovate six aparthave been asked when your baby ments in three months. Volunteers was brand new, comes again and could come for any part of these this time it is right in your face. three months.

It has been Reynold’s and my My husband Reynold and I were experience that, knowing that Lori definitely going and five others is God’s child first and was given to from our church joined us: Lloyd us to raise for Him, we had to let her Moman, Melissa Moman, Medori go when He called. This was God’s Moman, Ashley Taylor, and Ryan will for her. We could choose to be Hallson. stumbling blocks and hang on for While the other six worked selfish reasons, or trust God and give Anna and Reynold Plett hard at everything on the job list with any kind

our blessing. of tool put in their hands, I helped Lori and her then I don’t say this lightly. God has many bottles in heaven 19-month-old son Monty. Our time away was from May where He has collected my tears over the years. And it’s 2-27, 2013. not just physically letting go, but with our continuous supI helped out our daughter Lori with laundry, port spiritually, emotionally and—most of all—with our hanging wash on the clothesline, shopping, washing blessing and prayers. I can’t stress that enough. dishes, making food. I spent many hours playing with our Choosing to let her go with our blessing meant the grandson Monty. world to her, and she tells us that often.

The thought of “this is my mission field” struck me as Since the day Lori first set foot in an airplane that I was hanging up laundry. Let me go back almost thirty would take her halfway around the world (six months afyears to Lori’s baby dedication, and you can think back to ter her high school graduation), the scripture verse that when you dedicated your children to the Lord. has brought peace to my mother heart is Psalm 139:9: “If I know here at PEC parents dedicating their children to I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side God are asked a number of questions, one being, “Will you let of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right your child go anywhere in the world God calls him/her to go?” hand will hold me fast.”

– Anna Plett

Portage Evangelical Church

••

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man.—As reported earlier, during Spring Break our church sent a team of 37 people by bus to El Paso, Texas, on a 10-day missions trip. Here is a photo of the missions team. The two little boys are the sons of El Paso pastoral couple Jeremy and Tara.

– Bronwyn and Kaitlyn Evans

PHOTO: PEC

Our missions team photo

El Paso group

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 25

With Our Churches Braeside EMC

Members, Abundant Springs, and Dedications WINNIPEG, Man.—The following In its Winnipeg Real to Reel Festival, who initiated Abundant Springs, was four people were added to Braeside’s Feb. 12 to 17, films such as “The Shunhonoured. Gordon died on May 1, membership on Sunday, May 26. ning,” “Casablanca,” and “Amazing 2013, and will be greatly missed.

These three were baptized: Julia Beers, Love,” and many more feature films The first event at the new football Barb Veilleux, Joy Larkin. Kevin were shown. Of special interest was stadium near the University of ManitoLarkin was accepted into membership. “New Northwest Passage,” followed ba was a One Heart service sponsored Here are excerpts of their testimonies. by an interview with Cameron Dueck, by at least 90 evangelical churches in Julia: She said her friend Justina in- originally from Riverton, but who has Winnipeg. Speakers were Mayor Sam vited her to church, and she has been worked for many years in Shanghai.

Katz, Blue Bombers legend Milt Segal, coming ever since. Julia gave a great The group following the Northwest former Olympian Cindy Klassen, and testimony prior to her baptism.

Passage had many risky adventures, but Chief of Police Devon Clunis.

Barb: Barb was brought up in fosCameron was here to tell us about it.

Mark Hughes, pastor of Church ter care and was abused of the Rock, gave a repeatedly. She said she wonderful message. The is now healed of her past program read: “Jesus and knows her sins are taught we are all on the forgiven. She has been same team, with the part of the Braeside same coach working church family for many toward the same goal.” years.

Fifteen thousand people Joy Larkin came attended this service on to Winnipeg from a perfect day, making Ontario. She has been this a test event for the an employee of the facility. federal government for Another baby 32 years, starting as a dedication took place at typist, then on to word Braeside EMC on July 7, processors, and now she Dedication: (back) Pastor Kim Stoesz, Jeffrey and Laura Mathew with son James, 2013. Following are the is busy with websites.

Jordan and Debbie Hiebert with son Aiden, (middle) Kendall and Sarah Pries parents with their baKevin Larkin: with daughter Katherine, (front) Brian and Cherilee White with daughter Naomi, bies: (back) Pastor Kim Originally from British Rob and Danielle Blaich with daughter Melodee.

Stoesz, Jeffrey and Laura Columbia, he makes his living as a On Palm Sunday, Braeside met in a Mathew with son James Thomas, mechanic. He and Joy have been part parking lot together with St. Saviour’s Jordan and Debbie Hiebert with son of Braeside since 2010. They have an Anglican, Sherwood Park Lutheran, Aiden William Randolph, (middle): earnest desire to serve the Lord. and Crosspoint Community Church, Kendall and Sarah Pries with daughter At Missionfest “Hope for Euwaving palm branches and worshipKatherine Jolene, (front) Brian and rope” was the theme and the speakers ping the one we serve.

Cherilee White with daughter Naomi were compelling. Jeff Fountain said David Jacobson, Brent Doerksen, Deborah Ruth, Rob and Danielle the first people to settle in Europe and Erin Schellenberg with 16 teens Blaich with daughter Melodee Valerie. brought the Bible with them, so it has from the youth group at Braeside, had Pastor Kim asked the Lord to bless always been a part of Europe’s life and an awesome time at Abundant Springs each of these five children and each philosophy. Times have changed, and at Caronport, Sask. The sharing, the parent. The congregation then rose to he reminded us that we are the key to excitement of meeting other young its feet when she asked if we would be keep on promoting the Word of God Christians was a joy. During one there for the families as they “train up to those in Europe and elsewhere. service, Gordon Kroeker, one of those a child in the way he should go.”

– Caroline Loewen 26 The Messenger • August 2013

With Our Churches Kola EMC

KOLA, Man.—Walk in obedience where you are—these encouraging words came from Dr. Harvey Plett during our Spring meetings on April 21 to 23.

As a wife, mother, teacher, and farmer, I have to ask myself if I am walking in God’s obedience daily. Harvey’s four messages brought a breath of fresh air in the midst of a turbulent time in our church.

This past year we have watched the passing of a few great men and women in our church. We witnessed a beautiful wedding, saw sickness come suddenly upon dear members, watched members leave with the wonderful purpose of looking after their parents, and made the hard decision to seek a new direction in our church leadership.

Amongst all of these hard decisions and different turns of events, Dr. Plett reminded us to continue living by faith and seeking God’s kingdom in all that we do. What does that mean for us or for me in our church now?

As Harvey stated in his first sermon, we need to remember the message that Jesus preached on earth. We need to remember to proclaim the good news of God, to repent and believe (Mark 1:14-15) and to act on that good news.

James 2:14-17 says, “ Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing and you say, ‘well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well’ but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless” (NLT).

What does this look like in our community? It means that when a neighbour’s basement is flooding, and I’ve just finished cleaning up ours, I need to go and serve others.

It means that when the church is asking for volunteers, I need to raise my hand to help.

It means that when I don’t feel peace about something I have said, or feel like I have left something unfinished, I need to ask God for the courage to complete the task.

To walk in God’s obedience where I am doesn’t mean I need to become a missionary in a far off place, although I do dream of that. It means I need to be Christ’s witness in my own town and be there for those in need.

PHOTO: EMC ARCHIVES

Spring meetings held

Dr. Harvey Plett (stock photo)

When I become down, or depressed at what I am doing—wondering if what I am participating in is enough or worried that I could be doing a better job—I need to remind myself that even great men in the Old Testament struggled and needed reminders to put their hope back in the Lord (Psalm 43:5). Each day we are given a choice to live as God’s stewards, and I pray that daily I will make the choice to walk in God’s obedience.

– Alida Martens

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 27

Columns • Further In and Higher Up

Can I get a witness for the Lord?

N Layton Friesen

ot every church asks for a public pale, a saint would be pale and thin. But if we testimony at baptism, but it is an are born from above of water and the Spirit, no evangelical way of pointing to what is one knows where we come from or where we going on in the water. Being baptized is a comare going. There’s a holy butterfly effect in the ing to see, a washing of mud from the eyes of birth of saints that makes for great stories. one sitting in darkness.

And that, my brother and sister, is why we I had thought I was merely the result of a tell our life stories at baptism. What particle conspiracy of parents, social forces, and lesser in the vast ocean of being that is the Son has gods. I had thought I was who I made myself to now come to light in this life by the igniting of be. But no. With a shout and a splash, I realize I the Spirit? The Son has never been seen like am, in fact, someone much more interesting. this before. How could this be possible? “But, Back in primordial theological time, the behold!”

Father gazed intently at the Of course, there are Son and suddenly gasped: primary colours by which “A mass of interesting posthe form of the Son emerges sibilities! In your quirks and within creation: being poor angles and thoughts, the in spirit, mournful for sin, seeds of a zillion saints! To meek, hungry for the holy, prove it I will make them merciful, pure in heart, one by one. Every one and peacemakers, willing to all together shall be kaleidosuffer. scope of the fathoms of tales Baptism symbolizes I see in you, my beloved Son!” That is the birth the pinhole through which the glory of the story that begets all our birth stories.

Son is shone into the world. The brothers and Which is why God has the grounds to say, the sisters say “Amen” to the startling figure “Be holy as I am holy.” Which is why it’s not emerging from the grey. The Father says, “This that “hard” for the Son to become human. To is my beloved son (or daughter) in whom I am be human is to show off an aspect of Christ in well-pleased.” The testimony is the first story creaturely colour. told with new eyes.

Before he became us, we became a sliver of him. Each of us with the rest of us is some reflection of the reams Steinbach Bible College of idiosyncrasy and variety contained presents... within the being of the Son. Sin drifts ever towards colourless monotony. The world has a miserly palette with which to paint rebellion, which is why a post-Christian world leans to nihilism, or the denial of colour, period. But in obedient baptism we really do not know who will come out of the water.

Mission uncovers an uniqueness in our person that had faded with Visit www.SBCollege.ca our attempts to colour in our own Tickets: $35 pictures. If the Son were thin and or call 204.326.6451

Mission uncovers an uniqueness in our person that had faded with our attempts to colour in our own pictures.

28 The Messenger • August 2013

News

Changes at SBC STEINBACH, Man.—Steinbach Bible College is announcing some new appointments taking effect this summer and revealing some other employment moves.

Patrick Friesen will move into the role of dean of student development and his teaching role will increase.

Arlene Friesen will become registrar.

Dalen Kroeker, formerly dean of men, will become the new director of recruitment and marketing, with additional responsibilities as rentals coordinator and athletic director.

President Rob Reimer will take a sabbatical until Dec. 31; Dr. Terry Hiebert will serve as acting president during this time.

Dr. Ernie Koop has resigned as a professor in order to return to mission work. Janice Rempel has left her role as receptionist; she is now an administrative assistant in the

PHOTOS: SBC

More attention to marketing, recruitment

Terry Hiebert

Patrick Friesen

Dalen Kroeker

EMMC’s national office. Christal Fehr has moved from faculty secretary into library services and is planning to begin a maternity leave in December.

“These new appointments strengthen our college, especially with the additional attention to recruitment and marketing,” says president Rob Reimer.

Please join us in praying for the college and all those involved in these changes.

– SBC

••

MWC active, but hampered ‘An excellent car, but little fuel’

PHOTO: JANET PLENERT

AKRON, Pennsylvania—They toured the site of the next MWC global assembly and imagined the global faith family worshipping and relating in that space. They explored ways to increase funding of MWC as a growing global movement.

These were some tasks that engaged MWC’s executive committee members during meetings here May 23-28.

During its May 2013 meeting in Akron, Penn., MWC executive committee members planted a tree at the MCC Welcoming Place. Taking their turn at placing sod are Cisca Mawangu Ibanda (DR Congo), Ron Penner (Canada, EMC representative), and Adi Walujo (Indonesia).

The 16th Assembly will be in Harrisburg, Penn., on July 21-26, 2015. Organizers say they expect around 6,000 participants and the site could handle up to 11,000. “Walking With God” is the theme. Registration begins in August 2014.

“An excellent car, but little fuel.” This is how treasurer Ernst Bergen described the situation currently facing MWC. He spoke highly of the staff and commissions. “But all these groups cannot work as they would like to, because they lack money,” he said.

“No one is so poor they can’t give the equivalent of one lunch per year,” said MWC general secretary César García.

If that were to happen, he added, the budget goal could be achieved. The idea was picked up by a number of others.

The executive committee decided to create a task force to propose how MWC should celebrate its 100th anniversary, the 500th anniversary of the first Anabaptist baptism (2025), and collaborate with other church anniversaries (including the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation in 2017).

– Ron Rempel

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 29

News

LG program structure shifts, commitment unchanged WINNIPEG, Man.—MCC Canada’s work with Low German-speaking communities in Mexico will continue despite recent structural and administrative changes.

The program, formerly operated as an MCC Canada domestic program, is now an MCC Mexico international program as of April 1, 2013.

“MCC’s commitment to work with the Low German Mennonite communities in northern Mexico has not changed,” said Pam Peters-Pries of MCC Canada.

MCC-supported programs were previously supervised from the Winnipeg office. Now programs are developed by local organizations and supported by MCC through financial assistance and service workers.

MCC’s provincial programs with Low German Mennonites in Canada are unaffected. MCC Canada’s support for its German-language newspaper, Die Mennonitishe Post, remains unchanged. MCC Canada’s Low German Program coordinator will continue to support programs in the provinces, Mexico, and Bolivia.

In Memory

PHOTO: MCC

Move does not affect provincial programs

In May, James Schellenberg was appointed the new Low German program coordinator for MCC Canada.

Over the years, MCC Canada has developed and supported resource centres in Cuauhtémoc, Casas Grandes, Durango and La Honda. SIM will gradually assume full responsibility of these resource centres.

MCC Canada will continue to support the work of the rehabilitation centre—Centro de Rehabilitacion, Luz en mi Camino (Light on my way), Steinreich Bible College, Blumenau Secondary School and others.

MCC Mexico has invited an MCC service worker, Sandra Kienitz, from Brazil, to serve as MCC Mexico Northern Coordinator to accompany partner organizations, including SIM, with the transition process.

– Gladys Terichow/MCCC

••

David Dueck

Esther Dueck (nee Kornelson)

Our parents, David Dueck, aged 92, and Esther Dueck (nee Kornelson), aged 88, of Winnipeg, formerly of Rosenort, Man., passed away on Tuesday, April 2, 2013, within one and a half hours of each other, after several months of serious illness. They were married for almost 64 years.

David Dueck was born on June 1, 1920. After he finished school at the age of 15, he enjoyed working on the family farm. David was a Conscientious Objector stationed at Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park; there he began corresponding with a girl back home who happened to be

his friend’s sister.

Esther Kornelson was born on Dec. 4, 1924. As she was growing up she enjoyed the hard work on the farm. One of her favourite sports was skating and she frequented the local outdoor rink. She felt that her brother’s friend, David Dueck, wasn’t at the rink enough. She would look for him, but he was frequently away, employed at a lumber camp.

After some dates and long distance correspondence, David and Esther were married on May 8, 1949. Their farm, a quarter of a mile south of David’s birthplace, was their first home

1920-2013

30 The Messenger • August 2013

1924-2013

for 12 years. Our parents enjoyed mixed farming. The family survived the flood of 1950 and Dad was relieved to be reunited with Mom and the baby, who had been evacuated to Steinbach. This experience remained difficult to talk about for a long time.

David and Esther’s family began with daughter Barbara, followed by Alviera 19 months later. Leonard was born in July 1953. He died at the age of six weeks, leaving a painful gap.

Another son, Ray, was born a year later.

The first set of twins, Mary Ann and Margaret Rose, came the next year; two and a half years later the second set of twins, Delbert and Delores, were born. Lydia came after the move to the Interlake. Mom’s favourite introduction of the family

In Memory would be “We have eight children and half of them are twins!”

Our folks purchased a farm in the Interlake and moved to Arborg in 1961. The farming style changed and expanded and they began raising cattle, over 100 head, which required intensive haying. They also raised turkeys and chickens, and grew registered seed, crops, vegetables and beautiful flower gardens. By necessity, Dad became handy with all types of machinery.

Mom’s interest in sewing and fabrics was a great source of creative energy and even awakened her business sense. From 1974 till 1980 she owned the Country Fabrics store. The business venture proved to be fulfilling for her.

Mom and Dad’s faith was important to them. In their early 20’s, they were baptized and joined the Rosenort EMC. Their involvement in many church activities, which included being MCC representatives, had an impact in the communities in which they lived.

Mom loved singing and taught us many songs. Our family has spent many happy times around the campfire or at gatherings singing folk songs, choruses, and hymns. This proved to be a great comfort to them and the family over the last few difficult weeks.

In 1981 our parents sold their farm and moved to Winnipeg. To keep busy, Dad got a part-time job as a bus driver for the Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary School and Mom had causal babysitting jobs. They were not prepared, however, to settle down in the city.

Mom and Dad began scouting around for property to farm,

considering strawberries and grain.

They purchased a river acreage just northwest of Winnipeg. They began gardening in earnest.

Every fall they would show up at their children’s homes with their car trunk full of garden produce and they also donated generously to Winnipeg Harvest. They were active participants in the Crestview Fellowship seniors’ group and volunteered their time at MCC shops.

David and Esther Dueck

It was with a sense of loss, but a realization that keeping the acreage was getting to be too much, that in 1998 they decided to sell and move to Charleswood. After retirement, our parents traveled to many interesting places, including Alaska, Belize, Mexico, Europe, Australia, Hawaii, China and Israel.

Mom and Dad lived a rich and fulfilled life with relatively good health. They enjoyed getting together with the family and made a point to connect personally to each of the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

In 2006 Mom and Dad moved into Lindenwoods Terrace, an assisted living community. Their life continued

to be filled with family times, activities and new friends.

Dad was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in November 2012.

Mom was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in January 2013. Although there were several difficult hospital stays, they were able to spend two happy weeks together in March, at the nursing home.

During the last week, both Mom and Dad were very ill and we knew the end was near. Mom passed away at 3:25 a.m. and Dad passed away at 5:05 a.m., on Tuesday, April 2, 2013.

Together forever!

They will be missed

by Barb and Paul Friesen, Alviera and Marvin Plett, Ray and Suzanne Dueck, Mary Ann and Neil Dueck, Margaret Rose and Ron Krueger, Delbert and Rebecca Dueck, Delores Dueck, Lydia and John Brost; 20 grandchildren: Gwen, Colleen (Ross), Claude (Laura), Curtis, Barrette (Sandy), Brad (Kathy), Ben (Kendra), Rachel (Russ), Carlee-ann (Dion), Tiffany, Dawson (Amie), Alicia (Jodi)), Trevor, Jeff, Brittany (Miguel), Chantelle (Kevin), Colin, Nathan, Sarah, Caleb; 15 great-grandchildren, Dad’s sister, and Mom’s two sisters and one brother.

Viewing was held at the Fort Garry EMC in Winnipeg on Monday, April 8, at 7 p.m. and at the church prior to the service. A celebration of life was held on Tuesday, April 9, at 2 p.m. at the Rosenort EMC with interment at the church cemetery. If friends so desire, donations may be made to Mennonite Central Committee, 134 Plaza Drive, Winnipeg MB R3T 5K9.

– Their Family

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 31

In Memory

Ganya Lily Loewen-Watson

June 9, 2013 In October 2012 I took “the test” and woke Brent with an excited silly grin. We were going to have child number four—exactly what we wanted. Our joy was indescribable and we were ready. Ganya’s life had officially begun.

We prepared for where the baby would sleep and considered names until our world crashed in January 2013. A complication sent me to the emergency room where eventually an ultrasound showed a problem. Two doctors scanned our baby for an hour before explaining that our child would not live after birth. They recommended termination.

I cried out to God and I got a clear sense in my heart: “I will take her home when it’s time, and it’s not time yet.” It was my task to carry this child I knew to be a girl, though her gender was not yet confirmed.

My river of tears didn’t stop for several months. We continued to prepare, though differently for her life would be spent mostly nestled in my womb.

We met with a palliative care team and neonatology to make sure her life would be comfortable. We asked people to help us celebrate her life and shared the special name we chose for our daughter in advance of her birth.

Ganya means “Garden of God” and is a take off of my name—Tanya with a G. We thought of our child being in

32 The Messenger • August 2013

God’s abundant garden. Her middle name, Lily, is scriptural as we know God cares for flowers here today and gone tomorrow (Matt. 6:28-30). We trusted our heavenly Father would look after our daughter and us.

June 9 arrived and we surrounded ourselves with love and support. With amazing doctors and nurses guided us, Ganya Lily arrived in our arms at 5:05 p.m. She and God must have chatted about arriving on my parents’ 40th anniversary to honour them.

Praise be to God, Ganya was breathing and did not need medical intervention to breathe or for pain.

Yet her life was nearing its end.

We had known most of her life had already been lived inside of me. Now it was time to celebrate her one and only birthday.

We took turns holding and kissing her. I did my mother’s loving duty of bathing and diapering her. We swaddled Ganya in a blanket made with love, prayers, and tears by her grandmother.

We held her hands, kissed her toes, and bathed her with our tears of “See you later.” A volunteer photographer captured this in detail.

Though it confuses us that God only allowed us one hour with our precious daughter, we know that children are only loaned to us on earth.

Ganya’s too-brief life has left us treasuring her memory. Also living on in her memory are her siblings, Sarah, Ivan, and Nadia; her paternal

grandparents, Robert and Pauline Watson; her maternal grandparents, Maynard and Frieda Loewen; and many uncles, aunts and cousins.

It is our prayer that God be brought glory by her life. We are grateful so many have paid tribute to our daughter’s beautiful, yet short life.

God has been faithful and good and shown that through many friends and family.

– Brent and Tanya Loewen-Watson ganya.lily@gmail.com The complete story can be read at: http://www.griefhaven.org/ourchildren/baby_watson.html

Calendar Manitoba September 12-14 An Urgent Call to Truth for Critical Times Winnipeg Prophecy Conference http://www.wpgpc.org Victoria Inn - 1808 Wellington Ave., Winnipeg

November 29 Training Seminar on Legal Obligations for Pastors

November 30 – December 2 Conference Council Prarie Rose EMC Landmark Ministerial Retreat Wilderness Edge Retreat & Conference Centre Pinawa

December 2 – 3 New Leaders’ Orientation Wilderness Edge Retreat & Conference Centre Pinawa

Shoulder Tapping EMC pastoral needs* *With any applications for EMC church pastoral positions, candidates are expected to also register a Ministerial Questionnaire with the EMC Board of Leadership and Outreach, which can be obtained through Erica Fehr, BLO Administrative Assistant, at efehr@emconf.ca or 204-326-6401.

Taber EMC is seeking a full-time youth/associate pastor. Candidate should have the ability to plan and oversee a comprehensive youth ministry and oversee associate pastor ministries as arranged by the church leadership. Valuable assets would be skills in sports and music. Contact church board chair Abe Klassen at 403-223-0588 or 403-331-9563. Send resumes to Taber EMC, Box 4348, Taber, AB T1G 2C7 or taberemc@ yahoo.ca.

Vanderhoof Christian Fellowship, an evangelical and friendly Christ-centred church with approximately 100 regular attendees, is looking for a senior pastor who is especially gifted in preaching, teaching, and biblical guidance. Located in a vibrant forestry and mining community, one hour’s drive from Prince George, BC, we are looking for someone who can fulfill such pastoral duties as conducting weddings, baptisms, baby dedications, and funerals.

With an ability to minister to all age groups, the applicant should be committed to a personal Christian faith and be a disciple of Jesus Christ. He should be a willing and teachable leader, and a person whose love for the Lord is reflected in his ability to work well with others. Feel free to check out our website at www.vcfemc.com for information.

If the Holy Spirit seems to be inviting you to pursue this further, please contact Marcy Giesbrecht at mikegiesbrecht@msn.com., with your résumé and cover letter attached.

Steinbach Evangelical Mennonite Church is seeking an energetic director of worship arts to function in a half-time capacity within a team environment together with a lead pastor, associate pastor, youth pastor, community pastor, and support staff.

Responsibilities and qualifications include the following: provide leadership in programs such as coordination of worship services, overseeing music related groups within the church, strong administrative support. other responsibilities may include overseeing Toddler Time and Kidz Kamp programs and responsibility for music and equipment purchases.

Submit resumes and cover letters to chair of search committee, 422 Main St. Steinbach, MB R5G 1Z5; or semcsearchcomm@gmail.com.

Kola EMC is looking for a full-time pastor, but would also consider an intern position. Previous experience is preferred and housing is available.

Kola, in southwest Manitoba, is a small but aggressive little town in the middle of the oil patch with a lot of construction and farming in the surrounding area. We currently have approximately 100 people attending on a regular basis. For information, call 204-556-2037 or e-mail at kolaemc@gmail.com.

La Crete Christian Fellowship is seeking candidates to fill the role of senior pastor. LCCF is located in a beautiful, prosperous farming and logging community in northern Alberta. We are a multi-generational congregation with a strong commitment to missions. Our average Sunday attendance is 450.

The senior pastor would be a team member working with and providing general oversight to the associate pastor, youth pastor, office staff, lay minister and a large, supportive ministerial. He would have appropriate Bible college education and preferably a number of years of pastoral experience.

He would agree with the EMC Statement of Faith and Church Practices. Duties include, but are not limited to, preaching, teaching, some administration and officiating at various church functions.

Information can be found at www.lccfc.ca.

Please contact Darryl Olson at darrylwolson@gmail. com or 780-841-0287 if you can serve together with us in this capacity.

New Life Christian Fellowship seeking a senior pastor who has a heart for people and loves the Lord. We are an evangelical church located in Stevenson, Ont. The Church is mostly young families with average attendance between 80 to 100 people. The majority of the people attending have a Low German-speaking background. We seek a pastor who has the heart of a shepherd and a desire to see our church grow. He should have strong preaching and teaching skills and ability to develop leaders. Pastoral experience is preferred. He must be in agreement with our constitution and statement of faith. Anyone who possesses these qualifications and is interested in this position can forward their resume to nlcf@ciaccess.com Crestview Fellowship (www.crestviewfellowship. ca), an EMC church located in Winnipeg, Man., is prayerfully seeking applications for a half-time youth pastor or director. If you feel God calling you to this position, or if you have any questions about the position, please call Pastor Darrel Guenther at 204-837-9490 or Scott Groen, board chairman, at 204-885-0233 or send questions and/or resume to sgroen@shaw.ca or by mail to Scott Groen, c/o Crestview Fellowship, 271 Hamilton Ave, Winnipeg, MB R2Y 0H3. Those nearing graduation and new graduates are welcome to apply. Salary and hours are negotiable.

Hillside Christian Fellowship is looking for a fulltime or interim pastor. Previous experience is preferred and housing is available. Hillside Christian Fellowship is a rural church located on Highway 697 in the Buffalo Head Prairie area, about 25 kms from La Crete in northern Alberta. The industries that drive our community are farming and logging. We have about 50 to 60 people attending on average each Sunday. For information contact Jim Friesen at valley@sis.net or call (work) 780-928-3880 or (cell) 780-926-7717

Other opportunities Mid-Way Christian Leadership, based in Thompson, Man., is looking for an adult life coach, youth life coach and office manager. Please email generaldirector.mcl@gmail.com for full job descriptions or inquiries.

Arborg Youth for Christ is seeking a director to lead an active youth centre in Arborg, Man. Contact: Keith Tarry, 333 King Street, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0N1; keith@ yfcwinnipeg.ca; 204-669-4205, ext. 204.

Inner City Youth Alive seeks a full-time administrative assistant to provide reception services for all ICYA staff and programs, and to provide assistance to administration staff. Contact Dory Richards, dory@ icya.ca. Further description at www.icya.ca.

Mennonite Community Services is looking to hire a radio marketing and administration manager.

Core duties: find sponsors, sell ads, supervise staff, facilitate schedules, train volunteers, ensure appropriate equipment is available and functioning, and provide overall administration and support.

Please send cover letter and resume to Mennonite Community Services at 16 Talbot Street East, Aylmer, ON N5H 1H4 or email to annab@mcson.org First Mennonite Church, Burns Lake, in northern BC, is looking for a part-time or full-time servant leader pastor. The desired person should share our vision and will work with us to fulfill it. The candidate will have ability to inspire discipleship, outreach, and a desire to embrace our community, while holding firm to sound biblical doctrine. Our candidate will agree with the Confession of Faith in the Mennonite Perspective. Send your resume to FMC c/o Wilf Dueck wedueck@telus.net, (phone) 250-692-3455 (cell) 250-692-6454.

Rosedale Bible College (Irwin, Ohio) invites nominations and resumes for the role of president. Inquiries and/or resumes should be submitted electronically to:presidentsearch@rosedale.edu.

Where are position ads to be sent?

Ministry-related position ads are welcome. Please send all position ads, including pastoral search ads, to messenger@emconf.ca. All ads are to be 150 words or less. Space is provided without charge. All ads are subject to editing and can be removed after two appearances unless prior arrangements are made to have them appear longer. Please notify The Messenger as soon as possible when an ad is no longer needed. Thank you.

May the Lord bless your search.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 33

Columns • here and far away

Following the instructions

I

watched my three-year-old complete a 450-piece Lego helicopter on his own by following the step-by-step instructions.

The process, I think to myself, is so very much like the Christian life. Many people toss aside God’s biblical instructions thinking they can assemble their life by themselves without the written guide.

As my son bends to his task, each progressive step in building that big helicopter is accompanied by my repeated encouragements to: “Look at what the book says!” “What pieces do you need for this step?” “That’s not what the book says!”

If he follows the instructions to the letter (or the picture, as it were), moving through the whole book step by step will get him to a finished helicopter built as it was intended: stable rather than flimsy, with all the pieces accounted for.

Even a three-year-old, if he knows how to follow instructions and has faith that the diagrams that seem to have nothing to do with the finished piece will lead him to a complete helicopter, can assemble a toy he’d have no idea how to build on his own.

He can accomplish it with only the occasional

by Jocelyn R. Plett www.writewhatyousee. wordpress.com

request for help, especially if he’s constantly encouraged to keep looking at what the instructions say.

It’s our job as parents to encourage our children, and those around us, to only and always continue looking at the instructions for each progressive step of “assembling” our lives; for it is the Creator, the Author of Scripture, who knows how they would be best assembled. Only he knows how to assemble the pieces in such a way that the finished product withstands the rough hands of a preschooler or whatever life throws at us.

In the end, while a contented smile of accomplishment highlights a job well completed, a process thoroughly enjoyed, everyone acknowl-

IMAGE: DREAMSTIME

Scriptural instructions are key for assembling a solid marriage, even if we think we know better and the instructions couldn’t possibly be for this age in history.

34 The Messenger • August 2013

The instructions are key.

edges that it’s the Maker of the pieces of and the Author of the instructions who is to be praised for the quality of the end product.

The instructions are key. Faith in their ability to take us from a pile of jumbled bits to the Creator’s intended and perfect end product is essential. If we follow our own intuitions and eschew the diagrams we’re liable to have bits in the wrong places, an unstable end product, and probably a few pieces left lying out at the end with no idea where they were supposed to go.

Scriptural instructions are key for assembling a solid marriage, even if we think we know better and the instructions couldn’t possibly be for this age in history. They are key for building strong families and training up resilient children who know where to look for the answers for the rest of their lives.

The instructions will lead us to his perfect intention if we follow them to the letter, if we seek those who understand the directions to help us along the way, and if we encourage each other to “see what the Book says!”

Columns • stewardship today

Talking to survive seasonal shopping

I

n the retail shopping world, the dog days of summer are no longer known as “August” but rather “Back-to-School.” This has become the year’s second largest seasonal shopping event behind “winter holidays” (not “Christmas”).

Advertising campaigns have made the link between these high seasons of shopping suggesting that back-to-school for parents is “the most wonderful time of the year.”

If different conclusions are reached, this provides the chance to talk about the values that help each person tell the difference between the two When Statistics Canada reported that sales edged up slightly in May 2011, retailers anticipated a stronger back-to-school shopping season. This wasn’t the case in the United States where the National Retail Federation (NRF) had predicted a slight dip in back-to-school spending.

“Families aren’t opposed to spending on what they need,” suggested NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay, “but parents want their children to take a good look around at what they already have before deciding what to buy for back to school this year.” When the dust settles the question is, how did families negotiate what children need in this highly charged season of buying?

Without routine communication between parents and children about money, it is tough to settle spending disputes in the middle of a seasonal rush. Instead of hoping that money issues will just resolve themselves, families need to have regular values-based money conversations, according to Nathan Dungan, author of Money Sanity Solutions: Linking Money & Meaning.

Dungan’s research has found that adolescents whose families openly talk about money

issues are less focused on spending and have improved self-esteem in comparison with other adolescents.

Dungan encourages families to first talk together about money assumptions such as how to distinguish between needs and wants. Everyone experiences “gotta have it now moments,” Dungan says. Being able to step back and decide whether something is a need or a want is an important life skill. Finding a good balance between the two is another.

Here’s a suggestion: parents and children could go through back-to-school purchases and talk about which were need items and which were want items. If different conclusions are reached, this provides the chance to talk about the values that help each person tell the difference between the two.

It can also be enlightening for parents to invite children to talk about how they experience household spending with regards to needs and wants.

With this foundation, parents and children can begin tackling other questions together such as: Do brands really matter?

How does peer pressure affect the spending decisions of every family member?

What are appropriate technology needs?

Can we all agree to spend less on ourselves and share more with others?

Given that the largest seasonal shopping event is just around the corner, this could be the perfect time for families to start talking about money and values. There are resources to help with this, including Dungan’s book (www.sharesavespend.com) and MFC’s First Things First (www.mennofoundation.ca).

Let good conversations begin!

by Dori Zerbe Cornelsen

Dori Zerbe Cornelsen is a stewardship consultant at the Winnipeg, Man., office of Mennonite Foundation of Canada. For stewardship education and estate and charitable gift planning, contact your nearest MFC office or visit Mennofoundation.ca.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 35

Columns • kids’ corner

Who’s in your backyard?

Y

by Loreena Thiessen

ou share your backyard with other living creatures. Some you may see daily, like robins and sparrows, butterflies and bees. Others are less visible.

Who are they and what do they do?

Most common birds return to their birthplace each spring. The robins, sparrows and wrens are likely the same birds, or their young, you saw in your neighbourhood last summer.

They return by instinct.

Yet every bird has its own habits and preferences. All birds eat insects, but sparrows happily come to your birdfeeder to eat seeds too. Robins and wrens do not.

By eating insects birds help people. Swallows and wrens zip around catching mosquitoes so you will be bitten less often. Long ago farmers depended on birds to eat insects harmful to their crops.

Crows eat dead animals and garbage left lying on streets and parking lots. They help clean up the environment in that way.

Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds visit flowers in your backyard to drink their sweet nectar. Pollen collects on their feet and as they go from one plant to the next they carry the pollen from one to the other.

Plants are fertilized in this way so they can produce seeds and fruit. The food you eat depends on pollen spread by bees and butterflies.

What do insects do? They eat other insects and they in turn are food for larger creatures.

Ants eat dead bugs like bees and beetles. Spiders eat flies and grasshoppers and ants. And birds eat spiders.

Chickens eat spiders and bugs. They also eat grain, which is a seed. Cows eat grass and grain.

Both need pollen to grow.

You may have a delicious chicken dinner or juicy hamburgers for your supper today. This puts you at the top of the food chain.

Each animal becomes food for the next one.

And as long as there is enough of each kind there will be enough food for all.

36 The Messenger • August 2013

God has created a world of order. The stars and the planets continue to move or stay in their rightful spot. And each living thing has its place in the order of life. Read Psalm 8.

Activity: What attracts ants?

Need: 4 flat yogurt container lids.

4 felt markers of different colors.

3 foods: sugar or fruit juice; protein such as meat or cheese; carbohy drates like crackers, cooked rice or pasta.

Water, magnifying glass, notebook, pencil, camera (optional) Do: 1. Label each lid by the type of food.

2. Place small amount of one food in each lid and water in the fourth.

Group the lids together where the ants can find them.

3. Watch the lids closely, every few hours to keep track of the food.

4. Record what you see: which foods attract the ants most? Which foods do they like least? How long does it take for the ants to find the food?

How long do they hang out at the food lids? Do more ants arrive as the day goes by?

5. Observe the ants’ behaviour over several days as you maintain the food site.

6. Make a chart of your findings.

7. Share your findings with friends and at school.

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