The Messenger Vol. 47. No. 4 February 18, 2009

THE

MESSENGER

a publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference

volume 47, number 4 February 18, 2009

should we eliminate

? www.emconf.ca/Messenger

EDITORIAL

Raising questions about Sunday school

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his issue of The Messenger raises some questions about the effectiveness of Sunday school, the primary method of Christian education in many of our churches.

Dr. Linda Cannell, a professor of educational ministries, asks Should we eliminate Sunday school? (p. 4).

She makes the case that Sunday school maintained its effectiveness as long as the values of society mirrored the values of Christianity.

This is no longer the case, and Sunday school is inadequate as the primary agency of biblical instruction.

John Longhurst examines the current state of our Sunday schools (p. 8). Attendance is in decline and, as statistics show, so is biblical literacy.

Both articles ask the question whether Sunday school is properly meeting the educational needs of Christians of all ages.

My own attendance at Sunday school as an adult has been erratic.

As a child, I remember attending regularly both Sunday school and the AWANA program. While memorizing Scripture and learning Bible stories was emphasized, I

INTERIM EDITOR Rebecca Buhler rbuhler@emconf.ca

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Erica Fehr

efehr@emconf.ca

Address changes and submissions to The Messenger should be sent to messenger@emconf.ca MESSENGER SCHEDULE: No. 6 – March 18 (copy due March 6)

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do not remember gaining a clear picture of how God was at work throughout history, or receiving instruction on Christian living beyond the “do nots” (do not drink, smoke, use profanity, or have sex outside of marriage).

In all fairness, this may be attributed to a faulty or selective memory. However, the fact remains that, if taught, it didn’t stick with me.

Where as Christians do we go to learn how to listen for the voice of God, how to read the Bible, and how to build healthy relationship with both our Creator and our fellow creatures? How is your church involved in teaching the big picture questions of the Christian life?

Perhaps part of the problem lies in that there are no easy “Sunday school” answers to these questions; they involve a life-long journey with mentors and with our greatest mentor, Jesus Christ himself.

Beyond memorization of Scripture and story, Christians older and younger need to learn to walk with Christ and follow His leading.

I know some people who are passionate in exploring these questions, some of whom are

THE MESSENGER is the 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.

THE MESSENGER is published twice a month (once a month in July and August) by the EMC Board of Church Ministries, 440 Main St., Steinbach, Man.

represented on the EMC Board of Church Ministries and its Education Committee. We need more of these people who are willing to put in the time and effort required to evaluate how believers are educated in our churches and to come up with solid recommendations that will get everyone involved in the learning and teaching process.

One step toward this end, to be featured in a subsequent issue of the magazine, are answers to a brief survey on the state of Sunday school in our churches.

Even if your church has missed the deadline for publication of these responses, the invitation remains to respond. The more answers that come in, the better we can assist one another. Some churches have already expressed interest in the responses.

Let’s look together at how we’re doing at making disciples through Sunday school. The answers may surprise us, scare us, or raise additional difficult questions. In spite of this, let’s not just continue to do what we’ve always done simply because we’ve always done it—the God we serve deserves better than T that. M Rebecca Buhler

Subscriptions: $12 per year (Manitoba residents add 7% PST, total: $12.84). Subscriptions are voluntary and optional to people within or outside of the EMC. Subscriptions are purchased by the Conference for members and adherents.

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MESSENGER

On-line edition available at www.emconf.ca/Messenger

THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

Pax alumni invited to reunion in Paraguay Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Pax volunteers, including those who built 200 miles of road linking Asunción and the Mennonite colonies in the Paraguayan Chaco, will have the opportunity to travel “the lonely sliver of asphalt” during Mennonite World Conference’s Assembly 15.

In addition to this “Pilgrimage of memories” along the trans-Chaco highway, the reunion of Pax volunteers will include designated space at the assembly site for workshops, viewing a new DVD and visiting. All former Pax participants are invited to attend Assembly 15 and the Pax reunion.

MCC created the Pax (Peace) program as alternative service for U.S. conscientious objectors drafted to serve in the Korean War and later in Vietnam.

More than 100 Canadians also served in Pax. The program called for volunteers to commit to two years of service. When the program was announced, applications poured in and all available units were filled within three months.

At least 1,100 Pax volunteers served in more than 40 countries between 1951 and 1976. Their projects included building houses for war refugees and doing agricultural development work to address hunger and poverty.

In Paraguay, the project was building the trans-Chaco highway from 1956 to 1961. When Mennonite refugees first arrived in the Chaco, a sparsely populated subtropical region, they struggled to survive. There were few local markets for what they could produce and no road to reach the markets in Asunción or international markets.

MCC coordinated building the road, with the support of governments in U.S. and Paraguay, Paraguayan ranchers, and the Chaco Mennonites. The Pax men completed the road to the Mennonite colonies in 1961, but it took several decades for the government to cover it with asphalt. Now one can travel from the colonies to the capital in four hours, a trip that 50 years ago took 10 days.

An overnight pilgrimage along the highway to the Chaco for Pax alumni will take place July 17–18, 2009, during Assembly 15. Current plans involve stopping at key points along the road to recall experiences and visiting with Mennonites in the Chaco.

In preparation for the pilgrimage, MCC will conduct a workshop on the afternoon of July 16 at the Assembly

THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

Pax participants in Illinois in 1959, preparing for work in Paraguay: (front) Floyd Bauman, Waterloo, Ont.; Roger Haines, Elkhart, Ind. (MCC training session coordinator); Harry Harder, Mountain Lake, Minn. (foreman); LaVerne Graber, Freeman, S.D.; (back) Herman Konrad, Abbotsford, B.C.; Robert Ediger, Henderson, Neb.; Pete Harder, Abbotsford, B.C.; and Johnny Huebert, Henderson, Neb. (MCC photo)

Gathered site. Service is also the key theme for the three-day Global Youth Summit preceding Assembly Gathered in Asunción.

Informal visiting during Assembly Gathered free time, recalling the experiences of Pax men wherever they served, will be a big part of the reunion. A new 30-minute DVD titled Pax Service: An Alternative to War also will be shown. The

DVD is now available for purchase from Mennonite Media’s store.mennomedia. org or by calling 800-999-3534.

Pax men and their families are encouraged to register for Assembly 15 and to complete the special Pax reunion form as soon as possible. Registration forms are available from MWC offices and www.mwc-cmm.org.

MWC

An invitation from

Mennonite World Conference

PAX

Come to Paraguay 2009 and a PAX reunion

Mennonite Central Committee Register now! mwc-cmm.org 14-19 July 2009 Asunción, Paraguay

Between 1951 and 1975, more than 1,100 young men chose to build peace through MCC PAX alternative service rather than joining the military.

The PAX alumni reunion during MWC’s Paraguay 2009 welcomes all who served with PAX in more than 40 countries. Come for a workshop, time to visit and a trip down the trans-Chaco highway, built with the help of PAX men. Come for MWC’s world assembly, a unique experience of the global Anabaptist church coming together.

God is calling us to Paraguay...

¡Vamos!

“Come together in the way of Jesus Christ.” —Philippians 2:1-11

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should we eliminate

?

Linda Cannell

We have forced the Sunday school to be what it was never designed to be—the primary agency for biblical instruction.

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nce upon a time, in a country not so development of biblical illiteracy at the feet of the far away, concerned people decided Sunday school teacher. Rather, consider the many to develop an organization through factors that have contributed to an impending crisis which they could teach values and in the church’s teaching ministry: truth to their young. They called this organization a “school,” and it met for one hour on Sunday Sunday school as primary agency for Bible teaching: mornings in a place they called church.

Parents and church leaders generally consider Church leaders believed that this school could Sunday school to be the church’s primary agency do what was needed. Many parents relaxed their for teaching the Bible. However, even if people had obligation to be the primary communicators of a full hour of “teaching” on Sunday morning, they Bible knowledge and biblical values to their young. would only receive 52 hours of instruction in a year.

Many church leaders assigned the church’s teaching It is reasonable to estimate that half the hour ministry and much of its outreach to the Sunday is given to “open session,” taking attendance and school. offering, “getting acquainted”— For many years, volunteers all worthwhile activities. served this organization with This, however, leaves us with Church leaders believed great excitement and dedication. approximately 26 hours of that this school could do They persevered in spite of Bible instruction. Special days, what was needed. Many minimal training. For many rehearsals and absenteeism can years, parents looked back on reduce the number of hours to church leaders assigned their years in Sunday school, 20. the church’s teaching remembered the love and Given the fact that many who friendliness of their teachers, teach are unskilled and limited in ministry and much of its the contests, the picnics and Bible knowledge themselves, let outreach to the Sunday decided that their children us lower the figure to 15 hours of school. would have the same experience.

Bible instruction in a year. It is Few carefully evaluated the conceivable that those attending extent to which Sunday school Sunday school are receiving contributed to competence in approximately 10 to 15 hours biblical understanding and the of effective Bible instruction practice of the Christian faith. in a year. Even 52 hours a year would be inadequate in light of he years passed. As the thousands of hours of other long as the values of stimuli affecting our people. society more or less paralleled the values of the church, Sunday Publishers target materials to average teacher: The schools were reasonably effective. However, today’s fact that many publishers target their materials to society seldom looks to the church as its source an average teacher who is inexperienced and often for standards and values. Consequently the Sunday spends no more that 30 minutes per week preparing school is even less effective as an agency for Bible a lesson for Sunday limits the effectiveness of teaching and Christian nurture. curriculum for deepening biblical understanding It is becoming apparent that many (if not most) and practice of the Christian faith. young people and adults in our churches have The lesson writer must design questions, limited knowledge and inadequate understanding teaching methodology and phrase the content in of Scripture. It is not unusual for first-year students such a way that this average teacher will not be in our Bible colleges to score poorly on simple tests frustrated or confused. Often the themes selected of Bible knowledge. We have forced the Sunday reflect middle-American values, which can be school to be what it was never designed to be—the problematic for churches in other situations. primary agency for biblical instruction. Because Before we jump on the publishers, however, let of this we encourage biblical illiteracy to the us realize that we in the church have created this point where those we ask to teach have little real average teacher by ineffective training, inadequate knowledge of the Scriptures themselves. attention to the variety that can be part of the It is not appropriate to lay the blame for the (continued p. 6)

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the tendency is to believe that the published curriculum is adequate for the development of ever increasing maturity in biblical understanding. It is not.

School-age children are primary focus: In spite of The Sunday school publishers do not intend the the fact that the preschool and adult age groups curricula to be the final answer for the church’s comprise the largest areas in most Sunday schools, teaching ministry. Church leaders, because of their many churches still consider children through lack of understanding of what curriculum is—and junior high to be the primary focus of Sunday school what it is not—have forced the curriculum to do ministry. what it was never designed to do. Should we not This pattern is severely limiting the effectiveness include the entire program of the church when we of the church’s teaching ministry. Important think about Bible teaching? foundations can be laid through Consider a typical week in the preschool ministries on life of a church—just from the Sunday and through the week.

Should we not include standpoint of Bible instruction.

The large number of options the entire program On Sunday morning the people available for adult education and get a fragment in Sunday school. development in and through the of the church when They attend the morning church have not been tapped by we think about Bible service and hear a sermon from local churches. Churches can teaching? another portion of Scripture. develop adult ministries that If the church meets on Sunday will attract and challenge their evening, they will hear from adults. another portion of the Bible. If Ministry to children and they attend a weeknight study youth would be strengthened or prayer meeting, they will be considerably if churches took exposed to another section of the time to plan for effective Scripture. preschool and adult ministries.

Most of the regular attenders of the various church programs have no way to Departmentalization promotes loss of family and link the many fragments of Scripture into larger intergenerational interaction: Family and/or concepts, truths or principles that they can use intergenerational groupings tend to get lost in the to guide their lives and thoughts. It is possible to departmentalization of our Sunday schools. The integrate the various opportunities the church concept of family night was one attempt to rectify provides for biblical instruction and Christian this omission, but the family night did not, on the growth, but church leaders will have to give time to whole, provide opportunities for families to meet thinking and planning. together for conversation, study or worship.

Some churches are releasing their Sunday Do we eliminate Sunday school? evenings for family experiences at the church or In the years to come, the school on Sunday may in neighbourhood homes. Some churches have indeed change to a school on Monday evenings incorporated the family cluster model where three or Tuesday mornings or Sunday evenings. Some to five families covenant together and share many churches are experimenting with that even now. experiences of conversation and learning together.

Many, however, still find the Sunday school a valid Families need help if they are to provide effective experience. For it to remain a valid experience, faith experiences for their young. Many parents churches must recapture what has made the Sunday have lost the art of conversation with their children school movement effective—its ability to change. and feel uncomfortable talking with them about T What is good can become even better. M Scripture and faith. Resources are available to churches seeking to develop family alternatives in Linda Cannell has taught Christian education at the teaching ministry.

Winnipeg Bible College in Manitoba and Ontario Theological Seminary. This article was originally Lack of understanding of the limits of curriculum: published in The Mennonite, the publication of Church leaders seldom think creatively or widely Mennonite Church USA. about the church’s teaching ministry. This is not necessarily the fault of the church leader. However, teaching environment and enlistment that often comes out of desperation to fill a program slot.

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THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

WITH OUR MISSIONARIES Mexico

Technological changes assist translation work On November 4, 2008, I was flown to Tucson, Arizona from Oaxaca, Mexico in an air ambulance because of a lifethreatening incident with my heart.

Thanks to medical technology and prayer, I am now gaining strength each day. For those of you who have been

praying for me, thank you very much!

Now, while I still don’t have the doctor’s permission to return to Mexico, we decided to try working on scripture translation using a computer program called Skype.

Yesterday morning as Oscar, Anna and

Grace Thiessen works at translation using Skype.

I made our first attempt at using Skype, I couldn’t help thinking about technology and what changes it has brought about.

When Joan and I first went to live among the Zapotecs, there wasn’t even a phone in the village. Long gone are those days!

Yesterday, Oscar was at our house in Oaxaca City, Anna was at the SIL office across town, and I was in Arizona. We had done some trial runs talking to each other using Skype. Yesterday, the first day to begin revising the book of I wasn’t at all sure James, neither Anna’s nor Oscar’s what working like computers would connect to Skype, no matter what they tried. this on translation Friends who are living in our house in Oaxaca right now tried would be like, but to help Oscar. David talked to me it looks like it will on his computer via Skype with no problem; his wife sent some emails serve us well until as we tried to figure out what the such a time as I can problem was. At the office, as one of our computer guys tried to help return to Mexico.

Anna, he talked to Joan, who is here in Arizona also, using the voiceover-internet phone. Even Marilyn, who is teaching a linguistics course in Spain, got involved through instant messaging. It was a bit of a jumble, but we did eventually get all the computers talking to each other.

I wasn’t at all sure what working like this on translation would be like, but it looks like it will serve us well until such a time as I can return to Mexico. I miss seeing Oscar’s and Anna’s faces when we talk and reading their body language, but I’ve found out that one can actually hear a smile over the internet! Yawns, too!

We’ll have to work on what words to use when we sign off. In Zapotec when bidding someone goodbye you say, “Go carefully,” and although that works for me to say to them, they can’t say that to me because I’m not going anywhere, since I am already at home. It would be interesting to know if the Zapotecs are coming up with words for leave-taking from a distance, since just about all of them have telephones now.

Grace Thiessen

EMC represented at MissionFest Manitoba

On February 6–8, 2009, EMC missions staff Gerald Reimer (inset, top), Tim Dyck (inset, middle), and Ken Zacharias (inset, bottom) met with MissionFest Manitoba attendees at Grant Memorial Baptist Church in Winnipeg. EMC was one of many mission organizations who set up displays at the event.

Grace Thiessen (Steinbach EMC) works in literacy and translation in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.

With Our Missionaries continued p. 10 THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

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the state of

John Longhurst Is there a connection between the waning popularity of Sunday school and declining church membership?

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few years ago, while having lunch with an acquaintance, I told him I went to Sunday school. I don’t think I could have surprised him more if I had said I believed the earth was flat, pigs could fly or that the Maple Leafs would win the Stanley Cup. “I didn’t think anyone went to Sunday school anymore,” he said, his eyes wide with amazement. He went on to add that while he went to Sunday school as a child growing up in the United Church in the 1960s, he stopped as soon as he hit his teens—and never went back.

His experience is not unique. Many people— including many church-going adults—don’t go to Sunday school anymore. For many, Sunday school is just a relic of a distant past, a quaint memory of hearing Bible stories, learning memory verses and going to picnics.

In fact, Sunday school has a rich and radical history.

The first Sunday schools were founded in 18th century England by visionary activists as a way to educate and teach literacy to poor children. Some Sunday schools also offered sports; three major English soccer clubs— Everton, Aston Villa and Fulham—grew out of Sunday schools.

The first recorded Sunday school in Canada was held in Halifax in 1783. The first all-Canadian Sunday school curriculum was developed by the United Church of Canada in 1963; the Anglican Church of Canada introduced its own in 1966. Both had the misfortune of coming out just as Sunday school began its decline in this country. In the United Church, for example, Sunday school registration dropped from 757,338 in 1961 to 179,345 in 1993; today just over 87,000 attend. Similar declines have occurred in other mainline church groups.

Is there a connection between the waning popularity of Sunday school and declining church membership?

Jim Pledger thinks so. Pledger is a United Methodist pastor in Sherman, Texas. From 1996 to 2006, his denomination lost over 500,000 people, dropping from 8.5 million to about 7.9 million members. Of that total, only 3.3 million attend church services, down four percent from 1990.

Pledger thinks his church can turn things around— through a return to Sunday school.

“Some people claim Sunday schools have seen their day, that small groups have taken their place,” he says.

“We need small groups, but they are not substitutes for Sunday school. They don’t last long. Sunday school classes can last decades and become vital learning, leadership and support groups.”

During his years as a district superintendent with the church, Pledger saw a link between declining THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

Sunday school attendance and membership loss. He led efforts in his district, and later in his conference, to increase Sunday school attendance and improve overall attendance at services.

For Pledger, Sunday school is the doorway to lifelong church attendance and involvement—if people don’t attend Sunday school as children, they likely won’t go to worship services, either. For him, Sunday school “is the glue that holds the church together, and the pivotal place we can make changes that transform people and churches.”

Sunday school is also a way to promote biblical literacy. There is no substantive data about biblical literacy in Canada, but surveys in the U.S. show that half of all Americans can’t name even one of the four Gospels; a majority can’t name the first book of the Bible; 60 percent of Americans can’t name five of the Ten Commandments; and 50 percent of high school seniors think Sodom and Gomorrah were married.

Why is Sunday school struggling? Finding volunteers is one problem; many adults find it hard to commit a year to teaching. Lack of support from the church is another. In his article This Little Light of Mine: Will Sunday School Survive the Me Generation?, Tim Stafford suggests that one reason for the decline is that churches don’t see it as a critical part of their mission, with the result that they don’t devote staff and resources to the education of children and others— they sign up whoever is willing to teach and hope for the best.

Why is Sunday school struggling?

Finding volunteers is one problem. Lack of support from the church is another.

“Sunday school’s lay leadership practically ensures that, however friendly and personable it may be, its quality control will be weak,” Stafford says.

What’s the state of Sunday school at your church?

Is it healthy, dead, or just hanging on? How many children attend? What about adults? Is it hard to find teachers? Or is Sunday school an idea whose time has come and gone?

Those may be good questions to discuss with others one day—maybe even in a Sunday school class.

John Longhurst currently serves as Director of Communications at Canadian Mennonite University. He will begin a new position with Mennonite Publishing Network on May 1.

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WITH OUR MISSIONARIES El Paso

A glass of water in Jesus’ name The EMC guesthouse in El Paso, Texas, is an extension of the EMC Mexico mission field. Its primary purpose is to support and enhance the work of EMC missionaries working in northern Mexico. It does this by providing a “home away from home” for missionaries when they are in El Paso. This includes accommodation, meals as requested, transportation, mailing address, being a retreat or sanctuary for the missionaries when they come to El Paso, and anything else that would help the mission work.

A secondary purpose of the guesthouse is to provide accommodation and some of the above services to other people travelling to or through El Paso.

This may include staff or students travelling to or from the Steinreich Bible School, family members or friends visiting missionaries, church delegations or conference staff travelling to Mexico, church youth groups travelling on shortterm missions projects, or, it may be you.

The guesthouse operating costs are covered by donations from travellers accessing services.

The guesthouse is typically staffed by a volunteer couple retired from fulltime work, looking for an opportunity to continue serving the Lord in a mission context. The role involves upkeep of the property, housekeeping, encouragement and prayer support for missionaries, and extending the gift of hospitality to every person who comes through the door. The guesthouse host couple is considered part of the Mexico missionary staff. This is a high privilege, and encourages hosts to fully support the mission field, pray for missionaries, and become involved to the extent that the missionaries want.

Are you planning a trip to northern Mexico? If your travels take you through El Paso, we would love to have you stop in and see us. We will offer you a glass of cold water in Jesus’ name. And, if you come from Canada in winter, we will make sure it is a glass of warm water!

Jake and Judy Bueckert Jake and Judy Bueckert serve as hosts of the El Paso, Texas, guesthouse.

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Register early—before February 20, 2009 • $50/person after February 29, 2008 • $60/person group rate for 3 or more from one church • $40/person

Call Christal at SBC 1-204-326-6451 Register online at www.sbcollege.ca

The EMC guesthouse in El Paso (above) serves as a “home away from home” for EMC missionaries in northern Mexico.

Judy and Jake Bueckert (left) serve as hosts.

The guesthouse host couple is considered part of the Mexico missionary staff. This is a high privilege, and encourages the hosts to fully support the mission field.

with Dr. John Neufeld

Register early—before February 20, 2009• $50/person

after February 20, 2009 • $60/person group rate for 3 or more from one church • $40/person

Call Christal at SBC 1-204-326-6451 or register online at www.sbcollege.ca

THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

WITH OUR MISSIONARIES Mexico

CME: Shaky start, sturdy foundation Editor’s note: In September 2007, a merger took place between German-speaking EMC and EMMC churches in Mexico. The conference formed is Conferencia Misionera Evangelica (Evangelical Missionary Conference).

Many of you may be wondering how your sister churches are doing down south. Capless mountains, dusty roads, brown fields, and yellow grass greet us each morning. We can see a new horizon—soon we will feel the cool breeze from luscious green irrigated wheat fields and the mountains will be capped with fluffy white clouds.

Like a newborn calf wobbles around, we too stumble for our footing. Thank God our foundation is not shaky or we would fall. As a young calf rapidly gains strength we, too, are confident that as we plug into the strength of the Holy Spirit we will gain our footing and begin to grow.

There are times we (Conference council board) feel a bit weary, but as

we often find in the Scriptures, new beginnings take courage and strength.

I am reminded of David, Gideon, Peter, Paul, and young Timothy. We are now well into our second year as the Conferencia Misionera Evangelica (CME) and already we have made some tough decisions. We officially closed the church at Camp 67 because they had no pastor, but we are hopefully not finished in that area. The Lord willing, in the future we will set up a new church in the area. With your earnest cries unto the Lord, He will grant us willing workers in his field.

It’s not all just hard work. We as Direktiva (council) enjoyed a Christmas dinner at Buffalo’s Restaurant. If you want good Mexican food, it is the place to go. After the meal we enjoyed fellowship, jokes and games. It was a fun evening—a good stress reliever.

Our churches are growing. With God’s help we will be planting two new churches, one in Durango and the other in El Llano. This is something new to us; we may fail, but failing to try is worse.

Our churches are filled with people who have tasted the love of God, experienced the grace of Jesus, and are led by the Spirit of the living God. Therefore, we will venture out with the power of God. We want to thank all of our brothers and sisters for your loyal support in friendship, prayer, finances and leadership. A special thanks to those involved in initiating the start of this new conference. We would appreciate your prayers.

John Froese on behalf of the Direktiva

Our churches are growing. With God’s help we will be planting two new churches. This is something new to us; we may fail, but failing to try is worse.

Direktiva meeting

Pass the water, please! iStockphoto.com

Fresh water is so essential to life and is often taken for granted. In the developed world, we simply turn on a tap to get water where and when we need it.

Our blood is made up of plasma which is 90 percent water by volume. This bodily fluid carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells—and transports waste products away from the same cells. People, plants and animals need water to live and stay healthy.

I become more aware of the importance of water when I trek across the Sahara Desert. We were trekking across a (continued p. 12)

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WITH OUR MISSIONARIES large dried-out lake bed in Morocco (about eight kilometres) when we were informed that bedded deep inside these dried out cobblestone-like cakes was fish life. Whenever it would rain (which is very seldom in the Sahara Desert), water would soften this hard dried out ground, and if several inches of water would stay long enough, there would be new little baby fishes. These would quickly grow, reproduce and lay eggs so that when it dries up again there would be new life when it would next rain, maybe 20 or 30 years later.

When I run the Marathon des Sables in Morocco, I realize very quickly that when it is 50°C, dehydration becomes the number one problem for runners. I have seen desert runners “sack” down slowly onto the sand, fainting into a sleep when they dehydrate. They need help as soon as possible. When a fellow runner sees

Walter Unrau, Dale Wohlgemuth and I have signed up to run one of the toughest ultramarathons in the world, namely the Marathon des Sables in the Moroccan Sahara Desert. We are running to raise funds for at least three water wells in Africa.

this, he or she will immediately shoot off the military flare and within five or ten minutes the helicopter is there to deliver a doctor to insert the IV to restore the fluid. Water revives the runners usually within a few minutes, but with more serious cases it may take up to seven litres of fluid and sometimes seven hours or longer. Water refreshes, water saves.

Water provides health, strength, energy, and well being.

Walter Unrau, Dale Wohlgemuth and I have signed up to run one of the toughest ultra-marathons in the world, namely the Marathon des Sables in the Moroccan Sahara Desert.

This is a seven-day stage race in Southern Morocco. Approximately 900 runners from about 35 countries will run the 250 km self-sufficient race. Each runner carries his own food and other fun stuff like bandages, flare gun, snake venom pump, compass, “road” book (there aren’t any roads there), sleeping bag, mini-cooker, salt tablets and several other items.

We are running to raise funds for at least three water wells in Africa. We will be in the Sahara from March 26 to April 6, 2009. The actual race takes place somewhere in Southern Morocco from March 28 to April 4, 2009. You can send us an encouraging email via the MdS website at: www.darbaroud.com.

Eating on the sand.

For this project, Athletes in Action is working with Global Aid Network (GAiN) in a partnership ministry with Power to Change in Langley, B.C. We have received their blessings to go and run for the purpose of helping poor and less privileged people n Africa.

I will remain in Germany for about two weeks after the sand marathon speaking to several runners at various meetings.

Albert Martens Albert and Edna Martens (Steinbach EMC) serve with Athletes in Action.

Water for Life initiative GAiN’s mission is to demonstrate the love of God—in word and deed—to hurting and needy people around the world through relief and development projects. About five years ago GAiN shipped a well driller from Alberta to begin drilling wells in Africa. Since then a second driller has been added, and by now more than 100 wells have been drilled.

The Jesus film is shown in the communities where the wells have been drilled in Benin. Fresh clean water is only 80 meters below the surface. Medical teams are sent to areas where wells have been drilled to treat cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever, guinea worm parasites, where bad polluted water has created these serious diseases.

Water-related diseases kill a child Albert Martens stands on a dried out lake bed in Morocco.

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every 20 seconds, and these diseases are responsible for 80 percent of all illnesses and deaths in the developing world.

One well costs approximately $7,000. It is with this deep desire that Dale, Walter and I will go and are willing to suffer a bit in this marathon.

Our goal is to raise $30,000 for at least three wells.

One well dug in a village changes the community beyond our belief and understanding. Changes take place in physical health, agriculture, and spiritual life. Churches are emerging within days of a fresh water well, combined with receiving the showing of the Jesus film.

Check out the GAiN website at: www.globalaid.net and follow our sandy trek in March and April.

Albert Martens

THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

EMC and

Statement of Faith Church Practices A 25-part series

Peter Doerksen

The Board of Leadership and Outreach has invited EMC pastors and other leaders to reflect on the meaning of our Statement of Faith and Church Practices. These writings are intended to inform and to invite conversation.

In the end, this 25-part series might be published as a booklet. Have you heard a sermon on these articles? Encourage the preacher to forward the material to The Messenger.

8. DISCIPLESHIP AND NONCONFORMITY We believe that our relationship to the Saviour is to be an unconditional commitment to discipleship. Discipleship is the total life of the believer patterned after the life and death of our Lord (Matthew 4:16–22; Acts 11:26; 26:28; Romans 5:5; 12:1–2, 7–12; 13:8–14; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; Ephesians 1:1–10; 4:32–5:2; Colossians 3:1–17; Titus 2:11–14; 1 Peter 2:13–24; 4:16).

Statement of Faith Article 8: Discipleship and Nonconformity

W

hat does it mean to be ‘a Christian’; ‘saved’; ‘born again’? Is it as simple as saying the sinner’s prayer? Yes. John says “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). The Apostle Paul writes “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you” (Acts 13:38).

Yet the words of Jesus indicate that a relationship with Him affects all of life from that day forward. Large crowds loved following Him, seeing the miracles and listening to His teachings. At one point He taught them about the cost of being a disciple. He said, “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:33). Jesus Christ wants to be Saviour and Lord of all who come to Him. The EMC Statement of Faith states that “We believe that our relationship to the Saviour is to be an unconditional commitment to discipleship. Discipleship is the total life of the believer patterned after the life and death of our Lord.”

Our understanding is that an individual who responds to the call of Christ responds to the whole

gospel, including a call to discipleship, to follow the life and teachings of Christ.

Following Him will always involve leaving our nets, putting a new priority on love for family. Believers connect with Paul’s words, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1).

Discipleship leads to nonconformity. Why? Discipleship is the opposite of the prevalent world attitude that it’s all about me. Jesus takes the pattern of this world and turns it upside-down. He says, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11–12) and “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).

As our Statement of Faith says “Discipleship is the total life of the believer patterned after the life and T death of our Lord.” M Peter Doerksen is senior pastor at La Crete Christian Fellowship in La Crete, Alta.

Discipleship leads to nonconformity. Why? Discipleship is the opposite of the prevalent world attitude that it’s all about me. Jesus takes the pattern of this world and turns it upside-down.

THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

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Special interest groups keen to meet in Paraguay Numerous special interest groups see the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly in Paraguay in July 2009 as an opportunity to confer with colleagues from around the world. Planners are scrambling to find space for workshops, conversations and displays for the hundreds of people in these groups.

Stuart Clark, formerly a Mennonite Central Committee staff person and now senior policy advisor with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, will lead planning for a series of four workshops on Refinding our place in creation. In many parts of the world the discussion of such issues as climate change and species extinction focuses on the need for technical fixes.

But the root of the problem may lie deeper—in our understanding of our God-given place in creation.

The workshops are tentatively planned to start with responding to several key questions about our current relationship with God’s creation. The second workshop will then listen to stories about creation and our place in it from various corners of the world. The third session will have the participants examining stories of broken creation from their own settings. The final session will seek to find a brief prayer that will call the assembly to repentance and joyful action.

Albert C. Lobe, representing MWC, and Gerhard Pries, representing MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) and two individuals from the global South will assist in planning and facilitating the 75-minute workshops each day, July 15–18, with one exception; a half-day field trip to a MEDA Paraguay “green” project for observation and conversation on July 17.

The creation care group is just one example of a special interest group.

Another is Indigenous People of the Americas. There are numerous and varied groups within this special interest group, each with its own language, culture and traditions. What they have in common is that they are the First Nations people of lands to which Anabaptists migrated and took up residence. These Indigenous people adopted Christianity and are now part of the Anabaptist faith family.

Some 35 Indigenous people from western Canada, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Dakota, including seven young people and a few Mennonite Church Native Ministries workers, expect to attend Assembly Gathered.

Also, approximately 10 people from Latin

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American churches in Guatemala, Peru, and Panama plan to attend as do many Paraguayan Indigenous Mennonites. The Indigenous People of the Americas will gather at the assembly site in Asunción for workshops and to hear each other’s stories. Those from the Paraguayan Chaco plan to host the visitors from North America and Latin America who will travel to the Chaco after Assembly Gathered.

A few of the other special interest groups planning meetings in connection with Assembly 15 are: Latin American Women Theologians with some African counterparts (July 13–14); Theological educators (July 9–11 consultation); Business and faith (July 12–13 consultation); Francophone Network, former MCC/PAX volunteers; physicians, mental health practitioners, Mennonite historians, Associaçao Evangélica Menonita (Brasil) leaders, global Mennonite secondary school representatives, various mission agencies and representatives of churchto-church partnerships.

In addition, the MWC officers, Executive Committee, General Council, commissions, continental caucuses and the communication team will attend to the business of MWC. Numerous MWC-related groups will also meet, including the second MWC Global Youth Summit (GYS) and the Global Mission Fellowship.

These groups will convene before, during and after Assembly Gathered, July 14–19, outside of morning and evening worship services. Some of the groups will welcome observers or participant observers. Also available to assembly participants will be some 60 workshops covering a wide range of topics, service opportunities, local tours and recreation from which to choose to fill their afternoons along with visits to the displays and presentations in a “Global Church Village” and many other events.

MWC

MCC to implement budget cuts Amid the global economic crisis, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is reducing its budget in the coming year while continuing to focus its resources on helping people in poverty around the world.

The budget for MCC’s international program, which carries out relief, development and peacemaking work in more than 50 countries, will be reduced by about $2 million and administrative expenditures also are being cut, according to Arli Klassen, MCC’s executive director.

“As we make difficult decisions, our highest concern is for the hundreds of thousands of people around the world whose lives are touched by MCC’s work,” she said.

These cuts for MCC represent a 10-percent reduction. MCC U.S. and the regional MCCs in the U.S. are facing a 9-percent reduction. MCC Canada and provincial MCCs are also facing budget cuts. However, it is not yet clear what the size of the budget cuts in Canada will be. The financial year for the MCCs in Canada ends on August 31.

“Our hope, still, is that the generosity of donors will enable the

MCCs in Canada to meet their financial commitments to the people we serve,” said Don Peters, executive director of MCC Canada.

While more people are giving money to support MCC’s work than in previous years, the average contribution decreased in 2008, and the economic turmoil has affected MCC in other ways. In particular, the value of contributions from Canada was reduced because of a sharp drop in the value of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar.

Nearly half of MCC’s funding for international programs comes from Canadian contributions in Canadian dollars. MCC’s financial reserves were also reduced by losses in financial markets.

Klassen asks for prayer for the work of MCC and renewed giving to support MCC’s mission.

“Thank you for your commitment to walking alongside people who face poverty and conflict, whether we have big resources or smaller resources,” Klassen said. “Our commitment to sharing God’s love does not change.”

MCC

THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

In memory of RENÉE AMARAYAH LALANI DUECK 1984–2008

Renée was born on March 18, 1984.

On February 26, 2008, three weeks before her 24th birthday, Renee entered the presence of her heavenly Father.

Renee decided to follow Jesus at an early age. She enjoyed going to Beaver Creek Bible Camp every summer and worked at camp as soon as she was old enough. She was also involved with teaching Sunday school, the youth drama team and being a small group leader.

After graduating from high school,

PETER H. KLASSEN 1911–2008 “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psalm 18:2).

Our father, grandfather, and greatgrandfather, Peter Harms Klassen, was born to Peter K. and Margaretha Klassen on April 26, 1911, at Ekron, near Steinbach, Man. Dad left home at an early age to look for work in the area. He worked for years on different farms in the Steinbach, Blumenort, and Heuboden areas. He then ventured further away to jant seid. When in his 20s, Dad worked for his aunt’s husband, John W. Friesen, and it was here

THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

Renee went to Vancouver to do a Discipleship Training School with YWAM and later went back to be on staff there.

In the summer of 2004 Renee went to Jordan and Greece on an outreach with YWAM. At the beginning of 2005 Renee joined the WAVE USA. This YWAM team went to all fifty states in fifty weeks.

Renee was diagnosed with leukemia when the team was in Cleveland, Ohio, at the end of June. We went with Renee to New York where she was in treatment for the rest of that year.

During the two years that Renee was in remission, she studied one semester at CMU in Winnipeg and then went back to Vancouver for one year of film production studies at Capilano College.

Renee worked for a few months in the film industry and had so many dreams and ideas of what she wanted to do, but the devastating leukemia came back.

At the end of October 2007 we went back with her to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Renee was supposed to have another transplant. For reasons we do not understand this was not to be. We had hoped this transplant was going to be successful as was the first one Renee had at the age of four months due to being born with Severe

Combined Immunodeficiency and Renee would be able to continue her mission of serving God “to mobilize the church into missions, and to see truth proclaimed through the arts.”

Renee does not want to be remembered as the girl with cancer, but as a woman with a passion for justice and peace, a heart for the less fortunate, proclaiming a message of hope. We will always remember Renee for the beauty and joy she brought into our lives.

We find comfort in the words of Scripture: “When those who have died will rise from their graves and then together with them, we who remain on earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever” (1 Thess. 4:17).

The tears are about us, about our pain in losing a precious daughter, a loving sister and a wonderful friend: her mom and dad, Ray and Martha Dueck, her brother Justin and sisters, Alayna and Karalee, as well as her grandparents, Willie and Elizabeth Dueck and Tina Reimer, aunts and uncles, cousins and many friends. We thank you for all your expressions of sympathy and for remembering us in prayer (www.

ReneeDueck.com).

Her Family

that he met his future wife Lena Friesen.

They were married two years later on September 24, 1939. During their first 15 years of marriage, they fostered some 12 children. He farmed in the Rosenort area till 1955, when they moved to Kleefeld and continued on with a mixed farm.

In 1963, they moved to Riverton and spent a considerable amount of time breaking up crop land and starting up a dairy farm. Even after retiring from the farm, Dad enjoyed working out, such as helping his neighbour with his field work.

Dad realized his need for a personal Saviour and was baptized upon the confession of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. While living in Riverton, he was helped through a struggle with assurance of his salvation, and he was able to fully accept what Jesus had done for him personally on the cross of Calvary.

Dad enjoyed relatively good health throughout his 97 years. For the past two years, he managed to have a clear mind, even though only 20 percent of his heart was working. An infection set in during his last two weeks of life; his health slowly deteriorated and he found breathing very difficult. Towards the end, his breathing became less and less until he just stopped breathing, slipping

peacefully into the beyond, his home for all eternity with Jesus.

He was predeceased in 1995 by Lena, his loving wife of 55 years, as well as twin grandsons in 1973, one grandson in 1997, four sisters and seven brothers.

He leaves behind a foster daughter, Leona and her husband Dennis, along with their children: Twila and Wes, and their children Telietha, Aazriel, and Davian; Letitia and Chris and their children Athena, Josiah, and Emmy Lou. He also leaves an adopted son Benjamin and his wife Edna, along with their children: Janelle and Sheldon and their children Ethan and Tressa; Kelvin and Jen and their children Shaylee and Brendan; and Corallee and Timothy Mitchell; as well as one brother, two sisters, and one brotherin-law.

“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26).

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

Although we will miss Dad, we rejoice knowing that he is in the presence of our Saviour.

His Family

15

pictures of God Joanna Plett

E

Hearing God’s love language

nter young King Henry V of England and Katherine, daughter of the recently defeated King of France.

“O fair Katherine, if you will love me soundly with your French heart, I will be glad to hear you confess it brokenly with your English tongue. Do you like me, Kate?”

“Pardonnez-moi, I cannot tell wat is ‘like me.’”

“An angel is like you, Kate, and you are like an angel” (V.2:104–11).

Henry’s wooing is at once romantic and comical as Katherine tries to decipher them through her barely existent English. I couldn’t help but feel as I read and watched this scene from Shakespeare’s play, Henry V, that Henry and Katherine’s communication attempts mirror my own difficulties in understanding and trusting God’s love for me. “...de tongues of de mans is be full of deceits,” she says (V.2:121–2). When God, after revealing himself as far beyond us and showing us our unworthiness of him, declares his love for us, we tend to get suspicious. What does he really want, and how sincere is his love?

As we sift his messages of love for us through our personal screens of language and experience, we assume that He wants something from us. And we quickly find messages to confirm our suspicions.

He wants obedience. He wants sacrifice. He wants us to give up our lives. In response to a love we cannot understand and thus cannot reciprocate, we give up these things to God. We are committed to him out of fear and necessity, but don’t feel embraced by his love.

And yet He wants and offers so much more.

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We are committed to God out of fear and necessity, but don’t feel embraced by his love. And yet He wants and offers so much more.

“Is it possible dat I sould love de ennemie of France?” (V.2:169–70) asks Katherine of the man who has just conquered her father’s kingdom. Is it possible that we should love Someone who asks us to give up our lives, our identities, our securities, our very selves?

To Katherine’s incredulous question, Henry responds, not with a demand for sacrificial love, but with a greater offer. “No,” he says, “it is not possible that you should love the enemy of France, Kate; but in loving me you should love the friend of France, for I love France so well that I will not part with a village of it—I will have it all mine. And, Kate, when France is mine and I am yours, then yours is France and you are mine” (V.2:171–76).

When God entered our existence to break into our system of survival and success, He did not come to destroy our lives, but to take away the shame and defeat of our broken kingdom and build a new kingdom, making us his bride—his queen—over all of it.

Although we can neither understand his tongue, nor respond to him in his own, he keeps coaxing us, showing us his love in human languages we do understand—romance and friendship, nature and beauty. And knowing we neither deserve nor worthily reciprocate his love, he, like Henry to Katherine, extends the invitation: “Come, your answer in broken music! for thy voice is music and thy English broken; therefore, queen of all, Katherine, break thy mind to me in broken English. Wilt T thou have me?” (V.2:242–45). M THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

MFC hires three new consultants Mennonite Foundation of Canada welcomes Gerald Barkman to their Abbotsford, B.C., office; Kevin Davidson to their Calgary, Alta., office; and Harold Penner to their Winnipeg, Man., office as consultants, bringing their many gifts and years of experience to the work of MFC. Gerald Barkman was born in Steinbach, Man., to missionary parents, and has been actively involved in missions and Christian education for most of his life, both as a teacher and administrator in many parts of Canada and around the world. He has been a business man and worked in the life insurance field as well.

Gerald will serve the MFC constituency in British Columbia.

His formal education includes a BA in Christian Education from Grace Bible College in Nebraska, a B.Sc. in Secondary Education from Goshen College in Indiana, a M.Sc. in Secondary Education from Indiana University, and a Bachelor of Recreational Science from University of Manitoba.

“I came to MFC with a real desire to do more in the areas of full-time Christian ministry, especially in the areas of administration and finance,” says Barkman. “I pray God will bless this new ministry for my clients and me, as we seek to honour Him in our stewardship of all our resources.”

Kevin Davidson grew up on a ranch outside of Calgary, Alta. He attended Prairie Bible Institute, Capenwray Bible School in New Zealand, and Royal Roads

Harold Penner

Gerald Barkman

University in Victoria, B.C, from which he received his B.Comm. degree.

Kevin has worked in the restaurant, sales, and banking industries; he comes to MFC from ScotiaBank where he worked as a personal banking officer and mutual funds representative. He will be serving the MFC constituency in Alberta with Gary Sawatzky, out of the Calgary office.

“The appeal of MFC for me is that it provides meaningful help from a service mentality, not a sales mentality.

Consultants are able to provide assistance to clients without ulterior motives; seminars can be presented without the pressure to “buy” anything. MFC provides an opportunity for me to serve people without having to receive in return; a chance to show what generosity is and put my education and faith into practice at the same time.”

Harold Penner grew up in Winnipeg attending Gospel Mennonite Church, an EMMC congregation, where he first

Kevin Davidson

came to follow Christ and was baptized.

He attended Steinbach Bible College for two years where he earned a Diploma in Biblical Studies.

Harold has been working for the past 10 years as accountant for MFC and brings that rich history and knowledge to his new role as consultant. Harold will serve the MFC constituency in Manitoba and Saskatchewan alongside Dori Zerbe Cornelson from the Winnipeg, Man., office.

“I am excited about this new opportunity God has given me to witness and encourage generosity. As the accountant at MFC, I have had 10 years of grounding in faithful, joyful giving, which I look forward to putting to good use in my new role as consultant.”

For more information on new consultants and on Mennonite Foundation of Canada, please visit our website at www.mennofoundation.ca.

MFC

MCC helps provide food in Kenya during drought Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is sponsoring the distribution of 26 tons of corn flour to nearly 4,000 people in a drought-stricken area of southern Rift Valley Province, Kenya.

Kenya is in the midst of a famine, and its government is appealing for aid. Food shortages are caused by drought, global economic problems and political violence in the country’s breadbasket region.

MCC provided $10,000 to a Kenyan partner organization, Maasai Integrated Development Initiatives (MIDI), to purchase flour and distribute it in Kajiado district. Most of the recipients herd livestock and are members of the Maasai tribe.

In exchange for food, some residents of Kajiado are participating in community work projects, including fencing fields, constructing roads, digging trenches

THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

for water pipes and building barriers to prevent erosion.

Martha and Ron Ratzlaff, MCC representatives in Nairobi, Kenya, visited Kajiado in early February and helped distribute food in several locations. The Ratzlaffs are from Calgary, Alberta.

In the community of Ilgaarooj, a crowd gathered beside a Presbyterian church and offered a prayer of thanksgiving before the food distribution, the Ratzlaffs wrote in an e-mail.

Eighty-four people, mostly women, received bags of corn flour, beans and cooking fat to carry home to their families. Some had walked 20 kilometers, or about 12 miles, to the distribution site, the Ratzlaffs wrote.

“All were truly grateful,” they wrote.

“We heard ‘God bless you’ repeatedly and indeed we are thankful to God.”

In addition to relief work, MCC supports projects that help rural Kenyan communities conserve water and increase agricultural production.

MCC

Residents of Kajiado district, Kenya, gather for a distribution of food that MCC sponsored in response to a drought and famine in the region.

(MCC photo)

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HELEN FAST (nee BRAUN) 1932–2008 Helen Fast (nee Braun) of Steinbach, Manitoba passed away peacefully with family by her side on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at the Steinbach Bethesda Hospital. Helen was born April 30, 1932 in Blumenort, Manitoba in the RM of Hanover, to Heinrich and Margaretha (Brandt) Braun.

She leaves to mourn her sudden passing, husband Henry Fast; four brothers and their wives, John and Deanna, Leo and Linda, Cliff and Ramona, Jim and Marion; four sisters and their husbands, Martha and Jim Loewen, Tina and Elmer Barkman, Trudy and Ed Wiens, Naomi and Willie Stoesz; one sister-in-law, Lucy Braun; and one brother-in-law and his wife, Walter and Doreen Goertzen, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Also left to mourn her passing are Henry’s step-mother, Anna Fast; three brothers and their wives, Harold and Nettie, Milton and Gladys, Vern and Edith; one sister and her husband, Grace and Clarence Kliewer; and one brother-in-law and his wife, Ernie and Elfrieda Reimer, and their families.

Helen was predeceased by their infant daughter Margarete Elizabeth, her parents Heinrich and Margaretha Braun, two brothers, Cornelius and Menno, and one sister, Elma.

Helen’s growing up years, as the oldest of twelve children, were spent on the family farm just west of Blumenort. After completing her elementary education in Blumenort, she found employment at the Municipal Hospital in Winnipeg. As a 21-year-old adult Helen decided to return to school, completed her high school education in Blumenhof and continued on to teacher training at the Normal School in Winnipeg. This was the beginning of a long teaching career, starting in one- and two-room multi-grade schools in Linden and Moray, and later as grade four teacher at Elmdale School in Steinbach. Helen loved teaching and is remembered by many of her students as their best teacher and role model.

Upon her confession of faith, Helen was

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baptized in June 1947 in the Blumenort Evangelical Mennonite Church. In 1969 Helen married Henry Fast, and together they established a comfortable home in Steinbach. They were blessed with the birth of a baby girl, Margarete, in December 1971, but were saddened by her premature death only five months later.

Helen’s commitment to her Lord and Saviour led her to serve in their church in Steinbach in many capacities, including Sunday school teacher, youth work, and church secretary. She continued to volunteer and serve faithfully in the church as she was able.

Family was always important to Helen. She faithfully provided care to her aging parents and later always encouraged regular family gatherings and celebrations. Together Helen and Henry enjoyed travelling. Their international trips to visit her sister Tina and family in Venezuela in 1977, her sister Naomi and family in Ghana in 1991 and a trip to the Ukraine and Russia to retrace family roots were some of their highlights.

Helen loved entertaining and gardening and took great pleasure in sharing their beautiful yard and home with their many friends and family.

Even in times when Helen faced serious health issues such as cancer and a radical mastectomy in 1996, a stroke in 2000, and major heart surgery in 2003, she continued to be active and enjoy life.

Declining health in the last year reduced some of the activities she so much loved to do. On Wednesday evening, Helen suffered a massive stroke while at home and peacefully passed away to be with her Lord on Thursday morning at the Bethesda hospital.

Helen will be lovingly remembered by all her family and the many friends whose lives were touched by her life.

Her Family

coming events March 7 SBC SPLAT An event for junior high youth Steinbach Bible College Steinbach, Man. 204-326-6451 or 800-230-8478 www.sbcollege.ca

March 13–14 SBC Leadership Conference Growing Bible Savvy People Speaker: Dr John Neufeld Steinbach Bible College Steinbach, Man. 204-326-6451 or 800-230-8478 www.sbcollege.ca

March 16–17

Proclaiming Christ in the Public Square: Challenges and Opportunities Speaker: Michael Coren Canadian Mennonite University Winnipeg, Man. 204-487-3300 or 877-231-4570 www.cmu.ca

May 1–2

Cross the Street: Engaging your community with authentic faith Speakers: Eric Swanson, Henry Schorr, Claude Houde, David Macfarlane Centre Street Church Calgary, Alta.

519-503-5380 www.billygraham.ca/Ministries/

May 15

Going Barefoot: Reaching the Facebook Generation Speaker: Mike Tennant Canadian Mennonite University Winnipeg, Man. 204-487-3300 or 877-231-4570 www.cmu.ca

May 15–18

Abundant Springs 2009 youth event Finding Your Place in God’s Story Speaker: Sid Koop Caronport, Sask. www.abundantsprings.ca

The pdf booklet on CD

Peace Sermons by EMCers (2008) is now available.

Cost: $2 each ($4 if mailed) To order, contact the national office: 204-326-6401 or rbuhler@emconf.ca

July 3–5 EMC Annual Convention Radical Discipleship: Increasing the Kingdom’s footprint in our world Speaker: Dr. Pierre Gilbert Riverton Recreation Centre Riverton, Man. 204-326-6401 www.emconf.ca

THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

SHOULDER TAPPING The EMC seeks a full- or part-time archivist to fill the equivalent of a one-year term position at the Conference office in Steinbach, Man. The archivist will work with the Conference’s archival collection, about 300 boxes of materials, and periodicals and books. The main goal of the year is to prepare the collection for transfer to a suitable archival facility.

A full job description and list of qualifications are available upon request.

The archivist is to be committed to a personal Christian faith and work well within a denominational office setting. Salary details are available upon request. Interviews for the position will continue until a suitable candidate is found.

Please contact General Secretary Tim Dyck at tdyck@emconf.ca or 204-326-6401.

Wymark EMC, a country church located 20 miles southeast of Swift Current, Sask., is accepting applications for lead pastor. We aim to be a friendly, family-welcoming church body of 70 to 90 people, and seek a pastor who can encourage us by word and example to grow to maturity in Christ. Enquiries can be directed to the Pastoral Search Committee at 306-773-9089 (leave a message) or funkfarm@gmail.com (Paul Funk).

Morris Fellowship Chapel (EMC), located in Morris, Man., is looking for a full-time pastor for a congregation of about 120. Previous pastoral experience and leadership abilities are assets.

For job description and information, please call Brian Klassen at 204-746-8102.

Reserve Fellowship Chapel (EMC), located in Sioux Valley (west-central Man.), seeks a fulltime pastoral couple to serve the church and to develop long-term relationships with people of the community. Direct inquiries to church planting coordinator Ward Parkinson, 204-326-6401, e-mail: wparkinson@emconf.ca.

Full text of ads available at www.emconf.ca/service.htm two weekly worship services: a modern English service and a distinctly Low German service.

This position is available to start in 2009. Fluency in Low German is an asset. To apply or for information, please contact pst@lemmc.com.

Steinbach EMC in Steinbach, Man., has a new opportunity to fill a half-time director of worship arts. You have a heart of worship, seeking to worship God in spirit and truth. You enjoy the richness of diversity in music and worship arts.

As a disciple of Christ, you are a willing, and teachable leader. Your love for the Lord and strong faith in Him is reflected in your ability to work well with many artists involved in worship arts ministry here. If this is you, we encourage you to check www.emchurch.com for information and how to respond. Blessings to you as you follow the Lord’s call on your life.

Brightwood Ranch, a Christian camp near Edmonton, Alta., serves underprivileged children and youth. Summer positions are paid and include: four-month positions (May to August): Main site program director, tipi village program director, secretary, leadership development program leader, GO Team leader, head cook, wranglers, junior wrangler training program leader, assistant maintenance. Twomonth positions: (July and August) senior counselors, assistant cooks, nurse, wranglers, assistant youth development program leaders, male and female unit leaders. Contact the ranch at bright.wood@hopemission.com.

Steinbach Bible College and Steinbach Christian High School invite applications for a part-time morning custodian.

This position will involve custodial duties.

Applicant must be in agreement with and sign our statement of Lifestyle and Morality

Standards, and Statement of Faith. Application form and job description are available at the SBC reception desk.

Only applicants to be interviewed will be contacted. Submit application, resume, and cover letter to: Steinbach Bible College, Attn: Wes Bergen, 50 PTH 12 N, Steinbach, MB R5G 1T4, Fax: 204-326-6908, E-mail: reception@ sbcollege.ca.

Mennonite Foundation of Canada invites applications for the position of accountant in our Winnipeg, Man., office.

Responsibilities include all day-to-day accounting functions of the organization.

Previous accounting experience with a charitable organization, proficiency with MS Office software, specifically Excel, and Access, familiarity with loan amortizations and interest rate calculations would be an asset. A complete job description is available upon request.

The ideal candidate will possess excellent organizational skills, be self-motivated, able to meet deadlines and contribute as part of an interdependent staff team. Salary will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

MFC offers a comprehensive benefits package.

Processing of applications will begin immediately and continue until an appointment is made. Please submit inquiries and resumes to: Assistant Manager, Mennonite Foundation of Canada, 12-1325 Markham Rd., Winnipeg, MB R3T 4J6, Ph. 204-488-1985, Fax 204-488-1986, E-mail rbjanzen@mennofoundation.ca, www. mennofoundation.ca.

Head Cook and kitcen prep staff required at Camp Cedarwood. Housing, utilities, and most food provided. For further information, call Brad Plett at 204-345-8529 or e-mail brad@ yfcwinnipeg.ca

Pelly Fellowship Chapel (EMC) seeks a youth worker or couple to develop a program for youth and junior youth. PFC is a small church in the village of Pelly, located in central Sask., close to the Manitoba border. Submit resume to Pastor John Froese, Box 70, Pelly, SK S0A 2Z0. Phone 306-595-2074. E-mail pastor@pellyfellowship. com.

Leamington EMMC seeks a full-time senior pastor to minister to a large and growing congregation. Located in the most southern part of Ontario, Leamington was voted Canada’s number one place to live in 2006 by MoneySense Magazine. Our church has many strong committees and programs in place, including a church council and a vibrant Sunday School program.

Our congregation is made up of both Low German- and English-speaking members, and consists of mostly young families. We feature

THE MESSENGER February 18, 2009

19

KIDS’

corner Loreena Thiessen

Love is like a red, red rose

W

hat do you think of when you see the color red?

In February red is all around us. In the shops there are red hearts, red candy, red flowers, and red ribbons on soft cuddly bears.

Red is the color of warmth and energy. When you see the red flames of a bonfire or in a fireplace you want to edge closer and warm your hands.

Red is also the color that warns us of danger. Ships with a raised red flag on the high seas warn others that they are carrying dangerous cargo or that they are disabled and require help.

Red means “Stop!” The red light at an intersection stops all the traffic facing it. A construction worker waving a red flag on the highway means “Stop!” Cars have to wait until it is safe to go on.

Red attracts your eyes so that you focus on it. This is true for the hummingbird too; for the hummingbird, red is a sign that here is a good supply of nectar. The red nectar can be in a feeder or deep inside a red flower.

Red is the color that means love. Have you ever given your mother a bouquet of red roses? Red roses show her that you love her.

In China the color red means wealth, joy and long life. A traditional Chinese bride wears a red wedding gown

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and veil and she walks in on a red carpet. Dainty decorated red bags filled with money are given to wish the bride and groom a long and joyous life. The front door of their home is painted red to invite good luck.

In the Bible red stands for the cross and for spilled blood. The Israelites were commanded to paint the tops of their doorways with the red blood of a perfect lamb.

The red blood was their protection. This was the first Passover, where God passed over all the homes with the blood. This is how God protected them from the plagues that punished the Pharaoh, and from death.

T Read the story in Exodus 12:1–13. M

Activity You will need: Construction paper 8x10 Sponge Paper plate Red or pink tempera paint Pen or pencil crayons Glitter What to d o: Fold 8x10 paper in half; cut the paper at the fold.

Fold each half sheet in half again. Now you have a basic card.

Cut the sponge into a heart shape. Make sure the heart shape will fit your card.

Pour the paint into the paper plate.

Dip the heart-shaped sponge into the paint; scrape off any drips.

Then stamp the card with the heart stamp.

Let the card dry.

Write a Valentine’s message on the card.

Give to a friend.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

THE MESSENGER Evangelical Mennonite Conference 440 Main Street Steinbach, MB R5G 1Z5 Publications Mail Agreement #40017362 PAP Registration #9914