The Messenger March/April 2022

The Messenger a publication of the

Evangelical Mennonite Conference

Volume 60 No. 2 March/April 2022

Lent

and Becoming like Jesus

ALSO INSIDE: I’m a scholar of the ‘prosperity gospel.’ It took cancer to show me I was in its grip. page 10 What Barabbas Got Right! page 14 ISTOCK

Waves in the desert: How can we help Afghan refugees? page 18 Poem: From grief to joy page 22

PAGE 6

Editorial

God as Refugee and Refuge

G

od, in Christ, knows the experience of the refuThrough his church, God wants to demonstrate his love gee. “An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in to refugees in Canada and beyond. I hope you, like me, are a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his prayerfully considering what God is calling you to do. mother and escape to Egypt. Stay here until I tell you, for With the doors of opportunity wide open, tools to Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’ So he got assist in the task are needed as well. Evangelical Fellowship up, took the child and his mother durof Canada is one of four organiing the night and left for Egypt, where zations in Canada launching an he stayed until the death of Herod. initiative to help churches better And so was fulfilled what the Lord welcome newcomers to Canada. had said through the prophet: ‘Out Welcome Church (welcomechurch. of Egypt I called my son’” (Matthew ca) is a free video-based train2:13–15). ing that launched February 1. The This experience mirrors many of practical training listed, “engagthe stories of those waking up in Kyiv ing respectfully with newcomers’ in the early morning of February 24, backgrounds, providing practical 2022. A quick exit. Take only what you hospitality, and how to start a welneed. Travel to a place of safety. come team” (p. 31), seems likely At the time of writing, two milto me to have applications beyond lion have fled the country. The UN welcoming newcomers; useful has predicted that number could rise to four million, to training as we emerge from a pandemic where, for many of become the biggest such crisis this century. Organizations us, our hospitality and listening skills have gotten somein Canada are launching initiatives to host displaced Ukrai- what rusty. nians seeking refuge.

As I reflect on the gravity of the current global situaThe need is great for the Afghan people as well. Over tion, I’ve had the words of the song “God of Justice” (Tim two million Afghans are refugees, and many more are Hughes) running through my head. I particularly love internally displaced. In Arley Loewen’s article in this issue the petition in the song’s bridge, “Fill us up, send us out.” (pp. 18–21), he concludes with an invitation to EMC A powerful reminder that we don’t operate in our own churches and groups to consider sponsoring Afghan Chris- strength, but in the Lord’s. “Trust in him at all times, you tian refugees to come to Canada. people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge” God cares about the refugee. The refugee nation of (Psalm 62:8).

Israel was called from Egypt out of slavery and persecu– Rebecca Roman tion to a new land of promise. The Bible abounds with reminders to the Israelites to “not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners” (Exodus 23:9). Beyond a commitment to not oppress, they are Note on discussion within The Messenger to “love them [foreigners] as yourEvery community will have a of people in our lives. These disself, for you were foreigners in Egypt” diversity of views and opinions, cussions should also reflect the (Leviticus 19:34). which provides opportunities reality that some groups and Part of the reason for the exile was for us to learn from each other, individuals have not always felt Israel’s negligence of this command. being quick to listen, slow to welcome in Christian communi“In you [Jerusalem] they have treated speak and slow to become angry ties. We welcome your responses father and mother with contempt; in (James 1:19).

Our discussions are to articles and topics discussed in you they have oppressed the foreigner inevitably impacted by our own The Messenger. and mistreated the fatherless and the experiences, and the experiences – Board of Church Ministries widow” (Ezekiel 22:7). Disobedience led to judgment.

This experience mirrors many of the stories of those waking up in Kyiv in the early morning of February 24, 2022. A quick exit.

Take only what you need. Travel to a place of safety.

2 The Messenger • March/April 2022

Table of Contents Features

Columns

6

23 Focus On

Lent and Becoming Like Jesus

Why Project Builders Matters – Tim Dyck

– Layton Friesen

10 I’m a scholar of the ‘prosperity gospel.’ It took cancer to show me I was in its grip.

– Kate Bowler

14 What Barabbas Got Right!

34 His Light to My Path The Scriptural Pebbles in My Shoe – Karla Hein

35 A Path To Peace Masters of SelfDeception – Kevin Wiebe

– Terry M. Smith

18 Waves in the desert: How can we help Afghan refugees?

page

36 Kids’ Corner

10

What Is Science?

– Loreena Thiessen

– Arley Loewen

22 Poem: From grief to joy – L. Marie Enns

Departments 2

Editorial

4

Letters and Notices

24

With Our Missionaries

26

With Our Churches

28

News

33

Shoulder Tapping

page

25

page

18

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 3

The Messenger Volume 60 No. 2 March/April 2022

MANAGING EDITOR ERICA FEHR

Letters and Notices Preliminary Financial Results

EDITOR REBECCA ROMAN

PUBLICATION AND PURPOSE The Messenger is the publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference, 440 Main Street, Steinbach, MB R5G 1Z5. 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.

Phone: 204-326-6401 messenger@emconference.ca www.emcmessenger.ca www.issuu.com/emcmessenger ISSN: 0701-3299 Publications Mail Agreement Number: 40017362 Second-class postage paid at Steinbach, MB

There has been much uncertainty in our world in the past two years, fueled by the pandemic and the various opinions on how society ought to deal with it. Considering this uncertainty, the General Board requested a reduction in the EMC budget for the 2021 fiscal year. The resulting budget was ten percent less than the previous year, with the hope that donations from churches and individuals would support this reduced budget.

The Board of Trustees is delighted to report that giving has remained strong throughout the year, with the result that we have ended the year with a substantial surplus in the

Evangelical Mennonite Conference

Year to Date Financial Report January-December 2021

COPYRIGHT The articles printed in The Messenger are owned

by The Messenger or by the author and may not be reprinted without permission. Unless noted, Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

TM

SUBMISSIONS 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.

Letters, articles, photos and poems are welcome.

Submissions should be sent to messenger@emconference.ca.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS Print subscriptions are free of charge to all members and adherents of EMC churches in Canada. For all others, print subscription rates are as follows: $20/year ($26 U.S.), Manitoba residents add 7% PST. To sign up for the email newsletter or submit an address change, email messenger@emconference.ca.

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 can be sent to messenger@emconference.ca.

4 The Messenger • March/April 2022

General Fund. EMC Administered missionaries have also been well supported. We are humbled, amazed, and encouraged by this strong support from donors. It provides confidence to the General Board to move ahead with the vision of the EMC to expand in ministry opportunities and to retool our national staff in keeping with the recommendations approved at the last Conference Council meeting.

Thank you to all EMC churches and individuals who have contributed to EMC ministries. The chart below is a preliminary and unaudited report of the financial results.

evangelical m e n n o n i t e c o n f e r e n c e

Income* Expenses Excess/Shortfall

General Fund 2021 1,865,239 1,539,882 325,357

General Fund 2020 2,103,871 1,795,314 308,557

*Income includes donations and transfers from other funds (e.g., estate funds).

Erica Fehr Appointed as DCA The Personnel Committee of the EMC General Board is very pleased to announce that Erica Fehr has been appointed to the role of Director of Communications and Administration. This appointment is effective as of January 1, 2022.

The appointment is part of the ongoing implementation of the recommendations made by the EMC Transition Consultant.

Erica’s primary responsibilities will be to oversee all communications functions of the EMC and to supervise the administrative staff.

She will share the editing responsibilities of The Messenger with

Rebecca Roman and will continue to give leadership to the digital publication Growing Together. She will also oversee the development of all print and digital media.

Erica has served the EMC national office for over 15 years in a growing variety of domains, and her experience and skill in both communications and administration have been apparent for some time.

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Erica as she transitions into this new responsibility at the EMC. You can reach her at efehr@ emconference.ca or 204-326-6401.

– EMC Personnel Committee

“

We value prayer...together we participate in the great task of reaching out to people with the gospel message...united and doing the work for which we are placed on this earth.”

– Angel and Blanca Infantes, EMC missionaries in Mexico

The prayer corps is available for Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Spain, and contains more detailed information and requests about the ministry happening in these fields.

A summary of all our missionaries and church planters with their locations, organizations and type of ministry was included in the January issue of The Messenger and will be updated periodically.

WAYS TO PRAY FOR EMC MISSIONARIES www.emconference.ca/pray PrayerMate app

The prayer calendar highlights each one of our missionaries and church planters every three months with short prayer requests for each one.

If you do not have access to digital methods, the prayer calendar and Day of Prayer material are available from your church office, and the prayer corps is mailed out toward the end of each month. Prayer meetings are advertised in The Messenger well ahead of time.

Day of Prayer happens annually on the third Sunday in February.

Churches are encouraged to take time in a service or at a prayer meeting to hear from and pray for EMC missionaries and church planters.

Prayer meetings are where we hear directly from two or three of our missionaries or church planters. They share about their ministry, and we spend time lifting them up in prayer.

“

We need prayer so much!

There’s so much darkness, and so many people held captive by sin.

Prayer walks ahead of us and softens hearts. Prayer gives us strength to do the work we need to do. When people pray for us, we feel it. We feel supported! I don’t want to know what’s it like to be on the mission field without people praying!”

– Ester Fehr, EMC missionary in Bolivia

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 5

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W I can’t just lie anaesthetized on the table while God transplants my heart.

ill I ever be like Jesus in this life? Will I ever really have Christ’s insight and wisdom? Could I ever be that free of the love of money or the need for human approval? Could I ever gladly die for someone who hated me and wanted to kill me? Could I be that surrendered to the Father’s will? That’s a big question, isn’t it?

We know it is by grace that we become like Christ. It is through his gracious presence and power in our lives that he draws us to himself. But this does not mean that becoming like Jesus happens without my involvement. I can’t just lie anaesthetized on the table while God transplants my heart. Paul says in Colossians 1:29 (NRSV), “For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.” That is the mystery of Christ in me, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). It is Christ in me who gives me the energy by which I struggle with all my strength to become the person I was created to be.

The mystery of sanctification

But how does this happen day to day? How do the power and personality of Christ within me come to be the energy within all my struggle?

One ancient piece of wisdom in the church says it happens by setting my calendar to the sequence of events in the life of Jesus. When my calendar, the plan and order of my days, mirrors the sequence of events in Christ’s life as told in the gospels, and when this happens decade after decade, I slowly become like Jesus. His time on earth

6 The Messenger • March/April 2022

Lent and Becoming Like Jesus Moving toward the reality of my sin and the truth of God’s gracious regard for me ISTOCK

By Layton Friesen

moved from promise, to birth, to teaching and ministry, turning toward Jerusalem and the cross, down to the grave, through to the resurrection and ascension, culminating with the outpouring of the Spirit on the church.

Christ’s life can give a spiritual structure to my year like summer’s heat, autumn’s leaves, winter’s blast and spring’s new life. When this is not merely an external, formal thing but an inner daily contemplation of Christ it sanctifies my time.

Is Christ leading or are we pushing?

This is the season of Lent. These are the 40 days leading up to Easter during which we join Jesus on his way to the cross. Now, is Jesus leading us to the cross or are we pushing him to the cross?

That is the great mystery of Lent.

On the one hand, in his journey to the cross, Christ is leading the way, repenting for my sin.

As my representative substitute, Christ is taking on my guilt and repenting of it, offering himself as my regret, godly sorrow, turning from sin, and entrance into new life.

But on the other hand, the twelve disciples walking with Jesus toward Jerusalem live out my response to Christ’s repentance. Their lack of faith, manoeuvres for power, and ignorance are

goaded out and exposed by the steep path Jesus is walking. As they walk with Jesus, they show themselves as sinners.

This is the mystery we enter during Lent. As we see ourselves in the disciples’ responses to Jesus, we take to ourselves Christ’s repentance on our behalf. During this time of Lenten repentance my “weaknesses” (the little mistakes I justify) become utterly sin. As I walk toward the cross it becomes evident these “cute” flaws are emerging as my own mounting resistance, evasion and rebel unbelief to the Christ. They will eventually bring me to lend a willing hand in the crucifixion of the Lord of glory. I will soon stand beside the sobbing Peter as the cock crows. “It was my sin that held him there.”

But not only do we enter into the experience of the disciples, we also come to share in Christ’s repentance for sin. Yes, Christ repented on our behalf, but not to shut us out of repentance.

Rather he offered a repentance on our behalf so that we could enter in and truly repent by borrowing his repentance and making it our own.

We repent with all the energy that his repentance on our behalf inspires within us.

Lent is thus a time to humble myself and become Christ’s disciple, moving from bumbling to honestly confessing my kiss of betrayal. To become humble is to stop telling lies to myself

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 7

and simply stand before God fully consenting to the truth about me. That truth is both the reality of my sin and the truth of God’s gracious regard for me in providing a substitute. I can’t bear the thought that I am a sinner, nor can I bear the thought that God, knowing full-well what a sinner I am, loves me.

The most dangerous lies are the ones we never say out loud, even to ourselves. These lies are hidden, unnamed assumptions we harbour about our self-sufficiency, and our capacity to overcome our sin.

ISTOCK

Fasting exposes the lies we tell ourselves

This is where fasting comes in. Lent is a time for fasting, because fasting is a time-proven way to expose the lies we tell ourselves. Decadent eating day after day covers the lies in my heart and allows these lies to remain potent. Lies can be sustained on a full stomach that become painfully obvious after several days without food.

The most dangerous lies are the ones we never say out loud, even to ourselves. These lies are hidden, unnamed assumptions we harbour about our self-sufficiency, and our capacity to overcome our sin. They may also be lies of despair, assuming we are despised by God, which can be a subtle way of evading responsibility for sin. Either way these lies need to be exposed, and fasting is one way we uncover the deception.

A regular habit or practice of fasting can help a person who wants to become a humble person who harbours no lies. Hunger drives us to admit the fierce power of our own appetites. It leads us to the place where we rest in the sufficiency of Christ’s provision for us, and we begin to resonate with Christ’s repentance as we turn from sin. This is especially so when fasting is accompanied by prayer, Scripture meditation and solitude.

The hazards of fasting

But fasting is not magic. It brings both hazards of achievement and hazards of despair. By achievement, fasting can paradoxically lead to a more

8 The Messenger • March/April 2022

K

Like physical strengthening, spiritual strengthening happens by regularly exercising to the limits of our strength and finding there the grace of God.

OC IST

insidious form of pride. Because it’s a steep path, getting to the end of a fast tempts one to feel like an elite Christian.

Another achievement hazard happens when fasting becomes a self-help project, and every Lent a time to find some new vice to give up this year as a way of improving my life. It won’t work. A short but temporary victory over an addiction only makes the vice stronger, since it leads us to believe we are still in control (Gerald May, Addiction and Grace). As a popular quip at times attributed to Mark Twain says, “It’s easy to quit smoking. I’ve done it hundreds of times.” The outcome of a disciplined, humble life before God will give me more power to overcome negative habits, but a fast alone will not break a bad habit.

There can also be hazards of defeat. Fasting is hard and its fruit grows slowly. It’s tempting to give up because it doesn’t immediately bring a flush of glory, and then kick myself for just not being very spiritual. But I need to remember that fasting is an exercise. You start slowly and build strength. If it’s not hard it’s not worth it. Like physical strengthening, spiritual strengthening happens by regularly exercising to the limits of our strength and finding there the grace of God. One practical way to avoid both the hazards of achievement and despair during Lent is to break the fast on Sundays. Lent is normally

counted 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays.

By taking a break from our fast each Sunday we are given a weekly reminder of the resurrection, of the victory that is ours in Jesus. It prevents the fast from becoming an achievement, and it keeps the fast from being as daunting.

Christ has redeemed us

Lent is not a time for gloating self-improvement nor is it a time to kick ourselves across the yard. It’s a time where I come to know myself as one of those who killed Christ, and therefore as one whom Christ has redeemed and taken to himself. When I see myself as a “sinner” in this gospel-drenched, theologically dense way, his shout from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” becomes his prayer for me.That’s one of many other ways to become like Jesus. Becoming like Jesus takes discipline.

It’s something we must practice. This is Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Layton Friesen is the Conference Pastor of the EMC. He lives in Winnipeg, Man., with his wife Glenda and they attend Fort Garry EMC. Layton has a PhD in theology from the University of St. Michaels College, Toronto. His book Secular Nonviolence and the Theo-Drama of Peace was published by T&T Clark in February 2022.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 9

I’m a scholar of the ‘prosperity gospel.’ It took cancer to show me I was in its grip.

What happens when faith and hard work aren’t enough?

By Kate Bowler

Kate Bowler is an assistant professor at Duke Divinity School, the author of Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved (from which this piece has been adapted),and the host of the podcast Everything Happens. Find her on Twitter @KatecBowler.

10 The Messenger • March/April 2022

T

here’s a branch of Christianity that promises a direct path to the good life. It is called by many names, but most often it is nicknamed the “prosperity gospel” for its bold central claim that God will give you your heart’s desires: money in the bank, a healthy body, a thriving family, and boundless happiness.

This was not the faith I grew up with on the prairies of Manitoba, Canada, surrounded by communities of Mennonites. I learned at my Anabaptist Bible camp about a poor carpenter from Galilee who taught that a good life was a simple one.

But when I was 18 or so, I started hearing stories about a different kind of faith with a formula for success. At first, I followed my interest in the prosperity gospel like a storm chaser, finding any megachurch within driving distance of a family vacation. I started at Yale Divinity School for my master’s ready to devote myself to analyzing this unusual theology.

By 25, I was traveling the country interviewing this movement’s celebrities for my doctoral research. Eventually, I wrote the first history of the prosperity gospel from its roots in the late 19th century to its modern mix of TV preachers and suburban megachurches.

During my years of research, I talked to televangelists who offered spiritual guarantees that viewers would receive money from God’s own hands, I held hands with people in wheelchairs

praying at the altar to be cured. They, too, thought faith contained an implicit promise of earthly reward.

I thought I was trying to understand how millions of North Americans had started asking God for more than subsistence. How they seemed to want permission to experience the luxuries of life as a reward for good behavior.

In popular culture, the movement was best known for Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, the de facto king and queen of 1980s televangelism. Their media empire toppled when Jim was convicted of financial fraud and the scandal cemented in most people’s minds the idea that the prosperity gospel was fundamentally about gold faucets, thick mink coats, and matching his-and-her Mercedes—and very little else.

Some believers in the prosperity gospel seek wealth. But others just want reassurance.

It is true that the prosperity gospel encourages people—especially its leaders—to revel in private jets and multimillion-dollar homes as evidence of God’s love. But among the less wellheeled believers, I sensed a different kind of yearning, one that wasn’t entirely materialistic.

Believers wanted an escape: from poverty, failing health, and the feeling that their lives were leaky buckets.

Some people wanted Bentleys, but more wanted relief from the wounds of their past and

PETER K. LEVY

Jim Bakker during a PTL broadcast with his wife Tammy Faye, 1986.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 11

the pain of their present. People wanted salvation from bleak medical diagnoses; they wanted to see God rescue their broken teenagers or their misfiring marriages. They wanted talismans to ward off the things that go bump in the night. They wanted an iota of power over the things that ripped their lives apart at the seams.

I discovered was both familiar and painfully sweet.

I felt the lure of the promise that I could curate my life, minimize my losses, and stand on my successes. No matter how many times I rolled my eyes at the creed’s outrageous certainties, I craved them just the same. I had my own prosperity gospel, a flowering weed grown in with all the rest.

Married in my 20s to a lovely Mennonite. Then a baby in my 30s. I won a job at my alma mater straight out of graduate school. I felt breathless with the possibilities. It was a certainty, plain and simple, that God had a worthy plan for my life. I wanted God to make me good and make me faithful — with just a few shining accolades along the way. I was willing to accept some setbacks but thought each one would also serve as a step forward; any hardships would be only detours on my long life’s journey. I believed God would make a way.

I don’t believe that anymore.

ISTOCK

I was willing to accept some setbacks but thought any hardships would be only detours on my long life’s journey.

I believed God would make a way.

I don’t believe that anymore.

What they wanted was reassurance: that if they prayed, and believed, and lived righteously, they would be rewarded with some measure of comfort.

The prosperity gospel is a theodicy, an explanation for the problem of evil. It is an answer to the questions that take our lives apart: Why do some people get healed and some people don’t?

Why do some people leap and land on their feet while others tumble all the way down? Why do some babies die in their cribs and some bitter souls live to see their great-grandchildren?

The prosperity gospel looks at the world as it is and promises a solution. It guarantees that faith will always make a way. If you believe, and you leap, you will land on your feet. If you believe, you will be healed.

I would love to report that what I found in the prosperity gospel was something so foreign and terrible to me that I was warned away. After all, the moral and logical flaws in this theology are all too evident; it explains away misfortune as something that can and ought to be held at bay through faith and prayer. But what

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The reckoning that challenged my theology

One moment I was a regular person with regular problems; the next, I was someone with cancer.

Stage 4 cancer. Before my mind could apprehend it, it was there—swelling to take up every space my imagination could touch. A new and unwanted reality. There was a before, and now there was an after. Time slowed to a pulse. Am I breathing? I wondered. Do I want to?

Every day I pray the same prayer: God, save me. Save me. Save me. Oh, God, remember my baby boy. Remember my son and my husband before you return me to ashes. Before they walk this earth alone.

I plead with a God of Maybe, who may or may not let me collect more years. It is a God I love, and a God that breaks my heart.

Anyone who has lived in the aftermath of something like this knows that it signifies the

arrival of three questions so simple that they seem, in turn, too shallow and too deep.

Why? God, are you here?

What does this suffering mean?

At first, those questions had enormous weight and urgency. I could hear Him. I could almost make out an answer. But that’s been drowned out by what I have heard a thousand times from people down here. “Everything happens for a reason” or “God is writing a better story.” Apparently, God is also busy going around opening doors and closing windows. He can’t get enough of that.

For believers, do all things really “work together for good”?

We want to believe we can shape our life’s course

I don’t think I knew enough about longing 10 years ago when I started investigating the prosperity gospel. I had just bought a little house with the man I love. I filled it with books, Ikea furniture, and a soft dog with legs as stout as soup cans. I was steeped in the lore of eternal youth.

My life was something I could mold, or at least correct with a surge of determination. It was the same unlimited confidence that the prosperity gospel calls “victory.” Nothing was broken yet that could not be fixed.

What gives the prosperity movement breadth and depth for many is its thorough accounting for the pain of life and the longing we have for restoration. For those trapped in failing bodies or broken relationships or the painful possibility that their lives might never be made whole, Americans turn to this message of hope.

If life is a game, one with rules for success that anyone can use, then maybe they can win.

I had always loved to hear those delicious reassurances that the best is yet to come, bits of scripture and common wisdom and folksy advice from strangers and friends. God is making things right. God will save me from the unthinkable. I will not be eaten up by cancer before my hair turns gray.

I know the temptations of believing such things. It is hard to give up the hope for perpetual worldly betterment. But today will have to be like any other, with bloodwork and test results, decisions to be made and side effects managed.

Today will be filled with possibilities and inevitabilities, with only the slenderest separation of difference between them. And enough reminders that joy persists, somehow.

I have been stripped down to the studs, and everything of worth I have accumulated is being appraised with a keen eye.

A world I love is ending, and so many people seem to know why. Most of their explanations are reassurances that even this is a secret plan to improve me. “God has a better plan!” “This is a test and it will make you stronger!” Sometimes these explanations are peppered with scriptures like, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28).

Except that the author of that passage, Paul, worshipped God with every breath until his body was dumped in an unmarked grave after being summarily executed by the empire. But I know what they’re saying. It would be nice if catastrophes were divine conspiracies to undo what time and unfaithfulness have done to my wandering soul.

Other people want to assure me that what I’ve had is enough. “At least you have your son.

At least you’ve had an amazing marriage.” I have been stripped down to the studs, and everything of worth I have accumulated is being appraised with a keen eye.

I am certain that when I die, some beautiful moron will tell my husband, “God needed an angel,” because God is sadistic like that.

This is what I think about sometimes. What people will say to the man with sandy hair and eyes I have loved since we were 15 and thought we would never die.

Reprint credit: “I’m a scholar of the “prosperity gospel.” It took cancer to show me I was in its grip.”, as it appeared on vox.com, March 12, 2018 from EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON: AND OTHER LIES I’VE LOVED by Kate Bowler, copyright © 2018 by Kate Bowler. Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 13

BARABBAS BEING RELEASED FROM PRISON / FROM VOLUME 9 OF THE BIBLE AND ITS STORY TAUGHT BY ONE THOUSAND PICTURE LESSONS, EDITED BY CHARLES F. HORNE AND JULIUS A. BEWER, PUBLISHED IN 1910.

What Barabbas Got Right!

By Terry M. Smith

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A

s we enter Holy Week, let’s remember Barabbas, who might enrich our sense of Easter. Usually we recall how this man, who killed in a failed rebellion against Rome, was released by Pontius Pilate and how Jesus took his place on the cross. Yet when Scripture becomes silent, Barabbas fades from our attention.

However, theologians such as Jürgen Moltmann explore connections between rebels such as Barabbas and his co-conspirators with Jesus.

By looking at the common ground between Barabbas and Jesus (what Barabbas got right!) and their differences, our wonder at Easter might increase.

A bit of common ground, at least according to tradition, is that both men are called Jesus, meaning “the Lord is salvation.”

Barabbas was not a first name, but a statement that he was the “son of Abbas.” More significant common ground is that each man posed a threat to the rule of Rome and Pilate’s own well-being.

Barabbas had committed murder in a rebellion (Matthew 27:16; Luke 23:19) and he and at least two of his co-conspirators were to be crucified at the Place of the Skull, an execution site outside Jerusalem, as a public deterrent to Jews gathering for the emotionally-charged time of the Passover. During Passover Jews remembered their past deliverance by God from political oppression and some hoped God would act against Rome. The Roman garrison was on alert against those who would take up the sword.

Similarly, Jesus of Nazareth, who had attracted a following as a teacher and a miracle-worker and had caused a disturbance in the Temple by overturning some tables (to Moltmann, a rebel-like action), was presented to Pilate by Jewish authorities as a threat to Rome.

When asked if he was a king, Jesus’ reply puzzled Pilate (John 18:33–37).

In assessing the risk Jesus posed, the Roman procurator wanted to release him. However, the crowd shouted, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” and then came a threat from some Jewish leaders: “If you let this man go, you are no friend of

Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar” (John 18:40; 19:12). Because of past errors in dealing with Jews, Pilate was on shaky terms with the Emperor and could not risk a complaint. Jesus of Nazareth was crucified.

So what did Barabbas get right?

First, Barabbas and his co-conspirators believed that God is the King, the proper ruler of Israel.

They believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were not secular people. If a fool says, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1), they were not fools, but motivated by faith that God was their king. Jesus affirmed that God is to be first in our lives (Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:28–34). They challenge anyone content to live without God (Isaiah 5:21).

Barabbas and our Lord also challenged their age, and ours, by proclaiming that God the King, who delivered Israel out of Egypt and later exile, remains active in human history. Even though God gives rulers much room to govern by ego, abuse of power, and evil choices (Amos 5:10–18), he remains sovereign and is working toward his future (Psalm 2).

As well, Jesus and rebels both “preached that the kingdom of God was at hand” and understood they were to work for the kingdom (Moltmann). Jesus said, “The time has come.

The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15), and he commissioned his disciples to go forth with the news (Luke 10:1–16). Barabbas and Jesus remind us that this is God’s world and change is coming!

Within this, both worked to set people free from oppression, believing that God is on the side of justice and peace.

Significant common ground is that each man posed a threat to the rule of Rome and Pilate’s own well-being.

And where did they differ?

While Barabbas and other rebels sought to “bring in the kingdom by force” (Moltmann), Jesus never approved the use of force. It has been said that if Jesus had called people to fight, many would have taken up the sword! I agree.

When, however, Jesus counselled his followers to love their enemies (Matthew 5:38–48), he was

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 15

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speaking in language critical of rebels.

Sadly, 1500 years later some zealotlike Anabaptists took over the city of Muenster, proclaimed God’s kingdom had come, and were prepared to defend it. They misunderstood our Lord and, as Layton Friesen has said, their actions made it difficult for other Anabaptists in Reformation-era Europe.

Another difference was in timing. Some Jews thought that by suffering in resistance, they would prompt God to intervene to establish his kingdom. If Barabbas thought this, he got it wrong. The Muensterites certainly did—the recapture of the city by Catholic forces revealed this! Jesus, rather, instructed his followers to wait patiently for God’s kingdom to fully come and did not say when this would be (Matthew 24:36). Instead, he called us to witness “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:6–8).

Barabbas and Jesus likely differed on the extent of the kingdom. Barabbas seemed focused on freeing Israel from Roman rule. Perhaps, as did some Jews, he envisioned a future in which the Jewish nation was exalted and other nations humbled. Joseph Klausner, a modern Jewish writer, said Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah partly because he did not care enough for the state of Israel. Yet Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 13:34–35; 23:28–31).

Even the disciples got it wrong at first. While they called him Messiah, Jesus spoke of himself as the Suffering Servant, being an unexpected Messiah.

16 The Messenger • March/April 2022

What is key is that Jesus’ Messianic vision both included and reached beyond Israel. Praising the faith of a Roman centurion, Jesus said, “Many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11). There is to be a future time when all believers will share in a kingdom of spiritual well-being, peace, justice and economic security.

Easter promises transformation

The good news of Easter is that God the King is acting for our salvation in Jesus and will ultimately transform heaven and earth, people and planet, to his glory and praise! Walther Eichrodt reminds us that the “core” of religious hope in the Old Testament is that God will set up his dominion over the earth, renewing creation, a hope rooted in history; and the “heart” of it is “real communion” between God and people.

George Ladd says, “The human heart, human society, and all of nature must be purged of...evil,

that God’s glory may be perfectly manifested in his creation.” Isaac Rottenberg, a Reformed minister who lost family in the Holocaust, says redemption includes heaven and earth, the human heart and the history of nations, society and nature. A. A. van Ruler says, “The cross, the overcoming of sin by vicarious expiation, is the centre of the gospel. But the horizon is the kingdom, the purified heart, the sanctified life, the exorcised state, the society made at peace” (summarized by Moltmann).

Neither Pilate nor Barabbas really understood Jesus of Nazareth or what was happening when our Lord was crucified. Even the disciples got it wrong at first. While they called him Messiah, Jesus spoke of himself as the Son of Man (Daniel 7:9–14) and the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52–53; Mark 8:27–33), being an unexpected Messiah.

The greatest sacrifice happened on public display “outside the boundaries of Israel” and “on the boundary of human society” (Moltmann), not within any temple or on an altar hidden by a veil. It was at the Place of the Skull with Roman soldiers and Jewish people present, representing God’s embrace of the whole world.

The gracious reach of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross was world-wide and eternal, beyond any offered in the Jewish temple, and the sacrifice was unique and unsurpassed: The Son of God who became also man achieved our salvation by his voluntary death for us (Hebrews 9-10).

Key Resources: • • • • •

• • •

C. H. Dodd, The Founder of Christianity (Fontana, 1973).

Walther Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament (Westminster, 1961 and 1966).

R. T. France, The Man They Crucified (IVP, 1975).

Joel B. Green and others, eds., Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (IVP, 1992 and 2013).

George Eldon Ladd, The Presence of the Future and A Theology of the New Testament (both Eerdmans, 1974).

Jurgen Moltmann, The Crucified God (SCM, 1974).

Isaac C. Rottenberg, The Promise and the Presence (Eerdmans, 1980).

H. H. Rowley, The Faith of Israel (SCM, 1956).

When Jesus’ resurrection occurred on Easter morning, it contained the assurance of grace and eternal life for all who would believe.

As Moltmann says, in looking at the cross we see the Crucified God, the Lord who reconciled heaven and earth by “his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:16–20).

I am saddened that the cross pierced the Son of God, but rejoice that it also pierced the soil beneath it, just as Jesus’ physical body would later lie briefly in a physical tomb. When Jesus’ resurrection occurred on Easter morning, it contained the assurance of grace and eternal life for all who would believe (John 3:16) and the promise of “creation…liberated from its bondage to decay” (Romans 8:21).

Moltmann reminds us that Jesus is Lord and there is coming a day when he will destroy death, openly reign over “all dominion, authority and power,” and turn the kingdom over to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:22–28). And “only with the resurrection of the dead, the murdered and the gassed, only with the healing of those in despair who bear lifelong wounds” will God the Father turn the Son’s sorrow into eternal joy.

We do not know how Barabbas responded after being released from prison and spared execution, yet what Luke suggests of a co-conspirator is intriguing and wonderful: the rebel turned and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Luke says he saw in Jesus a ruler whose kingdom challenged him and in that he took hope.

Terry M. Smith served as a pastor for 11 years with Northern Fellowship Chapel (Creighton, Sask.), where he was ordained, and for 23 years in the EMC national office mostly in the areas of education, archives, and publication (including The Messenger). He remains open to writing, preaching and teaching. He lives in Mitchell, Man.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 17

waves in the desert

How can we help Afghan refugees?

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By Arley Loewen

18 The Messenger • March/April 2022

I

t was way back in 1980. Some readers may remember when U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced a general boycott of the Moscow Olympics to denounce the Soviet Union. They had just invaded Afghanistan to prop up the socialist regime of Kabul. Many nations, including Canada, joined the boycott.

First wave of refugees: 1980s

• from the Soviet Invasion The Soviet invasion caused the first wave of Afghan refugees as millions flooded into Pakistan, Iran and India.

At the same time, Afghans began to resist the Soviets and Kabul government, which birthed the Afghan mujahideen (holy warriors). The U.S. saw an opportunity to oppose the Soviets by supporting the Afghan warriors.

Islamic enthusiasts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and elsewhere, joined with the mujahideen in “short-term mission” service—an ideal chance for young radicals to practice jihad. Osama bin Laden was one such warrior, and he started the al-Qaeda Islamic party.

Gradually more refugees, especially in India and Pakistan, came to faith. We lived in Toronto in the 1990s, where we worked among Persian newcomers.

We worked with Afghan immigrants in the West and some refugees in Pakistan to start a media ministry for Afghanistan. Our aim has been to help Afghan believers reach their own people with the good news.

Third wave of refugees: 1996 onwards

• from the Taliban During the 1990s, thousands of young refugees in Pakistan studied in Islamic schools while their nation was devastated by this bloody conflict. They were Taliban (literally: students) who envisioned a purist Islamic state would bring peace to their land.

In the spring and summer of 1996 this rag-tag band of young students swept across Afghanistan and marched into Kabul. In early September of that year they established their first “truly” Islamic state.

This led to a third wave of refugees.

Then came 9/11.

The world changed.

I had joined OM Canada with a calling to go where there was no church. In the fall of 1981, I joined a small team to serve among Afghan refugees in Pakistan and India. Janice (now my wife) came a year later (by the way, that’s where we met). Although there were a few secret believers in Afghanistan, we had no connection with anyone. We saw a handful of refugees come to faith in these early years.

Second wave of refugees: 1990s

• from the mujahideen conflict After years of bitter fighting, the Soviets finally withdrew in 1989. A few years later the Afghan communist regime fell to mujahideen rule. Now the various mujahideen factions turned on each other, fighting bitterly for control of the country. Many areas of Kabul were leveled to rubble.

The conflict between the mujahideen parties and shelling of Kabul brought about a second wave of refugees. From these two waves of refugees, Afghans began to immigrate to Western countries.

We were in Pakistan during these years where we were part of a flourishing group of believers, refugees from Afghanistan and Iran.

For five years the Taliban ruled Afghanistan with their rigorous interpretation of Islamic law. Hundreds of Arab radicals (not Afghans) planned foreign terrorist attacks under the auspices of the Taliban regime.

Then came 9/11. The world changed. The U.S., along with coalition forces, bombed Taliban strongholds. In six short weeks the Taliban government collapsed. Hamid Karzai became the president of Afghanistan in December 2001.

The psyche of the Afghan refugee in Pakistan transformed overnight, from despair to hope.

Millions of refugees return: 2002 onwards Millions of refugees from Pakistan and Iran, as well as those who had settled in the West flooded back to Afghanistan.

Janice and I joined that flood, along with many of refugees, including believers. We lived in Afghanistan for four years, enjoying the freedom to work in a variety of development projects and to connect with followers of Jesus.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 19

The country leaped forward in development. For the first time in Afghan history, the nation freely voted for their president. Excitement reigned. What freedom! Trades worked 24/7. New businesses popped up everywhere. Boys and girls laughed as they went to school. Civil society flourished in all areas: music, language clubs, sports, media networks and so much more.

Janice and I lived in Afghanistan for four years during the height of Afghan hope and development. Those were some of the most satisfying years of our ministry as we lived among and served the people whose language and culture we had learned.

Fourth wave of refugees: 2010 onwards

Janice Loewen (top right) teaches a discipleship class with believers on the island of Lesbos, Greece.

• from everything As the country prospered, dark clouds rose from within and beyond, from the horizons.

Nepotism and corruption, along with too much Western money, birthed rot in government and other institutions.

The Taliban had been pushed out, but they fought back. At first, they initiated scattered acts of terrorism, but by 2010 we began to witness audacious suicide attacks and assassinations. In August 2010, the Taliban killed a team of eight international workers and two Afghans who were on their way home from a medical trip. In 2014, a series of daring attacks on NGOs, foreign workers and Afghan Christians shattered the notion of tranquility, especially for international families and believers, who began to leave Afghanistan.

When the crisis of ISIS broke out in Syria in 2014 and onwards, Afghan refugees joined the wave of Arab refugees flooding to Europe.

Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, declared an open welcome to refugees. Over a million flooded into Germany, Sweden and other countries in a few short years. Afghans who had experienced systemic discrimination as refugees in Iran joined this wave. This created a “refugee highway” through Turkey and Greece to Western Europe.

20 The Messenger • March/April 2022

Churches and ministries in Europe magnanimously welcomed these refugees. This unexpected love drew many Muslims to learn more about Jesus and the Christian faith.

Janice and I have been part of many seminars and conferences for refugees in Europe and Asia. What a privilege it is to help young believers understand their new faith. True, this emerging church among Afghans is not without growing pains as well, but God is building his kingdom.

Fifth wave of refugees: today

• from the Taliban, again In all this conflict and trauma, nothing was more shocking than August 15, 2021. The American military wanted out of Afghanistan after their longest war in history and having spent billions. They negotiated with the Taliban, keeping the Afghan government at bay. As the Taliban blitzed across Afghanistan in 2021, no one could make sense of it. Their unexpected return, along with the collapse of the Afghan government, followed by the crazed airport evacuations, shook the entire world and left much of the Afghan world in utter dismay.

Yes, the Taliban see their victory as a blessing from God. And true, the war is over. Crime has decreased. Peace has come (for now). But

at what price? Afghans have (almost) survived a winter of hunger and a shattered economy.

Will girls after grade six really be able to go to school? Fear rules.

The world witnessed the chaos at the Kabul airport as Afghans scrambled for space on the planes. Thousands of evacuees are now settling in Western countries, but many are stranded in the Gulf Arab states and elsewhere. Other Afghans escaped the Taliban takeover and fled into Pakistan and Tajikistan on their own, from where they hope to be resettled in some Western country.

Call for help

• Canada Today, tens of thousands of Afghan refugees are stranded all over the world from these waves of refugees. Some fled Afghanistan as believers.

Many came to faith on the refugee trail, as they were uprooted and lost their social cohesion.

We have had the wonderful privilege of visiting and ministering among Afghan believers in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and many European countries in recent years.

The European church has welcomed many of them. Today, Afghans, Iranians and Arabs are part of the Christian community in Europe.

It is now our turn here in Canada to step up to the plate. Last year Prime Minister Justin

Trudeau announced that Canada will welcome 40,000 vulnerable Afghans.

Afghan Christian refugees are vulnerable indeed—doubly vulnerable. They cannot return to Afghanistan. The non-European nations listed above do not allow the Afghans to inte-

Who will welcome and support these Afghan Christians? grate in their present country of asylum. At the same time, they face harassment from their own Muslim neighbours and family members, who themselves are refugees.

So, who will welcome and support these Afghan Christians?

We must help the household of faith. We need churches and groups of five or more to sponsor Afghan Christian refugees who are from the recent waves of refugees. Many are stranded in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and the Gulf Arab states with no hope of ever being accepted as permanent residents there.

This need is urgent. The refugees have been left on their own long enough. Please contact the EMC office to see what steps your church should take to sponsor one or more Afghan Christian family units.

Janice and Arley Loewen enjoy lunch with Afghan believers near Jakarta, Indonesia.

Arley and Janice Loewen have lived and worked among the people of Afghanistan since the early 1980s.

Arley specializes in Persio-Afghan cultures, with an MA from Pakistan (1989) and a PhD from the University of Toronto (2000). The Loewens served in Pakistan for many years and then in Afghanistan for four years with their two teenage daughters. They now live in Blumenort, Man. They minister in Europe and elsewhere, teaching and training Afghan migrant believers with a passion to see Afghan believers become mature disciples and join vibrant communities of Jesus followers.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 21

From grief to

By L. Marie Enns

Mourning Mother Mary— They killed her innocent Son Despondent, devastated disciples— Their Master lies lifeless, entombed Godly, grieving women take spices To anoint their Lord’s body— Their final act of kindness.

Hope dashed by despair Faith weakened by perplexity Joy crushed by sorrow The atmosphere hangs heavy With grief and gloom, Disappointment and dismay.

joy

Then Sunday morning Resurrection bursts forth!

The tomb is empty New hope is born On Easter morn Joy and faith return As confused minds struggle To wholly comprehend This new, unexpected revelation Jesus is alive again!

He has risen from the dead He has died and risen as He said Glory to God in the highest Alleluia! Christ is risen Indeed!

L. Marie Enns, a retired teacher, writes devotionals and poetry. She and her husband Henry are adherents of La Crete Christian Fellowship, La Crete, Alta., while maintaining their membership at Compass Immanuel Church, Rapid View, Sask. This poem was first published in Easter Stories and More by InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship in March 2021.

22 The Messenger • March/April 2022

Column • Focus On

Why Project Builders Matters

M

any people sitting in the pews at EMC churches (or watching online) may not be aware of the existence of an organization called EMC Project Builders.

So, if you haven’t heard of it, you’re not alone— but you may be missing out!

In 1973, a group of men and women gathered to raise funds for a radio station in Paraguay known as ZP-30. This radio station was a muchneeded ministry tool for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in the Chaco region of Paraguay. However, the cost of building a station was much more than what EMC could normally provide.

This was how the Missions Auxiliary was formed. For several years, large sums of money were contributed to the development and expansion of ZP-30. Businesspeople and other concerned church attenders gave as they were able, and the radio station was established. It is still in operation today, continuing the original mandate to proclaim the gospel through the airwaves.

The idea had been formed, and other projects needed funding, so the Missions Auxiliary continued to raise funds for a myriad of projects. In December 2006, the name was changed to Project Builders, to reflect the organization’s purpose more accurately.

Throughout the years, millions of dollars have been contributed to hundreds of worthwhile capital projects. Each year, projects are submitted by EMC missionaries and are assessed based on criteria established by an executive of the Project Builders membership.

Membership is open to anyone who wants to

338

projects funded

}💵

contribute to this worthy endeavour. Each member is asked to contribute $250 annually, but many donate above this amount.

Another means of funding projects is the annual Project Builders Golf Tournament, generally hosted in Steinbach. This golf tournament has been taking place for over 26 years and is growing in both participation levels and funds raised. It is a great opportunity to have fun while supporting projects with a purpose.

An annual general meeting of the membership takes place in November, where recently completed projects are celebrated, and new projects are presented. The AGM also elects the members of the executive, who meet throughout the year to carry out the ministry between the annual meetings. The last two years these membership meetings have been conducted online, and we look forward to being able to meet in person this fall.

Project Builders matters because it funds ministry projects and programs that support evangelism, develop the local church, and disciple believers. If you would like to know more about Project Builders, or would like to become a member, check out www.emconference.ca/ project-builders. And don’t keep this secret to yourself—tell your friends!

By Tim Dyck EMC Executive Director

Project Builders matters because it funds ministry projects and programs that • support evangelism, • develop the local church, • and disciple believers.

$3.2 million raised

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48

years

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 23

With Our Missionaries

Training Team Members in Tirana ALBANIA

GABI

One of the first visits Samuel made to our house after havwe come in: during this time, we teach them principles of ing been assigned as a field missionary was on a warm culture and language learning, cultural adaptation, teamspring day. We sat in our little courtyard in Tirana, Albawork and conflict resolution, and navigating contexts of nia, and he shared more about the journey of God calling different faiths. Other trainers contribute in the areas of him to this life. church planting and contingency planning.

He recalled one of his Bible school professors bringSamuel was part of the trainee group that got “stuck” ing in a box of missionary biographies for the students to with us when the pandemic first hit, so that his three read, and Samuel ended up being the last to get one: Eric months turned into eight before he could return to GuaLiddell. As he learned of Liddell’s story, he was challenged by the athlete’s willingness to give up fame and success to go to a distant place; he asked himself if he could give up all that was familiar. Now he has responded to the challenge, and is learning Albanian, with the hopes of living in a minority Albanian community elsewhere in the Balkans.

Samuel is one of more than 35 Latin American cross-cultural workers whom we have helped train in the past three years. We are serving a partner organization whose focus is to send Latinos to the least-reached people groups. Some of our trainees, like Samuel, themselves come from people groups who, 150 years Mentoring, of course, also involves hosting meals! ago, were considered least-reached—groups which spoke (and continue to speak) their own indigenous temala. However, the unexpected confinement tested the languages. group’s mettle, and they became committed to serving in a In the process of getting from their home countries cross-cultural setting. Samuel arrived in May 2021, settling to the field, workers first go through a Phase 1 two-week into a new language and culture. Three other young people training event in Guatemala. Then they can attend Phase 2, have arrived since then, one of whom is living with us to a three-month internship in Tirana, Albania. This is where improve her English before she goes to the Middle East to serve as a doctor in a refugee camp. (Lord willing! We all know that any plans are to be held lightly, and prayed for, as we trust in God’s sovereignty.)

In the meantime, we continue to provide mentorship to these and other new field workers elsewhere in the Balkans. How can you pray for us? We are preparing to return to Canada in June for a year, so we would like to work on mentoring our colleagues well until then, in order that they may be able to continue serving faithfully. Pray especially for good communication all around, and for us, in the spirit of Hebrews 10:24, be able to “spur [others] on toward love and good deeds.”

– Calvin and Gabi Calvin and Gabi are members of Wycliffe Canada, working in Albania as Sending Movement Facilitators.

24 The Messenger • March/April 2022

With Our Missionaries

Running With the Bears in Churchill

Chris Goetz (Winnipeg marathon runner) on the road at approximately km 25 with a mama bear and two cubs on the road.

PHOTOS COURTESY ALBERT MARTENS

MANITOBA

The 10th anniversary Polar Bear Marathon took place in Churchill, Man., on November 20, 2021.

I feel very fortunate to have been able to organize a great marathon in the subarctic again. During the many months of planning, we hoped it would not be cancelled at last minute due to COVID-19. Fourteen runners plus crew people were able to travel to Churchill for the run.

Participants came from Ottawa, British Columbia, Churchill, Winnipeg, Steinbach, Italy, and Lithuania.

The night before the run we had a short planning meeting matching runners with crew and safety vehicles. Every runner needs their own crew since no two runners have the same pace. The Canadian Rangers were part of the crew that helped us. They are a big asset because they live in Churchill and understand bear behaviour. We expected polar bears to be present this year since the Hudson’s Bay was not yet frozen.

It was a beautiful start in front of the Seaport Hotel, with “O Canada” playing, a prayer and the bear banger gun shot at 8 a.m. The runners were off, heading out of the Town of Churchill. It was snowing nicely with mild temperatures of minus 6°C, and they had the wind at their backs—until the turnaround point at kilometre 21.1.

Running back toward the town of Churchill was a big challenge for the runners. A strong cold wind was blowing, and the snowfall increased in intensity. Forecast was

Shannon Sawatzky (Steinbach marathon runner) at the finish with the polar bear mascot in front of the Seaport Hotel.

for a blizzard the following day. Not only were they facing into strong winds, suddenly the bears showed up along the route. Around the 15-kilometre mark a mama with two sweet cubs was watching runners from a short distance.

Now it was more important than ever for the runner to stay close to their crew/vehicle.

Then the Ranger escort spotted a big bear approaching right on the road. It was about 25 metres from two runners who stopped, thinking, “Where do we go?” The Ranger shot his gun, but the bear kept coming. Even the experienced Ranger became a bit concerned. But finally, the bear steered off the road and left. A bit further down the road, the same runners had to stop on the road and wait for the mama bear with her two cubs to cross of the road. It’s possible these encounters influenced the runners’ pace a bit.

Every runner got to see a bear or two from about 100 metres. The Polar Bear Marathon lived up to its name.

The running route (out and back) is a beautiful road, with a good section along the Hudson’s Bay, witnessing the crashing waves hitting the shoreline. Running in the falling snow and seeing the one-sided “Charlie Brown” pine trees is impressive. These are views the runners will not forget soon.

Some runners finished the half marathon at km 21.1 and others finished the full 42.2 km marathon distance, and one completed the ultra of 50 kilometers.

– Albert Martens

Dave Colley (Hornby Island, B.C., 50 km marathon runner) at the finish with Albert Martens in front of the Seaport Hotel.

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

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 25

With Our Churches Pelly Fellowship Chapel

Church Bids Farewell to Missionaries

RHONDA BRODEUR

CCPTF

PELLY, Sask.—Hyounjin (Simon) Sturgis, and South Korea. The couYoon and Jinhee (Joy) Yang arrived ple was extremely pleased to have in Pelly, Sask., in 2018 as Pelly FelPastor Yoon’s mother there from lowship Chapel’s First Nations South Korea. Layton Friesen, EMC missionaries. They helped any time Conference Pastor, led the ordinaan extra hand was needed, whertion service. ever and whenever needed. Their Hyounjin and Jinhee spent their presence will be sadly missed. last Sunday service at Pelly FellowOn June 24, 2018, Hyounjin ship Chapel on October 17, 2021. was baptized by Pastor Hyoungjin Many people gave words of appre(Frankie) Kim, with his wife Jinhee ciation and encouragement. The standing close by, and the church couple received farewell gifts from congregation watching. the ladies group and the church.

They first worked with the They will be missed by many.

Keeseekoose First Nations peoWe wish them the Lord’s blessple for one year. Then, in 2019, ing in whatever the Lord has they began working with the Cote planned for their future.

First Nations people. They had a During the month of Decembuilding they were fixing up as a ber, our teen Sunday School class meeting place for services.

Hyounjin (Simon) Yoon and Jinhee (Joy) Yang set up two tables in the church Hyounjin was excited when a basement and sold items between hot water tank arrived so they could have baptisms with services and after the church service. They had a variety of warm water instead of cold. They were fixing up the builditems for sale like dish scrubbies, jam, nativity scene, face ing one piece at a time, which involved time, effort, prayer masks, Christmas tree ornaments, and more. The money and faith. They believed the Lord would supply what they raised goes to the Food for the Hungry masks and sanitizer needed to complete this building in his own time. They project. Some items were handmade donated items. All the served there for two years. jam and Christmas tree ornaments sold on the first day.

On January 29, 2019, Hyounjin got ordained, supported Choah Kim managed the table each week. In all, $200 was by his wife Jinhee, and his mother Soonim (Soon) Park. raised for the project.

People also came from Winnipeg, Calgary, Norquay, Pelly, – Rhonda Brodeur

26 The Messenger • March/April 2022

The teen Sunday School class raised $200 for the Food for the Hungry masks and sanitizer project during the month of December. A variety of handmade items were sold.

With Our Churches Portage Evangelical Church

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man.—On Sunday, January 23, 2022, Pastor Les Kroeker led Michael and Sabrina Jones as they dedicated themselves and their baby daughter Ashlynn to the Lord. He gave them five questions to answer.

1. Do you see your daughter as a gift from God? 2. Are you fully aware that this ceremony does not save your child?

3. Do you commit yourself to raising your daughter in the knowledge of Jesus Christ? And that, like Timothy (2 Timothy 3:15), Ashlynn is taught the Scripture from infancy onward and is made wise unto salvation?

4. Do you commit yourself to ensuring that Ashlynn is well aware of the gospel and is given every opportunity to repent and surrender to Jesus Christ, without forcing this upon her?

5. Do you promise to willingly surrender Ashlynn to the ministry chosen by God even if it entails her going to the furthest corner of the earth?

Pastor Glenn led in prayer. The church stood in a show of support.

– Cathy Epp

Kola EMC

STAN WIEBE

Pastors, Church Support Parents in Dedication

Pastor Glenn Loewen (far right) prays for Sabrina and Michael Jones with their baby Ashlynn; Pastor Les Kroeker (second from right) stands with them.

••

Pastoral Couple Accepted as Members

PAT SCHELLENBERG

KOLA, Man.—On Sunday, January 16, 2022, Pastor Ernest Reimer and his wife Sherridan were accepted into church membership at the Kola Evangelical Mennonite Church.

Conference Pastor Layton Friesen was on hand for this heartwarming occasion, exhorting us to “go back and sit at the feet of Jesus” and learn from him. We as a congregation feel greatly blessed.

– Pat Schellenberg

Sherridan and Pastor Ernest Reimer

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 27

News

‘I couldn’t believe it’: An update from Ukraine

PHOTO COURTESY MAXYM OLIFEROVSKI

On Feb. 27 and 28, Maxym “Max” Oliferovski described what life was like for him in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, a few days after Russian military forces began invading Ukraine by land, sea and air. He and his wife, Anya, lead New Hope Centre, an MCC partner organization, that focuses on families in crisis. They also are Mennonite Brethren church planters. As of March 3, they continued ministering to people who are now affected by war. Here is the interview, adapted and edited for readability.

You also can listen to the interview with Max on MCC’s podcast, Relief, development and podcast.

Linda: What a difficult life you have been living these days.

Max: Yes, it’s very interesting life here. Things changed.

In a second. We woke up on the 24th of February. And it’s a different time. Different situation. Yeah, different challenges.

Linda: Are you okay? Are you safe enough?

Max: Praise God. We’re in a safe location. We do hear some explosions. But they’re far. But it’s a quiet, safe place here. (See the end for changes).

Linda: When you first heard that the Russian troops had invaded, what went through your mind?

Max: I couldn’t believe it. You know, for several weeks, the whole world was talking about the Russian troops on the border – in Russia, but on the border with Ukraine.

Huge numbers. And we, we were ready for that to happen.

But when it happened, we just couldn’t believe it. We said, “No, this is not possible. This is crazy. It’s 21st century; this can’t happen.” So you know, as usual, when there are traumatized events (for) people, the first thing is denial. Yeah, this can’t happen.

Linda: So what was the first thing you did after you learned?

Max: Well, events happened in the morning, around four or five a.m. as I remember. I woke up at 6:30. I got a phone call from a friend who knows for sure. And he said, “Max, this just began. Tell your relatives; tell everybody.”

And that’s what we began doing. We began calling other people and said, “Hey, this, this happened. What we hope wouldn’t happen, happened. So please, if you have plans to evacuate, do that now.”

Personally, my wife and I, we decided that we would stay in Zaporizhzhia as long as it’s possible. And the next 28 The Messenger • March/April 2022

Maxym Oliferovski and Anya Oliferovski are cofounders of New Hope Centre in Zaporizhzhia and lead church planters of the Mennonite Brethren church plant, God’s Family Church. Maxym is the program manager and Anya is the manager of finance and human resources.

two days were not easy, because our apartment is located downtown, you know, very close to strategics things and locations. And it’s been hard to get adjusted to the new life.

You hear sirens. You see the neighbors, going up and down into a bomb shelter. You hear all the news. But at the same time, we were thinking, okay, how can we help the families, our neighbours, you know, church members.

So, we purchased some food ahead of time. And we made food kits. So, the first day, we distributed the food kits because we don’t know how long the stores would work. Yeah, by the way, the first day, huge lines, the gas stations, ATMs, grocery stores, you know, huge lines. The second day, not, not as huge, but then the further you go, the less supplies you have, right? So, first day, we distributed the food kits; then we shelter at our place.

Linda: Your work before this has been a lot with trauma and helping people who have dealt with trauma from the last Russian incursion or other things. Can you tell me about the trauma people are experiencing now?

Max: Everybody in Ukraine to a certain degree is experiencing the traumatization. The thing is people need to learn how to deal with it. They need to talk to someone;

News

they need to hear encouraging words, because if they listen [to] only news, they would hear about the fights, about people dying.

So, we encourage; we send messages to people who work with our church members to really do some things that would help them, not just watching TV and listening to the bad news, but call one another.

Weep or cry with one another. Do some activities if they can because it’s really hard. And I’m sure, as all of this is over, hopefully soon, there will be lots of work to do here in terms of helping people overcome their traumas and traumatic situations.

can we go? And we say, “Well it’s up to you. You decide, but this is what you need to do for your family, for your children.”

There are evacuation trains here, from Zaporizhzhia, from other cities. So we tell people that they have this opportunity, as well, to go to the train station. You don’t know whether you can succeed or not, but at least you can try. Get on the train. So, some of our relatives yesterday got on the train, and then now they are going western Ukraine to a more safe location.

“We tell people that they have this opportunity, as well, to go to the train station. You don’t know whether you can succeed or not, but at least you can try.”

Linda: That makes a lot of sense— that you would all be traumatized at this point. And here you are traumatized and trying to help other people deal with their own. That’s the reality of living in war, I suppose.

Max: I would add here about trauma one more thing.

You know, everybody who has small kids, we encourage them right away, just if it’s possible and if you have a car or you can go with someone, please leave. Because the kids, they get traumatized the most. We adults can cope with it, more or less, but the kids really can’t. So we encouraged everybody who have kids, from church, if you can leave, please leave. So many of our friends now left the first or the second day, especially with the kids, just to save them from this traumatic situation that can, you know, ruin their future lives.

Linda: You said the other day that you were spending most of your time helping people to evacuate. What does that look like?

Max: Well, first people need transportation, right? And you don’t want to go by yourself because the roads are packed with cars, like traffic jams and everything. So you want to go with someone. Like two or three cars together.

So we tried to coordinate people, you know, going with someone.

We called people and we asked them, especially those who have small kids, and we asked them do you have a way to get evacuated? And so, many people need some encouragement because even if they have a car, they aren’t sure.

Shall we stay? Shall we leave? And we try to support them because they have feelings of guilt, you know, we leave everything, we leave churches, we leave other people, how

Linda: So, are most of the people who are evacuating going to safer places within Ukraine? Or are they leaving the country?

Max: Well, most people I know plan to settle in western Ukraine, which is 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) from here. They (Russian forces) can get the missiles there. But there are no tanks and no military troops there. And there are many locations that can accept people like retreat centers, churches, and other places, houses. So many people from Ukraine from here, where we live in East, South, they just go to Western Ukraine hoping this will end soon and they can come back.

Linda: You said that you are planning to stay here as long as it is safe? Why have you made that choice to stay, rather than to go as you’re recommending that other people do?

Max: Well, first, we don’t have small kids with us. Our only daughter just happened to be in Germany on a mission trip there. And even if she wanted to come back, we would say to her, please stay there. And the planes don’t fly.

So we know she’s safe.

And we’ve been helping many people with my wife, Anya, you know, with New Hope Centre and church and we thought, “Okay, we, we can afford, you know, to stay here as long as we can, just to encourage people, support them and help others.” So we were kind of motivated by two factors: our close one is in a safe place, and we want to serve others as long as we can.

Linda: Were you able to have a church service this morning?

Max: What our church service is in the evening, as has happened historically, we’re a new church. So we’re www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 29

News making some new traditions. So I’m looking forward, actually, to connect with the church. We will use Zoom to do that. We’re a small church, and people can share and pray together. So I’m looking forward to do that in actually three hours.

Linda: Since you are the pastor of that church, what words do you have prepared to share with them?

Max: Well, at any rate, we all now encourage one another, as the Scripture says, yeah, not just leaders and pastors. We encourage one another with words of hope that truth will overcome, you know, lie. And then the good will win the evil.

MCC PHOTO

Linda: Okay. When you think about the Russians—how do you deal with your attitudes, your feelings toward people in Russia?

Max: It’s governments who are fighting. Most people, they’re just people. They have passports, Russian passport, Ukrainian passport. So we pray for them. We’re praying for Russian government, you know, so God can stop this in whatever way he chooses. And we pray for the Russian population, you know, those who support Ukrainians there. We have friends in Russia who support Ukrainians. You’ve seen that there are protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg. So we pray that they can be strong enough and share that this is,

This young girl and friends made a doll’s house out of a cardboard box that was used to ship MCC canned meat. She lives with her mother at a women’s residence operated by an MCC partner in Nikopol, Ukraine. The name of MCC’s partner in this work and the names of the people pictured are not provided for security reasons.

30 The Messenger • March/April 2022

MCC’s long-term response will likely include psychosocial support and trauma healing, temporary emergency housing and emergency distributions of locally purchased supplies.

• For Canadian donors: donate.mcccanada.ca/cause/ ukraine-emergency-response • For U.S. donors: donate.mcc.org/cause/ ukraine-emergency-response you know, craziness. This needs to stop. For the rest of people, we pray that God would open their eyes.

I want to show you the sky here. I hope I can do that.

See this blue sky? I’m outside now. So usually, you know the blue sky is a sign of peace. They say peaceful sky. And it’s not peace yet. But it’s a sign of hope for us that you know peace will come, the war will end and the sky will be really peaceful. Just keep praying for peace. That will stop the evil. That’s what we’re asking.

The situation in Ukraine is changing minute by minute. The day after what this interview, we got another update from Max. He said the front line was moving and was now less than 100 kilometres (62 miles) from him and his wife. Here’s Max. Max: Last night was the first time we really heard and felt physically, the explosions. They were very close. The windows didn’t break. It was in the evening. The heart begins to pound. That’s just how the body reacts to it. And we thought that’s how we would spend the night. But the night was calm. We were able to sleep. Praise God. It’s hard to learn how to deal with these new circumstances and the stress level. So pray for safety definitely. As we’re going from downtown today, we saw one of the missiles just started in, flying over us. First time in life. You know, you can’t really get prepared for that. But the heart begins to react, respond to that. We don’t know where it went. It was in the sky. When you hear all these explosions and shootings, even if you’re in a safe location, like nothing’s happening next to your door, it’s still hard.

So pray for safety. Pray for health. Pray for wise decisions. As I said, we decided to stay here to just keep helping the families, the church. There’s probably a limit to how long we can do that. Depending on the situation, we’ll need to make another decision. How long shall we stay here? Right now? It’s definitely yes. Things can change tomorrow, so pray for wisdom.

But as we stay here, pray that we will be helpful, really, and can provide help to our church, leadership to our church, help to families, help to communities, whatever is needed. Pray for strength and that we can continue the ministry in the circumstances. Thank you.

– MCC

News

New resource helps churches welcome newcomers Welcome Church offers free video-based training The Canadian Church has a new and practical resource to help congregations from coast to coast better welcome newcomers to Canada into churches and into deeper community.

Welcome Church (www.welcomechurch.ca), which officially launched on Feb. 1, is a video-based training program produced by Our Common Calling (OCC), a partnership of four national groups: The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), Lausanne Canada, the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities (CCCC) and Christian Higher Education Canada.

“The videos include teaching from a theologian, a professor, pastors, ministry leaders and a spiritual director, all helping to equip us to better serve the needs of people around us,” says the EFC’s Joel Gordon, director of the EFC’s Centre for Ministry Partnership and Innovation, and an OCC partner. “The Welcome Church training videos are lively and accessible, covering topics like engaging respectfully with newcomers’ backgrounds, providing practical hospitality, and how to start a welcome team.”

Each Welcome Church video concludes with an interactive quiz to help participants better remember what they have learned. Welcome Church can also provide tailored and deeper learning for churches that want to better welcome specific people groups in their areas.

After churches complete the free program, their congregation will appear on a Canadian online map that helps newcomers navigate their way to friendly congregations.

After churches complete the free program, their congregation will appear on a Canadian online map that helps newcomers navigate their way to friendly congregations.

WELCOMECHURCH.CA

Jon Fuller, Executive Director of OCC reminds us that, “Welcoming newcomers into our neighbourhoods and our homes is loving others as we have been loved (1 John 4:19).

It is extending an invitation to God’s household of grace for the stranger in our midst (Matthew 25:35, Leviticus 19:33–34).”

Churches can register and find out more at www.welcomechurch.ca.

“We know so many Canadian churches are already welcoming newcomers from around the world. After all, we live in a very diverse country,” says John Pellowe, CEO of CCCC. “This training will help us to go deeper and be even better at this central task of being a hospitable church. We hope every Canadian church will sign up for this opportunity.”

– EFC

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 31

News

Indonesia 2022: less on-site, more creative options How will we gather for Assembly 17? The Executive Committee has opted for limited on-site attendees and many options for online attendees at the hybrid Assembly 17.

MWC Assembly is hosted by the three Indonesian Anabaptist-Mennonite synods in Central Java, Indonesia, July 5–10, 2022.

MWC Assembly 17 in Indonesia will welcome 700 on-site participants with the option of additional Indonesian guests for opening night and closing service. Due to COVID-19 regulations, 700 is the number currently possible.

Registration for online participation opened in December 2021. Registration for on-site Assembly will start March 8, 2022, at 9 a.m. (CST).

Mennonite World Conference’s Assembly, which normally gathers thousands of Anabaptists from around the globe every six years, was postponed from 2021 to 2022 due to the pandemic.

Program

Sangkakala Seminary (STT), a JKI seminary located outside Salatiga, will host most of the plenary sessions. In addition, “satellite” meeting places at four local congregations will livestream evening plenaries, while the international choir sings at STT. The closing service will be celebrated at JKI Holy Stadium in Semarang.

“This way, online participants can ‘travel’ with us to different places in Indonesia,” says Liesa Unger, MWC Chief International Events Officer.

Registration categories

A little less than half of the 700 registration spaces for on-site Assembly are reserved for Indonesian registrants, divided up between full participation and daily participation.

The remaining registration S spaces will be divided equally between the four registration categories (based on national GDP), to give members from each region opportunity to participate.

“This mode for Assembly increases complexities in planning, but offers more opportunity for local church members to engage with international visitors, creates more opportunities for online 32 The Messenger • March/April 2022

participants to get to know Indonesia and to respond faster to possible health concerns,” says Unger.

Global Youth Summit

The Global Youth Summit (GYS) on the theme “Life in the Spirit: Learn, Serve, Worship” will be attended by GYS delegates and 60 full-time participants July 1–4, 2022, in Salatiga, Central Java. Local Indonesian young adults can join for the evening worship organized by GYS delegates of different continents.

General Council and other meetings

The General Council meetings that precede the Assembly will take place online.

“With additional visa required and quarantine periods changing frequently, the financial risk of ballooning lodging costs and rescheduling flights for more than 100 General Council delegates is too great,” says César García, MWC general secretary.

Meetings involving the Executive Committee, Commission chairs and secretaries and MWC staff will take place in Indonesia. These groups, which normally meet faceto-face, have not been together in person since before the pandemic began.

Further information regarding workshops, network meetings, Assembly Scattered tours and lodging options will be posted at https://indonesia2022.mwc-cmm.org/.

“We want as many people as possible to come,” says Paulus Widjaja, chair of the National Advisory Committee in Indonesia. “We first dreamed of it in Paraguay in 2009.

The pandemic discouraged us, but we are still very enthusiastic to bring people to Indonesia.”

– MWC

Shoulder Tapping Additional EMC Openings Often there are more churches looking for senior, associate, youth, and interim pastors than are identified on this page. For information on additional openings, contact Conference Pastor Layton Friesen (lfriesen@emconference.ca) and Director of Canadian Church Planting Gerald D. Reimer (greimer@emconference.ca). The national office phone number is 204-326-6401.

EMC Positions The EMC national office is seeking a communications assistant to work as an active part of the office team. They should have a passion for Christ and the church.

For more information on the role and its qualifications, go to www.emconference.ca/serve.

Apply directly to applications@emconference. ca. Applications will be accepted until a suitable candidate is found.

The EMC national office is seeking an executive director, to begin in summer 2022.

For more information on this position and how to apply, go to www.emconference.ca/serve.

Applications will be accepted at applications@ emconference.ca until March 21, 2022, or until the position is filled.

Abbeydale Christian Fellowship (Calgary, Alta.) is seeking a full-time co-pastor to work alongside our current pastor and congregational leadership team.

We expect the successful candidate to have the following characteristics: previous pastoral experience, agree with Anabaptist theology, relational, a good communicator and preacher, and comfortable working with a diversity of people. This person has post-secondary education, demonstrates humble leadership, the ability to work in a team setting, and can offer Christian life counselling as needed. Crosscultural experience with Latin American believers and the ability to speak Spanish is considered an asset, as is other cross-cultural experience.

We are an urban congregation of 125 members with an informal atmosphere. ACF is Anabaptist in its theological roots, congregational in its governance, and committed to love through service to one another and to our community. Visit Abbeydale.org/ co-pastor-search for more details on this position.

Please email resumes to pastorsearch@abbeydale. org by April 17, 2022.

Oak Bluff Bible Church (Oak Bluff, Man.) is seeking a full-time lead pastor who loves Jesus, loves the Word of God, and loves God’s people. Our church is a welcoming, family-friendly church with an average attendance of 60–80.

In addition to preaching and teaching the Word, the pastor will provide spiritual leadership, vision and

oversight to the ministry of the church. Together with the elders and leadership team they will shepherd the congregation to fulfill our vision to glorify God, pursue Jesus Christ, be guided by Scripture, and be empowered by the Holy Spirit. The successful candidate will have a minimum five years of experience serving in a pastoral role, and have a bachelor’s degree in biblical, theological or pastoral studies (MDiv preferred). A full job description can be viewed at www.oakbluffbiblechurch.com/pastoral-search.html.

Email applications or questions to pastoralsearch@oakbluffbiblechurch.com.

The Steinbach EMC is seeking to hire a full-time youth pastor who will lead and disciple our youth and young adults. We are an established and welcoming Anabaptist congregation on Main Street in Steinbach, Man., and are part of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. Our vision is to “Gather, Grow, and Go.” The successful candidate will demonstrate a passion for Christ. Demonstrable leadership and influence among youth will mark this person’s character on a consistent basis as well as the ability to discern truth and obey God’s calling within the broader scope of the church’s ministry. The person taking this role needs to demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively with other church leadership, staff, and volunteers.

Previous applicable experience working with youth is essential. We encourage those who may be qualified and who are interested in this position to contact us for more application information at youthpastorsearch@semconline.com by March 18, 2022.

Morris Fellowship Chapel is a Christ-following, Biblebelieving, family-friendly church of around 130 people in the small rural town of Morris, Manitoba.

People of all ages are a part of Morris Fellowship, including children, young adults, adults and seniors.

We are looking for a pastor to help with preaching, teaching, and building community in our church.

This would include preaching on Sundays, teaching midweek Bible studies, personal visits and church community events.

Contact Cliff Reimer, Pastoral Search Committee Chairman: cliff0955@gmail.com.

The St. Vital EMC Church is seeking to hire a parttime youth pastor who will lead and disciple our youth aged 15–18 years old. We are an established and friendly church in south Winnipeg with approximately 120 congregants who aspire to love God and live as Jesus Christ lived.

The successful candidate will demonstrate a passion for Christ through their vibrant and growing relationship with Jesus. Demonstrable leadership and influence among youth will mark this person’s character on a consistent basis as well as the ability to discern truth and obey God’s calling within the broader scope of the church’s ministry. The person

taking this role needs to demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively on a small ministry team.

Previous applicable experience working with youth is essential. The position will require approximately 16 hours of time per week. A resume, with cover letter, can be sent to: Oswald at ozzy_wald@ hotmail.com.

The ConneXion in Arborg, Man., is seeking a pastor with a love for Jesus, emotional intelligence, spiritual discernment, and the ability to capture and carry out the vision of our church. The ConneXion is a diverse group of people that are seeking to make Jesus the center of all we do. We lean into the BELLS acronym discussed by Michael Frost in his book Exiles. Please reach out to 1-204-250-5534 or email theconnexion@hotmail.com if interested.

Straffordville (Ont.) Evangelical Mission Church is seeking an associate pastor. SEMC is a rural church in a growing community with a congregation of about 160 people. We are a multigenerational congregation and have great existing ministries. We work hard at developing relationships in the community.

We are looking for male applicants who have a clear sense of calling and love for the body of Christ, to serve and equip her for works of service, stemming from a growing relationship with Christ.

This person must be able to preach, teach and show pastoral care.

The successful applicant will work alongside the senior pastor and lay ministers in preaching, teaching, care giving, and providing resources and support to the other volunteer-based ministries in the church according to his strengths and abilities.

Applicants must agree with the EMC Statement of Faith and display an understanding and general agreement with our Anabaptist theological background. Contact psc@straffordvilleemc.ca by April 1, 2022.

Other Positions Midway Bible Camp near Thompson, Man., is seeking work groups to commit for a week between May 15 and June 30, 2022, to assist in preparing the Moak Lake site for summer. The greatest need is mechanic experience (diesel and small engine). Other needs include tree clean up, firewood cutting, brush cutting, mowing, general maintenance, cabin cleaning and fishing. A full kitchen and cabins are provided; however, groups must bring their own food and cooks. Please consider partnering with us in reaching kids and families for Christ in 2022! To arrange for your team to assist with this ministry opportunity contact: Thomas Olney, work team coordinator at thomas.olney@interactministries.org.

Please send all position ads (150 words or less), including pastoral search ads, to messenger@emconference.ca. Ads may be edited. Please advise us when it is no longer needed.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 33

Column • His Light to My Path

The Scriptural Pebbles in My Shoe

“G

By Karla Hein

rowing up is a big job,” our young son informed us after a hard day of learning. I get it; I feel the same way sometimes.

This morning, I had carefully written out the beginning of Psalm 34 (NASB) in my journal. “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. Exalt the Lord with me, And let’s exalt His name together.” I even took the time to carefully circle and underline key words as I processed the commitment of the psalmist. “Continual praise” I jotted down under the verse.

praise him (Hab. 3:17–18). When my mom faces another surgery, I will praise because my hope is found only in him (Psalm 62).

Before every Sunday School lesson, my exuberant kindergarten students practice Psalm 23 (NASB1995). The greatest gift I can give these young children is the Word of God hidden in their hearts. A chorus of precious voices fills our classroom.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

Their little faces eagerly stare up at me as they recite.

Then, a few hours later, I found out my mom’s cancer had returned.

Eighteen months postsurgery and multiple follow-up checkups had lulled me into mentally crossing Mom’s cancer off my list. While my dad and my father-in-law continued their long trudges with cancer, it was a relief to have reprieve from my mother’s medical trauma.

“It said at all times,” I reminded my despondent heart. “His praise continually in my mouth.”

These inner battles are fierce! Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, do not be anxious…the directives scattered throughout Scripture seem as little pebbles in my shoe, reminding me that my allegiance to Christ means submission in the small things also. I have declared myself a follower of Christ. I have been bought by him to glorify him alone (1 Corinthians 6:20; Galatians 2:20). Even the days I feel overwhelmed with responsibility, I am told to rejoice always (Philippians 4:4). Though my business falters, yet will I

34 The Messenger • March/April 2022

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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, do not be anxious…the directives scattered throughout Scripture seem as little pebbles in my shoe.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” Small hands carefully follow my every action.

“I fear no evil.” Every week, I realize that the gift of Scripture has not been given to my students alone.

“For You are with me.” For You are with me.

The little pebbles that conform me into his image, persistently stretch and shatter my perceptions. But the comfort of his presence and the hope of an eternity with him is worth more than the self-gratifying conveniences of this life.

For where else would I go? The Master to whom I surrender has the words of eternal life! (John 6:68).

Column • A Path To Peace

Masters of Self-Deception Similarly, we may think ourselves wise because we can pinpoint the sins in other people’s lives, but that is not the hallmark of wisdom. Rather, wisdom shows itself in wise living, and in the ability to accept valid critiques—not only in giving advice.

If we deceive ourselves so we don’t have to acknowledge our errors, eventually the number of errors becomes larger, and the person we really are and the person we think we are move further and further apart. While I believe there is always still hope, I have also observed that the longer someone lives in self-deception, the harder it is to face the truth. If someone eventually becomes monstrous, who would want to see that looking back at them in the mirror?

As long as you have breath, it is not too late for you to look into God’s perfect truth, to confess, repent, and obey. As Jesus said in John 8:31–32, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

By Kevin Wiebe

The longer someone lives in self-deception, the harder it is to face the truth.

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believe that any path that leads to true peace must be based on the truth. One cannot fully reconcile with someone else without acknowledging and repenting of the ways one has wronged the other. Part of being made right with God involves acknowledging the truth of our own sinful ways.

I have noticed, however, that most of us are masters at deception. Not at deceiving others, necessarily, but at deceiving ourselves—especially when the truth is something painful.

The Bible isn’t ignorant of this trend either.

In fact, there are many passages throughout Scripture addressing our tendency to deceive ourselves into certain ways of thinking. James 1:22 (NLT) says, “Don’t just listen to God’s word.

You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” In 1 John 1:8 we read, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

In Jeremiah 2:35, after listing grievous sins that people had committed, God rebukes them, “You say, ‘I am innocent; he [God] is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’”

When I was a high school athlete, I noticed something: it was much easier to see clearly where mistakes were made when I was sitting in the stands watching a basketball game than when I was in the middle of a game and on the court.

When I was in the game, my heart was racing, my limbs would sometimes ache after a while, adrenaline was coursing through my veins, and I couldn’t see the whole court the whole time—I could only see what was right in front of me.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 35

Column • Kids’ Corner

What Is Science?

By Loreena Thiessen

There are laws that control how the universe works, “the laws of heaven and earth” (Jeremiah 33:25).

36 The Messenger • March/April 2022

Activity: plant a seed Need: four bean seeds, glass jar, five sheets paper towel, water, camera, potting soil, plastic pot.

Do: Take three sheets of paper towel together and fold them in half. Holding them together place them around the inside of the glass jar so the glass is covered with paper. Crumple up the remaining two sheets one at a time and fill the center of the jar. Push the four seeds in at different spots between the glass and the paper towel. The seeds should be visible from the outside of the glass. Pour water into the jar so that it’s one-quarter full.

Place the jar with bean seeds on a windowsill. Watch every day to see what happens. Add a bit of water each day to keep the paper towel moist.

With your camera record the changes you observe as the seeds sprout.

You can measure the growth of the plant with a ruler. Once the plant is taller than the glass and has a few leaves you can plant it with its roots in potting soil. Water the soil but not too much.

If you take good care of it, it may grow a new bean pod.

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cience is all around you, everywhere you look.

What is science? Science is the study of the world. Scientists watch what happens, listen, observe, and record what they find.

Sometimes after carefully observing, when they discover something they thought was true turns out to be different, they change their minds.

For example, Johannes Kepler used a telescope to observe that the planets travel around the sun in an ellipse (an oval path), not in a perfect circle. He also discovered that planets farther away from the sun have a longer orbit and take longer to make that journey.

Another ancient discovery showed that the earth is round. A man called Anaxagoras saw the round shape of the earth during an eclipse as it blotted out the sun. By observing the changing position of the stars, Aristotle declared that the earth was a sphere and not a flat disc.

There are laws that control how the universe works. The law of gravity controls how the planets travel. Gravity is a natural force that pulls the planets toward the sun. Other laws of nature show there is regularity; the same thing happens in the same way over time. For example, a law of biology, biogenesis, says life comes from life. So, a living tree produces a seed from which a new tree grows.

Water, too, is controlled by the laws of nature. Water evaporates, condenses, and falls, replenishing lakes and streams. The movement of water is controlled by gravity. It is a cycle; it has no beginning and no end. It waters the farmer’s crops and provides you and your family with water for drinking, cleaning and cooking.

The universe obeys these laws. They were put in place by our Creator God because he is a God of order. In Jeremiah 33:25 these are called “the laws of heaven and earth.” It is because of this order that the universe continues to function; it keeps on going as God created it.

Read Genesis 1:11, 12, 14, 24, 25.

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