The Messenger a publication of the
Evangelical Mennonite Conference
Volume 58 No. 2 March 2020
ID 147800659 © ANDREY POPOV | DREAMSTIME.COM
Inspiring Partnership in Ministry Page 6 INSIDE: The Church Wide and the Church Narrow
page 11
A Time Well Spent: The Blessing of a Sabbatical page 14 On a Bus in Burkina Faso, We Became Friends!
page 17
Notice
EMC Statement on COVID-19 March 13, 2020
During the past few weeks the threat of COVID-19 in Canada went from theoretical to reality. The news cycle is still reporting rapid changes in how this health challenge is affecting Canadians on a daily basis. The church has the opportunity to respond to this crisis in a defining manner, and we pray that we will be faithful. At the EMC National office, we are not attempting to be your source of information on this matter, as there are many appropriate resources for this. However, we have taken the following steps that we want you to be aware of: We have been meeting daily as staff to review events and to ensure that we can respond as appropriate to any new situations. We have corresponded with our EMC missionaries to ensure that there are good lines of communication and to
be aware of any special needs. We have postponed prayer teams and all international travel for the present time. We have sent an email to EMC churches that provides encouragement and information specific to worship services in our context. We have established a page on our website that provides links to helpful resources for EMC churches. We admit that we know very little of how COVID19 will affect our communities in the long term, nor even how long this situation will endure. Yet we pray for our communities, our country and all peoples of the world in the midst of this trial. As the church in Canada, may God find us faithful in our service to Him whatever the circumstances. – Tim Dyck, Executive Director
•• Editorial
COVID-19, Prudence, and Common Grace
C
ommon grace is being displayed within the global response to COVID-19. Common grace is “God’s universal…grace in which blessings are given to humanity for physical sustenance, pleasure, learning, beauty, etc., as expressions of God’s goodness” (D. K. McKim). Such grace is displayed when people made in God’s image reflect divine goodness shared universally when the sun shines and rain falls on the “good” and the “evil” (Matt. 5:45). It is displayed when scientists and health officials work diligently and with urgency to protect public health, as doctors and nurses care for the sick, and by political officials who seek to properly govern society through a difficult time.
2 The Messenger • March 2020
God has entrusted much into common human hands (Luke 10:34, 1 Tim. 5:23). Is such work imperfect and are we as people designed to learn from successes as well as errors in judgment? Yes. Prudence is “being careful to avoid undesired consequences.” May the Lord give wisdom to health, political, and spiritual leaders to act prudently during this pandemic. As Christians, Canadians, and global citizens, we know of the need to pray, to care for others practically, and to support those who do. We know, too, that in a difficult time sin can also be expressed; and we desire that all people will come to know our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. There are many needs in the world at this challenging time. I am grateful for the common grace being displayed. – Terry M. Smith
Table of Contents Features 6
Columns
5 Women in Leadership: Hearing Fears and Offering Thoughts – Inspiring Partnership in Ministry
11 The Church Wide and the Church Narrow – Layton Friesen
A Path to Peace
Put Your Hand to the Plow – Kevin Wiebe
page
19 Focus On
14 A Time Well Spent: The Blessing of a Sabbatical
22 Further In and Higher Up
17 On a Bus in Burkina Faso, We Became Friends!
34 His Light to My Path
– Kevin Wiebe
– Siaka Traoŕe with Lynda HollingerJanzen
Departments 2 4 20 23 25 30 33
Editorial Letter and Notice Missions With Our Churches News In Memory Shoulder Tapping
17
Church Planters: Passionate, Servant-Hearted Labourers – Gerald D. Reimer Thick Deacon Love – Layton Friesen
Little Critters in Our Congregation – Karla Hein
35 Stewardship Today
page
23
Winterize Your Giving – David Barker
36 Kids’ Corner
The Earth Wakes Up – Loreena Thiessen
page
21
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 3
The Messenger Volume 58 No. 2 March 2020
EDITOR TERRY M. SMITH tsmith@emconference.ca
ASSISTANT EDITOR ANDREW WALKER awalker@emconference.ca
Submissions to The Messenger should be sent to messenger@emconference.ca. The Messenger is the publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. 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.
It is published 12 times per year, six in print (also online at www.issuu.com/emcmessenger) and six in a website format at www.emcmessenger.ca. To get the most out of The Messenger, viewing both versions is encouraged. Letters, articles, photos and poems are welcomed. Unpublished material is not returned except by request. Views and opinions of writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the position of the Conference or the editors. Advertising and inserts should not be considered to carry editorial endorsement. The Messenger is published by the EMC Board of Church Ministries, 440 Main St, Steinbach, Man., and is a member of Meetinghouse and Canadian Church Press. Subscription rates (under review) 1 year print subscription $20 ($26 U.S.) Manitoba residents add 8% PST. Single print copy price: $2 Subscriptions are voluntary and optional to people within or outside of the EMC. Subscriptions are purchased by the Conference for members and adherents. The Messenger is available for free to all online at: www.emcmessenger.ca If you wish to sign up for our email newsletter. Pleaase contact Andrew at: awalker@emconference.ca. Digital copies are free. Change of address and subscriptions Undelivered copies, change of address and new subscriptions should be addressed to: 440 Main St, Steinbach, MB R5G 1Z5 Phone: 204-326-6401 Fax: 204-326-1613 E-mail: messenger@emconference.ca www.emconference.ca/messenger Second-class postage paid at Steinbach, Manitoba. ISSN: 0701-3299 Publications Mail Agreement Number: 40017362 Advertising The Messenger does not sell advertising, but provides free space (classified and display) to enhance our Conference, its churches, boards, and ministries; inter-Mennonite agencies and educational institutions; and the wider church. Ads and inquiries should be sent to messenger@emconference.ca.
4 The Messenger • March 2020
Letters and Notices
So, Who Are We? I am replying to Mervin Dueck’s article about being a Conscientious Objector in our world (Jan. 2020). I, too, have concerns about how our people will be able to use the 1873 document. How will the government identify us? Will they look at our dress code and lifestyle, or by our membership in a Mennonite church? Where does that leave us? Most of us have assimilated into the general population with our dress code and lifestyle. Others have completely removed the name Mennonite from their churches. What are we? Who are we? Originally we were a faith group who followed Menno Simons’ teachings. How come those that followed Luther’s teachings did not become a people group called the Lutherans? They kept their ethnicity; we didn’t. How come? Did the Lutherans just stay in Germany? Whereas the Mennonites picked up followers from many ethnic groups, like Ost German,
Swiss, Netherlands, Prussia, Nordic, Aryan, Slavic and other areas? So, who are we? How do we selfidentify ourselves? We have become a people group with no homeland. We spoke a common language and had the same religious teachings. We have become a cultural group with many branches. And we are a faith group. How do we identify ourselves— by our family lineage, our DNA, our mother tongue, our church membership? What happens to the non-Mennonite people who have embraced our Mennonite faith—will the government let them be exempt under the 1873 agreement? What about our Mennonites who are currently working in the military? I believe that among the military exemptions there is a clause that says a person can object to going to war on religious grounds. This is a clause that the non-Mennonites have used. Agatha Rempel Steinbach, Man.
Correction and Blessings: In the article Charlie and Lorraine Koop Honoured (Jan. 2020), it was Les Kroeker, not Lester Olfert, who spoke of Charlie. We regret the confusion of names, and join with all who who pray Christ’s blessings upon Charlie and Lorraine at this time in their lives. Within the national office we will miss Charlie’s energetic, friendly times here and, though less frequent, Lorraine’s visits with her complementary gifts and personality.
Note: If print publication is affected, more articles will be posted online at www.emcmessenger.ca
Note on Discussion Within The Messenger Every community will have a diversity of views and opinions, which provides opportunities for us to learn from each other, being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19). Our discussions are inevitably impacted by our own experiences, and the experiences of people in our lives.
These discussions should also reflect the reality that some groups and individuals have not always felt welcome in Christian communities. We welcome your responses to articles and topics discussed in The Messenger. – Board of Church Ministries
Column • A Path to Peace
Put Your Hand to the Plow
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by Kevin Wiebe
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hen I began studying conflict, I was surprised about how many of the classes were about simply dealing with our own baggage. It turns out that since much of conflict pertains to misunderstandings and the attitudes we embody, much of the work to deescalate matters involves the simple but difficult work of humbling ourselves and dealing with those things that only we can. Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NLT) says, “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.” If we sit and wait for everyone else to do their part perfectly before we own up to our mistakes and take responsibility for our own actions, we will never do it. Like a farmer waiting for a cloudless sunny sky before getting to work, we too may be waiting forever. Like the weather, there are many things outside of our control. We cannot control the attitudes and actions of others. We cannot force relationships when other parties do not want them. We cannot change the past, and we are unable to ensure that others will forgive us for our misdeeds. There is certainly much that lies outside of our control. When I have been in conflict it can feel like a mental and emotional free-fall, as if things are happening faster than I can comprehend as events go by in a blur and I am simply struggling to take my next breath. Yet it is important to remember—especially in those moments—that there are things within your control. You can control your own actions. Perhaps not the reactions of your body such as your blood pressure rising,
your heart racing, and your hands shaking, but you can choose your words and actions carefully. In Matthew 7, Jesus tells his disciples not to focus on the speck in someone else’s eye when they have a log in their own. A while ago I took my kids for wings, and my daughter looked at her brother and laughed at him for having sauce all over his cheeks. When I looked over at her, I began to laugh too, because her cheeks had just as much sauce on them as her brother’s did. Just like sauce on our cheeks, faults and mistakes are much easier to see in others. It is easy to be critical of others and point out the faults of others. This kind of behaviour can even masquerade as wisdom, but it simply isn’t. Perhaps it comes from a place of knowledge, but when it is disconnected from the way one lives, it can become toxic and hypocritical. What Jesus invites us to do is to humble ourselves, to put our hand to the plow, and to do our own work. What others do—well, that isn’t up to you to control. Keep your eyes on Jesus, put your hand to plow, and do the work God is asking you to do, even if there are a few dark clouds on the horizon.
What Jesus invites us to do is to humble ourselves, to put our hand to the plow, and to do our own work.
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 5
Inspiring Partnership in Ministry Task Force
Women in Leadership: Hearing Fears and Offering Thoughts If there are two perspectives that are biblically authoritative how do we move forward? How can that be resolved? How can we trust the Bible?
In 2016
the General Board undertook to collect data and opinions from all EMC church leaderships regarding their views and practices pertaining to “women in leadership” in their local churches. Following this process there was an open discussion at the 2017 Conference Council meeting where the details of this survey were presented, and small discussion groups helped to formulate a plan for a process of healthy discussion regarding this topic. The second priority listed by these discussion groups was to: “Determine what fears people have regarding women in ministry and create forums for these fears to be expressed.” Several months ago, the Inspiring Partnership in Ministry (IPiM) task force connected with a wide variety of people in our conference, who helped us identify many of these “fears.” The question was relatively simple: “What are your concerns surrounding the idea of unrestricted ministry for women? Both concerns stemming from possible removal of restrictions AND stemming from possibly not removing restrictions.” After choosing a representative sample of the “fears” that were expressed, we asked a variety of people to write short thoughts about these “fears.” The intent is to treat all “fears” as legitimate concerns and to simply reflect on them.
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Throughout the history of the Church, there have been differing perspectives on the interpretation of the Scriptures on various matters. The Spirit has guided faithful followers of Christ toward consensus on the key truths of the faith, and these have been faithfully preserved and handed down through the centuries. Even our own conference Statement of Faith is a product of that heritage of continued examination of the Bible. We are indebted to the Spirit and to those who have gone before us. But within this faithful stream of orthodox Christianity there are secondary issues where significant disagreement can remain. We recall things like Calvinism versus Arminianism, different modes of baptism, pacifism or just-war theory, the working of the Holy Spirit, etc. Committed Christians who hold to the authority of Scripture have found themselves differing on these matters. Yet it appears, because these are secondary issues, that there has been room in the Church for these differing viewpoints to co-exist. The need to find one agreed-upon resolution was not necessary for the integrity of the global Christian faith to continue. The question of men and women in leadership in the Church can also be seen in this way. Differing perspectives and church practices have coexisted for a long time, including within traditions that hold to the complete authority of the Bible. The question before us as a Conference is not in any way shaking the trust we all hold in the Bible. It is simply asking whether we see enough room in our Conference for both perspectives to be recognized. – Ward Parkinson, Pastor (Rosenort EMC, Man.)
6 The Messenger • March 2020
Throughout history uncertainty has always produced fears. In John 13-16 Jesus addresses his disciples at a time when they are facing significant uncertainty in their “new” faith journey. He is about to leave them, and they will have to do it on their own or so they think, and they are deeply troubled. In response Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God and believe also in me” (14:1). He is not trying to minimize the doubts and fears or criticizing his disciples for what they are feeling. Rather, he acknowledges their feelings and then challenges them to believe that their source of peace is different than they assume it to be. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (14:27).
I fear that if we go one way we’ll lose our mission among some immigrant cultures and if we go the other way we’ll lose it among westernized Canadians.
Change, whether it is theological or ministry strategy in nature, brings with it a sense of tension. As we respond, we feel compelled to get it “right”; that is, we don’t want to violate Scripture, embarrass God, and lose credibility or an opportunity for strategic ministry. As we consider how best to partner with women in ministry within the context of our conference, that same fear grips us. Anytime that we minister beyond a homogeneous social group, we will face different assumptions…as did Peter in the book of Acts. Creating a unified church among diverse people is an ambitious project, but one alternative is not to reach out at all, and that result in the greatest loss of mission. As a fear-based response, we tend to see only polarized possibilities-either “yes” and God is on our side or “no” and God is on our side. Perhaps we ought to think about a third way—a both/and rather than either/or. Whether food, clothing, social habits or theological practices, cultural groups or sub-cultures will be diverse. Not all of our churches need to look, feel and smell the same; but perhaps we can “tolerate” each other out of a love for Christ and a shared mission. Responding with fear is seldom a good thing; responding in faith is a way of giving each other the benefit of the doubt. Faith to believe that God will be glorified among those who see things differently; faith to believe that differences will not hinder and may even enhance our ministry efforts. – Abe Bergen, EMC Moderator when IPiM Process started (Kleefeld EMC, Man.)
We are often tempted to believe that we are experiencing peace when we have everything in neat and tidy boxes and we have things figured out and in place. We wonder if that type of peace is what Jesus refers to when he uses the words “as the world gives.” We wonder if, on the other hand, he might be saying that even when we have doubts and concerns and questions, and we are afraid because we do not have everything clearly defined, His peace is still very much available to us? These thoughts, added to those below, are offered in this confidence. – Darren Plett, IPiM Co-Chair
I’m concerned that men and women will still like each other at the end of the process. It is true that our liking for each other may be challenged as we continue this process, but is it not also true that when we offer grace and humility in our discussion, it will result in greater strength and unity? A much greater danger is not being open and humble about where we are at, because that will breed distrust and disrespect. Being open to each other is a place of immense vulnerability, but out of that can emerge a greater appreciation and understanding of each other. A beautiful picture of the church is where men and women constantly seek to lift each other up, to trust and respect each other and embrace all that God has gifted and called us to. This process of understanding each other can be healing and life-giving if we approach it in a humble, loving and respectful manner. – Trudy Dueck, Member, IPiM (The ConneXion, Arborg, Man.)
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 7
I fear that in an egalitarian view of church, women will take over and men will fade into the background more and more. This is a real fear and it needs to be addressed, but it is not true only of egalitarian churches. There are people in both egalitarian and complementarian churches expressing this concern. It seems that, increasingly, church work is being done by women, and men have less
involvement for everything from cleaning the toilets to leading small groups. It isn’t clear if there’s any actual link between women becoming more involved and men less, as this is a long-standing issue in church life, but in our minds they may seem connected. The goal of egalitarians is for churches to recognize the gifts of women equally with those of men as they believe the God intended and the Bible demonstrates in the Early Church. However, sometimes egalitarians express impatience and frustration in that process. A result is
I fear that in a complementarian view of church, gifted women will not be able to serve and we will miss out on what God is doing. Sadly, it is true that in some churches where a version of “complementarianism” is held, women are restricted in ways that are not biblical. I believe that a close examination of the typical texts used for the complementarian argument reveal that restriction is not the intent of the writer or the Spirit of the Word. The intent of scripture is accountability, responsibility and different but equal roles for men and women, while recognizing and heralding the gifts and service of women in the church. There are many churches who hold to a biblical complementarianism who highly value the roles and ministries of women and allow women to serve in almost all areas
8 The Messenger • March 2020
that men may feel like they’re under attack and for some the easiest solution is to withdraw. It is not at all the intention of egalitarians for women to take over or for men to withdraw. The intention is to affirm all of us to work side by side, in submission to God and each other, and alert and alive to the Holy Spirit. We all need to be fully engaged in the kingdom with confidence that we are valued, needed and able to serve within our gifts and our calling and as He enables. – Erica Fehr, Co-Chair, IPiM (Kleefeld EMC, Man.)
of the church. Yet, they maintain their conviction that scriptures teach that God has asked that certain men be the leaders; not because of value, abilities or even giftedness, but simply because of the roles they believe God has assigned to male and female. Speaking to those who fear that gifted women will be sidelined, I would suggest that the intention and principle behind these churches and this view is not to restrict women. Churches that have male-only ministerial need to also work hard to affirm and include women as they are gifted in other areas. These churches should urge men to take up the responsibility, not privilege, of giving spiritual leadership knowing that God will hold them accountable. This teaching should never be about power or dominance, but rather about complementing one-another and cheering each other on as male and female to the glory of God! – Abe Berg, Pastor (Straffordville EMC, Ont.)
How can we work as a conference in unity when there is such diversity? How can we walk through this process and come to a point without losing people? We need to be clear that unity does not mean “sameness.” Unity means being able to hold on to each other despite our differences. Unity means we are joined in a harmonious whole. A family unit has unity even if the members are different from one another. Families necessarily consist of people who are different from one another in age, personality, interests and gender. Families hold together because the relationships go much deeper than just being the same. There is relational safety in belonging to each other and knowing we are significant to one another despite our differences. As a Conference, we can ensure that we maintain unity with one another by expressing a commitment to our relationship and to our sense of belonging together even when, and especially when, we have a differing viewpoint. Inviting more than one perspective can strengthen our unity. Let’s commit to sticking together even if we have more than one viewpoint. When we see that both are invited to the table, there doesn’t have to be a sense that our togetherness is threatened. – Andrea Dyck, IPiM member (Steinbach EMC, Man.)
Sometimes we trivialize people’s genuine concerns by labeling them fears I have been a fearful man. As a father doing his duty I took my young children camping. But then I would lie awake at night in my tent, swallowing my fright, sure that a menagerie of bears, skunks and rats was tearing apart our campsite looking for my children. The next morning when the sun was shining, I could talk all tough and strong again. In these pages we have looked at some of the fears we have about doing a study together on the topic of women in ministry. But you may be like me and your response is, “I don’t have fears. I’m just concerned. This is not an emotional reaction I am having here. It’s a serious rational criticism.” If I have a genuine concern about something, I don’t like it when others try to help me address my fears.
But I also need to admit that the line between rational concerns and emotional fears is zig zag, and I am not always sure when I am zagging. Sometimes I hide my fears by claiming to have concerns. Sometimes I also trivialize people’s genuine concerns by labeling them fears. But perhaps we don’t need to sort out which are concerns and which are fears. We all have both and none of us quite knows where is the line. To both concerns and fears Christ said, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Which exactly is the church that can lay claim to this promise? Can the EMC lay claim to this in the midst of our discussions? The church that Jesus assures here is the church that makes disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Trinity, teaching them to obey everything Christ commanded. Notice what Christ does not say. He does not say, “I will be with the church that safely avoids conflict.” Not, “I will be with the church that makes no mistakes.” Not “I will be with the church that already knows all the answers without struggle, debate, backtracking, repentance, and more struggle.” Christ promises to be with the church that is going now into the world seeking to be faithful to the best of its Spirit-fueled ability. This trek into the world will yet present us with question and dilemmas we cannot now imagine. It always has. Whatever position we may hold, this dilemma we now face is a question that came up in mission. Had we stayed in Jerusalem this would have never come up. What we know as we go across the earth is that in the life, teaching, death, resurrection and ascension of this Christ, we find a life worth all the millennia-long waging, struggle, coming to resolve, and struggle again that the church has lived. Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come. ’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far and grace will bring me home. – Layton Friesen, EMC Conference Pastor (Fort Garry, Man.) www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 9
What Now?
I’m concerned with the process. It needs to be healthy, not divisive or insulting to those we disagree with. First of all—I am too. The health of the process depends on how we all individually and collectively approach it. We will receive the best outcome when all of us actively participate. I believe that the goal behind the process is to try to not only hear the words spoken and written, but to ensure that all of us feel heard, understood and above all valued and respected. In order to realistically consider a “two-viewed system” we must approach the process in the way that Colossians 3:12-15 outlines: “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful” (NLT). I earnestly hope and pray to see our conference unified and working together in the peace that can only come from our love of Christ—above our differences. – Emily Wiebe, Pastor’s wife and lab tech (New Life Christian Fellowship, Stevenson, Ont.)
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The pastoral leadership of our churches is now going to be studying this question for the next while. We will be reading and sifting two different perspectives on this. We want to know the answer to two basic questions: first, what is the Bible’s message on this question? Second, while we debate that question, what kind of clarity and unity do we need in order to keep on making disciples together? Our pastoral leadership will be directly responsible for this study, but all of us are welcome to get involved. Read widely, speak with your leaders, follow the EMC discussion and constantly remind each other to stay focused on making Christ’s main concern our main concern. Some of us have fears, some of us have concerns, but let’s be honest: the true happiness and well-being of the church in the midst of dilemmas like this finally rest on Christ’s parting promise, not our success is solving vexing disagreements. Pray for us all. Pray that we will see into Scripture to a depth that we have never seen before. Pray that we will love and forgive each other in ways that go beyond our human ability. Pray that we will together come to clarity about how we are to make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them. – Layton Friesen
Darren Plett
Erica Fehr
Darren Plett and Erica Fehr are Co-Chairs of the Inspiring Partnership in Ministry Task Force.
Four of Four
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Convention 2019
The Church Wide and the Church Narrow by Layton Friesen
T
o be simply Christian is to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ. This is a great mystery. Your congregation is the Church. The EMC is the Church. The Church is the global body of believers. The Church includes both the earthly Church and the heavenly Church worshipping God as one in Christ. Let’s look at the Church from two views: the Church wide and the Church narrow.
The Church Wide
For the Church wide we come to Hebrews 12:24. Yes, the Church may look weak and bedraggled right now, “but you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” There may be few folks in the house church where you meet, “but we have come to innumerable angels in festal gathering.” Sanders snores in the third pew, and we envy him—what with the preaching we get around here—“but we have come to the assembly of the first born who are enrolled in heaven.” Now our pastor has run off and no one knows where he is; maybe in Acapulco with someone he met online. And we feel so beat up and betrayed, “but we have come to God the judge of all.”
This congregation has always been ruled by the Penner family and they are the only ones who get to make important decisions and it’s awful, “but we have come to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.” The praise band pretends to be some California pop band, and no one knows the songs, and the bass drum is messing with my pacemaker, but we here, nonetheless, come “to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.” So many of our men can’t get seem to give up porn, but “we have come to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the word of Abel.” When we gather to worship Jesus together we sing here with trembling voices, often wrung with pain. Yet the descant soars in from Heaven where vast myriads thunder their hallelujah around the throne of God. It’s one worship happening in real time. In Exodus 20:4-6, in the Ten Commandments, God says, “You shall not make for yourself an idol. . . for the Lord your God is a jealous God punishing the children for the iniquity of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commands.”
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 11
Convention 2019 What does it mean for God to show steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love Him? That’s 20,000 years later! Somehow in the long memory of God the fruit of one generation’s sanctity comes back and blesses a generation thousands of years removed.
A Made-Up Story
Here’s a made-up story of how this might work. In the fifth century in a village in Lebanon lived an old woman, who was poor with no children. She was a Christian and lived a quiet faith that few noticed. Her husband was sick and she tended him. He was delusional in old age and could be a nasty brute and made her life a misery. There was little she could do but suffer and care for him every day. Each morning she would walk to the village church and say her prayers and receive the Eucharist from the priest. In sleepless nights she would pour out her pain to the Lord. No one knew the depths of holiness this woman offered to the Lord in the darkness. When she died, she was buried and no one much thought of her again. Except her Lord, who shows love for a thousand generations. Go forward to 2019. Jerry and Marion have just retired and are looking forward to relaxing. Jerry is a Christian, but people have often found him a little self-centred. One day he notices that
Marion is telling a story that she told him yesterday. She is eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and they are set on a long hard path together. Yet friends are now amazed. Something’s changed in Jerry. Marion becomes his tender devotion. His friends do golf tours all winter, but Jerry is at home caring for Marion, each day visiting her in the home she is staying in. He loves her to the end. No one knows how Jerry became such a patient, tender husband. No one knows except his Lord.
The Economy of the Holy Spirit
Could you imagine that in the great economy of the Holy Spirit, across the span of the body of Christ, where God shows steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love him, these two stories might be connected as plain as day? When God saw the holy love of this nameless woman in Lebanon quietly praying her way to the grave, God took the seed of her life and planted it down in the soil of the Church and said, “Someday I will breath on this seed and it will bear fruit.” That seed began to sprout in Jerry’s heart just as Marion was telling her story the second time. The Church is wide, connected by the arms of Jesus, a great, teeming beehive spread across thousands of generations in real, live fellowship. Never secularize the Church into a merely here-and-now organization for the spiritual uplift of the religious.
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The Church Narrow
12 The Messenger • March 2020
Now look at the Church narrow. This too is the Church of Jesus Christ. Here’s a true story I heard from
Convention 2019
MWC
John Roth, a Mennonite historian: The year was 1948 and it was a tense time for Mennonite churches in Europe. World War II had frayed the fellowship. It came out that the German Mennonite churches had supported the Nazis and there were Mennonites in the German army fighting against their brothers in the Netherlands and Poland. Mennonites in the Netherlands had signed up to fight against Germany. Nationalism had strained the fellowship of the churches. The 1948 Mennonite World Conference Assembly was held in Kansas. In 1948 some American Mennonites invited the European churches to finds itself in a conference, another narrow come to Kansas for a Mennonite World Conferplace. Someone with a divine sense of humour ence assembly. Yet no one was sure how all these said, “Here, sail with these people. That’ll be enemies were supposed to be together in Kangood for you. Work it out.” sas. The Europeans shuffled and hummed and The Church narrow is immediate, concrete hawed and finally MCC stepped in and negoand there. It is held together by budgets, cassetiated for these churches to get together. The roles, drummers and bulletins in excelsis Deo European churches each decided to send leaders (Glory to God in the highest). It continues as a to attend the assembly in Kansas. sustained rhythm of decency and cooperation And what do you know, it happened that between folks who meet together to work, worthese European Mennonite leaders found themship, marry and bury. This reckoning with each selves together in the hold of the same ship other can be both afflicting and tantalizing. It’s crossing the Atlantic for two weeks. Maybe this training for the Heavenly Table. was God’s sense of humour. They could not The Church is both wide and narrow; neither escape each other and they had some hard conof these without the other. The local, the global, versations down there in the ship. By the time the ancient, the present, the earthly, the heavthey reached America, they had come to a reckenly, the personal, the communal—all these at oning with each other. On shore, they had a once in real time bound together by the arms of public worship service in which they confessed Christ and the fire of the Spirit, nourished by the their sins and asked forgiveness. Scriptures, confessing the faith of the apostles, living the life of Jesus. This is the great mystery Sailing for Heaven of the Church. The Mennonite “enemies,” down in the hold of the ship together by the providence of God, are Layton Friesen, PhD, is the a parable of the Church narrow. We each come EMC’s conference pastor and to Christ and then find ourselves together on was the 2019 convention the same ship sailing for Heaven. God has given speaker in Picture Butte, Alta. us these days at sea in the hold to reckon with This series is based on his coneach other. vention sermons. Layton lives in We find ourselves in a congregation. A narWinnipeg, Man., with his wife row place if there ever is one. Our congregation Glenda and their two young adult children.
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 13
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A Time Well Spent: The Blessing of a Sabbatical by Kevin Wiebe
“D
o you have any plans yet?” Our church’s board chairman had just reminded me that I was about two years away from the time where our policy recommends that pastors take a sabbatical, and was curious if I had any hopes or plans for how to use that time. We were sitting in a Wendy’s restaurant having lunch together and we talked about the various possibilities. Now that I have taken a 16-week sabbatical (post-convention through October 2019), there is so much that I have learned about the benefits of this, and I have been truly grateful for the way our church’s leadership handled it at every turn. So, as a pastor, here are a list of things I appreciated about how my sabbatical was handled to enable me to make the most of this opportunity.
Planning Ahead
As you have already gathered, this was planned for well in advance. It wasn’t something I
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brought up as if I was begging for them to follow their written policy, but was something our board brought up with me well ahead of time. As such, it gave me ample time to dream about what I could or would do, with some options being missions trips, time spent studying or in classes, or many other possibilities.
Planning for Meaningful Activity
As I prepared for this sabbatical, a line from a song called Breathe You In by Thousand Foot Krutch was ringing in my ear: “It’s time to rest, not to sleep away.” It differentiates between sleeping, and meaningful activities that function to make us rested. This means that it is more than just sitting idle for months on end. A sabbatical is meant to be a change of pace, a slower pace, but something that is done with purpose that pours into our souls in different ways instead of requiring us to do things that can feel like it is taking something from us.
What activities do you find pour into your own soul, and which activities stress you out? These were the kinds of questions I wrestled with as I prepared for my time away. In my case, I planned to write a book during my time away, since I find writing to be something energizing for me, and it afforded me great flexibility in making progress on the book if or when I felt like it and when it was convenient for me. It was the perfect balance between meaningful activity, leisure time, and whatever physical rest I needed
Planning for Recreation
Another aspect of a sabbatical is that it enables pastors to spend time doing fun things they may not normally have time for. Over the course of my sabbatical, I went mountain climbing, backcountry hiking/camping, toured various cities, attended a few music festivals, visited family that I hadn’t seen in years, went to a conference, checked out art galleries and museums and, yes, even spent some time binge-watching movies and television from time to time. I was able to spend a great deal of time with my wife and children—real quality time that was also vast in quantity.
Financial Planning
Our policy states that while on sabbatical I receive two-thirds of the salary that I would normally receive. Since we planned for it so long in advance, I was able to ask that they take the dollar amount of reduced pay and spread it out over the course of the whole year, which made it easier on our church bookkeepers as well as easier for me to be able to afford the financial shortfall. This also helped me to not have to worry about money during my time away, which would have put a damper on my ability to rest my mind and also helped me to better care for my family during this time. This piece of advice was not in our policy, but I strongly recommend
considering it if you are in the process of planning a sabbatical.
Good Timing
I didn’t take a sabbatical when the church was in a difficult place or in the midst of other drama. I was in a good place, as was our congregation, which made my sabbatical that much more of a joy. I could leave without worrying about the future of our church, knowing we would all be okay. I could spend time doing things that I enjoy rather than feeling like I was playing catch-up on physical, mental, emotional or spiritual rest. While there are times when a crisis might spur a needed sabbatical, I was greatly appreciative of being able to take one when times are good, which helped my mind rest instead of worry while I was gone.
No Negative Comments
Some pastors I know, when planning for their sabbaticals, had to endure comments like, “I don’t get a few months of paid vacation,” or “Why should a pastor get this when none of us do?” I am happy to report that in preparation for this I did not hear one such comment from anyone. While that doesn’t mean nobody said such things, nobody said it to me which meant that I didn’t have to deal with the burden of false guilt being put on my shoulders. I didn’t have to endure resentment from a single person, and my experience was more of someone receiving a gift.
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 15
A Surprise Send-Off
On my last Sunday prior to my sabbatical, our church board “hijacked” the service. I did not have the preach the sermon I had prepared, because the church’s leadership had asked a number of people in the congregation to share testimonies of God’s work in their lives over the course of our ministry. My wife and I sat in a muddled mess of happy feelings and grateful tears to hear story after story of people who were blessed by our ministry, but who also gave the ultimate glory to God for it all. They also presented us with a gift, and caused us to embark on this sabbatical feeling tremendously loved.
Greater Purpose
Spending time on a sabbatical reminded me that the church isn’t mine, that this ministry isn’t about me, and that the church is ultimately in God’s care—and the Lord is surely trustworthy. It also reminded our congregation that our fellowship is not centred around their pastor and that it requires everyone to use their gifts as the local expression of the Body of Christ. This is probably one of the greatest things about a sabbatical, because it declares to the ourselves, to our congregations, and to all the unseen spiritual forces that our fellowship is not about the ego of a pastor but about the Bride of Christ living in relationship with God in order to glorify and worship the Lord, to bless one another, and to be a blessing to those around us—or as our church slogan says, to “Reach Up, Reach Over, Reach Out.”
When was the last time your pastor took a sabbatical? If they haven’t for a while, I would seriously encourage you as a church to help them plan for one.
Help with the Work
While we did ask other pastors and ministers from our sister churches to help fill the preaching calendar, our lay minister, Bill Friesen, explicitly said that he would be willing to preach much more than usual and welcomed the chance to help develop his preaching skills by using them more frequently. At one point Bill told me, “Kevin, don’t plan the whole calendar and take this opportunity away from me. I want to do this.” I can’t even begin to tell you how freeing it was not to have to beg for help or to feel like my time away was a huge burden. I know it did create added work, but it was taken on joyfully and as such helped me feel even more blessed by our church leadership.
A Chance to Visit Other Churches
Over my sabbatical, I had a chance to visit quite a few other churches and found it both challenging and encouraging. I saw some things that I could do better as a pastor and was encouraged by how well our congregation does at certain things. I gleaned fresh insights into what it feels like to be a visitor in church and also enjoyed spending time in worship and in hearing the Word of God proclaimed and taught. It was refreshing yet it also caused me to deeply miss our congregation, making the return all the more joyful.
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What About Your Church?
When was the last time your pastor took a sabbatical? If they haven’t for a while, I would seriously encourage you as a church to help them plan for one. Did they just take one? It might be worth talking to them to see if there are things the church could do to help make their next one even more valuable and meaningful. I have come to believe that the practice of taking a sabbatical to be something invaluable for the health of the local church—not only for the longevity of pastoral ministry, but for the spiritual declaration that such actions proclaim as an outward action of trust in God for the future of the church. Kevin Wiebe is the pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship, which meets in Stevenson, Ont.
On a Bus in Burkina Faso, We Became Friends! With attacks on churches on the rise, a Mennonite pastor and a prominent Muslim chose friendship rather than feuding. by Siaka Traoré with Lynda Hollinger-Janzen
A
MMN
s chair of Mennonite World Conference Deacons Commission, I traveled to Hong Kong to stand in solidarity with our Mennonite brothers and sisters. After worshiping with Agape Mennonite Church on Dec. 1, 2019, we donned gas masks and went to the centre of the city where demonstrators were enveloped in clouds of tear gas. In this volatile environment, I learned that the Chinese word for conflict, Wei Ji, is a composite made up of “danger” and “opportunity.” This new understanding of conflict shed light on an experience I had several months earlier in my home country of Burkina Faso. I frequently take the bus from Ouagadougou, the capital city, to Bobo-Dioulasso, where I live. I boarded the bus and found another man in my assigned seat. “I’m sorry, sir,” I said politely. “You are in my seat.” The man erupted in anger, “I can’t take this kind of problem any longer!” “What problems are you talking about?” I asked in a calm voice.
I love to get to know people. And I’ve had a lot of experience resolving conflicts from personal misunderstandings among Mennonite church members to national crises.
Issa and Siaka
By this time, the bus stewardess had arrived and asked the angry man to sit in the seat that corresponded with the number on his ticket. Unfortunately, there was someone already sitting in that seat. The stewardess finally resolved the confusion by telling the angry man to sit in the empty seat next to me. Thus, we became neighbours for the fivehour ride.
Resolving Conflict
I love to get to know people. And I’ve had a lot of experience resolving conflicts from personal misunderstandings among Mennonite church members to national crises. So, I asked the angry man questions about himself and showed him that I wanted to move beyond the tension that arose over seating. I told him my name was Siaka and that I was a pastor. He said his name was Issa and he was a Muslim. He had been in Ouagadougou to get a passport so he could make a pilgrimage to Mecca. From religion, our conversation
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 17
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moved on to cover culture and our society, economics and politics. A rapport was born that turned into a friendship by the end of our trip. We exchanged phone numbers as we said our goodbyes.
A Developing Friendship
Several weeks later, I called Issa. He is a businessman and gave me directions to his workplace. When I arrived, Issa introduced me to his colleagues in glowing terms, giving me all kinds of compliments. Another time when I returned home from a trip to Sierra Leone to present a seminar at Christ Salvation Mennonite Church, I found some beautiful cloth and a watch left at the house by some mysterious person. I had to do some serious detective work before finally learning that it was Mr. Issa Sawadogo who brought me these souvenirs from Mecca. I couldn’t believe it! And then, as I completed pastoral visits to celebrate Christmas and the New Year in our Mennonite congregations throughout the country, I found two chickens waiting for me. Again, courtesy of my friend, Issa. I was so moved by his generosity that on Jan. 4, my wife, Claire, and I visited Issa’s family. I continued to call him, Issa, the name of Jesus in Arabic, even though everyone else called him El Hadj, the honorific title given to a Muslim who has completed the pilgrimage to Mecca.
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Join Me in Prayer
While I show him respect, I ask you to join me in praying that God will bestow on my friend the same joy and peace that God has placed in my heart. What could have turned into a dangerous quarrel over a seat on a bus led instead to a friendship. It became an opportunity to live out the good news of Jesus Christ in a country where there is much blood shed between Christians and Muslims. Armed Muslims have increased their attacks on churches in our country, killing six people in April, another six in May, and 14 in December 2019. Many more were wounded in these ambushes on churches. May this Mennonite pastor and this El Hadj guide others in paths of peace. Siaka Traoré has retired from national leadership positions with Eglise Evangélique Mennonite du Burkina Faso (Evangelical Mennonite Church of Burkina Faso), but continues to serve with Mennonite World Conference as the chair of the Deacons Commission. He lives in Bobo-Dioulasso with his wife, Claire, where he continues to work as a pastor in a church-planting ministry. Siaka and Claire have attended the EMC national convention and are known to some of our national staff and other members. Siaka has asked for five copies of this article so it can be shared with Issa. We wish peace upon the friendship of Issa and Siaka.
Column • Focus On
Church Planters: Passionate, Servant-Hearted Labourers
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n each their own way, our Canadian Church Planters are modeling a passionate heart of service in the eleven new church plants across our country. For some of them, they have moved to Canada from another country with the primary purpose of being missionary church planters in our own backyards. For others, it has meant moving their families every 10-plus years as they hand over the work to others and venture out into another new community where they don’t know a soul. It means studying and learning a new culture and language. Difficult choices are made along the way with regards to schooling for their children. It can mean finding a second job in their bi-vocational role, secondguessing their ministry efforts, always trying to keep their home neat and tidy as they host neighbours, and the list goes on. At the core of all of this exists a calling, a passion, a purpose, and a love for Jesus and the people that they serve. Please continue to pray for our Canadian church planters. Consider joining them as in most cases they work alone and would love to have additional team members, whether in bivocational roles or even as tentmakers. And pray also for the people in the communities they are living and serving. These are people whom Jesus came to save! “And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Rom. 10:14-15). When thinking of bi-vocational church planters, I remember one who had a tremendous influence on my life, Arnaldo Gonzalez. In 1993 I had been sent to Chihuahua, Mexico, by EMC Missions to join other EMC missionaries doing church planting and youth ministry. Shortly upon my arrival I was introduced to another single young man my age,
Arnaldo (Aldo) Gonzalez. Within weeks we became friends and over the course of my three years living there, Aldo and I spent countless hours together. One of my favourite memories of Aldo was when we left the city one weekend and went to his home village of El Picacho to help run a quinceañra (a coming of age birthday party, which is a big deal in Mexican culture) for his 15-year-old niece. All adorned in beautiful gowns, his niece and her dozen attendants walked down the dirt streets from her house to the small EMC-affiliated church. A program followed, prayers of blessing were said over the young woman, and then the meal began. During the next several hours that I had the privilege of working beside Aldo, this faithful church planter displayed his servant-hearted character. By the time the evening was over and the property was mopped and cleaned, inside and out, we were exhausted, but so completely filled with satisfaction and joy for helping make the celebration so enjoyable. Much too soon for a servant of God, Aldo passed away in December 2012 at only 43; and, adding to grief, his wife Rebecca passed away a short time later. Together they had modeled what sacrificial church planting looks like. They had given themselves completely to the ministry, using up almost every moment of their personal time on evenings and weekends to bless the small Fuente de Vida (Fountain of Life) Church. While both working full-time jobs, they had made it a priority to make Kingdom building their focus. Bible study or message preparation, visitation, youth ministry, Sunday School lesson planning, preaching, teaching, serving and so much more flowed out of their passionate hearts. When I think of bi-vocational church planters, some of my thoughts go to them. And I am thankful.
Gerald D. Reimer Director of Church Planting
When I think of bivocational church planters, some of my thoughts go to Aldo and Rebecca. And I am thankful.
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 19
‘SEDITIONS, CONFUSION TUMULT’
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GERMANY
I woke up on Jan. 4 and resolved to learn how to drive a scooter to work. I’m not sure if that counts as a New Year’s resolution. This report is probably already too late to be talking about New Year’s resolutions anyways. But I digress. The daughter of the family I live with loaned me her scooter and I spent the afternoon annoying the neighbours by buzzing around the block until I was comfortable enough to take it on the main roads. That night I drove it to Kandern and back, and have now officially become a guy that drives a scooter on occasion. To commemorate this moment, I would like to share with you updates on my time here in Germany in the form of wisdom that I may or may not have gleaned from my locomotive experience. A lot of life is spent traveling. Especially when your scooter maxes out at 40 km/hr. This ties into the update side of things in that I was in Sweden this year for Christmas. There’s a family in GEM that invites the single missionaries all over Europe to their house in Stockholm. It was a good time. When life throws you curves, lean into them. For a number of months we were pushing ourselves. This was difficult, not only because this film is bigger than anything we’ve done before, but also because a worker had to be back in the U.S. raising more support for himself and his family. Because of that trip, other trips, and language school, a recent week was the first full week he and I have worked AND together since I was an intern back in 2018. All this to say, we’ve decided that instead of rushing something for this February, we’ll aim Why Reformation Europe Thought Anabaptism to film starting Would Destroy Society next September. $10 plus (Summer wasn’t shipping a good time for a number of reaLAYTON BOYD FRIESEN sons.) While this Foreword by John D. Roth
‘SEDITIONS, CONFUSION AND TUMULT’
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A Scooter, eh?
FRIESEN
f e s s y e n d s m
With Our Missionaries
is a bit of a curve in our original plan, we’re still working hard and pushing to have most of the planning and preparation done by February. Much like you have to lean into a curve a little bit as you putter around on a scooter. Don’t sneeze with the visor down. Not really an update attached to this one, but it’s just good life advice, applicable in a lot of helmet-wearing scenarios. Sometimes new things are slow. The scooter, while not new, is newly loaned to me. And as I mentioned earlier, it’s not really autobahn material. Similarly, we are trying to do something new here in Germany, and it sometimes feels like it’s taking a long time. There comes a point when that can be discouraging. But then I’ll get an email from someone excited about film and excited about God, and I remember that we’re blazing a trail here. I don’t see us as simply trying to make a movie; I see us as explorers, looking for a new Northwest passage, finding a new way to give glory to God through the art of film. Not only though films, but our lives as well. May the generations that come after us be inspired by the paths we have followed, even if we could only follow them at 40 km/hr. Thanks for being a part of this. Pray for good contacts, creativity and sensitivity as we transform the script into a plan for filming; for good work habits together; and good discussions about future films. Alex Reimer (Prairie Grove) is an EMC Associate Missionary and a filmmaker who serves with Greater Europe Mission in Kandern, Germany.
With Our Missionaries
Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and the Ends of the World Are you interested in foreign missions? EMC Missions is currently recruiting for the following fields:
Minga Guazú, Paraguay
Many of the national Parguayans in the neighbourhoods of Minga Guazú, a city near the border with Brazil, are unreached by the Gospel and do not have an active church. Many of these communities have a few believers who are often open to and desire a Bible study in their homes, which has proven to be an effective way to reach the community. Church Planting Partners: We are looking for a missionary individual, couple or family to work as part of the Minga Guazú church planting team. This would not be to take a lot of responsibilities in the existing church plant, but to focus mostly on a new community church plant alongside the EMC church planting team and local believers. Children and Youth Worker: We are looking for an individual, couple or family to focus on ministry to children and youth alongside the Minga Guazú church planting team. Children and young people are generally quicker to respond to the gospel and ministry to these groups have developed trust in the community that we serve in.
Guadalajara, Mexico
Guadalajara, Mexico, is a wealthy city full of cathedrals and few churches in the western state of Jalisco. The ministry in Guadalajara is strategically located in an affluent area of
this progressive Mexican city of seven million people. Connections are easy to make, but spiritual conversations are more difficult. Church Planting Partners: Our missionary team in Guadalajara invites more workers to expand their efforts into surrounding neighbourhoods. Ministry involvements among the professional demographic include sports and recreation, marriage and finance workshops, grade-school employment, evangelism and discipleship, prayer ministry and much more. School Teacher: Lincoln School is a Christian school attended by the church planting team’s children and is a key avenue of outreach into the community. This school is open to having EMC missionaries as teachers. A teaching degree is required.
Expansion Initiatives
BOM
The Board of Missions has been having conversations and making decisions as we move forward exploring how we can be involved in both Muslim and First Nations ministries. If one these is an area you are interested in exploring with us, please contact Ken Zacharias. For more information on any of these opportunities, please contact Ken Zacharias at kzacharias@emconference.ca or call the EMC national office at 204-326-6401.
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 21
Column • Further In and Higher Up
Thick Deacon Love
I
remember hearing a sad lament from a deacon, recently appointed to deacon ministry. When this eager new deacon asked a friend in church to go for coffee, the friend got suspicious and asked, “Are you asking because you’re my friend or because you’re a deacon?” It’s a disheartening question. This deacon had become a deacon because she loved her church, had a caring way with people, and the church knew her as spiritually mature. Yet now she began to feel that that this position, this title, somehow made her caring work in the church less authentic. This must be a subtle illusion in our day. We wish the really cool genuine things in life could just happen spontaneously, because we feel like it, with no duty or office a part of it. Yet it’s also true that whenever we truly believe something is important, we don’t leave the job to spontaneous feelings. We make an office, a duty, or a profession out of it to make sure its done well. No one believes that law enforcement, surgery, flying a plane, or designing a bridge should be left to spontaneous feelings of goodwill. So, first, if you love teaching kids you might become a teacher. If you like helping sick folks you might become a doctor. If your heart longs to help the poor you might work for MCC. Becoming a teacher, doctor or MCC worker with a salary and title does not somehow diminish
by Layton Friesen Conference Pastor
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Who of us would respond, “Are you asking because you care about me, or just because the hospital is paying you to do this?”
22 The Messenger • March 2020
your authenticity. Rather, that is the normal and most sensible vocation to choose if you actually want to do what you feel gifted to do. The same goes for pastors and deacons. If someone is genuinely interested in going deep with people on their spiritual adventure, becoming a pastor or deacon might be perfect. Second, individuals in the congregation can love each other as friends, yet there is a beautiful form of love by which the congregation comes together and loves someone through a deacon. When a deacon bakes you a casserole, the whole church is there caring for you. Because this deacon has been called, equipped and resourced by the church, the deacon now loves on behalf of your whole congregation. And if this deacon is also your personal friend, both loves are mingled together in a way that no deacon can separate. Third, a pastor or deacon may be your friend, yet they are also much more than your friend. They are called by God to sit before you interested chiefly in how your life is leading you to Jesus, day by miserable day. This goes beyond how you feel here today to the objective reality of your eternal life with God. The church has chosen and trained these people to represent God’s design for your life, to speak God’s Word into your life, to help you begin to pray through your life. So when a ministerial member loves you, there is a lot going on. Ordinary friendship, pastoral friendship, congregational representation, and divine love all mingle together as the coffee flows. Someone runs into an emergency room shouting for help. A nurse at the desk asks, “Can we help you?” Who of us would respond, “Are you asking because you care about me, or just because the hospital is paying you to do this?” The hospital and the citizens paying taxes care enough about people to provide excellent health care workers in our hour of need. God and the Church do too.
With Our Churches Kola EMC
KOLA, Man.—Late spring 2019, after their many years of being away, we welcomed back Ernest and Sherridan Reimer to our congregation. Ernie took the position as part-time pastor and we have been enjoying his leadership and ministry ever since. In summer 2019, Kristina Lawless, a fairly new attendee of Kola EMC, organized a service project, Backpacks for Chilliwack. Her son is a meth addict living on the streets there so she not only has a heart for the homeless there but knows what would be helpful to have in a backpack. Our church, together with some people from the local community where Kristina is from, collected items and filled almost 30 backpacks. In August, Kristina, her mother and Anna, another woman from our congregation, drove to Chilliwack to share love, backpacks and a message of hope with the people on the streets there. Each backpack included a Bible as well as information on attending a Bible-based community program there. On Sept. 29, 2019, we celebrated with the parents of six babies as they dedicated them to the Lord. Pastor Ernest Reimer led the service with the deacons praying over the babies and their parents. Our church is greatly blessed with many young families.
University
KEMC
Welcome Back, Ernest and Sherridan!
Sherridan and Pastor Ernest Reimer
This November 2019 we collected a record 97 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. This ministry is budgeted into our church spending. We have a couple of ladies who buy school and cleansing supplies which we use to fill boxes at a packing party. Then as individuals or families we fill the boxes with other fun items. Nov. 17 was our dedication Sunday. – Caroline Friesen
Living in God’s Kingdom: a practical study guide on the Order Christian life is an introduction to the yours today! Christian faith, suitable for baptism/ LIVING IN membership and other classes. Kevin Wiebe Lessons include: God and revelation, Jesus Christ and salvation, Holy Spirit and discipleship, the kingdom and the future, church and mission, and Anabaptist history. A leader’s guide is available.
GOD’S KING[ DOM] a practical study guide on the Christian life
ite Conference Christian Mennon h, MB R5G 0J1 478 Henry St, Steinbac www.cmconference.ca
ite Conference Evangelical Mennon h, MB R5G 1Z5 440 Main St, Steinbac www.emconference.ca
To order, contact the conference office. nce/Go Mission! ite Mission Confere Evangelical Mennon g, MB R2N 4G6 757 St Anne’s Rd, Winnipe .ca www.gomission
CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 23
With Our Churches Rosenort EMC
Dedication and Ordination
REMC
ROSENORT, Man.—This past fall included two special services in the life of Rosenort EMC. On October 20, 2019, we celebrated with four couples as they dedicated themselves and their children to the Lord. Families are God’s creation and as a church we stand together to support one another in the raising of our children. Shown are Jared and Jill Dueck with Rylan, Chris and Melanie Siemens with Amelia (and Connor), Alex and Melanie Loewen with Cole (and Thomas), Tim and Rachel Loewen with Emily. Pastor Ward Parkinson officiated. And in November we witnessed the formal ordination of Scott Dick into the ministry. Scott and Debbie have been part of our congregation for several years, including serving on staff as youth pastor. Now they are following God’s
leading into church planting in the neighbouring community of Ste. Agathe, Man. Conference Pastor Layton Friesen and Director of Church Planting Gerald Reimer were special guests for the ordination service. – Ward Parkinson
•• Evangelical Fellowship Church
Seven Children Dedicated
EFC
FORT FRANCES, Ont.—On the last Sunday in February 2020, we took some time out in the morning church service to especially dedicate our youngest ones and to bless them in the name of the Lord. There are seven of them with the parents. On the far right are our pastor Alain Reimer, his wife Emily, and their son Micah. – Mark Gerber
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News
Archives Committee Members and Volunteers Sought
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To help preserve and share the stories of Christ’s grace to us through history, the EMC is seeking volunteers to serve on its Archives Committee and other volunteers to assist in its efforts. The Archives Committee meets about three or four times a year to oversee the EMC Archives, preserve documents, and promote EMC history. Its members get involved in hands-on projects. An appreciation of church history is helpful. The ability to read German is not required, though helpful. Committee members from outside Manitoba could attend meetings by computer or by phone and could assist in collecting materials from their areas to be donated to the EMC Archives. Volunteers are needed to help organize the archives’ materials in Winnipeg and Steinbach: photographs, file descriptions, filing. Translators (German to English) are very needed. They can be located anywhere.
If this fits you or someone you know, please contact Terry Smith at 204-326-6401 or tsmith@emconference.ca. Thank you.
$15.00 EMC Festival 2020 • July 3–5 Providence University College Otterburne, MB
Thriving in the midst of
Turmoil
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Psalm 23:5
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 25
News
Books and a Video Resource from the EMC
In this book we are invited to see with eyes of faith looking backwards. Christians need to live in the past if we are to remain connected to God. We are not afraid to live in the past because it is in our memories that we feel the warm hand of the Father’s gentle guiding.
CIRCLING THE GLOBE
When you read the story by Doris with the eyes of faith, you will see the figure of Jesus emerging not only in the church’s triumphs, but as much in those places where the church needed to repent and go back. I recommend this book as spiritual reading. I thank Doris for giving her church this boundless gift—the gift of the living memory of what God has done. – Layton Friesen, PhD, EMC Conference Pastor
Doris Penner, BA, BRS, MSc., has long been interested in the history of the EMC in which she was raised and still serves. She has worked as a teacher and a journalist. She lives in Landmark, Manitoba.
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’Seditions, Confusing, and Tumult’: Why Reformation Europe Thought Anabaptism Would Destroy Society (2019) – Layton Friesen When Layton Friesen grew up as the son of an EMC pastoral couple, he was puzzled by how Anabaptists were mistreated in the sixteenth century. If, as he was told, the Anabaptist movement was the high point in the Protestant Reformation, why were Anabaptists opposed so bitterly? He thought he was not being told all of the story. At Regent College, while engaged in its Master of Theology program, he spent a year studying why Anabaptists were so opposed in much of Reformation Europe, seeking to understand them, not to refute them nor to justify what happened to Anabaptists. He began to understand Anabaptism better. It presented challenges to society then and he believes it can challenge society today. Layton, an ordained minister, is the EMC conference pastor. His studies led him to Steinbach Bible College (BRS), Regent College (MCS, ThM), and the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto (PhD in systematic theology). $10, 165 pp. Available from the EMC national office and Amazon.ca. 26 The Messenger • March 2020
Video Series: An Introduction to Deacons Ministry (2020) – Darryl G. Klassen Is your congregation seeking deacons, looking at the role of deacons, or considering ways to help deacons succeed? This free resource, put out by Dr. Darryl G. Klassen with the support of the EMC, is designed to assist with this. The four-part video series looks at deacons: their role, qualifications, visitation and active listening skills. The video teaching times are brief and a short leader’s guide assists with questions to guide discussion. The video series and the discussion guide are available for free download at Under the Fig Tree Ministries (utft.ca). Darryl, an ordained EMC minister, observed deacons while serving as a pastor at Crestview and Kleefeld. He is now engaged in a ministry of preaching, teaching, and writing. He has studied at Steinbach Bible College (BRS) and Providence Theological Seminary (MACS, DMin). His DMin study focused on the history and role of deacons. Free Download at utft.ca Holy Wanderings: A Guide to Deeper Discipleship (2019) Your church holds classes for young people and adults interested in the HOLY Christian faith, WANDERINGS A Guide to Deeper Discipleship baptism, and membership. After attending Christianity 101, Christian Foundations, or Baptism and Membership Class, what do they study? Here is one answer: a 13-lesson guide that looks at following Jesus together. It has chapters on the Bible and authority, the Bible and interpretation, Christians and worship, the role of the local church, an effective devotional life, stewardship and simple living, the Christian and vocation, everyday evangelism, a look at leadership, faith and culture, Christians and conflict, continuing and commending belief, and pilgrimage—a long, shared journey. Quotes, questions, and sidebar items assist discussion. It is produced jointly by the CMC, EMMC, and EMC. Most of the writers come from within the three conferences, yet outside expertise has also been called upon. $5, 125 pp. A TRI-CONFERENCE STUDY GUIDE
I am honoured to recommend Doris Penner’s wonderful new history of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. Doris loves the Kleine Gemeinde and the EMC that emerged from it, and this affection is obvious. She lovingly traces our life together with honour and respect without hesitating to tell the unvarnished story.
PENNER
Circling the Globe: The Story of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference (2020)– Doris Penner It takes hard work, patience, and an abiding interest to write the history of the EMC—ask Doris Penner. The EMC came out of the Kleine Circling Gemeinde, a group which broke away the from a larger Mennonite church in Globe 1812 in Russia and came to Canada in 1874-75. She traces the developThe Story of the Evangelical ment of part of the KG into the EMC, Mennonite Conference a church that, at first, moved around Doris Penner the world for religious freedom and, later, expanded its vision to send members around the globe in Christian service. The EMC commissioned the book and guidance was provided by a committee, yet it remains her assessment and her opinions come through. She looks at the EMC’s past and present and ponders the future. Doris is a journalist and a former teacher whose studies have taken her to Steinbach Bible College (BRS) and the University of Manitoba (BA, MSc.). $15, 255 pp.
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The books are available from the EMC National Office.
MCC PHOTO
News
Circa 1922. In 1922, MCC sent two shipments of 25 tractors to Mennonite settlements in Russia that were devastated by famine.
100 Years of MCC: Compelled by Christ to Serve by Laura Kalmar
“A
MCC PHOTO/D.R. HOEPPNER
t the railroad stations, the sight was appalling. The moment the train halted it was besieged by living skeletons. From out of the rags were lifted bare arms, the wasted fingers extended toward the car windows in entreaty for food. “‘Bread, in God’s name, bread!’” These were the words of A.J. Miller, penned in southern Russia (present-day Ukraine) in 1920. Thousands were suffering in the wake of the Russian revolution. Violence, pillage, hunger,
disease…death. Mennonites in Canada and the U.S. heard the pleas of their distant cousins. “What can be done?” they asked. Mennonite groups knew they would need to work together to accomplish the daunting task ahead. But inter-Mennonite cooperation had always been hindered by differences in theology, practice, culture and language. It was hard to imagine a jointly owned effort. Nevertheless, the biblical call was clear: “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Gal. 6:10 NIV). There was no choice other than to respond—to be the hands and feet of Jesus to strangers. To become the living gospel. Five Mennonite denominations agreed to form a temporary “central” committee to gather and distribute relief supplies. MCC was born. It was Sept. 27, 1920. Not surprisingly, this fledgling agency faced obstacles. Clayton Kratz, one of the first three workers sent by MCC to oversee the
In this 1923 photo from Platovka, Russia, Mennonites load wagons with boxes of American milk.
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 27
.MCC PHOTO BY FRED KAUFFMAN
News
Supplies were lacking for village schools like this one in Svay Rieng Province in 1981.
relief efforts, was arrested by the Red Army and disappeared without a trace. Delays in food shipment meant the first relief kitchens couldn’t open until March 1922. And the local government insisted MCC clothe and feed all people in need, not only Mennonites. These beginnings indelibly shaped the work of MCC. For 100 years MCC has upheld the clear and urgent call to help those in need—regardless of nationality, race or creed. We have been a
“big tent” under which Mennonites and Brethren in Christ (now known in Canada as Be in Christ) have gathered to work together toward a common mission. And our service has been influenced by a spirit of generosity, tenacity and sacrifice.
Beyond Relief
MCC PHOTO/MYRIAM ULLAH
Corn meal, dark bread and warm cocoa. These were the life-saving rations fed to starving families in the MCC relief kitchens run by Jacob and Anna Funk. Carefully measured calories. The Funks were part of the masses who knew hunger. They had been forced to sell their wedding rings to buy food, sometimes eating meals of roasted gophers or crows. Anna and Jacob said they felt guilty when they received double rations of food. But they knew they needed strength for the strenuous work of overseeing the kitchens. By May 1922, MCC was feeding up to 25,000 people daily. The following year MCC began its first development work, shipping 25 Fordson Nadine Ens and daughter Jenice Ens tie knots in a comforter at tractors and plows to help farmers plant The Great Winter Warm-up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. and harvest new crops. But, for many, this
28 The Messenger • March 2020
News 1923–1930, some 20,000 Mennonites came to Canada with the help of CMBC and CP Rail.
MCC PHOTO/DONITA WIEBE-NEUFELD
Celebrating 100 Years
A century later, the work of relief, development and peace in the name of Christ continues. There is still much to be done. The need to bring Christ’s love and hope to people around the world is as urgent as ever. The number of displaced people has reached record highs, and a Amal Abujayyab, Shergo Ibrahim, Donna Entz and Sedra Mustafa work on a cry for bread still rings in the comforter together at The Great Winter Warm-up event in Edmonton, Alta. air. The need to work together remains. wasn’t enough to secure a future in the region. In that spirit, we invite you to help us celIt was time to migrate. And so MCC began ebrate our centennial. There are opportunities to the work of assisting refugees and immigrants— give a gift--large or small—to help us expand our thousands to Central America, Canada and work with displaced people. There are events, other locations. reunions and online communities The focus on displaced people has where you can read more amazbeen another hallmark of MCC’s ing stories, and even share your work over the past century. own MCC story. Please go to Shaped by the biblical call to mcccanada.ca/centennial hospitality and “welcomto discover all the ways ing the stranger” (Matt. you can get involved. 25:35), MCC has coorWe are grateful for dinated immigration God’s leading over the efforts. We have also past century. We are worked with communigrateful for faithful ties to provide relief and and generous supportsupport for people livers who have journeyed ing in places they don’t call with us. And we are “home.” grateful the “temporary” Often, this work has led us committee formed back in into the halls of Canadian power. 1920 endures today. In 1922, the Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization (CMBC, which later Laura Kalmar is became part of MCC Canada) met with Prime associate director of comMinister William Lyon Mackenzie King, securmunications and donor ing a place for thousands of Mennonites hoping relations for MCC Canto immigrate to Canada. ada. Two more articles will At the same time, CMBC negotiated an appear throughout 2020. agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP Rail) for those families to travel on credit, rather than paying their fares up front. Between
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 29
In Memory
Susie Thiessen (nee Peters) 1930-2019
Susie Thiessen passed away suddenly after a short illness at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, Man., at age 89. God granted her dearest wish to be with Himself and her husband Peter for Christmas. Susie was born on Sept. 29, 1930, in Aberdeen, Sask., to Peter and Helena Peters. The family moved to Swan Plan, Sask., to homestead. Mom was the youngest girl with five older sisters and three younger brothers: Mary (Jake) Klassen; Helen (Dave) Doell; Betty (Jim) Aimoe; Kate (Peter) Klassen; Eva (George) Giesbrecht; Peter (Helen) Peters; Jake (Mary) Peters; and Bill (Betty) Peters. When her Dad passed away in 1937, it became impossible to keep the homestead. The family was moved to Chortitz, Man. She and her sisters hoed beets and picked potatoes in the U.S. before she worked in Manitoba as a housekeeper. Then she met the love of her life, Peter J. Thiessen, and they were married on July 20, 1952. They had 66 years together. Their honeymoon consisted of driving from their wedding reception to Brandon North, Dad’s place of work with the CNR. Dad’s work with the CNR saw
30 The Messenger • March 2020
them move around Manitoba, but children, Mary Ann (Terry) Smith, they finally settled by farming in the Beverly (Leonard) Funk, daughter-inMayfeld area. Mom chose to stay at law Debbie Thiessen, Jerry (Sherry) home to raise her children. Mom took Thiessen, Randy Thiessen, Karen on much responsibility for the farm (Ken) Nicholls, and Laura McLeod; and the children while Dad was away grandchildren and great grandchilwith the CNR and on various jobs. dren, Cory (Dana) Thiessen, Ella, She always had a large garden. After Owen and Hazel; Marcie (Jeff ) Rudyk, most of the children had left home, Riley and Joshua; Kristen Funk, TarMom worked in home care for 15 ryn and Noah; Tracy (Kyle), Sierra, years, which she loved. Avery, and Michael; Jonathan Smith; She served God in various other Derek Custer; Peter, Patricia, Chanways, cooking at camp, working at tel Thiessen; Alex (Colleen), Asley MCC, and church cleaning. She was (Curtis), Riley, Lucas, Lexi; Kass Nichknown for her hospitality, and the olls; Kenneth McLeod, Huxley; Tessa joke was that when she saw company (Paul); Laurie McLeod, Bailey, Brookturn onto their farm driveway, she lyn; as well as many extended family could wash the floor and make a meal and friends. by the time they were at the door. She The funeral service of Susie Thiesbrought chicken noodle soup, her sen was held on Dec. 13, 2019, at stand-by, to sick people. She enjoyed MacGregor EMC with Pastors Colin making confetti cake, which Pastor Bell, Les Kroeker, and Terry Smith Colin Bell appreciated. officiating. Interment followed in the Her favourite restaurant was Joey’s Sommerfeld Cemetery, Austin. Only because of the fish. She enjoyed Mom truly believed that, “For me travelling north to see Terry and Mary to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. Ann in Creighton, Sask., with a van 1:21). She gave of herself to all around filled with grandchildren and food for her, and we can only imagine her joy in a week. She enjoyed fishing in norththe presence of the Lord her God. ern Saskatchewan. – Her Family Mom was connected with the Old Colony Church as a child, with the Mayfeld EMMC until it closed, Beautiful Plains Baptist, Carberry Evangelical Free, Austin Evangelical Fellowship (EMMC), and Portage Evangelical Church. She was deceased by her parents; her JOIN US as individuals husband Peter and or groups for a week or more to help others son Larry; two grandin need. Serve with a children, Darrell and positive and Christ-like Desiree; as well as by heart, using your trade numerous siblings and skills or learning new skills on the job. in-laws. She leaves to mourn her passing her VOLUNTEER WITH MDS! 800-241-8111 mds.mennonite.net
In Memory
and had five sons: Howard (Jane), Barry (Traci), Myron (Susan), Conroy (Sheila), and Garth (Carly). Dad pastored churches in Creighton-Flin Flon, Winnipeg, Steinbach, Abbotsford, Swift Current, Anola, Mennville, and Morris. As a young man Dad work at Schellenberg’s grocery store, in the Virden oil fields, Coldstream Refrigeration and Barkman Concrete (Winnipeg). Dad dedicated his life to Christ at Melvin Koop 18. Shortly after, he enrolled at Stein1936-2020 bach Bible Institute where he felt a calling to ministry and started datMelvin Koop, 83, of Steinbach, Man., ing our Mom, Mary Fast. Their initial passed away on Thursday, Jan.16, plan was to go into foreign mis2020, peacefully surrounded by his sions. However, Dad’s health issues family at Bethesda Regional Health then prevented them from travelCentre, Steinbach, Man. ing overseas. Instead they went north Dad was born on Nov. 25, 1936, to Creighton-Flin Flon to plant the the third oldest of seventeen children. Northern Fellowship Chapel. There, He married our mother, Mary Fast, on the two oldest sons were born. Sept. 12, 1959, in the Kleefeld EMC. After five years in Creighton-Flin They spent over 60 years together Flon, Dad and Mom moved to Winnipeg for Dad to study at Mennonite Brethren Bible College and pastor the emerging Crestview Fellowship Church. Their next two sons were added to to the family. These were busy times for Dad with be four boys, attending colthe lege, pastoring a church, and tarring roofs to supplement his income. His Join us in sense of purpose and passion for the church kept him motivated. In 1971, Dad accepted the youth pastor position at Steinbach EMC. Soon Prairie Rose EMC after moving to Steinbach, th their fifth son was born. Christian Youth Fellowship
God Glory
Celebrating
100 Years 100 Anniversary
DE th th June 13
&
retreats at Camp Jubilee, flea markets, prison ministry and Tuesday night Bible studies built a strong community for the young people. Dad was involved in the community, coaching his sons’ hockey teams and volunteering as a parole officer. Later, Dad spent five years as the Manitoba and Saskatchewan Regional Rep for World Vision. Dad accepted the senior pastor position at the Grace EMB Church in Abbotsford in 1981, where he had a highly effective outreach in the community. In 1986 the Steinbach EMC invited him back as associate pastor, and he was engaged in this ministry for thirteen years. Retirement in 1999 was short-lived. Dad served in a series of interim pastoral positions: Swift Current, Anola, Mennville and Morris. Dad had a passion for reading and was disciplined with his daily devotions, prayer life, scripture memorization and physical exercise. One of Dad’s great athletic achievements was running the Manitoba Marathon at age 70. Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2018. As his memory deteriorated, Mom was always ready to help. Her love, kindness and patience were honouring and respectful toward Dad all his life and especially in his last years. Dad leaves to mourn his loving wife Mary, five boys and their spouses, twenty grandchildren and nine greatgrandchildren, seven brothers, eight sisters, and a large extended family. He was predeceased by his brother John. The memorial service was held on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, at 2 p.m., at Steinbach EMC. We as a family are grateful to the staff at Bethesda Regional Health Centre for caring for Dad in the last month. – His Family
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1920-2020 www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 31
In Memory
Helen R. Loewen (nee Peters) 1921-2019
and a mother to Elsie all at the same time. Mixed in with their first year of marriage were the 1950 flood and the birth of their first child. Life on the farm was full of responsibilities, which Mom accepted with joy and enthusiasm. Grieving the deaths of two infant sons was always expressed to her family as the profound ways of God. When Dad took ill with Parkinson’s disease while she was in her late 40s, she did her best to serve and live above the circumstances. She accepted these experiences as God’s grace to her that could be passed on to others. She was baptized on the confession of her faith when she was 20 years old. Her personal love and commitment to God was real and so profound that she rarely could pray without tears streaming down her face in gratitude. She taught Sunday School, attended prayer meetings, sewed blankets and quilts for MCC, and showed hospitality towards missionaries and cross-cultural friends. She attended church faithfully and would want you to know that following Jesus gave her joy and deep meaning in life. Mom moved into the Rosenort Rosebay apartments in the fall
Helen B. Loewen, aged 98, of Rosenort, Man., passed away peacefully into the presence of Jesus on Nov. 9, 2019, at the Morris General Hospital. Helen was born on March 2, 1921, in Gnadenthal, South Russia. Due to political unrest and advancing persecution her parents were forced to start a new life in Canada, settling in southern Manitoba. As the oldest of nine children and having a mother who was deaf, Mom picked up many family responsibilities early in life. Prior to marriage, she worked seasonal jobs, picking potatoes, assisting as a harvest hand and as a nanny. She took a seamstress course, advancing her love of sewing. She also worked as a cook at the Winkler Bethel Hospital and MCI, Gretna. As head cook, feeding 70 hungry teen boys with about 60 buns and a few dozen eggs, she was pushed to be creative Together we’re celebrating 100 years of relief, with the resources she had been development and peace in the name of Christ. given. Thank you for your support of MCC. Following a short courtJoin the centennial celebrations! ship in the Spring of 1949, she married John B. Loewen on mcccanada.ca/centennial July 17, 1949. Dad was a widower with one daughter, Elsie. Mom learned to be a wife
32 The Messenger • March 2020
of 1992. In August 1997 she made another move (same building) to the Heritage Assisted Living Units. Special thanks to Roselane, Rosebay, Riverstone and Heritage community for the wonderful kindness you showed her, especially in her final years. She is survived by four daughters, Elsie Dueck, Luella Giesbrecht (Jacob), Amanda Peters (Dennis), and Naomi Dueck (Lawrence); one son, Paul Loewen (Melody); 14 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild; three sisters and one brother. Helen was predeceased by her husband John B. Loewen, two children in infancy, her son-in-law Edwin Dueck, three sisters and one brother. Her funeral was held on Nov. 21, 2019, at the Rosenort EMC. “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long—though I know not how to relate them all . . . Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come” (Psalm 71:14-18). – Her Family
Shoulder Tapping With any applications for EMC church pastoral positions, candidates are expected to also register a Ministry Information Profile with the EMC Board of Leadership and Outreach, which can be obtained through Erica Fehr, BLO Administrative Assistant, at efehr@emconference.ca or 204-326-6401.
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 Youth and Discipleship Gerald D. Reimer (greimer@emconference.ca). The national office phone number is 204-326-6401. Talk with Erica Fehr, Church leadership assistant to the BLO, to request a cell number for a particular person.
EMC Positions* Oak Bluff Bible Church is seeking a full-time pastor. We are a welcoming, family-friendly church that averages 50 people on Sunday morning. We enjoy contemporary and traditional worship music. We understand the importance and value of ministering
together to be a light in reaching our growing community and surrounding area of Oak Bluff, Man. (located at McGillvray and the Perimeter Highway of Winnipeg). Applicants must be in acceptance of the OBBC (EMC) Statement of Faith and aligning with the theology, values, and church culture of OBBC. A valid criminal records check and child abuse check are required for this position. Applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada. Preference will be given to those who are willing to relocate to Oak Bluff or the surrounding community. To apply or for future inquiries, please e-mail pastoralsearch@oakbluffbiblechurch.com. Picture Butte Mennonite Church, a Low Germanand English-speaking church with 200-plus people attending dual Sunday morning services, is seeking an associate pastor. The ideal candidate should be characterized by an attitude of servant leadership and personal integrity in a close walk with Jesus. The candidate needs to have an openness and sensitivity to the diverse cultural differences within our Mennonite church. This position would primarily focus on the English ministry. This candidate needs to be a team player as he will be working alongside the existing leadership team as well as the senior pastor. For information, contact Isaac Thiessen, 403308-5093 or isaact@genicadev.com
Other Positions Mennonite Church Manitoba invites applications for Executive Minister. The Executive Minister will inspire and lead congregations and pastors across MCM. Primary areas of responsibility include: promoting congregational vibrancy and spiritual health; strategic planning; leading the MCM staff team in implementing MCM’s vision and mission, and relating to MC Canada. Preferred qualifications: love for Christ and the church; strong team builder; excellent listener and communicator; spiritual leadership experience; demonstrated commitment to Anabaptist theology. For a more detailed position description and information on how to apply please visit the MC Manitoba website: mennochurch.mb.ca.
Where are position ads to be sent? Please send all position ads, including pastoral search ads, to messenger@emconference.ca. All ads are to be 150 words or less. All ads can be edited. Please advise us when it is no longer needed.
Evangelical Mennonite Conference
Calendar
Year to Date Financial Report January – February, 2020
Manitoba June 18 Project Builders Golf Tournament Steinbach, Man
July 3-5 Festival 2020 (EMC Convention) Steinbach, Man
Income* Expenses Excess/Shortfall
General Fund 2019 178,463 262,674 -84,211
General Fund 2020 221,846 302,540 -80,694
We give thanks to God for the continued strong support of EMC ministries, and we acknowledge the contributions of EMC churches and individuals who give so generously. - The Board of Trustees *Income includes donations and transfers from other funds (e.g., estate funds).
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 33
Column • His Light to My Path
Little Critters in Our Congregation
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Why mention this childhood experience? It reminds me of a dear little congregation who welcomed me as a young pastor’s kid into their community.
34 The Messenger • March 2020
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by Karla Hein
hen I was growing up, my Dad pastored a small congregation in a rural community. One winter Sunday, a little girl in my mother’s Sunday School class insisted that she must use the bathroom immediately. She proceeded to open the classroom door, then quickly slammed it shut. “There’s a rat going down the stairs!” she exclaimed. During the week a mama mouse had discovered that our warm, quiet building was a comfortable home for her offspring. The audacity of humans to now invade her space! My friends and I spent the service with our feet tucked up on our chairs for fear of the pesky critters scurrying across our dress shoes. Of all the legs available as makeshift ladders that morning, an adventurous mouse wisely chose the leg of a veterinarian who managed to stifle her surprise. Another family was amused by a little critter who positioned itself underneath a raised shoe in the next row— both man and mouse oblivious to their near fatal encounter. I did my best to listen to the sermon, but was distracted by the mouse who had discovered the piano. He stood front paws outstretched on a music book, head bobbing while his nose sniffed the air, as if joining the service with his own musical number. I remember the closing song, however, as mice came scampering out of the piano, startled by their sudden, loud eviction. Prior to the next church gathering, my Dad made an end to the distracting intruders! Why mention this childhood experience? It reminds me of a dear little congregation who welcomed me as a young pastor’s kid into their community. These church attendees did regular jobs, lived imperfect lives, and taught me what faith looks like as an everyday commitment. Renegotiating Faith (2018), a report published by several Canadian Christian organizations including Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, researched what factors are present when youth continue in a church community
upon reaching adulthood. It highlighted the value of Christian adults who invest in their congregation’s children and encourage them to be involved in church life beyond a specific children’s program. A family of believers who provide mentoring relationships for children to develop in their faith. The goal of our effort is that little Junior will have irrefutable evidence of Christ followers who are investing in each other’s lives, “[strengthening] the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble” (Heb. 12:12). Despite the hurt that occurs in our congregations, Christ is sanctifying the Church from “the sins which so easily entangles us” in order “that He might present the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless” (Heb. 12:1; Eph. 5:25-27). Sometimes I wish I could have witnessed miracles like Noah’s Ark, the Red Sea crossing, or Jesus’ resurrection. Instead, I am inside one of the greatest, long-term miracles of all time: “the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:12- 13). Through our witness, may the next generation also believe this beautiful mystery.
Column • Stewardship Today
Winterize Your Giving
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ow is a wonderful time to take advantage of your planning-mode and think about how much more good you can do to help change the world around you. Just like you organize and plan out other areas of your life, you should carefully consider how you give to charity. To get you started, here is some advice on how to begin your Generosity Plan:
ISTOCK
1. What causes are you passionate about?
by David Barker Stewardship Consultant
Which charities catch your attention? What causes do you care about most? Has an institution positively impacted your life making you want to help others? Perhaps you care deeply about art or education? Maybe your heart aches for people living without access to clean water. Is it important to you that a charity is working in your local community, or do you prefer to respond to the greatest need, even if it’s internationally? Pay attention to where your heart leads.
2. Where have you donated before?
Review your donation history. Do you want to increase your gifts to those charities, or do you want to start supporting a new cause? Consider if there’s a special program or project at your favourite charities that could use your long-term support.
3. What will the charity do with the gift?
Before you give to a charity, take the time to do some research and learn more about them and the work they do. Visit their website, read the latest annual report, or give them a call and ask questions so you feel comfortable about where your donation is going.
4. How often should you give?
Giving to a charity can be one-time or part of a regular schedule. For those who want to give to maximize their gifts to charity, it is a good idea to include it in their financial plan. Speak with a professional advisor, such as an accountant, financial advisor, or lawyer, who can help you explore the benefits of long-term charitable giving based on your specific financial scenario.
5. Is your Generosity Plan sustainable?
Once you have met with a professional advisor to determine how you can add charitable giving to your financial plan, speak with a gift planning consultant. Our team of consultants are experts in helping you to create a customized Generosity Plan that allows you to achieve your philanthropic goals in your lifetime and beyond. So even if you do end up down south this winter, you can ensure your giving remains uninterrupted with some careful planning in place. Consider your options, then begin your generosity journey today. We guarantee that this ritual will be one you look forward to year after year.
For those who want to give to maximize their gifts to charity, it is a good idea to include it in their financial plan.
Abundance Canada is a CRA registered foundation that helps people realize their philanthropy and giving potential in their lifetime and beyond. Learn more at www.abundance.ca.
www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 35
Column • Kids’ Corner
The Earth Wakes Up
by Loreena Thiessen
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D
uring the long cold days of winter, except for people, all the earth seems to be asleep. Trees are bare of their leaves, plants have died back, animals hide in burrows or nest in the trunks of trees, and only a few birds flit about looking for food. How do trees and plants know when it’s time to wake up for Spring? A lot of it is still a mystery, but scientists tell us there are two ways trees know when to begin to wake up. The first is that trees respond to warmer weather. The second is they react to a change in daylight—how long there is daylight. As winter nears its end the nights are shorter and the days grow longer. As the sun’s rays are more direct, they begin to feel warmer on your face and there are more hours of daylight. Trees can sense how long there is daylight; they also know how long it has been warm. This causes buds to sprout and develop. And trees begin their new cycle of growth. As the days get warmer animals and insects begin to stir. Bears have been asleep all winter; their bodies have slowed down. Now they awaken and come out of their dens looking for food. At first they eat berries and the new shoots of plants. As their appetites increase, they head for rivers and streams to hunt for fish. Insects come out from their burrows and hiding holes. Plants open up and begin to flower just in time for insects to come along and pollinate them. This is to make sure that all
plants continue to reproduce. Birds have an inner clock that tells them to leave when food gets scarce and the ground freezes. They migrate to warmer places where there is more food. As the weather warms up, they sense a need to return to where they were born. Once more it’s all about food. They arrive just in time to find the right food, insects and berries. This is where they will build new nests, lay their eggs, and raise the new hatchlings. To escape the cold some frogs burrow into the soft mud at the bottom of the pond and in the river banks. Their bodies slow down, their limbs freeze, and their hearts stop altogether. Now as the sun warms the earth they too wake up. Their limbs thaw and their hearts and lungs start working again. On land their bodies warm and they are once again fully alive. God’s creation is all about order. The sun continues to rise and set giving us night and day. Seasons follow one after the other. Water evaporates from seas and rivers and returns to land as rain Activity: Look for Signs of Spring causing flowers to bloom, Need: camera, notebook pencil, pencil crayons. lawns to turn green and crops Do: Take a walk around your neighbourhood, in a park, or along a path in the to grow. Fish swim in the sea, woods. birds fly through the air, and Take note of what is happening around you. Is the air warmer? Can you feel your feet remain on the ground the sun’s rays? Is snow melting? Are any buds visible? Are birds out? Is there open as you walk along. water? Do you see any birds that have returned from the South? Are there people God is a God of order not out walking, biking, flying kites? disorder...and of peace (1 Take photos or draw what you see. Share your findings with family and friends. Corinthians 14:33). Read EccleMake sure you walk with an adult. Stay away from open water and do not walk siastes 1:4-6 and 3:1. on ice on river, lakes, or ponds.
As the days get warmer animals and insects begin to stir. God is a God of order.
36 The Messenger • March 2020
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