MB Herald Quarterly Spring 2019

SPRING 2019

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VO LU M E 5 8, N O. 2

Power to transcend F R O M G O O D F R I D AY T O E A S T E R V O L U N T E E R S : A W O R L D O F G O O D SPIRAL EV E R DE E P E R I N TO CH RI ST T H E G L O B A L C H U R C H N E E D S T O C H A N G E

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EMPOWER LOCAL INDIGENOUS LEADERS SERVING IN WINNIPEG’S NORTH END WHO WE ARE: Inner City Youth Alive is a faith-based charity serving in Winnipeg. Our mission is to bring hope and a future through Christ to youth and their families in the inner city.

OUR COMMUNITY: We’re located in the North End of Winnipeg, which is one of the poorest and underserved areas in Winnipeg and Canada.

ICYA provides a safe, active and nurturing environment for children and youth, many of whom experience poverty, abuse and neglect.

YOUR IMPACT: As a ministry partner you will team up with Indigenous leaders and you’ll also receive regular updates from the team of leaders you support. Your single or monthly donation can impact over 10 different local staff throughout the year! Even more during our summer programming!

WHY LOCAL LEADERS: As a Christian organization we’re committed to reconciliation of our communities and cultures. We see God using Indigenous Christian leaders to reach their communities and receive Jesus’ grace and love. Last year, 70 different local youth leaders volunteered over 1,200 hours serving at ICYA. These youth are committed to transforming their community! Our hope is to employ them to love, serve, and lead our ministry in the North End.

WATCH THEIR STORIES AT ICYA.CA

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Pray that we’d journey in a good way as we engage our community in all its diversity. Pray that God will use ICYA to bring reconciliation in the North End and across Canada.

Inner City Youth Alive Aberdeen Ave, Winnipeg, MB R2W 1V7

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Quarterly SPRING 2019 | VOLUME 58, NO. 2 Publications mail agreement number: 4000929

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Mennonite Brethren Herald is published quarterly by the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, primarily for the use of its members, to build a Canadian MB community of faith. We seek to 1) share the life and story of the church by nurturing relationships among members and engaging in dialogue and reflection; 2) teach and equip for ministry by reflecting MB theology, values, and heritage, and by sharing the good news; 3) enable communication by serving conference ministries and informing our members about the church and the world. However, the opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the church as a whole. Advertising and inserts should not be considered to carry editorial endorsement.

Contents

W W W. M B H ER ALD.CO M

ISSN: 0025-9349 COPYRIGHT The articles printed in the Herald are owned by the Herald or by the author and may not be reprinted without permission. Unless noted, Scriptural quotations are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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POWER TO TRANSCEND

Pierre Gilbert VOLUNTEERS: A WORLD OF GOOD

Angeline Schellenberg ARTICLE 16

Ed Willms EXPERIENCING THE SUPERNATURAL OF GOD

Paul Duck ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Makadunyiswe Ngulube A MODEL FOR MINISTRY

Elton DaSilva

21 23 30

THE HERALD

A GARDEN OF GIVING

Darlene Dick SPIRAL EVER DEEPER INTO CHRIST

Stacey Gleddiesmith

Departments 2 3 4 24 26

EDITORIAL READER RESPONSE HOMEPAGE FAMILY NEWS FINISH LINES

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Winner of Canadian Church Press and Evangelical Press Association awards for Writing, Design, and Illustration: 1996–2018.

ON THE COVER A rapture vision by Martie Giesbrecht. Read more on page 7.

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Compelled by Christ hat would Sunday morning W look like in your church if no

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W E LOV E TO H E A R F R O M YO U : T H R O U G H L E T T E R S TO T H E E D I TO R , I N T E R AC T I O N O N FAC E B O O K O R T W I T T E R , A N D COMMENTS ON OUR WEBSITE. L E T U S K N OW W H AT YO U T H I N K O F O U R S TO R I E S A B O U T T H E M B FA M I LY.

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volunteers showed up?

For most of us, the sermon would continue as usual, and probably the structure of the service.

However, there might not be any music to fill it, nor audio to support it.

There wouldn’t be any greeters at the door; no coff ee service to help people feel comfortable.

Sunday school classes and the nursery would utterly lack supervision.

Some of the seniors might be missing because no one came to drive them to church.

Continue to play it out: what wouldn’t happen on Sunday morning without volunteers?

April is volunteer month in Canada, with Volunteer Canada celebrating volunteer week Apr. 7–13, 2019, under the theme “Lifting Communities.”

With images of hot air balloons, their campaign invokes the ways volunteers lift communities by being involved in the neighbourhood, tutoring literacy learners, coaching sports team, and visiting people.

As illustrated above, the church is one community certainly lifted by volunteers.

In Religion and Volunteering, researchers Jacques Haers and Johan von Essen say that, at its heart, Christian volunteering is following Jesus’ call to love one’s neighbour as oneself (Matthew 22:39).

At church, volunteering is a way to participate in the family of God. That participation, following Jesus’ example of service to others out of love for God, shapes us into a character more like Jesus.

So, it is no surprise that surveys

by Angus Reid and Statistics Canada note a correlation between people who hold religious faith and those who volunteer regularly.

Pragmatically, volunteering is not only about giving but also about receiving. In church, we observe how

teenagers often test their aptitudes and learn new skills by volunteering. It’s a venue for learning.

The lessons go beyond the technical to the spiritual. Serving teaches humility and trains us in sensitivity to the needs of others.

Volunteering is a communal activity. It provides a space for intergenerational relationships to form and grow. It’s a mentoring space where people at different places on their journey can learn from one another.

Taking it deeper, it’s our response to the call of God for us to participate with him in relating with the world.

Volunteering is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations that succeeded the 8 Millennium Development Goals. It’s seen as a key component to developing just societies: “Volunteerism lets people and communities participate in their own growth.”

For all ages, volunteering provides an opportunity to use professional skills – or, just as often, to develop new ones – and to expand relational networks. It creates a space where the aroma of Christ we carry can open conversations with those who catch its alluring scent.

Volunteering is changing. The required skills, the time commitments, and volunteers’ expectations may not be the same today as in previous decades.

Our capacity to give and the places we are compelled to do so may fluctuate with the changing world around us and in us. But the basic call remains: to love God, to love our neighbour, and to participate with God in the world, walking alongside each other as simultaneous helpers and learners.

Karl�

K ARLA BRAUN

Managing Editor

Reader response – Spring 2019 The Letters column is a free forum for discussion; it should be understood that letters represent the position of the letter writer, not necessarily the position of the Herald or the Mennonite Brethren church.

Women’s stories Re “A persistent influence” (Winter 2019)

I completely agree with Catherine Bergs that women’s stories in Scripture are often passed over and forgotten about.

Growing up, I loved hearing the stories of Esther and Ruth. I felt empowered reading about strong women in the Bible who had a passionate love for God. As a young woman, I feel it is important to continue to teach boys and girls about these strong women, and I’m so glad that HERstory can help with that.

I also found it fascinating to learn about Hildegard von Bingen who bravely led her community in worship and wrote many books and songs in an age where woman were less respected.

As a Christian camp counsellor, I love teaching my campers about the women of the Bible. Representation matters.

This year, I will push myself to learn more about inspiring Christian woman and share what I learn with others.

Women have such a crucial role in the church and should share their stories.

GR ACE DEFEHR WINNIPEG

A faith of our own Re Deeply rooted and growing (Winter 2019)

A Grade 12 student at Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute, I was especially intrigued by Spencer Meisner’s article, “Out of the womb; Part of the family.” It is important that churches try to keep their young adults as part of their community because the future of the church depends on their involvement.

I am not yet an adult; however, I am already trying to figure out ways to stay connected to my church after I graduate because my faith is important to

me. I see friends slipping away from the church in part because they were taught to accept rather than discern; to blindly obey rather than to pursue a deep understanding.

It’s not a matter of these young people not having faith. But they are struggling to develop a faith of their own.

As they grow out of high school and into the real world, there isn’t enough to keep them feeling like they are a part of the church community where they can learn in a way that leads to greater maturity and ownership of faith. I don’t want to see young people fall away from faith simply because they don’t know how to stay connected in the church once the structures of youth group no longer apply.

Churches across Canada must recognize the importance of finding ways to be connected to the young adult population. This will take effort, attention, and, most importantly, the careful building of strong relationships.

ANNA ROGALSKY WINNIPEG

divides humanity into enlightened Christians and others in spiritual darkness. Theological doctrines have become such institutional strongholds that faith in doctrine has come to be synonymous with faith in God. Consequently, children are often not adequately led to cultivate faith in God which facilitates knowing him beyond doctrinal beliefs; teaching does not emphasize Jesus’ foundational teaching to love God and fellow humans.

When teenagers recognize many people not of Christian denominations manifest faith in God and practice good, they may even feel guilty for being deemed the only ones eligible for God’s kingdom. In time they may wonder what Jesus would think of Christians supporting economic legislation that subsidizes more wealth onto existing wealth at the expense of those struggling with minimal livelihoods.

Perhaps an evaluation of Christian teaching could help ensure children find peace in their own spiritual faith.

JAKE JANZEN

Faith for the soul

ABBOTSFORD, B.C.

“Hemorrhaging Faith: Seven Years Later” (Winter 2019) cites a church that has retained 80 percent church attendance by children having grown into their teens and even older. Since the efforts seem to be quite recent, it is not clear how the methods used can be so quickly quantified.

That aside, the significant exodus from church affiliation is not a good outcome for children or churches.

Ultimately only spiritual convictions are likely to sustain: convictions born of the soul communicating with the spirit of God resulting in faith in God. Christian teaching tends toward exclusive doctrine that essentially

Note from the editor Thank you to all the readers who sent feedback on the redesign. A fresh look generates new interest; we’re grateful to those who gave MB Herald a second glance.

Magazine design needs to balance the need for attractive layout and compelling content. Our Winter 2019 may have failed to meet the demands of both beauty and readability. We have made slight adjustments to our font for Spring 2019. We welcome your feedback on the changes.

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HOMEPAGE

Super-servants

Volunteers form the backbone of churches. Who are the members in your congregation that exemplify a Christ-like attitude, giving their time, energy, and love to ministry inside and outside the church? mbherald@mbchurches.ca

ELVIRA DUECK Coaldale (Alta.)

MB Church At 92, Elvira Dueck volunteered at the longterm care facility at the Coaldale Care Centre, feeding residents with dementia (much younger than herself) breakfast every morning – serving a total of 2,200 hours. For 50 years, she was a regular volunteer at the MCC Thrift Shop in Lethbridge. Elvira died in an apartment fire on Jan. 4, 2019, leaving a legacy of generosity, kindness, and grace.

JOHN AND ELFRIEDA UNGER Steinbach (Man.) MB Church Retired teachers John and Elfrieda sing duets at funerals and seniors’ events. At 74, Elfrieda heads up Steinbach MB’s children’s church and nursery, leading the more than 65 volunteers who teach the church’s 120some children. She cooks meals for undernourished families. John (now 73) joined the church’s leadership team after his retirement, moving into the role of treasurer despite no background in finance.

He serves the board of a seniors’ housing society, shares leadership of a small group, and continues to mentor five to seven student-teachers from the University of Manitoba.

ALANNA GIESBRECHT Lendrum Mennonite Church, Edmonton Alanna is a co-chair of Lendrum’s worship commission and member of the caring commission. The mother of four jumps into projects with both feet and a full heart. She goes above and beyond in visiting and caring for church members and hosting meals. She is invested in making Lendrum’s worship the best that it can be – with a concern for both stability and freshness. On top of that, Alanna has volunteered as a “friendly family” for Syrian newcomers, with an Indigenous reconciliation circle, and as a good neighbour to countless others.

What makes her outstanding is the depth of her concern and willingness to help.

Consider it re-settled

More than 12,500 refugees have been resettled in Canada by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) since negotiating an agreement with the government on March 5, 1979.

Jean-Calvin Kitata (middle), peace and justice ministries coordinator for MCC Quebec, applied for refugee status as a student to finish his education in Canada after a 1997 coup prevented his return to DR Congo.

Read more about MCC’s ground-breaking refugee assistance program. mbherald.com/consider-it-resettled

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We asked worship pastors what music inspires them on their discipleship path.

“Redeemed” Big Daddy Weave Love Come to Life Songwriters: Mike Weaver, Benji Cowart This song is my story. It slays me nearly every time.

“Weep with Me” Rend Collective Good News Songwriters: Chris Llewellyn, Gareth Gilkeson The church needs more songs of honest lament. This one’s a beauty.

“Fix You” Coldplay X&Y Songwriters: Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion One of the best pop songs ever. Captures the beauty, pain, and hope of human relationships.

#MBThrowback

Drama at Christian Day Camps

HOMEPAGE

Songs �h�� sha� us

“We are not interested in erecting buildings, but in calling men and women to Christ and into His service.”—1970 Home Missions Committee letter to Manitoba MBs. From 1970–89, the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba brought camp to children through Christian Day Camps in Leaf Rapids, Snow Lake, Cranberry Portage, The Pas, Wanless, Flin Flon, and Thompson.

“As staff members visit the campers’ parents, they are warmly received and frequently discussions turn to God’s offer of salvation,” wrote camp director Ken Neufeld. Bible studies eventually became church plants.

Do you know the names of the camp staff in this photo from around 1977? Help CMBS identify them by emailing information to archives@mbchurches.ca.

This photo from the Centre for MB Studies (NP14901-1440) is available to the public in collaboration with MAID: the Mennonite Archival Image Database. Research or purchase images from Mennonite churches and organizations at archives.mhsc.ca.

GREGG BAKER

worship arts pastor, Gracepoint Community Church, Surrey, B.C.

Tell us, what songs shape you? mbherald@mbchurches.ca

M Y S T E R Y S O LV E D !

Thanks to our faithful readers, the mystery band pictured in #MBThrowback in the Winter 2019 issue was identified as Life Forever (Ross Friesen, Steve Friesen, Byron Funk, Carson Richert), a Christian rock band from Community Bible Church in Olathe, Kan., on stage at Tabor College circa 1987.

View our previous Memory from MAID images, and keep watching #MBThrowback to help with more photo identifications. mbherald.com/tag/memories-from-maid/

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BUILDING COMMUNITY

Power to transcend From Good Friday to Easter

F O R W H AT I R E C E I V E D I PA S S E D O N T O YO U A S O F F I R S T I M P O R TA N C E : T H AT C H R I S T D I E D F O R O U R S I N S A C C O R D I N G T O T H E S C R I P T U R E S , T H AT H E WA S B U R I E D , T H AT H E WA S R A I S E D O N T H E T H I R D D AY A C C O R D I N G TO T H E S C R I P T U R E S (1 CORINTHIANS 15:3–4).

once attended a men’s prayer breakfast during which speaker Neil Klippenstein told one of the most painful and encouraging stories I ever heard.

Before an accident, Neil worked in the construction industry. He was an avid outdoorsman and an enthusiastic motorcyclist. Neil also told us about how he found forgiveness in Jesus as a child and always did his best to live as a disciple of Christ. As his speech unfolded, it became blazingly clear that he meant it.

I

A COLD, IMPERSONAL UNIVERSE On a sunny August day in 2011, Neil’s world changed forever. While waiting at a red light, his motorcycle was struck from behind by a car driven by a distracted driver. Neil miraculously survived. The impact paralyzed him from the neck down.

As I listened to his amazing testimony of faith, questions were swirling in my mind. How would I respond to such a senseless accident? Would I maintain hope and transcend the desire to hate or scream at God in anger? Would I be able to make sense of something like that?

Stories of dashed hopes, unfulfilled aspirations, bitter disappointments, and injustice litter the human landscape. Is what we see all there is?

If, as atheists like Peter Singer, Richard Dawkins, and others claim, there is no personal and loving God, then we might as well admit that our existence is a farce inadvertently designed by a cold and impersonal universe. Our desire for justice, for meaning and purpose, is just a cruel illusion to be tossed aside like yesterday’s newspaper.

But what if these atheists are wrong? What if there is indeed a fulcrum, a centre, an infinitely powerful entity from whom all reality originates, and who loves each one of us? Is there any way to know?

A PROMISE OF SOMETHING NEW I believe there is, and it all hinges on two inseparable events: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Good Friday and Easter morning are the most

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pivotal and earth-shaking occurrences in human history. They transcend space and time. Together, they constitute the pillars that structure reality.

Good Friday signals the death of the Son of God for all sins: past, present, and future. It represents an infinitely valuable sacrifice offered to meet the requirements of divine justice. “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

But without the empty tomb, Good Friday is pointless. The resurrection is the ultimate demonstration that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. It’s the proof that the gospel message is not just some pleasant fable we tell each other to mask the meaningless chaos of human existence. But that’s not all.

The resurrection is also God’s final word on the meaning of the story that has been unfolding since humanity’s creation. And the final word is…LIFE. Our Lord’s victory over death is the promise that this painful reality will one day come to an end and be replaced by something new.

The resurrection is the promise of restoration.

A N E X P LOS I O N O F L I F E A N D G LO RY If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, this universe and all the wonderful things that are in it will end in a whisper. Without the resurrection, there is no hope for any of us (1 Corinthians 15:19–20).

But the tomb was empty. Christ did rise from the dead. This universe will not end in a whisper but will be dismantled down to its most elemental components and brought back in an explosion of life and glory (2 Peter 3:12–13).

The resurrection of our Lord is the promise that all those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ will be transformed. This dying body will be discarded, and all of us will be given a new body that will never grow old and die. All tears will be wiped away. And

BUILDING COMMUNITY

we shall live in a new world free of pain and evil, forever in the joyful presence of our Lord.

For Neil, whose life was irrevocably changed by a distracted driver, Good Friday enabled him to forgive.

Neil had sought and received forgiveness for his sins as a little boy; now it was his turn to extend the same to someone else.

Remember, though, that the forgiveness Neil extended wasn’t just the kind gesture of an exceptionally good man. We forgive others on the same basis God forgives us: the sacrifice of Christ.

The resurrection of Christ gave Neil the ability to transcend the feelings sparked by his circumstances, and to look forward to the fulfillment of all things.

PIERRE GILBERT

Martie Giesbrecht is an artist who loves to paint. Besides opportunity to learn and grow, painting also provides relief from stress and the chronic pain she has lived with for more than 16 years. Martie, her husband, and two daughters are part of Forest Grove Community Church, Saskatoon.

“I see my creativity and artistic abilities as a God-given talent. I am very thankful for it; it is one small way I feel a connection with God. I am also very grateful for the support of my wonderful husband, daughters, family, and friends.

Martie began to paint a vision of rapture to go in this issue before she received Pierre Gilbert’s reflection on receiving spiritual bodies. “God works very mysteriously!”

is associate professor of Bible and theology at Canadian Mennonite University, MB Seminary, Winnipeg.

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DEVELOPING LEADERS

“Volunteers are attracted by the cause and they’re kept by the people,” says Shelley Campagnola, executive director of the Mennonite Coalition for Refugee Support (MCRS), consultant in organizational transitions, and member of WMB Church, Waterloo.

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DEVELOPING LEADERS

Attracted by the cause

It’s easy to be drawn to MCRS’s mission: “We are in the business of helping save people’s lives,” says Campagnola. MCRS assists people from 45 countries fleeing persecution and oppression to complete their refugee claim process, access legal and settlement supports, and find community in Canada.

MCRS’s volunteer coordinator tells volunteers in every monthly newsletter: This many people got a Yes that they can stay in Canada and you (whether receptionist, translator, or board member) were a part of that story.

Some of MCRS’s volunteers have been refugees themselves. “The fact that they can now help someone else means everything to them,” says Campagnola.

At Camp Evergreen, half of the 70 workers it takes to run the camp each week are volunteers. “If volunteers see campers coming to know Jesus, they become invested,” says Bob Kroeker, executive director. He says campers often return as volunteers to give someone else the experience they enjoyed.

Similarly, Multiply Central Canada’s volunteer coordinator Karissa Durant serves at The Meeting Place because of what she received.

When she was invited to be a young adult Bible study leader last year, Durant recalled the ways her own leaders discipled and welcomed her as a first-year university student exploring Christianity.

“I wanted to invest in others the way they invested in me,” she says.

Passing on the stories they lived and loved as children motivates the volunteers at the Centre for MB Studies (CMBS), Winnipeg, says director Jon Isaak.

Many of them have fond memories of MB conventions – families would plan their vacations around MB gatherings.

“They grew up with conversations about conference at the supper table,” says Isaak.

“They are carrying forward the love and concern they saw modelled in their own homes.”

Retired elementary teachers Kathie Ewert and Clara Toews have been volunteering at CMBS twice a month for 13 years. The graduates of MB Collegiate Institute and members of McIvor MB Church bring years of MB memories to the work.

“I started because I was newly retired and wanted to do something useful,” says Ewert, who delights in her discoveries, including Russian midwife records from the 1800s and her grandfather’s name on a map.

Much of their time is spent scanning and identifying photos for the Mennonite Archival Image Database (MAID). “Each face in each photo has a story,” says Toews. “Their stories are linked to who we are now.”

“They served; they suffered; they matter. I love giving them a name.”

P R E V I O U S PA G E : K AT H I E EWERT AND CL AR A TOEWS I D E N T I F Y P H O T O S AT T H E CENTRE FOR MB STUDIES, WINNIPEG. BELOW: ONE OF SEVER AL YE AR-LONG VOLUNTEERS F R O M G E R M A N Y, J O N A S P L A S T E R S N E W S TA F F H O U S I N G AT C A M P EVERGREEN (2017).

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DEVELOPING LEADERS

KARISSA DURANT (FRONT RIGHT) WITH THE VOLUNTEER S U P P O R T T E A M AT A C T I O N O R I E N TAT I O N , G R E T N A , MAN., 2015.

Kept by the people

People begin volunteering because of a cause, but it’s the way others treat them that determines whether they will return.

Durant’s favourite part of volunteering is “working together with others and interacting with those I am serving and hearing their stories.” Even three hours of peeling vegetables for an outreach dinner became enjoyable “because of the relationships created by spending time with the other volunteers.”

It’s the reason that, despite budgetary constraints, Isaak prioritizes an annual volunteer appreciation dinner.

Levi Willems, a volunteer youth leader at La Salle (Man.) Community Fellowship for six years, says what makes the experience meaningful for him is the people he serves and the team he serves with.

“Being part of a community is huge,” he says, “And those who are willing to step outside themselves are the kind of people I would love to be in community with.”

“We treat our staff and volunteers very similarly,” says Kroeker. “My goal is to give each camp volunteer a good experience so they will not only want to return but bring a friend with them.”

Campagnola tells of one MCRS translation volunteer, an immigrant hurt by having her skills unrecognized in Canada, who cried with joy over a hand-signed card from the staff, saying, “Not only did I get to use my skills, but I’ve never been treated like this before.”

“She’s all in!” says Campagnola.

A place to grow

“I saw Bible study leading as an opportunity to get to know people in my church better and learn from those who had been volunteering in this capacity for years,” says Durant. “I knew that not only would I get to impact other’s lives, but I would be challenged to grow as well.”

If word gets out that you offer a place where people can grow, you won’t have trouble finding volunteers, says Campagnola.

Camp is one such place, where youth learn valuable skills that “make becoming a servant leader almost a natural transition,” says Kroeker. “It’s exciting to see volunteers who are scared to speak in public grow to the point where they can talk and pray in front of people.”

“There’s no place to hide at camp,” says Kroeker.

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“Everyone has to work together, and so, for some, serving becomes a way of life – almost like peer pressure to serve.”

MCRS invites volunteers to study the same professional development texts as staff and join staff discussions.

Interns in social work, migration, governance, international development, or communications gain frontline experience and valuable references.

“We don’t dictate what volunteers do or how,” says Campagnola. “We tell them, ‘Here are the outcomes we want; we’ll walk with you to get there.”

A chance to give their all

When asked, Does the church ask too much or too little of volunteers? Campagnola’s answer is a definite yes.

“We don’t ask enough in terms of seeing everyone around the table as bringing wealth,” she says.

Sometimes a hierarchy that sees staff as the experts undermines the gifts and perspectives of volunteers.

“I am motivated to volunteer if it costs me something,” says Willems.

“I have heard many voices within culture say that my life will be fulfilling when I pour all my time, energy, and money into living for me, but selfish living only leads me to realize my own brokenness and emptiness.

“My soul longs for something that is bigger than me.”

The choice to say when

“On the other side,” says Campagnola, “churches ask too much of volunteers when we keep coming back to the same people to fill the gaps we can’t find anyone else to fill. We overstretch the faithful ones – and we wear them out.

“When people say, ‘This is the time commitment I can give,’ that must be respected.” Positions need a beginning and an end.

“We have to give permission to people to say, ‘I need a break,’” she says. “When people can give the best of themselves, we get the best.”

Isaak agrees. “Don’t use guilt,” he says. “Be open to the Spirit and ready to shut down things that aren’t working.”

Isaak’s congregation, River East Church, combined Sunday school classes and dropped two committees due to volunteer shortage and church revisioning.

Beyond filling gaps

“A big reason I chose this role was that I was invited into this role,” says Durant.

“That invitation to lead involved not only a ‘shoulder tap,’ but someone acknowledging that my personality and gifts were good and needed.”

If our focus is only on finding enough hands to run a program, we’re doing everyone a disservice, says Campagnola.

When Campagnola accompanied her son to find a church near college, they had two very different experiences on the same morning. At the first church, they heard, “You’re from the college? Good: we can get you working with our youth.”

At the second church, the pastor said, “Take time to get to know us, and we’ll take time to find out how to come alongside you.”

Because of the way the second church treated him, her son stayed, even after graduation, so he could continue to serve in multiple ways – including by mentoring youth.

Regarding her own volunteer role as ONMB’s board treasurer, Campagnola says she occasionally questions the time commitment.

“But then I think, ‘I can’t walk away!’” she says. “Exciting things are happening, they’re phenomenal people – hungry for God – and this taps into things I can’t contribute anywhere else.”

ANGELINE SCHELLENBERG

Is volunteer culture changing?

“We’re seeing an increasing desire for hands-on frontline experiences, as opposed to behind-the-scenes volunteering,” says Campagnola of her work at MCRS. While the intent is good, she stresses the need to gain the right skills and perspective first.

DEVELOPING LEADERS

However, they have many who give their time sacrificially in other ways like resettling refugee families. Isaak says part of the difference is that refugee sponsorship is a clearly defined one-year commitment.

“You have to have the long view,” says Campagnola. “If God is in it, he will provide the resources. If you don’t have enough people to do what you were planning on doing, maybe you need to change the plan to match the resources he has given.

“You needed 10 and got 8: God has a pattern for that,” she says. Think of Gideon who had only 32,000 soldiers to help him defeat the Midianites, and God told him, I want you to get it done with 300.

“How do we get the same outcome in a different way, so these 8 people have a great experience?”

“That’s the space where God shows up,” says Campagnola, “and shows us that it’s his ministry through us, and not us doing ministry for him.”

When refugees unpack their story of trauma, they need a trained case worker, not a volunteer. MCRS seeks opportunities for volunteers to be engaged with vulnerable people that will not add to their vulnerability.

Society is in transition: “We’re learning what it means to see the person we’re helping as an equal, not our beneficiary,” says Campagnola. Many refugees were leaders in their country – their influence is the reason they became a target. She tells her volunteers, “They made it 10,000 km without you. They can make it to the bank without you.”

“Volunteering isn’t about you, but about the person you’re serving,” says Campagnola. “You can’t have a great experience at the expense of the people you want to reach.”

A P I T C R E W ( E N T R Y- L E V E L L E A D E R S - I N -T R A I N I N G ) AT CAMP EVERGREEN SERVES CAMPERS LUNCH (2018). ( L– R ) : A V E R Y , K R I S T I N , E L L A , K A I R A , J U L I E T TA .

MENNONITE BRETHREN HERALD

SPRING 2019

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BUILDING COMMUNITY

ARTICLE

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WORK, REST, AND THE LORD’S DAY What does Mennonite Brethren theology have in common with that of other Christian denominations? And what are the distinctive emphases of Mennonite Brethren theology? Informed by Scripture, our Confession of Faith names the perspectives through which we read God’s Word in order to live as Christ’s followers. This series by the National Faith and Life Team explores the 18 articles of this formative document.

grew up in an environment where work was highly valued.

Some of my earliest memories are toiling in dust and sweat amidst vibrant rose bushes and small cedars. At that nursery, I discovered the delight and joy of hard work. I learned that those close to me rewarded and celebrated those who would roll up their sleeves and “get’er done.” As I baked in the summer heat, a passion for a good day’s work was birthed.

It was only years later that the shadow side of this aptitude became apparent. Work took centre stage, nudging the ability to rest – to unplug and be still – to the periphery.

Pastoral ministry did nothing to spare me from this inclination. Instead, as life became more complex, as I tethered myself to an iPhone, as connections and opportunities grew, rest became exceedingly elusive.

When friends would ask how I was doing, my instinctive answer became “very busy,” as though my full plate were a badge of honour. The truth is it was my Achilles heel. I found myself aligning better with Martha, “distracted by all the preparations that had to be made” rather than her sister Mary “who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said” (Luke 10:38–42).

Article 16 of our Confession of Faith reminds me that our labour, our leisure, and a day of rest and worship are complementary gifts from our gracious Father.

“We believe that God’s act of creation is the model for human activity. While sin has corrupted work and rest, redeemed people are called to restore labour and rest to their proper place.”

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• How does one engage in this restorative activity in a culture bent on 24/7 work?

• How does one silence the relentless noise and clutter that is drowning out our desperate need for silence?

Our Confession invites us to reconsider the practice of Sabbath.

THE MISPLACED DAY

Just a short while ago, almost everything in society stopped one day a week. Gas stations, banks, and grocery stores locked their doors at night and on Sundays. No more. We are no longer a society that goes to sleep at night or conducts business six days a week. Now we go 24/7…what got taken away is rest.

If we truly desire to maintain and grow healthy and vital spiritual lives, we will need to rediscover the essence of Sabbath.

TWIN PERSPECTIVES ON REST

The Old Testament provides us with twin perspectives on why God focused so strongly on Sabbath rest, writes Mark Buchanan in The Rest of God. • Sabbath is positioned as a return to Eden.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God…. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:8–11).

For six days, God created and worked, and it was very good. Then at pinnacle of the week, God deliberately

stopped. God rested and pronounced the day “holy.”

The all-powerful Creator who did not need to rest chose to make a full stop and set a day apart.

• Sabbath is viewed as a refusal to go back to Egypt.

The parallel Deuteronomy account says: “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy…. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.

Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:12,15).

The One who liberated his people from slavery exhorts them not to look back. The command to stop, rest, and trust weekly is an invitation to live in freedom from the bondage and oppression of Egypt.

• What does a Sabbath day look like for us?

• How might we regain a new sense of a holy day?

• Are we living in freedom and trust or turning back to the bondage of work and self-reliance?

Jesus’ invitation might just be what we need today: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28–29).

ED WILLMS

is executive director of the Ontario Conference of MB Churches. He lives in St. Catharines, Ont.

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Quels aspects de la théologie des frères mennonites rejoignent la théologie d’autres familles d’Église ? Quels sont les points saillants de la théologie des frères mennonites ? Éclairée par les Écritures, notre Confession de foi énumère les perspectives à travers desquelles nous lisons la Parole de Dieu afin de vivre en tant que disciples de Christ. Cette série présentée par le Comité foi et vie examine les 18 articles de ce document formateur.

’ai grandi dans un milieu où le travail était hautement prisé.

Me défoncer, recouvert de poussière et de sueur au milieu de rosiers éclatants et de petits cèdres figure parmi mes premiers souvenirs. C’est dans cette pépinière que j’ai découvert la joie de se donner à fond à une tâche. J’ai appris que mes proches tenaient en haute estime et récompensaient ceux qui retroussaient leurs manches et « en venaient à bout ».

Alors que j’endurais la chaleur torride de l’été, une passion pour une bonne journée de travail a germé en moi.

Ce n’est que des années plus tard que le côté obscur de cette disposition s’est manifesté. Le travail occupait une place centrale de ma vie et la capacité de me reposer – de me déconnecter et de m’arrêter – a été reléguée à la périphérie.

Le ministère pastoral n’a rien fait pour résister à ce penchant. Au contraire, alors que la vie s’est complexifiée, que je me suis attaché à mon iPhone, que les liens et les occasions se multipliaient, le repos me filait entre les doigts.

Lorsque les amis me demandaient comment j’allais, ma réponse instantanée était « je suis très occupé », comme si mon affairement était une marque d’honneur.

En réalité, c’était mon talon d’Achille.

J’ai constaté que je m’alignais plus sur Marthe, « affairée aux nombreuses tâches du service » que sur sa sœur Marie « qui s’assit aux pieds de Jésus et écoutait ce qu’il disait » (Luc 10.38–42).

L’article 16 de notre Confession de foi me rappelle que notre travail, nos loisirs et une journée où l’on consacre du temps au repos et à l’adoration sont des dons complémentaires les uns des autres de la part de notre Père bienveillant. « Nous croyons que l’acte créateur de Dieu est le modèle de l’activité humaine.

Alors que le péché a corrompu le travail et le repos, les rachetés sont appelés à

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reprendre la place qui leur est propre. » Comment se livrer à cette activité restauratrice dans une culture réglée sur le travail de 7j/7 et 24/24 ?

• Comment calmer le bruit incessant et l’encombrement qui étouffent notre besoin criant de silence ?

Notre Confession nous invite à réexaminer la pratique du sabbat.

LA JOURNÉE ÉGARÉE

Récemment, presque toute la société s’immobilisait une journée par semaine. Les stations-service, les banques et les épiceries fermaient leurs portes la nuit et le dimanche. Plus maintenant. Nous ne sommes plus une société qui se couche la nuit ou qui fait ses affaires six jours par semaine.

Maintenant, nous nous activons 7j/7, 24/24… ce qu’on nous a ôté, c’est le repos.

Si nous désirons réellement préserver et développer une vie spirituelle saine et vitale, il nous faut redécouvrir la nature du sabbat.

UNE DOUBLE PERSPECTIVE SUR LE REPOS:

Selon Mark Buchanan dans son livre The Rest of God, l’Ancien Testament nous fournit deux perspectives sur les raisons pour lesquelles Dieu a mis autant d’accent sur le repos du sabbat.

• Le sabbat est situé comme un retour à Éden. « Souviens-toi de faire du jour du repos un jour saint. Pendant six jours, tu travailleras et tu feras tout ce que tu dois faire, mais le septième jour est le jour du repos de l’Éternel, ton Dieu… En effet, en six jours l’Éternel a fait le ciel, la terre, la mer et tout ce qui s’y trouve, et il s’est reposé le septième jour. Voilà pourquoi l’Éternel a béni le jour du repos et en a fait un jour saint. » (Exode 20:8–11).

Durant six jours, Dieu a œuvré à la création et c’était très bon. Puis,

BUILDING COMMUNITY

ARTICLE

LE TRAVAIL, LE REPOS ET LE JOUR DU SEIGNEUR

à l’apogée de sa semaine, Dieu s’est délibérément arrêté. Dieu s’est reposé et a appelé ce jour « saint ».

Le Créateur tout-puissant qui n’avait nul besoin de se reposer a choisi de faire un arrêt complet et de mettre une journée à part.

• Le sabbat est considéré comme un refus de retourner en Égypte.

Le récit parallèle en Deutéronome enseigne : « Respecte le jour du repos en en faisant un jour saint… Tu te souviendras que tu as été esclave en Égypte et que l’Éternel, ton Dieu, t’en a fait sortir avec puissance et force. Voilà pourquoi l’Éternel, ton Dieu, t’a ordonné de respecter le jour du repos » (Deutéronome 5.12,15).

Celui qui a libéré son peuple de l’esclavage l’exhorte à ne pas regarder en arrière. Le commandement de s’arrêter, de se reposer et de faire confiance un jour par semaine est une invitation à vivre libre, affranchi de l’esclavage et de l’oppression de l’Égypte.

• À quoi ressemble un jour de sabbat pour nous ?

• Comment pourrions-nous regagner un sentiment de sainteté autour de ce jour ?

• Vivons-nous dans la liberté et la confiance ou faisons-nous marche arrière vers l’esclavage du travail et de l’autonomie ?

L’invitation de Jésus pourrait être exactement ce qu’il nous faut aujourd’hui: « Venez à moi, vous tous qui êtes fatigués et courbés sous un fardeau, et je vous donnerai du repos. Acceptez mes exigences et laissez-vous instruire par moi, car je suis doux et humble de cœur, et vous trouverez le repos pour votre âme » (Matthieu 11.28–29).

ED WILLMS

est directeur général de la Conférence des Églises des FM d’Ontario. Il habite à St Catharines, Ontario.

MENNONITE BRETHREN HERALD

SPRING 2019

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BUILDING COMMUNITY • ICOMB

Experiencing the supernatural of God “ I A M TH E VI N E ; YO U A R E TH E B R A N C H E S . I F YO U R EM AI N I N M E A N D I I N YO U, YO U WI LL B E A R M U C H F R U I T; A PA R T F R O M M E YO U C A N D O N O T H I N G ” (JOHN 15:5).

hen the leaders of COBIM (the MB conference in Brazil) asked the Lord for our motto for the year 2018, we heard: “Experiencing the supernatural of God.” In a time of prayer with the Lord, I saw a picture of an army fighting against the enemy. Suddenly, a magnifying lens zoomed on and I saw very clearly two fellow soldiers fighting each other to the death.

I was terrified. This can’t happen in an army that is fighting against the enemy!

A battle is waging on the outside and also inside.

Intense prayer would be needed.

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S U P E R N AT U R A L U N I T Y

In one of the churches, the board decided it was necessary to have a leadership change.

As they prayed about it, they heard the Lord say to wait, he would intervene.

In less than two months, the church leader said that God had spoken to him that it was time to leave the church.

E X PA N D I N G T H E K I N G D O M

In addition to our prayer for unity, we asked God for expansion into new regions in our country. To our surprise, an independent church from the capital Brasília requested to join our conference, expanding our presence into the centre of Brazil.

P R A Y E R I N S I M P L E S I T U AT I O N S

In April, I was invited to participate at the Mennonite World Conference meetings in Kenya. On the first day, we were to travel to Kisumu: a seven-hour trip. We sat in our bus for almost an hour while the driver and mechanic tried to get the bus started.

I heard the Lord ask me, “What do you suggest people should do in case of problems?”

“I ask them to pray.”

“The bus will not start until you get the people in the bus to pray.”

I listed my excuses: it was the first time I was participating in these meetings; I knew almost no one; there were a lot better people than I to lead.

“The bus won’t start as long as the people don’t pray.”

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M B H E R A L D.C O M

So, my option was to obey. I asked for the attention of these leaders on the bus. Some laughed about the proposal, but others decided to pray in small groups. Shortly after we prayed, the motor started.

I simply followed Jesus’ example. When he was in trouble, he talked to his Father.

P R AY E R F O R I N D I V I D U A L S COBIM chair Emerson Cardoso and I had the privilege to participate at Gathering 2018, the biennial Canadian MB family gathering, in Saskatoon. All participants were registered into the Whova app. (I loved the application.)

Before the trip, the COBIM conference was called to pray for CCMBC. On the first morning, God woke me at 5 a.m. to pray.

“Pick up the Whova app and pray for each name on the participants’ list.”

“There are 250 people on the list and I do not know them! It will take a lot of time to pray for all of them.”

There was no excuse but to obey. “Just take them to my presence; the other part is my job.”

The next three mornings, the same procedure. I prayed for unity, for fire coming from the Holy Spirit, a call to mission, and multiplied blessings in the local churches.

P R AY E R F O R C O N T I N U I T Y O F G O D ’ S MOVEM ENT On the way back to Brazil, we had a long delay in New York. When we would get home to Brazil, we would be having our national COBIM pastors retreat. This was my chance to pray for each pastor and leader attending the COBIM retreat as I had done for the Canadian delegates.

From our hotel in New York, Emerson and I got on our knees.

P R AY E R F O R C O U N T R Y L E A D E R S H I P Brazil needed a change in the country leadership, so the church rallied to pray. I do not remember any moment in history that the church united in such a way to pray for a change.

In Curitiba, 500 pastors and leaders from many denominations gathered to pray. Our plea was not only for the election but to join strengths to win the city and the country for Jesus.

HARD WORK “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

Prayer is something we work at doing until we do it well.

As we do, we experience the supernatural power of God. PAU L D U C K

is pastor of Boqueirão MB Church in Curitiba, Brazil.

On climate: the global church needs to CHANGE

How to...

“ T H E E A R T H I S T H E L O R D ’ S A N D A L L T H AT I S I N I T, T H E W O R L D , A N D T H O S E W H O L I V E I N I T; F O R H E H A S F O U N D E D I T O N T H E S E A S , A N D E S TA B L I S H E D I T O N T H E R I V E R S ” ( P S A L M 2 4 : 1 –2 , N R S V ).

Action and Awareness

“Climate change”: these two words often generate anxiety concerning the future of not only humanity, but the entire planet.

The effects of climate change have undoubtedly become more evident. Scientific studies in the last 100 years show that if global temperatures increased beyond 1.5° Celsius, there will be negative impacts on ecosystems all over the world.

This small change causes rainfall patterns to shift, temperatures to change, and a higher risk of heatwaves, flooding, melting ice sheets and glaciers resulting in sea level rise.

Climate change poses a risk to human societies and natural ecosystems. A disruption in the ecosystem equilibrium is already measured in plant and animal species that are changing physiologically. With effects such as a decreased crop yield, climate change will cause higher rates of poverty.

While scientific evidence presents many negatives, the church can highlight positives. As a Christian currently studying environmental science, I believe we can look to science for solutions and still exalt God for his greatness because he created the world and bestowed us with the desire to understand it.

The engagement of the church is vital. Here, I offer action points using the acronym CHANGE.

BUILDING COMMUNITY • MWC

The issue is not whether climate change is a true phenomenon or not, but how we as members of the global church are involved in adapting our communities to the changes. It is a global issue, one that should be tackled by joint effort rather than as individuals.

The global church, fostering a spirit of togetherness and community engagement, can help bring people closer to Christ, and steer their communities in a positive direction.

As the church, we can be a place where people look for accurate information on what climate change is, whom it impacts, and how to adapt and mitigate its effects.

The global church could help the world – not only financially, but also spiritually – to understand the dynamic between developed and developing countries. Inhabitants of developing countries will suffer the impacts of climate change more than those of developed nations. As a global body, we could be a conduit for region-specific information.

Local congregations could promote conservation strategies that start at the community level. The church could offer resources on improving efficiency in both energy and food systems, building green infrastructure, and nurturing green spaces in urban and rural areas.

Change

Many of us need to change our mindset, perspective, and attitude about climate change. This is not a problem solely for politicians, scientists, and experts. It is everyone’s problem, including the global church.

Although we hope for eternal life through Jesus Christ, while we walk on the earth, we are its custodians. Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (NRSV). God instructed people to look after his creation.

Nature

Take time to appreciate nature and see God’s greatness in it.

Remember that as the climate changes, so will certain aspects of the earth on which we live.

God

We must keep God as the centre. Where scientific evidence disappoints us, God’s Word remains a true guide. Prayer is a powerful tool that connects us to God and each other.

Expect anything

We are living in a world full of turmoil. Scientists rely on evidence and projections to predict future scenarios, but it can never be 100 percent accurate. However, as believers, our consolation resides in God as our peace in a time of chaos and uncertainty.

Our lives are rooted in Christ. Whatever happens, God is always with us. This is not an excuse to sit back and watch the chaos unfold; rather, it is a time to CHANGE. As the global church, we can embrace this opportunity to reach out to those who are lost.

MAK ADUNYISWE NGULUBE

is Mennonite World Conference YABs (Young AnaBaptists) representative for Africa. A member of Mount Pleasant BIC Church Zimbabwe, she is studying environmental science at Saint Mary’s University, N.S. First published at mwc-cmm.org.

Sources used: Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report, www.ipcc.ch/sr15/ D. Lobell, M. Burke, C. Tebaldi, M. Mastrandrea, W. Falcon, and R. Naylor. “Prioritizing climate change adaptation needs for food security in 2030” in Science (2008).

Terry L. Root, Jeff T. Price, Kimberly R. Hall, Stephen H. Schneider, Cynthia Rosenzweig, & J. Alan Pounds.

“Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants” in Nature (2003) MENNONITE BRETHREN HERALD

SPRING 2019

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RESOURCING MINISTRY

A MODEL FOR MINISTRY n Oct. 23, 2019, during our national AGM, as members of the Canadian Conference of MB Churches, we will be voting on the implementation of the Collaborative Model, a new governance model for our family.

In response to a change to the motion at Gathering 2018, the Executive Board has been working at defining the elements of the Collaborative Model. We are consulting at various levels from regional meetings, to boards, to provincial conventions (where I am giving workshops or presentations at each event this spring).

The Collaborative Model is well suited to situations where multiple organizations serve the same constituency.

To function well, this model has four components: 1: Common mission and agenda 2: Common measuring systems 3: Clear relational structures 4: Principal organization All of the partners in the Collaborative Model – CCMBC as the principal organization, six provincial conferences (Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia), Multiply, and MB Seminary – will agree to function under these four components. This new way of operating can bring unity and focus to the mission of the MB family in Canada.

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D EP LOY M EN T Provincial Staff and Agencies

D EC I S I O N - M AK I N G Provincial Conventions and Churches

GOVER N A N CE National Assembly and Assembly Executive

S P I R I TUA L H E A LT H National Faith and Life Team

STR ATEGY National MInistry Team

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W S PI N RT I NE G R 2019

M B H E R A L D.C O M

The Collaborative Model is meant to be a flat system of governance that incorporates the experience, spiritual discernment, and engagement from all levels of MB ministry.

This new governance model will operate with five facets to facilitate the flow of ministry: strategy, spiritual vitality, governance, decision-making, and deployment (see diagram).

In each one of these facets, there will be a newly minted ministry. Each will have representation from all the partners in the Collaborative Model. At the strateg y level, the new National Ministry Team will bring its overall knowledge of ministry in Canada to collectively discern the voice of God for our Canadian family of churches.

At the spiritual health level, the newly organized Faith and Life Team will help equip our MB family to fulfi ll the mission that God has given us.

At the governance level, two new systems will be put in place. The National Assembly is a collection of all the boards of all the partners within this model.

Secondly, a National Assembly executive will be elected to monitor the day-to-day commitments and operations established by this new model.

At the decision-making level, all major points of action will be brought to provincial conventions for voting or affirmation.

At the deployment level, all ministries and resources will be carried out through the provincial conferences.

The main mission of the Collaborative Model is to see “Healthy churches and ministries on mission together locally, nationally, and globally.” It is our prayer that this new collaboration among the Canadian MB family will bring renewal and a new era of growth and spiritual vitality to our churches. We continue to strive to lift the name of Jesus high in all that we do.

E LT O N D A S I LVA

is the national director of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.

He and Ana live in Winnipeg.

They have three children.

Who is the NMT? BUILDING COMMUNITY

The National Ministry Team is a strategic group of senior staff who work collaboratively to accomplish national vision within the Mennonite Brethren family in Canada. It is comprised of provincial conference leaders, the seminary president, church planting and global mission directors from Multiply, the national faith and life director, and the national director of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. The NMT casts vision for Canadian MB churches, and prepares a budget and strategic plan for presentation at provincial assemblies.

ED WILLMS

executive director, Ontario Conference of MB Churches

On the local church: I’m presently involved in the relaunch of Northend Church in St. Catharines, Ont. This includes practical support from painting/cleaning to team support and development. I sit on the transitional leadership team, lead a small group, and provide some pulpit support.

Recommended resource: A significant book for me in this time of ministry has been Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for A Complex World by General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Army, retired. This fascinating book has been reshaping how I envision collaborative efforts among our churches across Ontario and in Canada. It has proven to be most stimulating at this moment in time in the things God has before me.

PAU L J LOEWEN

provincial director, Alberta Conference of MB Churches

On the local church: My primary connection with my home church is in some leadership to a life group (coaching and teaching), worship team (playing bass), and preaching a few times a year.

Recommended resource: I’ve been engaging in Jordan B. Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life (which I’m using on a monthly basis to read/discuss with my three sons). I find Peterson’s deep thinking and research is refreshing in the many ways it both agrees with and challenges Christian viewpoints. He pushes me to think both deeper and more broadly about many of the current issues facing our culture, and Canada in particular.

ALAIN DESPRÉS

provincial coordinator, Association des Églises des Frères Mennonites du Québec / Quebec MB conference

On the local church: With my wife Diane, we have the responsibility of the family life ministry at Église Chrétienne de Sainte-Thérèse (i.e., Christian education for children, youth group for teenagers, mentoring young adults, and coaching families). We are also responsible for the choir and an Alpha group.

Best pastoral advice: “Be part of the church. Church isn’t a game.” I remember this every time I do something for the church.

Because Quebec is becoming more and more secular, my prayer for the Quebec churches is that they can continue to grow and make Jesus known through their relations with the community – one to one in relationships and through activities with local community organizations.

The National Ministry Team exists to inspire, equip, and encourage the church for effective ministry and mission in Canada and beyond.

MENNONITE BRETHREN HERALD

WINTER 2019

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Provincial conventions M U LT I P LY I N G C H U R C H E S

A PRAYER FOR US ONMB Pastors and Leaders Day “You can’t pray ‘Your will be done’ and push your own agenda,” said Sara Maynard, guest speaker for the Pastors and Leaders Day preceding the Ontario Conference of MB Churches annual convention Feb. 22–23, 2019.

The executive director of Redleaf Prayer spoke on the Lord’s Prayer, which she said is the focus of the Canadian prayer movement. “The petitions of the Lord’s Prayer point to revival, calling us to repentance and fresh life in Christ,” Maynard said.

The Lord’s Prayer is a tool for revival, said Maynard, because it guides into a John 15-type of abiding, it unites Christians across traditions, it teaches forgiveness, it changes both those who pray and those who are prayed for, and it is the prayer that Jesus taught the disciples.

“The gospel is a story of adoption,” she said in the second teaching session where she focused on the idea of God as father. When we pray “Our Father,” we invite God into our personal space, to challenge our selfishness and confront the idols of our culture, she said.

“Everything in the Lord’s Prayer is corporate, meant to be prayed for us and by us,” she said. This gospel of community is an antidote to the individualism of Canadian culture and “creates a place for the presence to dwell.”

The Lord’s Prayer leaves no room for unforgiveness, Maynard said. It trains the heart muscles through prayer to respond with forgiveness in the moment.

“It changes us in shocking ways; I can attest.”

For more on “Come to the table,” go to mbherald.com/Ontario-convention-2019

PHOTO: CARSON SAMSON

YOUR EYES DIRECT YOUR FOCUS SKMB Sermons at Assembly “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

When Ingrid Reichard learned to ride bicycle at her grandmother’s house, she very nearly landed up in a stream. She wasn’t unaware it was there – looking at it was the problem.

“Your body goes in the direction your eyes point,” Reichard said to attendees at Assembly, the annual gathering of delegates from the Saskatchewan Conference of MB Churches at Parliament Community Church, Regina, Mar. 8–9, 2019.

Similarly, the message of Philippians 1 is to fix our eyes on Jesus so that our lives will go in the direction he leads.

“Jesus must be greater than any other thing in life,” said Reichard. “The question that sets the direction in my life is ‘How can the gospel of Christ benefit from my current situation?’”

We can take four principles from Paul’s message to the Philippians, said Reichard.

1. Live in a manner worthy of the gospel (v. 27) 2. Stand firm in unity (v. 27).

3. Do not fear opposition (v. 28).

4. Live for the gospel in all circumstances (v. 21).

As we witness to others, “the power is in the message, not the one preaching it,” she said.

“Jesus is greater” was the theme of the convention. Reichard offered one of several mini-sermons that punctuated the conference, from SKMB pastoral associate James Penner, ICOMB executive director Rudi Plett, Multiply missiologist Bill Hogg, and a video sermon from Multiply Indigenous ambassador Paul Winter.

Reichard is the national faith and life director of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren churches.

—K ARLA BRAUN

For more on “Jesus is greater,” go to mbherald.com/Saskatchewan-convention-2019 PHOTO: CARSON SAMSON

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SPRING 2019

M B H E R A L D.C O M

MBCM Assembly workshops At the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba Assembly workshops, Mar. 1–2, 2019, at Steinbach (Man.) MB Church, Steve Bock of La Salle led a youth ministry panel with Dave Lunn (Westside Community Church, Morden); Shannon Girard (Community Fellowship Church, Newton); Dwight Bennett (Eastview Community Church, Winnipeg); and Titus Graham (Living Word Temple, Winnipeg).

M U LT I P LY I N G C H U R C H E S

GIVING YOUTH A HOPE BASE

What are your challenges?

Shannon: Teens create personas online, but they don’t know who they are offline. They’re the most plugged-in generation, but the loneliest.

What have youth taught you?

Dwight: If you give students responsibility, it’s amazing what they can do.

Shannon: They’re wanting us to dig past the walls they erect. When a student says, “I can’t,” I say, “You can’t, but this is where Jesus steps in.”

Titus: When they find something they can do, it grows their passion to do it well. The youth work on my car now because they have learned those skills and want to give back.

How do you connect youth into the church?

Shannon: We’re moving away from traditional Sunday school, and instead, connecting youth to someone at church with their gifts – musician, teacher, greeter – for mentoring and a sense of ownership.

What would you tell your younger self?

Dave: You will never be cool enough. It’s not about being cool. Teens want someone they know cares.

Shannon: Your ministry is only as healthy as you are as leader.

PHOTO: TONY SCHELLENBERG

A higher-ed calling

“I’m here because someone – my camp director Ted Goossen – tapped me on the shoulder when I was 16, and asked, ‘What is God calling you to and does it include a faith-based education?’” said Rob Reimer, president of Steinbach Bible College.

It’s a story he rarely hears from students. Perhaps it’s time to get tapping.

At Assembly’s higher-education workshop, Reimer, Cheryl Pauls of Canadian Mennonite University, and Pierre Gilbert of MB Seminary discussed Christian schools’ impact on church and society.

“Universities are talking about a ‘new thing’ called service learning,” said Pauls. “The emphasis on being globally aware is an old thing for us. We have experience to offer.”

“There are three virtues in 1 Corinthians 13: faith, hope, love. We often describe our schools as ‘faithbased,’” said Pauls, “but in our age, maybe we should focus on calling them ‘hope-based schools instead.”

For more on MBCM’s Assembly, go to

mbherald.com/manitoba-convention-2019.

—ANGELINE SCHELLENBERG

MENNONITE BRETHREN HERALD

SPRING 2019

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SPRING 2019

M B H E R A L D.C O M

formerly MB Mission

Engage – Interact with MB Herald on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on the website. Write a letter to the editor.

Join the next book club.

Share – Tell your congregation about this resource for ministry and community building by referring to articles in your sermons and teachings. Give your paper copy to a friend. Post articles on your social media feeds.

Over the past few months, our communications team has worked diligently at updating the design and content of MB Herald. Our goal is to be a platform that shares our collective stories and inspires the mission of the Mennonite Brethren. As we continue the redevelopment of MB Herald, we hope to communicate well with our churches in effective and relevant ways.

Thank you for your continued support.

You have an important role to play in this family magazine.

In this new era of collaboration among Mennonite Brethren, I hope your church will be a champion for this important family communication channel.

There are several ways you can do this: Give – $14 per year covers production costs for one year.

Subscribe – In print, via email, to the website RSS feed, to the podcast, and on social media. Talk to your church administrator about participating in a bulk subscription through the church.

Elton DaSilva National Director Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

January 19, 1962

1963

1969

1980

1988

MB Herald begins with Rudy Wiebe as editor; published every Friday

by Christian Press.

George Derksen and Peter Klassen serve as interim editors.

John Wiens designs “a modestly revised format”; “weekly” publication schedule (37-50) changes to 24-26 issues per year.

A summer intern begins a Frenchlanguage insert that becomes independent magazine Le Lien.

Board of publications ceases to exist; (MBH moves under Board of Faith and Life until 1994, to Board of Communications until 2002); Ron Geddert becomes senior editor.

1964 Harold Jantz becomes editor; he serves until 1985.

2003 1993 Biannual evangelistic insert “Encounter” begins.

Publication schedule changes to 17 issues per year; “Encounter” ends; Jim Coggins leaves.

2005 Laura Kalmar becomes editor.

2015 2008 Monthly issue redesigned to full colour.

Executives reverse decision to close magazine after reader outcry; publication schedule changes to bimonthly.

2018 Publication schedule changes to quarterly.

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Participate in the MB family through the pages of the MB Herald: • converse with members across Canada through articles, stories, and letters; • engage with messages from conference leaders and news from the boards; • explore our theology and history; • observe life changes through transition announcements, obituaries, etc.

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We recently moved and one of the first things we did was change our address for the MB Herald.

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A heart that listens, a heart that speaks, a heart that serves.

Keep the heart pumping: read, write, share, give. mbherald.com/heart #HeartTheHerald

How can a church respond to hunger – not only spiritual, but physical – in its community? In May 2013, a vision to transform an unused grassy lot at Central Heights Church, Abbotsford, B.C., into a community garden went from seed to sprout in a few short weeks.

It was planted when the monthly meeting of women’s ministry volunteer leaders and women’s pastor Rushia Klassen turned to a discussion of food security in the community.

Two weeks later, a quickly formed committee held its first meeting, crowned with prayer: that the garden would not only provide food, but also connection with the community; that it would be a place of learning and enrichment where people could see the heavenly Father at work.

Garden for growth

Upon receiving approval from the church leadership, Klassen invited contributions from local businesses.

With generous donations from a landscaping company, seeds from a local nursery, and aged chicken manure from church elder/farmer Alan Suderman, volunteers produced 12 raised beds on the fi rst workday.

The committee looked to other successful community gardens for guidelines on plot rental and policies.

The first year, eight gardeners rented a plot and committed to participate in spring and fall workdays. Today, 36 gardeners rent beds of varying sizes. As with other community gardens, there is a waiting list.

Four beds were designated for the food bank operated by the church. Adding a bag of fresh-picked lettuce, kale, beets, or carrots to the canned and dried food is a delight for food bank volunteers.

BUILDING COMMUNITY

A GARDEN OF GIVING

PHOTO: NANCY KLOP

Stone of serenity

The garden is easily visible from the road; there is much foot traffic through the area. It is not uncommon to see a person standing in front of the sign, meditating, praying, and reflecting on the verse written on a rock (1 Samuel 7:12).

Seniors living in the Central Heights Manor adjacent to the church have also taken an interest in the garden.

These lifelong gardeners share their expertise with young enthusiasts, including neighbourhood children who subsequently came to Sunday school.

Fruits of their labour

One Central Heights women’s ministry has learned to make jam. The strawberry plants donated the first year now fi ll a bed, and raspberries grow vigorously along the fence. The women add jam to Christmas hampers or sell it to raise funds for church projects.

The garden has fulfi lled the original vision of connection to the community not only by providing food, but by fostering relationships as people learn together in the fresh air of God’s creation.

DEBBIE DICK

is a member of Central Heights Church, Abbotsford, B.C.

MENNONITE BRETHREN HERALD

SPRING 2019

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Hellos

Goodbyes

FA M I LY N E W S

Alex Dixon Title & congregation: lead pastor, Greendale MB Church, Chilliwack, B.C. Start: July 1, 2018 Education: Timberline Lodge, Capernwray Bible School, Fraser, Colo.; diploma in intercultural studies and BA in youth work, Columbia Bible College, Abbotsford, B.C. Previous ministry: youth ministry, The Life Centre, Abbotsford, B.C.; church leadership development program, Northview Community Church, Abbotsford, B.C.; youth pastor, Greendale MB Church Family: Karly; 4 children – Flora, Wilson, Oliver, Lucy On ministry: I am passionate about the church because we are the bloodbought people of God (Acts 20:28).

The gravity of this is immeasurable: I want to see all peoples glorify and worship God as Christ gathers people to himself through the proclamation and transformation of the gospel.

Tim Peters Title & congregation: lead pastor, Christian Fellowship Church, Lanigan, Sask.

Start: July 2018 Education: BA, Bethany College, Hepburn, Sask.

Previous ministry: discipleship leader, Pembina Valley Bible Camp, Manitoba; intern, Forest Grove Community Church, Saskatoon; interim pastor, Christian Fellowship Church Family: Jaymie; 2 children – Silas, Leeland On ministry: I love seeing people experience a breakthrough as they hear the God’s Word. Meditating on Scripture and seeing God change their lives because of what the it says is the most rewarding part of being a pastor.

William Con Title & congregation: lead pastor, Parkland Community Church, Yorkton, Sask.

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SPRING 2019

M B H E R A L D.C O M

Start: November 2018 Education: BA, Briercrest College, Caronport, Sask.; MA in leadership, Briercrest Seminary Previous ministry: intern/C2C apprentice, The Compass Church, Regina Family: Courtney On ministry: God saved my life in a private Christian high school where I got involved in a local church that encouraged me – a fatherless teen with a speech impediment – to preach. God is a father to me, and the church is a family.

Timothy Falk Title & congregation: pastor, Wynyard (Sask.)

Gospel Church Start: January 2019 Education: BA, Bethany College, Hepburn, Sask.

Previous ministry: MB Mission TREK internship as chaplain; lay leader, Faith River Christian Fellowship, Saskatoon; intern pastor, Wynyard Gospel Church Family: Kaylee; 1 child Anna Sofia On ministry: I look forward to seeing what God is up to in Wynyard and joining in the work that he is doing.

Mario Buscio Title & congregation: pastor, Christian Centre Fellowship, Thompson, Man. Start: March 2019 Education: MA in theology, MB Biblical Seminary, Fresno, Cal. Previous ministry: church planter, Eglise Communautaire de la Rivière Rouge, Winnipeg; manager, Kindred Productions, CCMBC; alternative justice program coordinator, El’dad Ranch, Steinbach, Man. Family: Sonia Blanchette; 3 adult children, 4 nieces and nephews, 4 children in care; 7 grandchildren On ministry: “Go and make disciples of all nations!" is the last thing that Jesus commanded us to do. There is no reason why a city like Thompson can not have over a thousand disciples. Let’s love like Jesus loved, forgive as we are forgiven, and extend grace as we are graced.

Peter Dennison, pastor, Christian Fellowship Chapel, Orillia, Ont., 2008–2019.

Community News Citizens for Public Justice hired Willard Metzger, formerly of Mennonite Church Canada, as executive director, effective Jan. 31, 2019.

See mbherald.com/transitions-spring-2019.

Transitions in your ministry? Let us know. mbherald@mbchurches.ca.

Births Berg – to Mike & Petra of Blumenort, Man., a daughter, Ava Jolene, Nov. 24, 2018.

Dyck – to Chris & Samantha of Grunthal, Man., a son, Niles Christopher, Nov. 21, 2018.

Janzen – to Toban & Beth of Steinbach, Man., a daughter, Zoe Samantha, Dec. 12, 2018.

Oldenburger – to RT & Manuela of Steinbach, Man., a daughter, Arya, Jan. 15, 2019.

Rusk – to Avery & Sheraea of Woodrow, Sask., a daughter, Nora Ellis, Nov. 12, 2018.

Wedding Blaine Harder of Moore Park, Man., & Amanda Dueck of Rosenort, Man., Oct. 12, 2018.

Search and publish jobs online at jobs.mbherald.com

Visit mbherald.com for exclusive stories, updates from agency partners and churches – and more.

MENNONITE WITNESS AMID SUFFERING AND HOPE IN UKRAINE In the midst of war and economic stress, God is again raising Anabaptist witness in Ukraine. mbherald.com/mennonite-suffering-hope-ukraine N OT H I N G FO R U S W I T H O U T U S MB Herald editor Karla Braun participated in a learning tour with MCC Manitoba of Indigenous-connected initiatives in Winnipeg. She reflects on what she learned. mbherald.com/mcc-indigenous-learning-tour-2019 KNO C KI N G C H I L DREN’S MI N I STRY I NTO T H E PA RK For more than 10 years, Richmond Park Church, Brandon, Man., has offered a free drop-in day camp three afternoons a week in nearby Argyle Park, in a neighbourhood that’s home to many new Canadians from India and Africa. mbherald.com/childrens-ministry-park

U S M B R E S U M E S C O N V E R S AT I O N O N WO M E N I N PA S TO R A L M I N I S T RY Mennonite Brethren gathered in Phoenix, Arizona, Jan. 14–16, 2019, for the U.S. Board of Faith and Life (BFL) study conference on “The Bible and Women in Pastoral Ministry.” mbherald.com/usmb-women-in-pastoral-ministry

FA M I LY N E W S

We’ve got more to share than room to spare.

C M U TO H O N O U R W R I T E R R U DY W I E B E W I T H 2 0 1 9 PA X AWA R D Renowned writer and original MB Herald editor Rudy Wiebe receives the 2019 Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) PAX Award. mbherald.com/cmu-rudy-wiebe-2019-pax-award M O V E I N 1 0 Y E A R S L AT E R MoveIn began as a movement of prayer and presence in low-income neighbourhoods in Toronto and Ottawa in 2009. Ten years later, it has mobilized hundreds of people to move in to neighbourhoods full of people from leastreached areas. mbherald.com/movein-10

What to read? Engage with book reviews from your fellow MB church members across Canada. mbherald.com/category/arts-culture/books

FOR YOUR NEXT MOVE Tedd Epp

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MENNONITE BRETHREN HERALD

SPRING 2019

25

Finish Lines (John) Alvin Falk FA M I LY N E W S

26

July 20, 1940– May 30, 2018 Birthplace: Winnipeg Parents: Ben D. & Elsie (Friesen) Falk Marriage: Lydia Loeppky, Aug. 1, 1964 Baptism: Niverville (Man.) MB (now Fourth Avenue Bible), July 27, 1958 Family: Lydia; Sheldon (Cynthia), Lorraine (Harv) Barkman, Jason (Chantelle), Kevin (Zoë); 11 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; 5 siblings Alvin lived his whole life on the same section of land near Niverville, Man., where his love of farming began early. At 9, he contracted polio and spent 3 months in hospital, becoming one of few to recover. Alvin accepted Jesus as Saviour at Camp Arnes at 13.

He received John 3:16 and clung to it all his life. Alvin graduated in 1960 from Mennonite Collegiate Institute, Gretna, Man., where he met Lydia.

He mustered up courage to ask her out 3 years later. After marrying, they lived a year in a trailer beside Arran School, where Lydia taught. Alvin farmed Falkdale Farms alongside his father and brothers, then his sons and grandsons. He loved Lydia’s apple platz, oatmeal cookies, and pickles.

Alvin served the corporation and board of Providence College for 24 years. For nearly 50 years, he ushered at Fourth Avenue Bible Church, where he also sang in the male choir and, alongside Lydia, served as deacon and food committee member. They created a home away from home for international students, who gave Alvin a heart for Myanmar. Nothing could stop him from farming – bales falling on his head, cracking his hip, catching his hand in an auger – until spinal stenosis (a post-polio syndrome) in 2017. Five days later, he was diagnosed with cancer. Hormone therapy strengthened him enough to help with the 2017 harvest. Alvin lived with kindness, patience, generosity, and fierce love. He prayed for his family daily and took joy in seeing them in heaven someday.

SPRING 2019

M B H E R A L D.C O M

Peggy Jane Unruh Regehr Nov. 12, 1928– Sept. 27, 2018 Birthplace: Winkler, Man. Parents: Abram A. & Annie (Enns) Unruh Marriage: Walter Regehr, Aug. 18, 1951 Church: River East, Winnipeg Family: Walter; children Janet, Keith (Arli), Gerald (Valerie); 5 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren Peggy’s parents became missionaries in India in 1935. Alongside her sister Kay, Peggy entered boarding school, a painful time punctuated by fond reunions with their parents. In 1942, with the threat of a Japanese invasion, the family left for Winkler, spending 3 happy years with extended family. When the family returned to India, Peggy and Kay remained to finish high school, but missed a sense of home. The sisters headed to Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kan. Peggy was grateful for the opportunity to attend college, where she saw women leading in a church institution for the first time. She returned to Winkler to teach high school.

In Winnipeg, she met fellow summer student, Walter. When they married and moved to rural Manitoba, Peggy had her dream of a home. Later, in Winnipeg, Peggy found a wider circle of friendships and took on leadership in the women’s groups at church. In a time when women’s roles were circumscribed, she longed to exercise her leadership gifts in the wider church. She found joy in collecting plants, books, and recorder music, and later also in weaving and genealogy. When Peggy’s parents retired in 1967, they moved around the corner, fostering a connection after years across the globe.

After discovering feminist theology, in the 1970s, Peggy studied theology and Bible at MB Bible College, where she enjoyed deeply considering the place of women in the biblical narrative and the church.

The first MCC Canada staff person for women’s concerns, Peggy travelled the country speaking to women about family violence. Peggy died after a 15-year journey with Alzheimer’s disease. Her final home, Actionmarguerite, Winnipeg, was a place of sunlight and love.

Erna Block July 25, 1929– Oct. 30, 2018 Birthplace: Herbert, Sask.

Parents: Peter & Agneta Block Baptism: (German) Baptist, Swan River, Man. Church: Yarrow, B.C.; Clearbrook, Abbotsford, B.C.; Westwood, Prince George; B.C.; Bakerview, Abbotsford Family: sister Dora Friesen (Frank), 12 nieces & nephews & their children Erna was deeply committed to her Christian faith which found expression in both her professional and volunteer activities. She taught in the B.C. public school system in Surrey, Mission, and Prince George. Erna acquired her BEd and attended MB Bible College, Winnipeg.

In her early teaching years, she spent a number of Sundays organizing and teaching Sunday school in Lake Errock, B.C. Erna taught at the International School of Curitiba, Brazil, under the auspices of the MB mission board, 1968–1971. In retirement, her energies went to organizing and growing the library of the Westwood MB Church, Prince George, B.C. Upon moving to Clearbrook, Erna volunteered for the Mennonite Historical Society. Erna was a devoted aunt to all her nieces and nephews, their spouses, and children. She kept in touch with all of them through cards and emails and enjoyed inviting them to her home and playing games together. Erna upheld them all in her daily prayers.

Agatha Rosalind Olfert Oct. 17, 1932– Nov. 27, 2018 Birthplace: Myrtle, Man. Parents: Bernhard B. & Margareta (Giesbrecht) Boldt Marriage: George Olfert, Sept. 25, 1953 [d. Nov. 24, 2017]

Church: Elmwood MB, Winnipeg; First Baptist, Nanaimo, B.C.; Duncan (B.C.) United Family: children Richard (Janice), Nancy, Timothy; 1 grandson Theodore The daughter of an MB preacher, Agatha grew up in St. Catharines, Ont.,

Walter Regehr Jan. 6, 1928– Dec. 8, 2018 Birthplace: Herbert, Sask.

Parents: Heinrich & Katharina (Siemens) Regehr Marriage: Peggy Unruh, Aug. 18, 1951 [d. Sept. 27, 2018]

Baptism: Sept. 1, 1946, Altona, Man. Church: Portage Avenue, River East, Winnipeg Family: children Janet, Keith (Arli), Gerald (Valerie); 5 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren Walter’s family moved from Herbert, Sask., to Vancouver, Gretna, Man., and Winnipeg – following his father’s calling to teach German, Bible, and religion.

After normal school, Walter developed

tuberculosis, spending 10 months at the St. Boniface sanitorium. His first post was a one-room school in rural Manitoba.

At summer school in Winnipeg, he met Peggy in a less-than-chance meeting on a streetcar. They married, and, when Walter began teaching in Fort Garry School Division in 1955, moved to Winnipeg. Walter completed his BA and BEd, declining the opportunity for an MEd to honour Peggy’s wish that he be more available at home. Walter finished his career with 17 years as principal of Ralph Maybank School, retiring in 1986. He served as Sunday school superintendent at Portage Avenue Church (PAC) and a regular preacher at PAC and River East Church. For 10 years, he preached monthly at Lions Manor, coinciding with his ordination at PAC. He mentored young men and translated German historical documents for the Centre for MB Studies. In the last decade, Walter’s life revolved around caring for Peggy as she began her journey with Alzheimer’s disease. Peggy often had the stronger voice; now Walter had to stand against her wishes, at personal cost, to ensure she received the care she needed. Despite his own struggles with memory, he always remembered to book his Handi-Transit rides to visit Peggy.

Through loneliness and occasional depression, Walter lived his last years with gratitude, grace, and flashes of humour in the face of frailty. After Peggy’s death, Walter lost the will to live, praying to join her.

Hildegard (Spenst) Thiessen Sept. 26, 1937– Dec. 26, 2018 Birthplace: Winnipeg Parents: John & Katrina (Klassen) Spenst Marriage: Henry Thiessen, May 17, 1958 Baptism: Clearbrook MB, Abbotsford, B.C., Aug. 2, 1953 Church: Bakerview, Abbotsford Family: children Jo-Ann Potter, Randy, Stanley, Judith, Jason; 6 grandchildren Hilda was one of 9 siblings. She married Henry after she graduated from Mennonite Educational Institute,

Abbotsford, B.C. They had their firstborn, Jo-Ann, in B.C. and later moved to Ontario where their other 4 children were born. After moving back to B.C., Hilda played piano and involved herself with the church. She loved crocheting for those she held dear and listening to classical music, which moved her spirit upwards every day.

FA M I LY N E W S

and Yarrow and Vancouver, B.C., before moving to Manitoba, where she met and married George. With her beautiful soprano voice, she sang in church choirs in her youth and in the Gospel Light Hour choir while attending Elmwood MB Church and raising her family in Winnipeg. After her youngest’s birth, she had closed heart surgery. She moved her family to the warmer climate of Nanaimo in 1967. Having been unable to complete high school in her youth, once her family was grown, Agatha enrolled in postsecondary studies at Malaspina College.

By 1981, she had an associateship in arts and science. Agatha was always a visual artist. Her sketches appeared in the MB Herald in the 1960s and 70s.

From her early pen and ink and charcoal sketches, her artwork evolved through oil and acrylic portraiture to ink painting, her style from realism to abstract. She gave her first solo art show in 1989 at Nanaimo Art Gallery and Exhibition Centre, won recognition at several juried art shows, and exhibited in galleries across southern Vancouver Island. Her desire was to move viewers emotionally and spiritually. After a debilitating stroke in 1999, unable to continue her work as before, Agatha retired to Duncan, B.C. Despite numerous medical crises, Agatha was a survivor. Throughout her health problems, she clung to her faith in God.

Elmer Henry Stobbe Jan. 26, 1936– Jan. 1, 2019 Birthplace: Abbotsford, B.C. Parents: Peter John & Maria E. (Harder) Stobbe Marriage: Wilma Wiebe, Apr. 27, 1962 Church: South Abbotsford Family: Wilma; children Sandra Benoit (William), Colin Patrick (Lenora), Russell [d. age 8]; 2 grandsons; 2 siblings Elmer attended South Popular School and Mennonite Educational Institute, Abbotsford. He graduated from University of British Columbia (UBC) and Oregon State University.

He was an agronomist at University of Manitoba for 27 years with a 2 1/2-year stint conducting research in Kenya.

He also taught on sabbatical at UBC. After retirement, Elmer returned to B.C., working in many countries with Canadian Executive Services Overseas and serving 6 years on the board of Logos Canada. In the past 8 years, his attention was on Basotho Building Lesotho, Africa. Many benefitted from Elmer’s mentorship: from students and farmers on the Canadian Prairies to entrepreneurs, community developers, and church planters in Africa. Elmer died suddenly from a massive heart attack.

Violet Eva Walde Apr. 16, 1932– Jan. 2, 2019 Birthplace: Hague, Sask.

Parents: John D. & Mary Reimer Marriage: Ben Walde, Aug. 7, 1954 Baptism: North Saskatchewan River, 1950 Church: Hepburn (Sask.) MB; Central MB,

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SPRING 2019

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Saskatoon; Valleyview Bible, Kamloops, B.C.; Willow Park, Kelowna, B.C. Family: children Reg (Florence), Arden (Sharon), Tony (Jacquie); 7 grandchildren including Kenny [d.]; 9 great-grandchildren Surviving the Depression taught Vi how to make something out of nothing, which she applied to cooking, sewing, and many aspects of life. As an adult, Vi was able to attend Bible school, attain her GED, and go on to cooking school.

She worked as a cook, seamstress, and caregiver. Vi loved to travel and camp.

She and Ben were instrumental in the creation of Gardom Lake Bible Camp and volunteered many hours with the Okanagan Gleaners. After Vi was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, her health declined, preventing her from doing the things she loved. Vi will be remembered for passing on her culinary skills, nicknaming her grandchildren, sewing, knitting, and for her love for the colour purple. Psalm 141:3–4 were her favourite verses.

Gerhard (Gary) Enns Dec. 11, 1931– Jan. 8, 2019 Birthplace: Kolodiazne, Ukraine Parents: Nikolai & Maria (Huebert) Enns Marriage: Selma Franz, Aug. 28, 1965 Church: Glencairn MB, Kitchener, Ont. Family: Selma; sons Philip (Lori Kroh), Albert (Melinda Hecht) Hecht-Enns, Brian (Verena Ens); 9 grandchildren; 1 sister Gary was a devout Christian, a light to those around him. His faith was evident. He was a deacon, youth and adult Sunday school teacher, and committee member. He and Selma spent hours at hospitals and homes, caring for the needs of people in their church and community. Shortly after his arrival in Canada, he was among the youth who helped build Kitchener MB Church. As a high school geography teacher, Gary had a heart for helping students of all abilities succeed and understand current affairs.

Whether during his Mennonite Central Committee service in Kafue, Zambia,

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or in the classrooms of Norwell District Secondary School, Gary demonstrated servant leadership. Gary’s passion for nature led his family across North America with their hardtop camper.

Time in nature helped him unwind as he planted, weeded, and harvested his fruit and vegetable garden in Elmira, Ont.

Lois Laverna Reimer May 23, 1938– Jan. 15, 2019 Birthplace: Langham, Sask.

Parents: Bill & Adila Peters Marriage: Travis Reimer, Aug. 15, 1961 Church: Steinbach (Man.) Evangelical Mennonite Brethren; Westwood, Winnipeg; Lincoln Glen, San Jose, Cal.; Portage Avenue, Fort Garry MB, Winnipeg Family: Travis; children Darrell, Trent, Ruth; daughter-in-law Beth Jost Reimer; 2 granddaughters; 3 siblings Lois loved Jesus Christ and hated blank walls. Jesus was her redeemer and friend; walls were for hosting art or knocking down to improve the view. Lois chose to be baptized in the North Saskatchewan River in 1951.

Ten years later, she chose to marry Travis who, with her assistance, went on to seminary and pastoral work.

Her subsequent involvement in the church was impassioned and deep.

It was Lois’s belief that family – with its existential lifeblood of conflict, imperfect reconciliation, and yearning for better – was the truest model we have of humanity’s relationship with our Creator. She embodied and lived this reality with her earthly family and the larger family of God. Lois’s eye for beauty – in her environment and within other people – brought out unexpected gifts to everyone’s benefit. In her final years, Lois endured rapidly advancing osteoporosis and unimaginable pain.

Through it all, she managed the pain and the condition in a way that allowed her near continual access to loved ones, while demonstrating humility and gratitude beyond measure.

Agnes Dyck Sept. 15, 1931– Feb. 20, 2019 Birthplace: Silberfeld, Man. Parents: Johann & Helena Dyck Church: McIvor Avenue MB, Winnipeg Family: sisters Katy Unruh, W. Ruth Wood, Elizabeth; 7 nieces & nephews; 20 great-nieces & -nephews Agnes was a teacher for 40 years, beginning when she was not quite 18 with only a high school diploma.

She taught one-room country schools, then primary schools in North Kildonan, Winnipeg, and lastly, high school English at River East Collegiate, Winnipeg. With MCC, she spent a year in St. Anthony, Nfld., teaching in the hospital that gave treatment to many children with tuberculosis. After retirement, Agnes taught English to new Canadians.

She visited Rockwood Institute weekly to help inmates pass their exams. Often, she was approached by people affectionately stating, “You were my teacher.” Agnes pursued her own education assiduously, during vacations and occasionally taking time off from work. Agnes enjoyed reading Shakespeare, the Bible, poetry, novels, and classical literature. “Reading is breathing,” she said. She sang in choirs, crosscountry skied, cycled, and walked.

She delighted in her nieces and nephews, Joy (Harold) Huebert, Noni (Phil) Goertzen, Christine (Evan) Jennings, David (Betty) Huebert, Don Huebert, Philip (Diane) Unruh, Tim (Jeanette) Unruh, and their children.

She enjoyed her flower gardens and hosted memorable family gatherings.

Agnes was always generous with her time and resources, supporting many charities and the endeavours of her younger relatives. She was a devoted, active member of McIvor Avenue MB Church, a faithful Christian to the end. She had a sure hope of heaven and steadfastness in prayer.

This helped her endure Parkinson’s disease with grace and fortitude.

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RESOURCING MINISTRY

In CROSSCUR R EN TS

SPIRAL EVER DEEPER INTO CHRIST

the Worship Arts program at Columbia Bible College, students often encounter the practice of the liturgical year for the first time.

Although they are familiar with the rhythm of candlelight Christmas Eve services, somber worship on Good Friday, and the explosion of joy that we experience on Easter Sunday, the rest of the Christian calendar passes by them, largely unnoticed.

Yet, the Christian calendar has been a formational practice of Christian worship for more than 17 centuries.

It is this enduring, “spiralling rhythm” of Christian life that Steve Bell explores in Pilgrim Year. Over seven volumes, reflections meander through the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Ordinary Time.

To highlight how this liturgical practice can be personally and communally formational, Bell begins each small book with a quote from Joan Chittister’s The Liturgical Year, from which I get these patterns to help us to spiral ever deeper into the life of Christ.

E A S T E R : “ I S U S P E C T J E S U S I S A S C O M F O R TA B L E W I T H O U R I N C R ED U L I T Y A S H E WA S W I T H T H AT O F T H O M A S . B U T – A N D W E N E E D T O H E A R T H I S – I N O U R U N D E R S TA N D A B L E

PILG RIM YE AR (SERIE S) STEVE BELL N OVA L I S

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D O U B T S , W E D O N ’ T H AV E J E S U S ’ R E B U K E ; W E H AV E H I S B L E S S I N G …. J E S U S H A S B L E S S E D YO U , W I T H YO U R T I N I E S T S E E D O F FA I T H , I N T H E S TAT E YO U F I N D YO U R S E L F I N R I G H T N OW, N OT B EC AU S E IT H A S G ROW N , B U T SO T H AT I T M AY G R O W.”

PHOTO: Inside Antonio Gaudí’s Sagrada Família basilica, still under construction since 1882, in Barcelona, Spain.

Stained glass windows bathe the interior of the church in colour, instilling a sense of wonder at the glory of God. This photo by member Timothy Loewen first appeared in the Christian Seasons Calendar celebrating the 50th

“Like a great waterwheel,” Chittister writes, “the liturgical year goes on relentlessly irrigating our soul, softening the ground of our hearts, nourishing the soil of our lives until the seed of the word of God itself begins to grow in us, comes to fruit in us, ripens us in the spiritual journey of a lifetime.”

A DV E N T: “ M A R Y, T H E P R OTOT Y P I C A L CHRISTIAN , WHO FIRST RECEIVED THE SEED OF THE WORD OF GOD IN HER WOMB AND WHO BORE IT FOR THE SAKE OF THE WORLD, B ECKONS US ALL TO RE ALIZE OU R I N N AT E C A L L I N G T O B E C O - B E A R E R S O F TH E SEED OF GOD.”

When I teach on the liturgical year, I frequently challenge students to consider what rhythms they follow. We generally come up with a list something like this: the first day of school, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s and Father’s Day, summer vacation…repeat.

We usually conclude that our patterns are more determined by the decorations and types of chocolate that appear in stores than we are by any larger narrative. We tend to live from one Hallmark holiday to the next.

Conversely, the liturgical year attunes us to a different narrative and a different reading of time. And when we follow its lead to measure time by the rehearsal of Christ’s life, we have the opportunity to consider our daily tasks and our very ordinary movements in light of God’s extraordinary story.

C H R I S T M A S : “J E S U S – L I G H T F R O M L I G H T , T R U E GOD FROM TRUE GOD – ENTERS HISTORY AS A V U L N E R A B L E V I C T I M O F H E R O D I A N C R U E LT Y, N O T ALIGNED WITH THE SET TLED AND POWERFUL, BUT R AT H E R W I T H T H E D I S P O S S E S S E D A N D F L E E I N G .”

“Together, these recurring seasons, with their remembrances, fasts and feasts, retell and reharrow the living story of God and God’s good creation,” writes Bell in his introduction; “a story that has been entrusted to the Church; a story that often runs as a counter-narrative to stories broadly told in the wider culture.”

“Each time we rehearse and reharrow these stories, we unearth something new precisely because there is so much more to receive, but also because our capacity to receive has deepened,” Bell writes.

As the church lives into and rehearses the life of Christ – God incarnate – each year, we learn to become more like him and our capacity to understand increases. The rhythm pulls us deeper into the life of Christ in the Spirit and in communion with each other.

Bell has published this series at the perfect time. There seems to be a thirst for ancientness in our current expressions of worship, and Bell taps into that thirst by revelling in tradition and telling old stories in the words of a poet.

This will resonate with many. But for others, it may create a sense of discomfort. This worship practice leans on an understanding of the transmission of God’s self-revelation through the long tradition of the church.

This discomfort with tradition is part of the reason the practice of the liturgical year eroded and eventually fell away in the practice of many Mennonite communities. The rehearsal of saint days and the adherence to feasts and fasts seemed, perhaps, to claim more authority than a call to simplicity and word-centred faith would allow.

RESOURCING MINISTRY

anniversary of River East Church, Winnipeg.

E PI PHANY: “ I N TH E EN D, LIG HT RE VE AL S BOTH LOVE AND ITS OPPOSITION. SIMEON LOWERS H I S E Y E S TO M A R Y A N D S AY S , ‘A N D A S W O R D WI LL PI ERC E YO U R OWN SO U L TO O,’ A S I F TO S AY, ‘ I F YO U C H O O S E TO L O V E L O V E , I T ’ L L T E A R Y O U R H E A R T O U T… B U T D O I T A N Y W A Y . ’ ”

Yet, there is richness in this liturgical tradition that should appeal to Mennonite hearts: living through the life of Christ each year as a local body of Christ. My students find the communal practice of the liturgical year compelling.

So, regardless of what you might think about the tradition, there is value in the practice of the liturgical year for the local congregation seeking to discern together what living toward Christ looks like today.

Steve Bell’s Pilgrim Year series is not meant to be read in one big gulp, as I read it, but rather stretched out over the seasons. Bell recommends within each season’s book that his readers should “read in sequence, hop around, read daily or all at once.” Each chapter is accompanied by songs, drawn from Bell’s long career as a musician (pilgrimyear.com), and by poetry, much of it drawn from Malcolm Guite’s excellent book of sonnets: Sounding the Seasons.

These are books that require time for absorption and contemplation; books that will stand up to re-reading because different aspects of a season may yield more fruit in us at different times, depending on our own season of life.

Any believer who is interested in learning more about the rhythms of the Christian calendar would benefit from exploration of Bell’s Pilgrim Year series.

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L E N T : “J E S U S I D E N T I F I E S W I T H O U R RESOURCING MINISTRY

B E W I L D ER ED WA N D ER I N G S A S W E S T R U G G L E T O D E TA C H F R O M T H E A L L U R E O F T H O S E T H I N G S T H AT B I N D U S , S O T H AT W E M I G H T AT TA C H T O T H E O N E W H O F R E E S . ”

For worship leaders and pastors, however, this series may be of further importance. The introductory chapters of each book, especially, are a helpful way to prepare for the season to come, with the potential to drive a new idea for a sermon series, or a grounding worship practice to help a congregation enter into the season at hand.

Pilgrim Year is more of a taster course than a comprehensive resource for worship leaders, but it has the capacity to spark ideas and raise important questions. I will recommend to my students that, as they start planning for each new season, they read the season’s volume through in its entirety to get an overview of the themes.

The books provide a good jumping off point, a way to dip a toe into the waters of feast and fast and determine where to place weight.

Interestingly, the weakest titles concern the seasons that are most familiar to us: Christmas and Easter. Bell excels at bringing lesser-known seasons and holy days to our attention. You can sense his excitement in unveiling things that were new to him.

H O LY W E E K : “ F O R T H E W A Y O F J E S U S W I L L U LT I M AT E LY E X P O S E T H E D E A D - E N D W AY O F

With the feasts of Easter and Christmas, however, Bell gets a little lost in trying to fi nd new things to unpack for us. In these volumes, I found myself wishing he had ignored more minor themes in favour of making the familiar strange again.

ORDINARY TIME: “ THE WHOLE POINT OF THE CHRISTIAN YE AR IS TO COME TO THIS MOMENT W H E R E W E A W A K E N T O T H E M Y S T E R Y O F A D A I LYN E S S W H I C H , FA R F R O M O R D I N A R Y, R A D I AT E S BACK TO GOD’ S OWN B EGIN NING .”

Still, there is depth in each book. “Epiphany” and “Holy Week” have phenomenal turns of phrase, as Bell explores biblical narrative and traditional themes through personal story, stunning imagery, poetry, and song.

Now that I have consumed this series in a single sitting, I look forward to returning to each book again as the seasons unfold each year. It will sit beside Malcom Guite’s Sounding the Seasons on my shelf, as a way to continue to be wound deeper into the life of Christ through the spiralling adventure of the liturgical year.

S TA C E Y G L E D D I E S M I T H

is instructor in worship arts at Columbia Bible College, Abbotsford, B.C. She worships at Fraserview Church, Richmond, B.C., where her husband serves as pastor.

R E S E N T M E N T, C O M P E T I T I O N , G R E E D, P OW E R A N D T R I U M P H A L I S M . I N S T E A D , H E W I L L I L L U M I N AT E A C O U N T E R - I N T U I T I V E PAT H WAY O F H U M I L I T Y, M U T U A L I T Y, S E R VA N T H O O D A N D S E L F - D O N AT I O N

Referenced: Joan Chittister, The Liturgical Year: The spiraling adventure of the spiritual life (Thomas Nelson, 2009).

A S T H E WAY TO L I F E I T S E L F – I N D E E D , TO G O D .”

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K E Y N OT E SPE A K ER

Dr. Craig Keener The author of 25 books, Craig Keener has been a professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky, since 2011. With a PhD from Duke University, Craig has also taught at Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University and Hood Theological Seminary.

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