The Messenger Vol. 53 No. 12 December 2015

The Messenger a publication of the Evangelical

Mennonite Conference

Volume 53 No. 12 December 2015

Christmas, Advent and the Coming Saviour INSIDE:

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Soon Peace Will Come: Christmas, Advent and the Coming Saviour page 6 Spirit-Heat to Thaw Your Freezing Blood page 10 The Apostles' Creed: In History and to be Lived page 13 Canada Needs Colleges Like Bethany! page 16

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Editorials

Christ and Cynical People

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dvent is for cynical people. It is not a head-in-the sand season.

The first coming of Jesus started with the slaughter of children, moved to a miscarriage of justice, and included the hasty burial of one who died too soon.

After Jesus died, the disciples felt regret and disappointment. Life continued to be lived under political oppression that included slavery and poverty for many.

How did Jesus address the cynicism of that day? How, also, does he address the cynicism encountered in our pews or on the street? Consider Generation Screwed—some young Canadians who say they have inherited a messed up planet, a huge government debt, a lower standard of living than their parents, reduced work opportunities despite an advanced education, and major social responsibilities. How does Jesus speak to them?

Some older Christians might dismiss the cynicism of some young people, but it serves little purpose. Some young people face real struggles in their context, different as it is from that of their parents, grandparents, or elsewhere. Generations do not see the present in the same way.

Some young people seem to feel like Israel in Exile: mixing up images of past times while dealing with a painful current reality.

How, then, does the Church help young people develop a Theology of Exile that includes actual hope?

If many factors nurture cynicism, into this setting the message of Christmas is to come as news giving hope.

Our Lord and Saviour experienced exile in various ways. How do we proclaim hope with this knowledge?

May parents, pastors, and parishes have wisdom!

– Terry M. Smith

Some young people seem to feel like Israel in Exile: mixing up images of past times while dealing with painful current reality.

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Advent, Hope, and the Cross

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o you wear a symbol of the Cross? In this season of Advent, what does it mean? To repeat a question that ministers have asked through the centuries: what does the Cross mean? There are many meanings.

It's been asked before: would you wear a gold-covered hangman’s noose earring, display a miniature guillotine from your wrist, or dangle a gold-plated electric chair upon your chest? It’s an ugly reminder of an executioner’s cruel work. It’s a symbol of creation’s rejection of their creator (John 1:11). Yet through his incarnation, atoning death, and resurrection, Jesus has turned the Cross into our great sign of confidence, love, grace, and hope (Rom. 5:1-11).

Our Lord has come once and He is coming back (John 1:14, Acts 1:11).

Jesus who was mocked in crucifixion, who appeared to his disciples, who allows people to follow or reject Him, one day “in his own time” will return openly in “his father’s glory and with the holy angels” (1 Tim. 6:15, Mark 8:38).

The Roman Catholic who loves Jesus and makes the sign of the cross from left to right, the Eastern Orthodox believer who crosses from right to left, the Pentecostal who dances in the aisle, the Mennonite who worship in four-part harmony or with a praise band—Christians from all points of the globe will be united in joy as we one day “lift up” our heads to welcome our returning, Triumphant King (Luke 21:28).

May you rejoice with hope in Christ this Advent season!

– Terry M. Smith

Would you wear a goldcovered hangman’s noose earring, display a miniature guillotine from your wrist, or dangle a gold-plated electric chair upon your chest?

2 The Messenger • December 2015

Table of Contents Features

Columns

6

5

– Russell Doerksen

10 Spirit-Heat to Thaw Your Freezing Blood – Layton Friesen 13 The Apostles' Creed: in History and to be Lived – Terry M. Smith

16 Canada Needs Colleges Like Bethany!

– Dr. Rob Reimer

Departments 2

Editorials

3

Pontius’ Puddle

4

Letters and Notices

20 With Our Missionaries 23 With Our Churches 29 News 32 Obituary 33 Shoulder Tapping

19

Been Thinking About Ministry from the Centre – Ward Parkinson

19 Generations

Where Do You Belong?

– Gerald D. Reimer

22 An Education App

Christian Education is Important in the EMC! – Terry M. Smith

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Soon Peace Will Come: Christmas, Advent and the Coming Saviour

page

28 Further In and Higher Up God's One Word – Layton Friesen

31 Poetry

There is Room – L. Marie Enns

34 Here and Far Away Enjoying God – Jocelyn R. Plett

page

35 Stewardship Today

24

Sometimes You Need to Receive!

– Darren Pries-Klassen

36 Kids’ Corner

Christmas Words that Tell the Story – Loreena Thiessen

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 3

The Messenger

Letters and Notices

Volume 53 No. 12 December 2015

Where did you come from?

EDITOR TERRY M. SMITH

ASSISTANT EDITOR ANDREW WALKER

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

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

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

Letters, articles, photos and poems are welcomed.

Unpublished material is not returned except by request.

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

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

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Single copy price: $2 Subscriptions are voluntary and optional to people within or outside of the EMC. Subscriptions are purchased by the Conference for members and adherents.

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

ISSN: 0701-3299 Publications Mail Agreement Number: 40017362

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

THE MESSENGER schedule: No. 02–February 2016 issue (copy due December 08)

4 The Messenger • December 2015

All of us came from our mother’s womb. Our mothers came from, and some of our great-great grandmothers came from, war-torn, politically unstable Russia. They arrived in Manitoba after a long treacherous journey over sea and land, were granted land by the government, and settled west and east of the Red River.

Today other families would like to be welcomed and to settle in Canada. They have heard it is a land of peace and plenty where strangers are accepted, given food and clothing,

This is what his people must do

With the crisis of ISIS and the flood of migrants from the Middle East— mostly to Europe—how should Christians respond? Do we reflect our political leanings (left or right) or the spirit of Jesus?

Some say that we should not accept Syrian refugees because of dangers that we may be allowing potential terrorists into Canada. This notion flies in the face of risky Christ-like compassion.

Can we not ensure normal caution along with generous compassion?

However, Christians should be ready to offer hospitality to the stranger. This is what God has done to us; this is what His people must do.

Canada says we will take 25,000 refugees. This is less than 0.1% of our population. Nations like Lebanon, Jordon and Turkey have from 2% to 25% of their population as refugees. With all our wealth, and being primarily a nation of immigrants, we could easily double or quadruple the 25,000.

and, best of all, loved and welcomed.

Boy, does it ever feel good to have neighbours who care. They watch over us, talk to us. They ask, “How are you feeling?” or “Will you keep an eye on our place while we’re gone for the weekend?” We are proud of the neighbours who trust us. Because they trust us, we have learned to trust them.

Will we extend a welcome to the coming refugees and trust them? Will we be good neighbours to them?

–Glen Koop Steinbach, Man.

Thankfully many churches in the Middle East and in Europe have not allowed these questions to hinder the call to serve the stranger. I trust the Canadian church, in our case EMC churches, will even in a small way be “a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”

As to the view that we should only accept Syrian Christian refugees, I believe Jesus would say, “Even pagans do that” (Matt. 5: 46-47).

The strength of present Christian witness in the Middle East is how they serve all the needy. Traditionally, Shiite Muslims help Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims help Sunni Muslims, Yazidis help Yazidis, Syrian Orthodox Christians help Orthodox Christians.

This reflects a tribal spirit and is unChristian and as a church we must serve the needs of Muslim and nonMuslim alike.

– Arley Loewen Blumenort, Man.

Columns • Been Thinking About

Ministry from the Centre

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by Ward Parkinson Conference Pastor

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t’s a condition of our age.

With information coming at us constantly—from screens (large and small), speakers (electronic and human), pages (literal and virtual) and signs (in heavens and hallways)—we are probably the most distracted people of all time.

On the highways, distraction can be deadly, and we’ve rightly enacted laws against distracted driving. But it seems in most other arenas of life, we’ve allowed our attention to be pulled in several directions at once, without measuring the cost. It’s just a part of life now.

And it’s not that there are no benefits to having information so readily available. In many ways, it has made communication much more efficient. But at what cost? Educators are reporting that students’ retention of knowledge has declined noticeably and they would point to a lack of focus in the learning process. There is just too much “noise” of distraction completing for space in our brains.

I have noticed this distraction in my own life, and I have no doubt that we as pastors are as susceptible as anyone. But I wonder whether we consider the cost to our ministry?

I believe distraction brings with it some particular temptations. We live in a day of instant awareness. Whether it’s a news event from across the world, or some mishap down the street, we are likely to hear about it right away. With social media in the mix, we are flooded not only with news but everyone’s opinion of the news.

The temptation in ministry is to be relevant: which we interpret as having the right words to say on every topic, every turmoil, every crisis, every cause. I feel tired just writing that sentence.

To give in to this temptation is to risk dispensing pastoral wisdom from an empty, dry cistern. And it is also risking spiritual exhaustion, because the flood of information will not stop.

What will sustain us in ministry is not the appearance of wisdom as we dole out our carefully crafted positions and opinions. No, we need more basic Christian nourishment than that. We need Christ himself.

Henri Nouwen has written important words to Christian leaders in a little book entitled In the Name of Jesus. He points to the discipline of prayer as that which grounds us with the mind and words of Jesus. We need to spend time with him in order to be conformed to his image and know him intimately.

The focus of our lives needs to be Christ, with our identity centred in our union with him.

Out of that centre, we can respond with wisdom and courage.

Nouwen writes, “When we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with Jesus, the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.”

Lord, teach us that giving our energy to distractions alone will empty us. And show us that responding to our world out of the abundant springs of intimacy with you will actually make us fruitful.

The focus of our lives needs to be Christ, with our identity centred in our union with him.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 5

Soon Peace Will Come: Christmas, Advent and the Coming Saviour

DESIGNPICS

by Russell Doerksen

6 The Messenger • December 2015

I

am a winter person. Where most people only see cold and dark, I see cozy, sleepy days. Where most people dread, I anticipate. All through the wet spring, the parching hot summer, and the dying fall I wait for the quiet winter to come.

To me, winter means being able to walk through the crisp snow. To me winter means it is time for those nights when the snow will softly fall in big, fat flakes, lit only by the red glow of streetlights. To me winter means peace in a world with little. To me winter means rest in an age where I am coming to doubt its existence.

To me, winter means Christmas will soon be here.

This may seem like an odd thing to remember come the Christmas season. A holiday with eggnog, lights and carols does not seem like the right time or place to talk about the general faults of the world. However, there is a reason that the season of advent should not be missed, and to know why, we should first talk about John the Baptist.

Advent

John the Wild Prophet

Whenever there are odd circumstances with a birth in the Bible, the resulting child is always part of God’s greater plan.

John the Baptist, as anyone who has read the gospels knows, is not the type of man any civilized person would want to be friends with. He lived in the desert on a diet of honey and locusts, and loved telling everyone he happened across that they needed to repent from their wicked ways. John, to put it bluntly, was a weird guy.

John is, however, very important to God’s plan of salvation seen in Christ. Even before we see John speak we know he is going to be important because he is a child born of a miracle to elderly parents (Luke 1:5-25). Whenever there are odd circumstances with a birth in the Bible, ➢

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Anticipation of the coming Christ is an important theme in Christianity that is often lost in the commotion and celebration of the holiday. When there are presents to buy and family to see, it can be easy to miss spending time to reflect on what the coming of Christ means.

However, this reflection is the reason why it is important to begin the Christmas season not on December 25, but with Advent.

Often in our rush to Christmas we do not fully appreciate the season of Advent. To us Advent is little more than a time to get a single waxy chocolate a day from a box calendar that has a print with Disney characters on the front of it. This is unfortunate, as Advent is so much more than this.

If Christmas is the coming of a world at peace, of a world made right. If Christmas is the calm, than advent is the wailing and the wilderness that the world is today that can make sense of the importance of the coming peace. What advent is, is the time of recognizing that the world is not right.

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the resulting child is always part of God’s greater plan. In terms of overcoming infertility think of Isaac, Joseph, and Samson to see this, or in terms of miraculous birth think of Jesus.

And the importance of John the Baptist in the story of Jesus brings us to his role in Advent.

Last year on the second Sunday of Advent, many of us were read Isaiah 40:3-5: A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

In Luke 3 this passage is quoted by John to show his preaching as a fulfillment of prophecy.

The time in which John lived was a time of great turmoil for the Jewish people. Palestine was under the fist of the Romans, after a short, but particularly unsavoury rule by the Greeks. John lived his life as the did the rest of the Jews as oppressed, second class citizens in a region considered by the Romans to be the boondocks of the empire, and as such corruption abounded. To a first century Jew living in Palestine, the world would have both seemed and been broken; it would have been a rugged desolate wilderness that needed to be made right.

We can see this opinion, that the world is not how it should be, from

other sources of the period outside the Bible as well. This is the opinion of a group called the Zealots, a Jewish religious group at the time who believed that the only way to make things right was to drive Rome out by force. Then, just as today, radical militant groups don’t form for no reason.

It is into this world, a world so loud, so noisy, and so broken that war seemed to be the only way to set things right that we see the coming of this wild man, John the Baptist, to warn of the coming destruction, preach of repenting from sin, charity, and contentment and to tell of the one who will come soon to set things right (Luke 3:1-19). In the story of the Gospels, John adds weight to the importance of the work of Christ by showing the reader that the world is broken, and that Christ is the one who will make it right.

The Coming Kingdom

In Revelation 21:1-4 we read: Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”

And the importance of John the Baptist in the story of Jesus brings us to his role in Advent. John shows that the world is broken and that Christ will make it right.

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for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look!

God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

There are few passages in Scripture that fill us with more comfort and hope than this passage from Revelation. In four short verses it assures us that God is at work and will set things right. With Christ will come the peace we long for from the broken world of war and rumours of war in which we live.

Looking forward from this time of uncertainty and instead pointing to a time and a way in which things will be made right is what John the Baptist did all those years ago, and it is why Advent is so important to understanding the true importance of Christmas.

It is easy to say that

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There are few passages in Scripture that fill us with more comfort and hope than this passage from Revelation. In four short verses it assures us that God is at work and will set things right.

Jesus was born that Christmas morning to set things right, and we are right to say it. However, the full impact of statement, the full gravity of just how large the problem is, and just how much work it will take to make things right is lost

without the season of Advent.

To celebrate Christmas without first reflecting on why we need Christ the Saviour is, in a way, to cheapen the true meaning of Christmas.

To celebrate Christmas without Advent is to celebrate a Saviour come without ever knowing what we are needing to be saved from. If you will forgive me this rephrasing, peace is only peace if an end has been put to war.

Conclusion

I think we can all agree that we live in a noisy pre-Christmas world. The world is not as it should be, and that should put us on edge. But take heed the words of John the Baptist from Luke 3:16: “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

We live now in a time of Advent, but know that soon will come peace, soon will return Christ to make new this broken world, soon it will be Christmas again.

Russell Doerksen (Fort Garry) is the chairperson of the Board of Church Ministries. He is a double graduate of Providence University College and Theological Seminary (BA, MDiv) and works there in student finance and as editor of Didaskalia, PTS’s journal. He and his wife Shannon live in Otterburne, Man.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 9

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This statue of King Wenceslas is in Prague.

Spirit-Heat to Thaw Your Freezing Blood

by Layton Friesen

G

ood King Wenceslas is not the most sing-able of carols and the lyrics are on the KJV-end of archaic. You may have assumed this 10th century legend is about the spirit of the yule and putting a penny in the old man’s hat. Let’s look again. See what you think of the conversion of this servant, the Page.

On the Feast of Stephen (December 26) the King peers out his window into the frozen world and sees a peasant struggling against the cruel cold night. The King asks his Page, “Yonder peasant, who is he?

Where and what his dwelling?”

He is asking the Page to help him know his kingdom’s need. The conversion of the Page begins not when he stares down into his own navel and realizes his own sinfulness, but when his eyes are lifted to see the world as the King sees it, in need in love.

Summoned to Salvation

So Page and Monarch forth they went, forth they went together. This is the incarnation at Christmas. God is going out into a hostile world to bring good news to the poor and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour (Luke 4:18-19). The King makes this decision himself.

The Page has no interest in yonder freezing peasant until the King points him out and draws the Page into his love and out into the world with him. The Page says, in effect, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:48).

But then the drama of conversion begins. It’s a drama not because yonder peasant is so resistant to flesh and wine. Now the Page flounders about in weakness, unable to hold with the King on his icy mission. “When he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened,

The Page does not have a hit-rock-bottom experience by the fire inside the castle that might call out the King’s blessing on him.

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and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord save me!’” (Matt. 14:30). This happens after the Page has set out on the journey to feed the poor.

The Page does not have a hit-rock-bottom experience by the fire inside the castle that might call out the King’s blessing on him. Out in the blizzard, on the way to the poor, the Page realizes that if salvation comes by accompanying the King out seeking the lost, he himself is a goner. His heart fails and he can go no longer.

merciful acceptance of the sinner who has not earned love. It can also be the command of orientation and direction for a lost under-saviour.

Rather than bucking the snowdrifts on his own, trying to feed the poor, the Page fall in behind the King who pioneers a path.

But note again, there is no relieving the Page of the mission. The King does not stop and say, “First attend to thine own soul, my dear Page, and then come back hither into the gale.” Salvation is simply falling in behind the King tramping out with meat to a peasant. To be a Christian is to become a person who keeps up with the King. But can we be saved by merely following the King?

“Mark my footsteps, good my Page. Tread thou in them boldly.

Thou shalt find the winter’s rage freeze thy blood less coldly.”

It’s Easier Walking Behind the King

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Then cries the King over the wail of the storm, “Mark my footsteps, good my Page. Tread thou in them boldly. Thou shalt find the winter’s rage freeze thy blood less coldly.” He says quit thrashing around by yourself in this quest; walk in my footsteps. This is grace. Grace can be the

Power in the Very Path

Here comes the Christmas miracle. The Page sets his foot down into the shoe prints of the King and knows immediately that these are no ordinary footprints. “Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.” As the Page fits his own feet into the master’s footprints, which are pointed toward the freezing peasant, he finds a Spirit-heat radiating from these tracks. This is our first indication that this King is more than just an ordinary good man.

We know the King now as holding a power to energize or grace a path into the world. The very soil this King touches as he strides toward the poor becomes the register through which the warmth of Spirit-fire and the assurance of salvation enters the frail Page. In theological language, obedience is the means of grace.

“Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing, Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.” If we cut that last phrase loose from the rest of the poem, we might suspect a legalism at work here, a works-righteousness in which we are saved if we give enough alms to the poor. It is true that, according to this poem, those who do not help the poor could not be on the path of salvation. But this is not legalism and here we come to an insight that, I believe, Scriptures point to in talking about salvation. ➢

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The King’s Apprentice

Let me stereotype to make a point. The Protestant way would have the Page go through a saving experience back at the castle. There he would receive the assurance of salvation and the anointing of the Spirit. Then out of gratitude for this wonderful grace he would rush out to help the peasant. But even if he failed to reach the peasant his salvation would be secure. He was saved back at the castle already, before the freezing foray.

In a legalist plan of salvation, on the other hand, the Page, back at the castle, would be burdened by his need to impress the King. Seizing upon a plan he would rush out to flounder in the snow hoping the King would notice his extreme effort and grant him holy rest when he is finally dragged, frozen, stiff, and dead back into the castle, having given his all.

But then I think this 10th century legend is similar to the old Anabaptist view of salvation.

The King invites us to go out with him into the world to be his apprentice, his partner in bringing hope to the poor. On the way, as the strength to overcome the world’s never-ending winter

“Whoever has recognized the truth in Christ Jesus and obeys it from the heart is free from sin, although he is never free from temptation. It is impossible for him to walk firmly in the way of God unless he be strengthened by God.”

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on those who love the poor, we receive unmerited grace, which is the strength and assurance needed to share in the King’s mission.

Grace is here the Spirit’s power to be joined mystically and practically with Christ in his love for people. We are saved by grace from all our sin—but this sin is not some navel-gazing infirmity we nurse by the fire back at the castle. Sin is our hopeless inability to truly love our fellow church-member, neighbour, or the poor around us as Christ does. As we seek to love the poor we realize our own poverty and fall in behind the King. In that surrender we find grace, forgiveness, and assurance as the power to love.

Hans Denk, an Anabaptist mystic, says, “Whoever has recognized the truth in Christ Jesus and obeys it from the heart is free from sin, although he is never free from temptation. It is impossible for him to walk firmly in the way of God unless he be strengthened by God.” For the early Anabaptists grace was not only pardon, but also power to be new people. They echoed Jesus’ words: “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” (Matt. 11:29).

So beg the King for mercy, for heat in the sod of God’s path into the world toward those you are called to love this Christmas. It will save your soul.

Layton Friesen, an EMC minister, has served as a pastor at Crestview Fellowship and Fort Garry EMC. He is engaged in ThD studies and is a columnist for this magazine.

A Series Through 2016

The Apostles’ Creed: in History and to be Lived

by Terry M. Smith We believe in God the Father We believe in Jesus Christ We believe in the Holy Spirit And he’s given us new life We believe in the crucifixion . . .

T

he popular song We Believe performed by the Newsboys is based on an early Christian creed, a statement of faith passed down to us. Yet, as our conference youth minister Gerald Reimer asks, how many EMC young people realize this? We might also ask, how many EMCers can say even the short Apostles’ Creed, let alone the longer Nicene Creed?

Are we concerned about people of all ages expressing and living their faith?

Absolutely. Do we want to increase biblical understanding? Yes. Do we want our churches to be bold in their confession shown in lifestyle? Certainly.

That’s why throughout 2016 a series will explore our Christian Faith as expressed within the twelve articles of the Apostles’ Creed—each by a different writer.

Anabaptist history and some modern events provide a caution. Some Mennonites warn members against reading the Bible lest they get new ideas.

What a curious shift when post-Vatican II Roman Catholics are encouraged to read Scripture while some current Mennonites are not.

In A Few Words

How would we sum up the Bible and the Christian faith? We might quote, “For God so loved the world that he have his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). That’s commonly known as “the gospel in a nutshell.” ➢

At our best we are devoted students of Scripture—that’s a rich legacy from our sixteenth-century Anabaptist-Mennonite forebears. We study as do the Bereans (Acts 17:10-15). Pastors uphold Paul’s counsel to Timothy to carefully interpret God’s Word (2 Tim. 2:15).

Scripture is our common treasure to be studied by all EMC members and interpreted together, not just by a priestly or clergy class. When early Anabaptists were interrogated, their biblical knowledge surprised their examiners. Even today, some of our EMC members have read the entire Bible several times.

Yet we cannot take for granted our historical devotion to Scripture. Later

DESIGNPICS

Scripture, A Common Treasure

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Or we could say with the first-century apostles and members: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve” (1 Cor. 15:3-5, 11).

Or consider the hymn-confession where God became a man who humbled himself to death on a cross, was exalted, and before whom every knee should bow (Phil. 2:6-11). Or look at another confession Paul quotes: “He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up on glory” (1 Tim. 4:16). Consider the “faithful sayings” that Paul repeats (1 Tim. 1:15, 4:9; 2 Tim. 1:15; Titus 3:8).

To distill these and other statements, we end up with something close to the Apostles’ Creed.

We have our own fine summary—the EMC Statement of Faith—but it’s too long to recite in a worship service. The Apostles’ Creed is a short

bold confession. Can it be repeated thoughtlessly? Yes. So can Scripture. Must we stop quoting Scripture because of that?

A Reminder

Because the development and use of the Apostles’ Creed predates any of us now living, it provides a reminder: we are inheritors of the Christian Faith and not automatically its best interpreters. Even for devoted careful students of Scripture, we need to be cautious about some of our assumptions.

Dr. James Reimer, formerly of Conrad Grebel College, said, “I have often felt that we as Mennonites (not to mention Evangelicals) hop, skip, and jump a bit too quickly from the present straight to the Bible, maybe with a brief touch-down in the sixteenth century. We do not have a strong enough sense of the historical development of ideas and beliefs.”

Reimer said, “Increasingly, however, I sense that what has gone on between the first and sixteenth centuries, and the sixteenth and the twentieth centuries, has shaped us much more profoundly than we have admitted.”

For him, the classical doctrines, the creeds, the writings of early post-first-century leaders “need to be taken more seriously, not only by Mennonites, but by modern Christians and modern theologians” (Mennonites and Classical Theology, 327).

“He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up on glory"

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

14 The Messenger • December 2015

Common Ground

As we sift, the creed shows our common ground with other Christians. This is how Anabaptists used it in sixteenth-century Europe where they and their persecutors had it in common. Their disputes did not revolve around the Creed, but around its implications.

Menno Simons wrote to a Reformed leader that Anabaptists agreed on the “twelve articles.” Balthasar Hubmaier used the creed as part of a baptismal confession. Peter Reidemann, the early Hutterian

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leader, used it as the structure for his Confession of Faith. The Swiss Brethren of Hesse used it in dialogue with Reformed leaders. In doing so, early Anabaptists brought out their special concerns—its ethical implications, as Dr. Terry Hiebert and others say.

Five centuries later some Roman Catholics and Anabaptists do not understand that we have the Apostles’ Creed in common. When Anabaptists start a church, it’s easy for Roman Catholics and those of other large denominations to dismiss us as people of a strange confession with a reduced sense of doctrine and history. Why should we let ourselves be misunderstood in this way?

When it comes to Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, or church planting, there’s value in using the common ground of the Apostles’ Creed. If children and adults of various church backgrounds identify with us, they benefit; if they ultimately remain where they are, they repeat and live out the creed with richer insight.

virgin, he was. When it says Jesus was raised from the dead, it happened physically on Easter morning outside Jerusalem—not solely in the hearts of believers.

Is metaphor used in the Bible? Yes. Scripture contains many rich, instructive forms of expression. This said, that God has acted in Christ in history remains central to our confession (Luke 1:1-4).

In a first-rate expression of honest thinking, the apostle Paul said, “If Christ is not raised, your faith is futile” (1 Cor. 15:17). Yet Paul, a former persecutor converted in an unexpected encounter with our risen Lord, said, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:8, 20).

The apostle Peter said, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16). Peter was later crucified upside down outside Rome. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, Peter’s death makes sense; his and our confident hope in Christ will be vindicated.

By exploring the majestic coming of Jesus, we will be nourished and challenged during 2016, reliant upon the Scriptures blown on by the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, or church planting, there’s value in using the common ground of the Apostles’ Creed.

History First

In this series the creed is used as a confession about historical events that took place or will take place in “space and time” (Francis Schaeffer’s term); it then explores the meaning and implication of these historical events. As Alan Richardson, an Anglican professor, has said, Christianity “bases its whole view of the universe and human destiny upon certain historical happenings” (Creeds in the Making, 7).

When the creed says Jesus was born of a

Terry M. Smith is executive secretary to the Board of Church Ministries, which has a mandate in Christian Education. The series is a BCM Education Committee project.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 15

BETHANY

Bethany College

Canada Needs Colleges Like Bethany!

by Dr. Rob Reimer President of Steinbach Bible College

I

n December 2014, Bethany College made the announcement that their doors would close after the second semester in April 2015. For 88 years Bethany College, located at Hepburn, Sask., faithfully served the Mennonite Brethren churches of that region.

Their closing has had a profound impact on Bethany’s students, faculty, and staff; the community; the supporting churches; and the many alumni who have called Bethany their home. I know. I happen to be one of those alumni.

As president of Steinbach Bible College (SBC), I have been approached by many individuals with questions and comments about how this affects our college.

First, we are all deeply saddened by this announcement. We all lost when Bethany closed its doors.

Canada needs colleges like Bethany and their presence will be greatly missed. Of all the colleges across Canada, Bethany College is the most like SBC in size, theology, and methodology. Their closing is a stark reminder of the tenuous position Bible colleges across Canada are in.

Second, SBC has been active in our communication with Bethany as to how we can be of assistance, now and in the future. One of the ways in which we walked with them was by offering their students transfers to SBC so that they are able to complete their degrees.

We are pleased to have nine Bethany students transferred to SBC this year. Through a generous gift we have also been able to offer these students $1,000 each in scholarships toward their tuition. This has been a huge blessing to them!

Canada needs colleges like Bethany and their presence will be greatly missed. Their closing is a stark reminder of the tenuous position Bible colleges across Canada are in.

16  The Messenger • December 2015

BETHANY

Third, Jessy Neufeld, SBC’s dean of women, is on sabbatical during the first semester. We are pleased to announce that Randi Rempel, dean of women at Bethany for the past four years, has joined us to fill in for Jessy during her sabbatical. She has already had a significant impact in assisting the Bethany students in their transition to SBC, as she provides a familiar face for those in transition.

Fourth, Bethany’s closing has had a profound impact on real people. Every day I walk through the doors of SBC, I see our Bethany transfer students. On the outside, they appear to be fitting in quite well. They are hanging with others, smiling, and laughing as they walk to class.

However, on the inside I know they are hurting deeply for the school they love. One student states: “My transition from Bethany to SBC has been difficult. I have experienced a powerful sorrow for the loss of my previous home, and a longing to return there. I deeply miss living life with the people of Bethany. I miss my friends, my dear ones who upheld me in difficult times and taught me much about compassion and the value of a listening ear. I miss the dorm traditions, the inside jokes, and the unity we found through our loss.

I would invite you to pray for all of our students. Ask God to comfort and nurture the hope of those who are new to SBC and missing Bethany intensely.

“But I have not lost hope. Even as my heart aches and my tears flow, I am trusting God daily with my new life at SBC. I have experienced abundant blessings from my new instructors and deans, and comfort from my fellow Bethany orphans. I trust that God, the bringer of Peace, has not abandoned me and never will do so.”

The loss is real. The pain is deep. The longing, intense.

However, they are not without hope. A second student states: “Transition; uncomfortable ends followed by hopeful new beginnings.

Bethany’s closing was more than just uncomfortable for me, it was heartbreaking. The place and the people had become a home and a family to me. SBC has welcomed and ➢

Bethany College

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 17

BETHANY

Bethany College

adopted us with open arms and open hearts, offering a new beginning full of hope.”

We are grateful for the blessing the students from Bethany are to us. They bring a fresh perspective and new life to SBC. They are teaching us how to mourn and reminding us that God is faithful through the very challenging times of life.

What is happening in Christian Higher Education in Canada? Watch for the next article of this two-part series for insight.

I would invite you to pray for all of our students. Ask God to comfort and nurture the hope of those who are new to SBC and missing Bethany intensely. Pray that SBC will become a significant addition to their educational and spiritual journey. Pray for our faculty and deans as they nurture and provide care to hurting students.

What is happening in Christian Higher Education in Canada? Watch for the next article of this two-part series for insight.

Dr. Rob Reimer is the president of Steinbach Bible College.

Join with Christ BETHANY

in shaping our

Bethany College

WORLD

Evangelical Mennonite Conference Board of Missions 204-326-6401 info@emconf.ca www.emconference.ca

18 The Messenger • December 2015

Column • Generations

Where Do You Belong?

W

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hen I look back over my 20 years serving in the EMC—four years in Mexico and 16 years at the national office—I’m more in love with the Church now than ever before. Why? Because I’ve witnessed the Church do an amazing job of inviting, encouraging and discipling each successive generation to embrace a full identity as Christ followers and as equal participants in the sacred beauty that is the Church, the bride of Christ.

Take youth ministry as an example—increasingly more of our churches run youth ministries with growing numbers of non-church-attending students participating in their weekly gatherings. They study God’s Word, do service projects, and shine the light of Christ from the basketball court to the Movie Theatre, right on down to the basement of a friend’s house playing video games. And yes, many are also

involved on Sunday mornings serving on worship teams, teaching Sunday School, or running the PowerPoint.

While lack of loyalty may be the accusation from many, what I see in this younger generation is a truckload of devotion when the “product” is genuine and marked with integrity. They are loyal to their friends, to their sports team, and to their favourite coffee shop. But if the customer service at a particular store is deemed inauthentic, they have no problems voting with their feet.

The same goes for the Church. Contrary to a growing opinion, I think that many students do have a good understanding of how the Church is the bride of Christ and that it should uphold biblical moral standards, sincere love, and unapologetic integrity. However, when that trust is broken, they move on looking for a congregation that practices what it preaches.

In response, I have sometimes thought about saying to them, “Of course the Church makes mistakes, so put your eyes on Jesus, not on sinful human beings.” And they may well respond by saying, “We need the Church to model Jesus to us so that we too know how to represent Christ in our world.”

By all accounts Mary was just a teenager when she gave birth to the Christ child. The script from the Master included a remarkably young couple raising the Saviour of the world in their home. Do we trust Jesus in the hands of our youth? Our Heavenly Father did.

Do we truly believe that they know the value of the treasure they have in Christ? Are we willing to let them experience the Lord and, dare I say, be responsible enough to serve the Lord in their way, with their lives, in the Church, for His glory?

I have seen from personal experience that the Spirit of God works in the lives of people of all ages, from the little pre-schoolers right on through to the seniors in our midst. Let’s continue to be the Church where all generations experience relevance and truth wrapped in the swaddling clothes of love.

Merry Christmas!

by Gerald D. Reimer Conference Youth Minister/ Missions Mobilizer

The script from the Master included a remarkably young couple raising the Saviour of the world in their home. Do we trust Jesus in the hands of our youth?

Our Heavenly Father did.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 19

With Our Missionaries

Moving north to isolation and desert—on purpose people in this area. They hope to give the project two years to see if the needs are, in fact, such that MAF services are of benefit.

In March 2015 we heard about this new focus for MAF The Peters family Kenya and felt that we could be a good fit for the position. In May we went to Kenya from Lesotho to have a look at things and confirmed that we felt God moving us in this direction.

In July we moved to Kenya, temporarily based in Nairobi while we work through the process of Kenyan licenses and work out the details of the move North. We hope that the flying will start before the end of the year and that we will all move to Marsabit early next year. Please pray with us as we work towards this goal.

– Kari Peters BOM

KENYA

Marsabit County lies in the most northern part of Kenya and is one of the driest counties of Kenya, with temperatures ranging between 10.1° and 30.2° C. Marsabit receives between 200mm and 1000mm of rainfall per year, with the average precipitation being 254mm.

Marsabit County covers 66,923 square kilometers and is home to more than 290, 000 people. The county is populated by various ethnic communities including the Rendille, Gabbra and Borana as well as the Samburu and Turkana.

About 80 percent of the people of Marsabit County are nomadic pastoralists, 10 percent are small scale farmers and about seven percent are business people; the rest are salaried employees mainly working with the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Other economic activities in the county include salt mining, gemstones mining, sand harvesting, and fishing.

Recent studies have shown that a majority of unreached peoples in Kenya are isolated by distance and the desert in the north. Other studies also show that there continues to be critical humanitarian need in the northern part of Kenya, particularly in the refugee camps along the northern borders.

MAF Kenya has taken a close look at these factors and determined that placing an aircraft in or near Marsabit would put them in the best possible position in terms of helping mission groups as well as relief and development organizations meet the physical and spiritual needs of the

Kari and Melvin Peters (La Crete) serve with Mission Aviation Fellowship in Kenya.

Paraguay Prayer Team 2016 March 8-22, 2016 Advancing Ministry Through Prayer Apply By: February 5, 2016 Cost: $2100 (approx.)

Ministry Project: $100 of your trip fee goes towards a ministry project that will help further the efforts of the missionaries’ work.

Request application: Call the EMC office at 204-326-6401 Diana (dpeters@emconf.ca) Gerald (greimer@emconf.ca) 20 The Messenger • December 2015

DEBORAH GIESBRECHT

Accommodations: Billeting in missionary homes.

With Our Missionaries

EMC Prayer Team ministers and receives GUADALAJARA, MEXICO

BOM

In 2 Kings 2:19-22 Elisha changes the unchangeable, the bad water at Jericho, through the power of God. Mission Impossible. The Holy Spirit, the Power of God, can change the unchangeable as people seek Him for the answer to situations that seem unchangeable.

This was the prayer team’s theme in Guadalajara from Nov 6 to 16. The team consisted of Leo Reimer, Gloria James, Eileen Engbrecht, Kenton Penner, Jessy Neufeld, Allison Schneck, and Audrey and Darrel Guenther.

We hit the ground running on day one, introducing ourselves to missionaries, orientation, and with a prayer walk around a park. There was also preparation as our team led the worship service the next day. Kenton had the message, Leo gave a testimony, Gloria and Eileen had children’s church, and we all worshipped our great God in Spanish or English. This was followed by food and relationship building.

Our days were full of touring and praying at places of influence, such as the gym Ernie and Dianne attend or the park where Dallas and John ride bikes. The contacts they have are many and we pray they will develop to bring souls into the harvest. We prayed as we went anywhere, just like we should here at home.

One highlight was the morning at Lincoln Christian School where Dallas and Tara’s boys attend. We prayed with the school staff and children in the boys’ classrooms.

One day we prayed at the main Cathedral downtown. Catholicism mixed with occult and tribal traditions has a huge stronghold in many parts of Mexico. What sadness we felt, and yet what joy that we serve a risen Jesus.

Another highlight was going to a hospital to pray for a couple in Dallas and Tara’s study group. He has been in the hospital for a heart condition and, although we could not go into his room, we prayed with his wife in the chapel area. Look what it said on the wall! Mission Impossible!

Kenton Penner brings the Word and Ernie Koop interprets.

Every day one person led a devotional and we had a time of worship and debriefing. There was a time of prayer ministry for each missionary couple at their homes. This was a chance for missionaries to share concerns, joys, and tears; and the prayer team was privileged to pray to encourage them on their often hard journey.

There were great times of fellowship with Mexican food. We attended Bible study times, as each group has started at least one and there is interest for more.

We left inspired by the missionaries who were intentional to use daily “random” contacts for friendship evangelism in hope people become Christ followers. In a city of seven million people where 96 percent or more don’t know the risen Jesus, it often felt overwhelming. We did hear amazing testimonies of people who were searching for more to life and found faith in Jesus Christ.

Unlike a work team, when you go on a prayer team there is not a building standing where there wasn’t one before. How do you evaluate if you got the trusses up or the walls painted? We trust God did a great work in the lives of missionaries, local believers, on the mission field yet to be harvested, and in our own.

What did this do for us? It heightened our missions awareness. It heightened our prayer lives as we did spiritual battle for many consecutive days.

Please keep on praying for the misThe writing in the hospital chapel area (translated): Faith sees the invisible, believes the sion effort in Guadalajara. incredible and receives the impossible (Heb. 11:1 paraphrased).

– Darrel Guenther

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 21

Column • An Education App

Christian Education is Important in the EMC!

G Terry M. Smith Executive Secretary

Beyond autonomy, what matters is whether there is a commitment to work together in education. We have resources to assist your church.

iven our EMC stress on local church Christians is a 13-lesson look at biblical social autonomy, it’s challenging for anyone justice. Our Statement of Faith and Church to guide Christian education nationally.

Practices has at four references to social jusNational staff people may assist local churches, tice, not just charity. Scripture contains many but cannot decide what happens locally. more.

Yet autonomy isn’t the real issue. From a • The Marks of a Mature Disciple, a pamphlet, survey, it was surprising to see how few denomattempts to outline how a Christian faith is inations have a national Christian Education reflected in one’s life, church community, and committee. What matters is not church govsociety. ernment, it seems, but a commitment to learn • The Christian Education Update is sent to together. each church to help pastors and teachers The EMC does have a national Educabe aware of resources available within and tion Committee that serves under the Board of beyond the EMC. Church Ministries. It is involved in various projFurther, in its history the EMC has someects, either leading or working with other EMC times had a part-time Christian Education staff boards and even other conferences. Consider person. These have included Dave Schellenberg, these efforts on your behalf: Stan Plett, Walter Reimer, Menno Hamm, and • The series on the Apostles’ Creed through myself.

2016 in this magazine.

The Messenger is a vehicle for education and • The Christian Life book is being rewritten more, but by BCM decision my work with it has and available by March 2016 as a Tri-Conferalways been part-time. Why? To allow time to ence (EMMC, CMC, EMC) effort. The BLO assist churches with Christian Education. Even is involved. in the time spent with the magazine, education • Theodidaktos: Journal for EMC theology and is the motive behind this column, choosing lead education is produced to allow leaders to dis- articles, writing editorials, and more. Education cuss issues in detail. It’s free to churches. is why I am linked to the above projects.

• Seeking To Be Faithful, led by the General Education is why Gerald Reimer, our Board, is being rewritten hard-working conference to tell the EMC’s story. youth minister, and I serve Taught by God • Peace and Discipleship congregations by direct conSermons by EMCers, a tact—preaching and more. For CD booklet, provides 16 years Gerald Reimer has A Dialogue samples to pastors and served as a resource person to about War, edification to members. youth leaders and churches, as History, and • Need a study to go a mentor to young people, and Faith beyond basic doctrine as a missions mobilizer to see to explore aspects of our young people pursue God’s call life together? A sequel on their lives. Aren’t Abundant to The Christian Life Springs and TRU both educabook, a two-year project, tional events in a real sense? will look at interpretChristian education is ing Scripture, leadership, important within the EMC, conflict, simple living, to the BCM and other boards, and more. to national staff people, and • Follow Me: Exploring churches Let’s continue to More Of Our Calling As Theodidaktos is one of various publications work together in 2016.

Theodidaktos Journal for EMC theology and education |

Volume 10 Number 1 August 2015

p. 8

Also Inside:

Responding to Bruxy Cavey’s Position Statement on the

Gay Marriage Debate

Nuggets for a Guest Preacher:

A Look at the Early Bonhoeffer on Preaching and as Preacher

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Perspectives of Pacifism

Am I a Hypocrite for Being a Pacifist?

A publicAtion of the evAngelicAl Mennonite conference

produced to assist EMC churches.

22 The Messenger • December 2015

With Our Churches Wymark EMC

Fun Day, dedication, missions conference at Wymark

WEMC

CHORTITZ, Sask.— A Family Fun Day took place in the churchyard on July 19, 2015. The special event committee worked long and hard preparing an outdoor setting and stage for the day’s events.

The day was sunny and warm, but a soft Sask. breeze was blowing (like 80 mph). Phillip Fehr and his boys set up cattle windbreaks so we didn’t get blown away. Our pastor, Paul Little, led the worship service at 10 a.m. Archie and Sylvia Neufeld and their talented family led the music in a country and western theme.

William Neufeld, Pastor Paul Little holding Daniel and Alyssa, Judy Neufeld Posters were put up and invitations were extended to people in surrounding communities. An excellent crowd of visitors and church members Pastor Paul Little spoke to the parents and to the conattended our celebration. A barbeque lunch was held at gregation about their responsibility to bring up children to noon; watermelon and roll kuchen (a pastry) followed in love and obey the Lord Jesus Christ. It does indeed require the afternoon. an “entire village” to raise a child.

Games and competitions were held and a bouncy castle The annual missions conference for 2015 was held here for the younger children was a big attraction. Fellowship on Oct. 16-18. The keynote speaker for the conference was and visiting carried on until well into the evening. The fire- Mark Maxwell, president of Prairie Bible College in Three works that had been planned for later that evening had to Hills, Alta. He spoke four times in a serious and chalbe cancelled because of the wind. lenging manner. He reminded us that Jesus called his 12 The entire day’s events were free because a local farmer disciples to preach the “Good News.” donated the meat and because of the generous financial God is always good, but not always “safe.” Mr. Maxwell support provided by EMC’s Church Planting Task Force emphasized that “we do people no favour by letting them (BLO). Thank you, Charles Koop, Canadian church plantthink that there is no consequence to sin.” ing coordinator.

His special project for our missions conference was A baby dedication was held at the Wymark EM Church a Bible class at the Penitentiary in Bowden, Alta. Mark on Aug. 16, 2015. Dylan and Joni Wall brought their sons Maxwell emphasizes that prayer is essential for a healthy Alexander and William and Judy Neufeld brought their two soul. The Lord's Prayer was repeated many times over the children, Daniel and Alyssa, for their dedication to the Lord. conference.

Lori Thiessen from Pambrun, Sask., presented a monologue on the life of Gracia Burnham. She was fantastic and the audience was spellbound. Don and Val Doerksen and family from Niverville, Man., provided the music for all the services. Valerie grew up at the Wymark EMC; Nellie Dyck is her mother.

We ended the weekend with one of our famous potluck dinners after the Sunday morning service. Attendance was up at this year’s missions conference; it is great encouragement to our local church. We have a hard working missions committee under the leadership of Peter and Linda Ens. Joni Wall, Pastor Paul Little holding Alexander, Dylan Wall – Marvin Allan

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 23

With Our Churches Rosenort Fellowship Chapel

Introducing Pastor Brian McGuffin

RFC

ROSENORT, Man.—At the request of Terry Smith, I interviewed our pastor, Brian McGuffin, for an article.

Pastor Brian, tell us about your years as a youth.

I grew up and attended elementary and high school in Southern Ontario. I first attended a Baptist church through one of their outreach ministries when I was still very young. I was subsequently converted at the tender age of eight years old and was baptized at the age of 12. I was 16 when, at a retreat, I was led to make a deeper commitment to the Lord. At that point I started getting involved in other ministries in the church and in the community and through those became aware that the Lord was calling me to ministry.

Where did you further your education?

I received my BA in Religious Studies and Master’s degree in Theology at the University of Western Ontario.

During those years I participated in various ministries, including the First Baptist Church in Goderich and a United Church, when my call to preaching gradually became a reality. I graduated in 2000.

Tell us about your family.

I met Lisa (nee Loewen) in 1998 while we were both studying at the U. of Western Ontario. We got married in 2000. Lisa achieved her Registered Nursing degree in 2001. She is an accomplished pianist and is gifted in a lot of creative activities. We now have seven children: Naomi, Owen, Abigail, Brennan, Emily, Sophia, and Evelyn.

How did you decide to take on a pastorate at Rosenort Fellowship Chapel?

I decided to take up the pastorate at RFC with some trepidation since moving away from where I was comfortable and close to family was hard. But when we came to visit the church family in Rosenort, both Lisa and I realized very quickly that this was just the kind of place where God was calling us to be. The church embraced us from day one, and God has strengthened our bond as we give to one another out of the abundance he has blessed us with.

24 The Messenger • December 2015

Pastor Brian and Lisa McGuffin and family

People often ask me if it was hard to transition to a Mennonite denomination. My response is that I have not found it challenging at all as Mennonite culture has had a place in my life for many years either through my friends at high school in Aylmer, Ont., or my time with Lisa’s family and friends in Virgil, Ont. What is your hope and desire for RFC and the EM Conference?

My hope and desire is to make a positive contribution in any way possible to promote a growing, God glorying, Christian community. The church is much bigger than individuals that make up the church, and it’s bigger than the pastors that lead them. Therefore my hope is to see RFC continue to be a church that leans on God and puts God’s will first in all its decision making by centring on the Scriptures as a final authority for faith and practice. In the same way I hope to be able to support the EMC as it continues to promote a dependence on God while being a resource to churches as they live out their faith locally and globally.

– Rhonda Friesen

With Our Churches Mennville EMC

Five young women baptized

MEMC

MENNVILLE, Man.—A baptism was held on June 14. Five young women took this step.

Anisley Kroeker, Mackenzie Barkman, Chelsea Barkman, Makayla Barkman and Lindsey Brandt. We want to continue to support you and pray for you.

– Luella Brandt

•• Portage Evangelical Church

Music makers at PEC

STAN WIEBE

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man.—Colson Wiebe and Tim Holm make great music with the youth worship band.

– Stan Wiebe

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 25

With Our Churches Northern Fellowship Chapel

Interview with Marg Cone, part one CREIGHTON, Sask.—Terry Smith asked me to interview Margaret Cone, now 90, a long-standing member of Northern Fellowship Chapel.

Marg agreed and we met at our popular coffee shop, the “Orange Toad.”

Marg was a member long before I arrived on the scene of NFC, somewhere around 1990. I’ve always highly respected Marg for her steadfast devotion to our church. I learned even more after our visit.

NFC

Tell me about your home, family, and memories of childhood.

I was raised in farming country near Hague, Sask. Fourteen of the sixteen children born to my parents survived. I was about in the middle. We were very poor and when times were tough there was not much to fall back on. I was raised in a Christian home. We attended an EMMC church. I remember while in my teens that we had visitors from Bethany Bible College, from nearby Hepburn, Sask. It was at this service that I remember making a decision to accept Christ into my life.

What did you do after you left home and how did you meet your late husband, Jack?

I worked in Saskatoon where I met Jack. We were married in l947 and we moved to Flin Flon in September 1947 where Jack worked for Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. (HBMS). Jack and I had three precious children: Terry, Dennis and Cathy.

When did your husband pass away?

Jack passed away in 1966 of cancer. He had been injured in l950 so he missed lots of work. This affected his and my pensions. The kids were 18, 16, and l0 when he died. I went to work in the fall of l966 to support my children. There was no widow’s pension and no other allowances. I worked for HBMS. We moved to Creighton in l971. We had lived in Flin Flon before that.

26 The Messenger • December 2015

How did you manage on your own?

I remember these years, alone with the children, as being difficult in many ways. I felt that the good Lord looked after me. My dependence on God was great and I had to rely on Him rather than do my own thing. But for the grace of God, I don’t know where I would have been without our Heavenly Father. My relationship with God deepened at this time. Overall, I was thankful to be able to work and be self-sufficient and eventually I even did some travelling in later years.

Where did you attend church during this time?

I remember going to different churches. I also remember asking my Dad about attending a Baptist church (even though I had Mennonite background) and he said, “You can’t go wrong.” This was in the late 50’s.

You obviously thought it was important to find a church family. What prompted this?

We faithfully attended church when I grew up. In my years in Creighton, I carried the responsibility of finding a church. I also wanted to make a commitment and I felt a need to connect with a church body.

Tell me about how you connected with Northern Fellowship Chapel.

I did hear on the radio about a Mennonite church in Creighton. This group met in the hall initially, but then the hall burned down. I wanted to attend this church because I felt drawn to a Mennonite church. I think it was Melvin and Mary Koop who were pastoring at this time. A church was built in the l960’s and I went to church periodically and sometimes got rides with Elmer and Anne Bartel. The kids went to Sunday School. I attended for a few years, then joined the church in l964 when Melvin Koop was there.

– Janice Imrie

With Our Churches Heartland Community Church

Serving up connections, building community

HEARTLAND

LANDMARK, Man.—Heartlanders have been busy hosting a number of fundraising meals that highlight many worthy ministries close to their hearts. In spring, a brunch for Project Hannah, a ministry of Trans World Radio (TWR), was hosted by Evelyn Barkman with help of many of her family and friends. We heard a number of stories of the plight of women from around the world and how founder Marli Spieker and her husband Edmund began their ministry helping these oppressed women and their families over 40 years ago.

A second brunch was hosted by Arnold and Anne Reimer and family to help raise funds for Rio Grande Bible Institute (RGBI), a Bible and discipleship training school for Spanish ministries. We heard The Echoes, a Latin American Project Hannah: Ray Alary, Colleen Shoemaker, Evelyn Barkman, and musical group, sing for God’s glory. They also gave their tes- Marli Spieker timonies of commitment to Jesus and their work for God’s which is planning to construct an outdoor basketball kingdom where each of them has been placed. court. We greatly appreciate the cooperation of the many The men and women of our Missions Committee prepeople it took to pull off an evening like this. The best part pared three breakfast meet-and-greets this summer to was connecting and eating together with our friends and welcome home and reconnect with missionaries on furneighbours. lough. Doug and Christal Barkman reported on their And, finally, kudos to our website and administration service with Teach Beyond at Black Forest Academy in team. They have done a marvelous job keeping us, and the Germany. They also celebrated God’s perfect timing and community of Landmark, informed each week. They have provision for staffing needs for new school year. recently incorporated podcasts of sermons from various Menno and Lydia Plett with MCC in Strasbourg, speakers at Heartland for the benefit of further reflection, or France, recounted their year of networking with other to catch up on the ones missed. They can be heard by visitAnabaptists and organizations. Lydia also gave the morning our “values menu” or by scrolling through the calendar ing message on peace, and our responsibility to pursue it. on our website at www.heartlandcommunitychurch.ca Josh and Jocelyn Plett from MAF reported on their avia– Brigitte Toews tion assignment in Madagascar. They are home for six months and will share their time with their other church family and friends. Jocelyn also hosted a handmade merchandise sale in early October to benefit the poor and needy in Madagascar. For details, contact her.

RESOURCING PASTORS FOR MINISTRY In August, we celebrated the safe arrival of our pastor Andy Woolworth’s wife Sharon and two of their four children who joined him here after moving Theme: Proclaiming the Good News (Acts 8:35) from southern Ontario. To mark the special occasion, ReNew 2016 is intended for ALL involved in ministry, we shared a potluck meal and enjoyed a special cake within the sponsoring conferences, in their honour, created by Rebecca Bernardin. or any other congregation.

In late September, we capped off the harvest seaMore information at: cmu.ca/renew son with our third annual Fall Supper. A new menu and great weather brought in 330 people and raised CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY $3,500. The funds will benefit our local high school, 500 Shaftesbury Blvd. Winnipeg, MB Canada R3P 2N2

February 8-10, 2016

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 27

Column • Further In and Higher Up

God’s One Word

G

ISTOCK

by Layton Friesen

od has a vocabulary of one word. Or, we could say, a vocabulary of one Word.

What Scripture suggests in places like John 1:1 and Rev. 19:13, and what the Church’s theology has seen since, is that the Word is God’s eternal expression of himself. He does not have any expression of himself other than this Word. We might say that even when God thinks to himself, he thinks to himself by the Word.

Something quite interesting happens to the word of God in the Old Testament. When you and I speak we don’t usually think of our words as separate from ourselves—our words don’t become their own people out there (although authors lament that their words take on a life of their own after printing). But there is a growing tendency as the Old Testament moves along to personalize the word of God, to give it an agency and an action distinguished from God. Because the word of God is so active in the world, writers begin to imagine that it has a life of its own. In Psalm 33:6 there is still a strong identity between God and his word: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.” This takes on more poetic license in Psalm 107:20: “He sent out his word and healed them.” And even more in Psalm 147:15: “He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.”

There is definitely a personalizing in Isaiah 55:10-11: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that for which I sent it.”

Now listen to Philo, a Jewish philosopher writing during the time of Christ: To his Logos (Word), his chief messenger, highest in age and honor, the Father of all has given the special prerogative to stand on the border, and separate the creature from the

We might imagine God speaking the word “Jesus” over his people as centuries roll.

28 The Messenger • December 2015

Creator. This same Logos both pleads with the Immortal as suppliant for afflicted mortality and acts as ambassador of the ruler to the subject (Quoted from Edward T. Oakes, Infinity Dwindled to Infancy, 54).

When John in the gospel says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1), he is standing at the end of a trajectory. God has been awakening his people to the realization that in the great mystery of the One God, the Word might be a person—creative, wise and potent.

We might imagine God speaking the word “Jesus” over his people as centuries roll. This word leans like a pressure weighing in on them, stretching their use of words, mystifying their image of God. When God says “Jesus,” the world is created, chaos is pushed back, the law is given on Sinai, a home is provided for God’s people, wisdom is pressed in through sages like Solomon. Even their history, their story of suffering under the hand of God as “the Servant of the Lord,” is God pressing the word “Jesus” into this community.

Finally God says “Jesus” to Mary the virgin.

When God speaks to you and me, he only ever says one word. Whatever guidance, comfort, creative action, liberation or judgement we hear from God, it’s another way of saying “Jesus.” God may speak a thousand dialects and languages— but if it’s God talking, he is always saying, performing, invoking Jesus into the world.

Merry Christmas!

News

Christmas Project Opportunities

E

MC Missions have many special projects to which Paraguay: Santa Teresa Medical Project—Misión Viva’s you can donate. Please refer to the EMC webpage ministry to the Indians in Santa Teresa involves mediwhere many of the projects are listed under Mexcal services, including paying for hospital fees, operations, ico, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Paraguay. ambulance and pharmaceutical supplies to those in need.

Let me suggest four projects to consider giving to at Project Goal: $5,000 this Christmas season.

EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CONFERENCE PRESENTS Missionary Children’s Education—EMC missionary chilNicaragua: Nutrition—Congregations in Nicaragua assist dren attend elementary schools and receive a high quality in twelve communities where churches and church outeducation in Paraguay and Mexico.

ANYONE AGES 18-25ISH $110 PER PERSON *Registration is limited and will close when reaches are located.

Social Action Committee provides Project Goal: $1,500 per month SINGLE The OR MARRIED the event is full. A limited number of rooms NO CHILDREN PLEASE one meal three times a week to children in these areas. are available for couples.

Project Goal: $6,000 Please designate your gift clearly so it can be allocated correctly. Thank you and may the Lord bless you during Nicaragua: Bible School Scholarships—The FIEMN conthis Advent season.

A RETREAT PLANNED BY ference has their members study with the Semilla Bible DARRYL KLASSEN CAMP CEDARWOOD SOME SOUTH EASTERN PASTOR OF KLEEFELD EMC– Ken Zacharias School in Guatemala.

Students, attending in the master’s LAC DU BONNET, MB MANITOBA EMC CHURCHES level, study in Guatemala in week- long modules. The BOM EMC Foreign Secretary Directscholarships registration questions Nathantravel Plett, Prairie EMC (204-355-4511 or Nathan@prairierose.ca). For more information regarding the retreat, assists by giving fortotheir andRose study.

Board of Missions contact Gord Penner (204-326-6451 or GPenner@sbcollege.ca) or Jason Heide (204-326-6572 or jheide@semconline.com).

Project Goal: $2,000

WHO

WHEN RETREAT A YOUNG ADULT

WHAT

WHERE

WHO ANYONE AGES 18-25ISH

WHEN

SINGLE OR MARRIED NO CHILDREN PLEASE

WHAT A RETREAT PLANNED BY

SOME SOUTH EASTERN MANITOBA EMC CHURCHES

MARCH 11-13 2016

SPEAKER

MARCH 11-13 2016

WHERE

CAMP CEDARWOOD LAC DU BONNET, MB

COST

COST

$110 PER PERSON

*Registration is limited and will close when the event is full. A limited number of rooms are available for couples.

SPEAKER

DARRYL KLASSEN PASTOR OF KLEEFELD EMC

Direct registration questions to Nathan Plett, Prairie Rose EMC (204-355-4511 or Nathan@prairierose.ca). For more information regarding the retreat, contact Gord Penner (204-326-6451 or GPenner@sbcollege.ca) or Jason Heide (204-326-6572 or jheide@semconline.com).

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 29

News

Stories told by Jesus chosen as VBS 2016 theme Newest summer Bible school curriculum ready for orders KITCHENER, Ont.—Surprise! Stories of Discovering Jesus is the new MennoMedia vacation Bible school material for 2016.

The theme was suggested by users who asked for vacation Bible school material that focuses on Jesus. The team producing the upcoming VBS curriculm looked at stories about Jesus, and noticed that many of the passages featured people and situations where Jesus said or did surprising things. These revealed new facets of Jesus and his teachings. Those stories include Jesus in the temple, with children, in the crowd, during the night, and while walking along a road.

Created for children ages 4 through grade 5, with free options for junior youth available on the VBS website (www.mennomedia.org/vbs), the materials feature a time of worship that includes a drama to present the Bible story.

After worship, children rotate among activities that relate to the Bible story.

Dawn Silvius at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in San Antonio, Texas, said that this “format brings adults and kids together for extended periods of time around

a variety of activities.” She adds that adults and children learn to know each other and develop lasting friendships.

They develop friendships that “continue to grow through the rest of the year.” Silvius also adds that “vacation Bible school is a wonderful week for our congregation.”

The VBS 2016 materials were written by a team in Ontario, coordinated by managing editor Mary Ann Weber. Writing rotates among various Mennonite communities across the United States and Canada, and varies by year.

Surprise! Stories of Discovering Jesus may be ordered in an all-in-one boxed set including everything needed for planning and preparation. All items are also available separately. More information is at: www.mennomedia.org/vbs.

– MennoMedia

••

SBC students replace student’s damaged guitar Raise funds, surprize fellow student STEINBACH, Man.—Steinbach Bible College exists to empower servant leaders to follow Jesus, serve the church, and engage the world. In a chapel service earlier this week our student body demonstrated that they are indeed servant leaders.

Student Andrew Friesen’s guitar was crushed by an amp earlier this month while traveling to serve at a school deputation with a music group. As a student, funds can be extremely limited, so the loss to Andrew and his musical ministry was significant. Without prompting by staff, the student body stepped up and raised enough funds among themselves to purchase Andrew a new guitar.

A video of the surprise presentation to Andrew in chapel earlier this week can be viewed at http://ow.ly/UJcNm. –SBC Andrew Friesen learns of students' efforts.

30 The Messenger • December 2015

Columns • Poetry

There is Room The Bethlehem inn was crowded that night With no room for the birth of God’s Son. Had the innkeeper known who would be born Could something, perhaps, have been done?

Forgive us, O Lord, for our arrogant sin, Our materialism, self-will, and pride, Our skewed priorities may we re-arrange So there’s room for You to abide.

But Mary and Joseph were given some space In a humble and lowly stable.

There in seclusion our Saviour was born And a manger became His first cradle.

Help us relinquish our ambitions and plans, Let You chart the way we should live.

May we honour You in all that we do In the love and the service we give.

Even now in our world with its pomp and its glitz Few have room for the Saviour of men, But more of the destitute, suffering, and poor Hear Him gladly, and bid Him come in.

Lord, let not our hearts be cluttered and full, Self-sufficient, and closed like the inn, But humbly and open, like that unadorned stable Welcome You, for there is room within!

How often, we too, find our lives are too full Of the cares of this world, and its pleasure.

We are slaves to the urgent and must meet demands With no room for our Saviour, our Treasure.

– L. Marie Enns

••

s!

Me

ma

C hrist y r r

From the

Evangelical Mennonite Conference Staff

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 31

In Memory

Tina B. Loewen (nee Eidse) 1928-2015

Tina B. Loewen, was born on July 4, 1928, in Riverside, Man., to Abram and Annie Eidse. Hospitalized briefly, she prayerfully declined emergency surgery for an upper bowel obstruction and went home to be with her Saviour, at age 86, on May 2, 2015, at the Morris Hospital after a day saying, “I love you” to her entire family.

She was educated at Rosenhoff North School and read passionately.

She thrilled in pleasure skating, parachuting off barns, and climbing hydro poles. Milking cows, gardening and cooking for threshing crews developed a strong work ethic.

“My dream was always to be a nurse. I made splints for cats, dogs and rabbits, sterilized water to keep chickens alive, splinted calves’ legs, and even treated cuts on garter snakes. I knew I’d never attend nursing school because I didn’t have good enough grades, but I had natural instincts. I was the hockey team nurse and the way the Riverside guys played it was usually necessary! I almost completed the Chicago School of Nursing course when called to the mission field.”

Her outgoing nature captured the

32 The Messenger • December 2015

heart of a young boy named Cornie.

He stole their first kiss, several years later becoming sweethearts. At 16, her Dad suffered monthly strokes and Tina became his personal nurse for over a year until his death, in her arms, in the midst of a three-day blizzard. Cornie wanted to join the military during WWII. Tina laid down an ultimatum and he became a conscientious objector at lumber camps in Ontario.

Tina and Cornie were engaged under moonlight and pines in Dryden in November 1947. On March 26, 1948, Tina and Cornie accepted Jesus as Lord through a radio ministry. Baptism followed on June 27 in the REMC with 28 friends. She and Cornie were married on August 8 that same year and shared 46 years together.

Tina and Cornie were faithful parents to six children: daughters Sharon and Anne began childhood in Riverside, Tim was born in Morris between missionary journeys, Joanell and Bob came with a “Made in Mexico” label, while Lori surprised them in Morris.

Tina loved gardening, birdwatching, and had a natural gift for storytelling. She served as a missionary nurse in Mexico delivering over 100 babies (1954-1964), was pastor’s wife of Morris Fellowship (1964-1985), and Dad’s Low German assistant for Good News radio ministry (1987-1994). Tina cherished her 65 acres of land, which she and Cornie farmed or rented out.

She faced many adversities after widowhood on Easter Sunday, 1994: rebuilding her home after the ’97 flood; several hip surgeries; and later a slight stroke. She lived in Riverside until fall 2010. She grew spiritually in her Rosewood apartment with the help of friends, family and radio messages.

She is lovingly remembered by four daughters: Sharon (Ron) Friesen,

Anne (Edward) Loewen, Joanell (Bob) Clark (St. Albert, AB), Lori (Arlin) Scharfenberg; two sons, Tim (Laurie), Bob (Lil) (Leamington, Ont.); 19 grandchildren; 24 greatgrandchildren. She is survived by one sister, Margie (Frank) Kroeker.

She was preceded in death by husband Rev. Cornie B. Loewen; one great-granddaughter, Penny Loewen; brothers, Dick, Abie; and sisters, Helen, Mary, Annie.

We miss her daily and devoted interest in our lives. Some final words to us were, “I wish we were all one faith. I beg you. I love you.” As children we rise up and call her blessed.

The funeral service was conducted by Rev. John Driedger and Rev. Larry Eidse at Rosenort EMC on May 9, 2015.

– Her Family

Calendar Canada January 10

EMC Day of Prayer 2016

Manitoba March 11-13 EMC Young Adults Retreat

July 1-3 EMC National Convention

World-Wide January 25 World Fellowship Sunday

March 8-22 Paraguay Prayer Team

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

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

Mennville EMC, a rural congregation with an attendance of about 90, located in Manitoba's Interlake region, seeks a full- or part-time pastor. The pastor will work within a ministerial team as the church seeks to renew and grow. College or seminary training and pastoral experience are definite assets.

Starting date is flexible and salary will reflect EMC guidelines. A candidate should be a collaborative leader (team player), comfortable in the pulpit and in pastoral care, familiar with the EMC Statement of Faith, and respectful of various cultures and rural living. Contact minister Terry Dueck at frontier104@ hotmail.com.

High Level Christian Fellowship (HLCF) is seeking a full-time pastor. HLCF is a diverse but well established congregation serving in a community where oil and gas, farming and forestry are the driving industries. HLCF has an average attendance of 130 members and adherents. The successful candidate would be able to relate and work well with people working together towards building an active community of believers. If God is directing you in this mission please forward your resume to either Jake Neufeld at j.neufeld@peacecountrypetroleum.com or Greg Derkson at mariederkson@gmail.com or by phone Jake (780-821-9432) or Greg (780-926- 9553).

Treesbank Community Church is a small rural church in southwest Manitoba that is seeking a pastor to lead our congregation and outreach in our community. This could be on a full- or part-time basis. It could be on a flexible schedule to allow a student to do some practicum while still in college, or to allow someone to transition to retirement on a part-time flexible schedule. If you are interested in church leadership and outreach and feel God calling you to this type of ministry, please contact Leonard Plett at 204-824-2475 or at lplett@mts.net.

The Anola Fellowship Chapel (EMC) is presently looking to fill the church youth leader position. This is a part-time paid position. We are looking for someone with a vision for youth evangelism and discipleship.

There is a program for students in grades 7-12.

Individuals or couples may apply. Submit resume with references, personal statement of faith, or any questions to search committee chairman at: bdowler@mts.net, or Box 101, Anola, MB R0E 0A0.

Abbeydale Christian Fellowship, Calgary, seeks a full-time lead pastor to work alongside our current associate pastor and leadership team. The ideal candidate has served at least ten years as pastor (five as lead), is a good preacher and communicator, and relates easily with people of all ages. He works well in a team and as a mentor, has relevant education, and will require EMC approval. The ministry focus is discipleship through preaching, teaching, encouraging small groups, and prayer. He will also lead in pastoral care. We are an urban congregation of 125 with an informal atmosphere. We are committed to love through service to one another and to our community. Please see the full profile at http://abbeydale. org/index.php/careers, and then apply in confidence to search@abbeydale.org.

North Star Mennonite Church, Drake, Sask., is looking for a one year full-time interim pastor beginning February 2016. We are looking for a pastor who has strong relational gifts and has confidence in preaching the Scriptures from an Evangelical Anabaptist perspective. This person should have moral character and integrity. Reporting to and in partnership with the Church Council, the pastor will oversee the general health and care of the church.

Applicants must be in agreement with the NSMC’s vision and mission statement and our statement of purpose. If you have strong interpersonal skills and a passion for Christ and a desire to grow and lead a family orientated church we would encouraged you to consider this opportunity.

NSMC would have 50-70 in attendance. We are a rural farming community.

Please contact Floyd Bartel at 306-365-8460 or send a resume email to fbart@explornet.com.

Bagot Community Chapel (EMMC) located at Bagot, Man., is in search of an associate pastor. We are a growing rural church with a lot of young families and an average attendance of 125 to 150. For a complete job description and application form visit bagotchapel.com.

Where are position ads to be sent?

Other Positions Mid-Way Christian Leadership seeks a full-time caring team member to support the small group of believers in Grand Rapids, Man., under the leadership of Fred and Stella Neff. It is a paid position moving into a raised support funding model. The individual will support Christians as they grow into the Christian leaders of the north in Manitoba.

Helping lead Sunday School, preaching, and leading Bible studies are some of the more formal “programs” that exist today, but, most importantly, people either need to accept Jesus or follow Him in victory. We are building a team passionate about following God by discipling people into mature Christians and ultimately replacing our leadership positions from those we work with. Please email us at generaldirector. mcl@gmail.com for a full job description or inquiries.

Please send all position ads, including pastoral search ads, to messenger@emconf.ca. All ads are to be 150 words or less. All ads can be edited.

Please advise us when it is no longer needed.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 33

Column • Here and Far Away

Enjoying God

T Opening my senses to His Spirit, allowing His Word to permeate my heart, prepares my heart to enjoy Him. Enjoying God is a luxury that gives strength to the soul.

34 The Messenger • December 2015

JOCELYN R. PLETT

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

he luxurious practice of “enjoying God” has resonated deep in my spirit these last months. Following the example of Christ we’ve withdrawn from the demands of ministry to allow time for greater personal reflection. This has encouraged resting and receiving the ministrations of the Lord without the distractions of the world, our work, and the “good” things we fill our time with.

God has ministered to us abundantly, as He did to Elijah who, after an intense period of ministry, was told to retreat and rest: “Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: ‘Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there’” (1 Kings 17:2-4).

“Glorify God and enjoy Him,” a phrase from the Shorter Catechism (Church of Scotland), is a practice that has helped to renew my strength.

It has meant, for me, reflecting on how I enjoy good God-given gifts and how I can deepen my enjoyment of God Himself.

To enjoy my husband is to pay attention to him, spend quality time together, notice what makes him who he is, what he enjoys and what he doesn’t.

To open our senses to something brings greater enjoyment: the taste and texture of a decadent dessert, allowing the colours of roadside prairie grasses to permeate my eyes, to accept blessings of friends with thankfulness and appreciation.

Similarly, these methods of experiencing enjoyment are ways I can more deeply enjoy the presence of God: paying attention, spending quality time in dialogue through prayer and

Scripture, noticing how He displays His Glory in the world, learning about who He is, what He enjoys and what He doesn’t.

Opening my senses to His Spirit, allowing His Word to permeate my heart, prepares my heart to enjoy Him. It means recognizing my need for Him and allowing Him to bless me, tasting His goodness, glorifying Him for it. It means releasing self-sufficiency and control to receive His love and grace. Enjoying God is about receiving graciously.

I’ve found that the joy of the Lord does bring me strength (Neh. 8:10). Enjoyment of Him renews my mind. With this strength of the Lord I can learn to be content in every circumstance (Phil. 4:11-13). This is deeply counter-cultural! Being mindful of Him in the everyday, not as a task to accomplish, but as a way to train my mind’s eye to see the presence of God, His goodness, in the minutiae of my life, this strengthens me.

Enjoying the sparkle of frosted trees, the first taste of morning coffee, the wealth of lessons learned through difficult circumstances, I know God is showing His love to me in every good gift (James 1:17). Enjoying God and receiving the love He shows me through good, as well as difficult, things brings peace to my spirit, covering my circumstances with a balm.

Enjoying God is a luxury that gives strength to the soul.

Column • stewardship today

Sometimes You Need to Receive!

S

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ome time ago, during a morning walk, I found a wallet a few blocks from my house. I looked around hoping the owner might be close by, but there was just me. A peek inside revealed a library card, a health card, a twenty-dollar bill and a five-dollar bill. That was it. No credit cards. No driver’s license. Nothing with an address or a phone number.

All I knew was the owner’s name—we’ll call him Jim—and his health card number. I called the police to report a lost wallet and soon after a cruiser came by my house, picked it up, and promised to return it to the owner.

A few hours later my phone rang. On the other end of the line was an ecstatic woman gushing praises about honesty and integrity and how there were still good people in the world.

She told me she had to beg the officer for my name and number so that she and her brother could thank the “good Samaritan” personally.

She went on to tell me that her older brother was born with an intellectual disability and had lived with her ever since their parents died several years ago. `“My brother has a small paper route,” she said. “It pays very little money, but he would really like to thank you personally. Could we come over now for a few minutes?” I insisted it wasn’t necessary, but she would hear none of that. “Okay,” I said, a little sheepishly.

A few minutes later, I answered a knock on the door and was immediately bear hugged by a smiling man who kept saying, “Thank you, thank you.” Eventually, he let go of me and pulled a five-dollar bill from his wallet—the same wallet I had found earlier, and presumably, the same five-dollar bill I had seen when I looked through it. He placed the bill in my hands with the same force he used to hug me.

Meanwhile, his sister spoke loudly and nonstop about her brother’s love of walking, how he didn’t listen when she told him to leave his wallet at home, how they had scoured the neighbourhood looking for it, and how their despair had changed to joy when the officer called. She kept calling me a Good Samaritan.

I felt a little awkward amid all the fuss and said the five-dollar gift wasn’t necessary. Accepting money from Jim felt wrong on so many levels, but he and his sister were unwavering in their insistence. “Okay,” I said, placing the bill in my pocket while feeling a little like I had just robbed this man. “Thank you. I will use it for something special.” They thanked me again, Jim gave me one final bear hug and they left.

Gratitude is a funny thing. Being the recipient of someone else’s gratitude is awkward when the person expressing it is, for all intents and purposes, the one who should be the recipient.

But Jim’s bear hug of gratitude and his five-dollar bill turned the tables and forced me to acknowledge my distorted assumptions about giving and receiving.

Former Archbishop of Brazil Dom Helder Camara said, “No one is so poor that they cannot give nor so rich that they cannot receive.”

Jim showed me the truth in that statement.

More than a hug and a five-dollar bill, Jim gave me perspective.

Thank you, Jim. Your gift was a blessing. You taught me that sometimes I need to be the recipient just as much as you need the opportunity to show gratitude.

Darren Pries-Klassen is the Executive Director of Mennonite Foundation of Canada. For more information on impulsive generosity, stewardship education, and estate and charitable gift planning, contact your nearest MFC office or visit MennoFoundation.ca.

by Darren Pries-Klassen, MFC Executive Director

Thank you, Jim. Your gift was a blessing.

You taught me that sometimes I need to be the recipient just as much as you need the opportunity to show gratitude.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 35

Column • kids’ corner

Christmas Words that Tell the Story

W It would be many years before the people truly understood that Jesus was the Messiah.

Can you tell the story?

ISTOCK

by Loreena Thiessen

hat are your favourite Christmas words—lights, decorations, presents? These words remind us that Christmas is coming. Other words tell the story of Christmas.

Long before the first Christmas something was happening with God’s people. It was Advent.

Advent means waiting; the people were waiting for something to come.

For many years God’s people lived in hardship. They were slaves in Egypt. In the desert they felt lost and afraid. They faced hostile armies and many people died. At times they felt that God was far away. Some people began to worship idols.

In this difficult time of waiting God sent the prophet Isaiah to tell them the Messiah they were longing for was coming. He would be born in Bethlehem, in the city of David. He would save them from their sins and from their enemies.

He would bring light and joy into their lives. He would be a just ruler and bring peace to the land.

This is exactly what the people longed for.

It happened just as Isaiah said it would. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem to register their names to be counted as Caesar Augustus had ordered. Many people came to do the same and Bethlehem was crowded. The hotels were full and the only place available to Mary and Joseph was a

Activity: Match the words to the phrases opposite.

Advent Messiah Isaiah Bethlehem Stable Wise men The good news

36 The Messenger • December 2015

animal shelter special star Angels’ words prophet a time of waiting Jesus the city of David

stable, a shelter for animals. That very night Jesus was born. A manger was his first bed.

Angels first brought the news that Jesus was born. Their joyous songs and brilliant light filled the entire night sky. Sleepy shepherds watching over their sheep that night were suddenly shocked awake at the spectacular sight all around them. When they had calmed they ran with joy to see the newborn King. They told others the good news. The Messiah had come.

Soon others came. The Wise Men learned of the new king’s birth through a special star. They followed it and came to King Herod who was surprised and jealous; he did not want another king to take his place, so he plotted to kill all baby boys to make sure there would be no other king.

To escape King Herod’s evil plan Mary and Joseph and Jesus quickly left for Egypt.

It would be many years before the people truly understood that Jesus was the Messiah, the one they had been waiting for, for so long.

He showed them he is God by his miracles and taught truth with stories. Many believed but some did not.

Can you tell the story?

Read Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 11:1-5, for the prophet Isaiah’s words to God’s people.

Read Luke 2:1-18 for the Christmas story.

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