The Messenger Vol. 47 No. 10 May 27, 2009

THE

MESSENGER

a publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference

volume 47, number 10 May 27, 2009

one Christian is no Christian the importance of corporate worship

www.emconf.ca/Messenger

EDITORIALS

Serving while replaceable

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eing replaceable reveals Christ’s grace.

From January 1 to April 30, 2009, I was on a sabbatical, taking three courses at Providence Theological Seminary and involved in pulpit supply. On May 1 I returned to my national office duties.

My thanks go to Drs. David Johnson, Christopher Holmes, and Rodolfo Nolasco for turning my attention to Scripture from within their disciplines.

Gratitude goes to congregations where I was guest preacher (Stein-

bach EFC, Mennville, Morweena, and 9:30 Church in Landmark).

Other churches invited me, but my involvement was prevented by a storm or an early class on Monday morning.

Yes, I knew I could be replaced.

Interim editor Rebecca Buhler and editorial assistant Erica Fehr produced fine issues of The Messenger. The Board of Church Ministries’ able staff and volunteers worked. All are acknowledged.

My wife Mary Ann and I once bowled with Tim and Laurel Schroder, now an EMC missionary

couple in Papua New Guinea. A man watched Tim bowl and, seemingly under the effects of alcohol, said to him, “You can be replaced.”

Being replaceable in ministry highlights God’s grace: We serve as called, privileged within God’s providence and sovereignty. In doing so, we serve the Irreplaceable One—Jesus Christ—and discover more of his grace in the process.

I look forward to fresh contact with churches, including pulpit supply (either for the first or fourth time) and discussion of your T Christian Education needs. M Terry M. Smith

Christ’s temple is within his people!

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n Canada EMCers have or will graduate from high schools, colleges, universities, technical institutes, Bible colleges, and seminaries. Education is investment in people!

Yet people face work slowdown or job loss, endure personal crises, and search for meaning and hope.

The Christian Church is to be a source of hope for those around and among us. How do we transfer some of our hope in Christ on this planet?

We focus on Christ and, because of Him, invest in people and programs that assist them.

EDITOR Terry M. Smith tsmith@emconf.ca

ASSISTANT EDITOR Rebecca Buhler

rbuhler@emconf.ca

Address changes and submissions to The Messenger should be sent to messenger@emconf.ca MESSENGER SCHEDULE: No. 12 – June 24 (copy due June 13)

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The Christian Church is rarely fairly criticized for what it invests in people; it is sometimes fairly questioned or criticized for what it invents in real estate.

Why invest in people and programs that assist them? First, because people are made in Christ’s image (Gen. 1:27). Second, Christ’s dwelling place (His temple) is now in his people (1 Peter 2:4–10). Finally, as early church leader Irenaeus once said, the glory of God is humankind fully alive—a concern not about individuals alone, but people together in Christ.

THE MESSENGER is the publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference.

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

Letters, articles, photos and poems are welcomed. Unpublished material is not returned except by request.

Views and opinions of writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the position of the Conference or the editors.

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

The Church needs to keep the focus of Christ’s temple on people; if we revert to the temple being real estate, a central truth is being missed.

First-century, Reformation-era, and modern Christians have worshipped Christ in many physical locations: in homes, caves, barns, school auditoriums, and, yes, sometimes in buildings owned by congregations.

There is, however, no substitute for being a human community in Christ—a community of hope worth T our investment. M Terry M. Smith

Subscriptions: $24 per year (Manitoba residents add 7% PST, total: $25.68). Subscriptions are voluntary and optional to people within or outside of the EMC. Subscriptions are purchased by the Conference for members and adherents.

THE MESSENGER is a member of Meetinghouse and Canadian Church Press.

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Publications Mail Agreement #40017362 We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs.

Mailing information: 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

MESSENGER

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

THE MESSENGER May 27, 2009

2009 EMC graduates

CPT faces cutbacks

Providence Theological Seminary

Christian Peacemaker Teams has always lived with the tenuous balance of having the work to do, the people to do it, and finding enough money to fund it.

Now, for the first time, the balance has tipped to the degree that we may need to suspend and scale back compelling peacemaking work because funds are low.

Last year the U.S. dollar was down, costs up, and donations from individuals and congregations dropped nine per cent. At the same time, circumstances have us needing to find new office space in Chicago. The good news is that most people found a way to contribute even within the context of dire economic downturn.

Unfortunately, a significant gap exists between our income and expenses.

Communities caught in lethal conflict did not experience any downturn in war and occupation.

They continue to engage in courageous peacemaking and ask for our partnership in that struggle.

The Palestine team has walked with partners envisioning renewed work in the old city of Al Khalil (Hebron) while it continues vital partnerships with communities around the village of at-Tuwani. That work will begin mid-May if we have the funds.

A dozen Colombians are ready to start CPT training, ready to offer their lives in teamwork that amplifies the voices of those most affected by war. We also look forward to conducting trainings in Chicago and the United Kingdom in 2009. We can still welcome new Reservists.

However, we have made the difficult decision to freeze the stipended Peacemaker Corps at its current size. Must we must postpone support for those called to full-time

Carl Loewen (Pleasant Valley EMC) MA (Christian Studies)

Ward Parkinson (Morris Fellowship Chapel) MDiv (Biblical Languages)

Terence Penner (Steinbach EFC) MA (Counseling Psychology)

Roshonna Plett (Morweena EMC) MA (Counseling)

Providence College

Lorraine Langlois (Steinbach EFC) Certificate in TESOL

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peacemaking, while the rest of the world continues to provide financial support for people entering armed groups?

According to CPTers who have done exploratory work in the Democratic Republic of Congo this past winter, the time is ripe in the Great Lakes region of Africa for the work of nonviolence.

Local groups will continue to do that work well under discouraging conditions; they have said they feel encouraged by the support and presence of outside groups like CPT. We do not have funds to send more CPTers there. Must we sacrifice the momentum and relationships we built?

CPT Iraq accompanies Kurdish Iraqi villagers displaced by Turkish bombing.

A community leader turning the corner from discouragement to hope said, “This is like a dream. We want to go home.”

By making every savings possible—including moving the team out to the less expensive border area, which is currently under bombardment, we hope to extend support for this project through the end of the year. Continuation beyond that point can happen only if we have more income.

On every team, CPTers are drastically reducing expenses.

Some have offered to work full time without pay or with deep cuts to modest subsistence stipends. But transportation, rent, equipment, internet to send out the news…these we cannot access without funds.

CPT

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one Christian is no Christian

the importance of corporate Dr. Christine Longhurst

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Traditionally, Christian worship has been seen as a corporate experience, not a private one.

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s it necessary to gather together with other believers for worship? Or can we worship just as effectively on our own?

If church attendance is any indication, it seems many Christians no longer think it’s necessary to go to church anymore. Regular attendance at worship services has been dropping steadily in recent decades, from 60 percent of Canadians in 1945 to 30 percent in 1975 and just 17 percent in 2006.

But this doesn’t mean people aren’t spiritually engaged; according to one Statistics Canada survey, 64 percent of Canadians who say they infrequently, or never, attend corporate worship events say they regularly engage in private religious practices in the privacy of their own homes.

You might sense this change in your own congregation. One pastor recently commented that the definition of a regular attendee had changed in his congregation.

“People used to consider their attendance ‘regular’ if they came to most services,” he said. “These days, regular attendance usually means coming about half the time.”

More and more people seem to be questioning the need for corporate gatherings. What’s so important about coming together with others for worship?

Traditionally, Christian worship has been seen as a corporate experience, not a private one. But that’s not always the case today; worship is increasingly becoming

an individual experience rather than a corporate one—it’s about “God and me” rather than “God and us.” For many people, the goal of worship is to celebrate and strengthen their own private relationship with God. This attitude is becoming commonplace even among those who faithfully continue to attend corporate worship services. In his book, Where Two or Three Are Gathered, Harmon Smith says that the “community which gathers nowadays to celebrate religious liturgy is frequently not a real community so much as it is an aggregate of individuals.” In other words, we may be gathered in the same room, but worship is increasingly viewed as a private experience.

Of course, individual worship is important, too—it’s an integral part of our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself took personal time to encounter God, apart from everyone else. But the idea that worship is fundamentally a private experience, rather than a corporate one stands in direct contrast to the biblical understanding of worship.

In the Bible, worship is a dialogue between God and the covenant community.

It is the response of the gathered community to the grace of God. As Ross Bender puts it in his book The People of God: “God’s purposes have to do with community, not primarily with private religious experience.”

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part two of two “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name...

Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil...”

worship I’m always reminded of this when I pray the Lord’s Prayer. The prayer Jesus taught his disciples uses first-person plural pronouns throughout.

“Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name…Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil….”

Even in prayer, we do not come before God as individuals alone, but as members of the larger community of faith.

Not only does participation in corporate worship help us understand who we are as Christians, it offers us a unique experience of the presence of God. This is something the ancient Israelites knew well.

They had a special word for the divine presence of God: Shekinah. It was used so often in rabbinic literature that it became a synonym for God wherever God’s presence was implied. And one of the primary places God’s presence was always implied was when God’s people gathered together.

Said one rabbi: “If two sit together and the words of the Law are spoken between them, the Shekinah rests between them.” Another rabbi wrote: “If ten men sit together and occupy themselves with the Law, the Shekinah rests among them, for it is written, ‘God standeth in the congregation of God.’” In Matthew 18:20, Jesus offered his own version of this rabbinical teaching: “For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). The earliest believers trusted in this promise, and believed that God was present and active in a unique way whenever they gathered together.

This is not to deny that we can’t have a personal encounter with God—neither the Jewish or THE MESSENGER May 27, 2009

Christian traditions deny that—and we know that from our personal experience, too.

But both traditions attach special meaning to God’s presence with a group of believers, however small. Something significant happens when we gather with others to worship God. How might we strengthen the emphasis on community in our worship gatherings? Here are a few suggestions: * Acknowledge the gathered community. There’s a moment, near the beginning of worship, when we cease to be a room filled with individuals and we become the gathered community of God’s people.

How do we make this transition clear to those who gather? * Look for ways in which the gathered community can become a visible presence in worship. There are a variety of ways in which members can interact meaningfully with one another during the worship service: singing together, offering words of greeting, blessing, assurance and peace to one another; sharing with one another about the ways in which God is at work in our lives; praying for one another.

Find ways to encourage the active involvement of the whole community in the worship dialogue. * Allow the gifts of the community to find expression in worship. The early Anabaptists took seriously the model of worship suggested in 1 Corinthians 14:26: “What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building (continued on p. 6)

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up.” Does our corporate worship reflect the unique and diverse gifts brought by the people who gather for worship? How might the gifts of the whole community enrich our corporate worship? * Make corporate prayer truly corporate. Rather than have the pastor or worship leader lead all the prayers, look for ways in which the community can visibly participate in corporate prayer. In some churches, different individuals or family groups take turns leading the prayer of intercession for those in need. Other churches use short spoken or sung congregational responses during the prayers to encourage broader participation (such as, “Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer”). Or consider the regular use of unison prayers like The Lord’s Prayer and others.

It’s also important to look for a balance between individual expressions (song texts written from the perspective of one person) and corporate expressions (song texts written from the perspective of the gathered community). Both are useful in worship, but a steady diet of individual expression can contribute to the idea that worship is simply something that happens between “God and me.”

As Christians, we cannot separate ourselves from our basic identity as members of the Body of Christ.

The early church leader Tertullian is often quoted as having said: “One Christian is no Christian.” Or, as Marlene Kropf, Associate Professor in Spiritual Formation and Worship at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, suggests: “Without a connection T with the body of Christ we wither and die.” M

* Use worship music wisely. Singing together is one of the primary ways in which we express our unity as a body of believers. Song leaders need to lead in a way that invites and encourages broad participation. And because not everyone speaks the same musical “languages,” choosing songs in a wide variety of musical styles can help encourage participation.

Christine Longhurst, BRS, BA, MMus, MSM, DWS, is former Pastor of Worship at the River East MB Church in Winnipeg, Man. She offers workshops on worship and music in congregations across Canada. She can be reached at www.FaithMatters.ca.

WITH OUR MISSIONARIES Lesotho, Africa

Lesotho, a rich Christian history One of the highlights of the past few months was a road trip into the highlands of Lesotho. Aside from the breathtaking mountainous terrain, Lesotho has a rich, surprisingly Christian, history.

For Kari, the highlight of our trip was visiting a couple of the first mission stations in Lesotho, including the cave house built by Swiss missionary David Ellenberger at Masitise in the mid-1800s.

Lesotho

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Moshoeshoe I, the first king of Lesotho, or Basutoland as it was known back then, invited missionaries from Europe to come and teach the people about the Bible, methods of farming, and building houses. From these beginnings came the Lesotho Evangelical Church.

Later Moshoeshoe I appealed to the British for protection from the invading Boers from South Africa. Lesotho gained emancipation in 1966.

We are once again experiencing a season of change on the MAF Lesotho program. Three new family units have joined our team in the last few months. In November we welcomed Jason, Joselyn and Emma Thiemann. Bryan Eygabroad arrived at the end of January and Justin Honaker returned with his bride Amanda.

Please join with us as we pray for these new families as they settle into the routine of living and working in Lesotho.

We couldn’t be here without your prayers, and we ask that every time you think of us that you pray for our health safety and team unity. May our Lord pour his richest blessings on all of you!

Melvin and Kari Peters

Melvin and Kari Peters (La Crete) serve in Lesotho, in southern Africa, with Mission Aviation Fellowship.

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WITH OUR MISSIONARIES Madagascar

Top of the Pops Saturday I was listening to the BBC on the truck radio on my way to buy some last minute items to outfit our guest room for an overnight guest arriving this week. I was in time to listen to “the top of the pops” program—the top songs of the popular music charts in the United Kingdom.

Listening, I find it sadly amusing that, in our age of the god of tolerance, the world is unsurpassed in its intolerance for Christianity and anything that remotely suggests the words sin, wrong, self restraint. Alas!

In my yet-to-be-overcome desire to remain relevant in an age of unbelief, I hesitate to confess my amazement at the depravity of humankind, especially as I catch only glimpses of my home culture now and again via random sound bites on the radio, gardening magazines, movies, and television programs.

I have become increasingly aware that living in Madagascar makes me more sensitive in that I am removed from the cultural air that we breathe without much clear discernment in Canada. I am more aware, being removed from it, of how our culture is running away from God. Some of the other things I’ve noticed reading my “innocent” home and gardening magazines: Imagine wanting more and getting it.

Space is no worry with the Samsung French Door Refrigerator...it has more room than any other in its category.

Three good reasons. Me, myself and I Botox Cosmetic The more you know, the better it is.

Perhaps reading these advertisements while watching the Malagasy people suffer under an oppression that seems unshakable is what makes the ads so jarring and offensive. The utter lunacy of how much we can have in North America, the way we are manipulated

into succumbing to our desires at every turn and made to believe that there is no evil in it—it’s a head shaker.

By no means do I put myself up as having already overcome these stumbling blocks. I envy and purchase at will like the best of them.

My point is that I am becoming increasingly and uncomfortably aware of our godless cultures even within our believing communities. As Beth Moore teaches in her Daniel series, let us become more aware of the Babylon around us, the worldview that says, “I am, and there is none besides me” (Isaiah 47:8, 10).

“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.

“They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:28–32).

See also Ephesians 4:18–19 and 2 Timothy 3:1–9. Indeed, the passage in Timothy is a very accurate and uncomfortable description of our own culture, us included, if we’re honest with ourselves. Let that speak to us (not them, for we need not add the plank-eye syndrome to our list of sins here).

May I recommend a few books that touch profoundly, in my experience, on these issues: Talking the Walk: Letting the Christian Language Live Again (Marva J. Dawn) Freedom of Simplicity: Finding Harmony in a Complex World (Richard J. Foster) Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophesy (Beth Moore)

Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity (Ronald Sider) The Bible (as inspired by God Almighty) Jocelyn R. Plett

Josh and Jocelyn R. Plett (Prairie Rose) serve in Madagascar with Mission Aviation Fellowship.

The utter lunacy of how much we can have in North America, the way we are manipulated into succumbing to our desires at every turn and made to believe that there is no evil in it—it’s a head shaker.

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MISSIONAL AND MULTIPLyING Troy Selley

Get in the game!

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ow do you transform a group of people into a high-impact ministry team? You don’t transform anything. Jesus does.

Twelve individuals began planning the Oak Bluff Bible Church plant five years ago. We were strangers, acquaintances, friends, and family.

Jesus patiently molded us and bonded us together, transforming us into a team. Now He is using our team to impact our community, for His kingdom.

Whether your ministry team maintains the church facilities, teaches Sunday school, plans the worship services, organizes international missions, or plants churches, you can be transformed from a group of individuals into an unstoppable kingdom force.

Transformation begins as a team learns to follow the Leader.

Jesus is the leader of your team. Your mind believes this truth. So when disagreements arise over who has the best plan for your team’s ministry, consider whether your heart also believes that the Leader has the best plan. Team transformation happens in the individual heart, as each person goes all in on following His plan for the ministry.

Our team is sold out for Christ’s plan, for His church, for His kingdom, and for each other. Love makes a team unstoppable.

Do you know what His plan is for your team’s ministry? You know a part of it, and your team members hold other pieces to complete the plan. We all had plans and dreams for OBBC—twelve different dreams.

Jesus taught us how to put our dreams into the hands of the team, and then piece everything together to form His dream. He gave us an inspiring picture of the future; not mine, and not hers, and not his. Ours.

Our game plan. Our vision.

Our vision came together through an intense process of prayer, study, discussion, and debate.

Your team will be transformed as you are willing to share your dreams, as you let them be pruned, and as you accept the Christ-inspired pieces being separated from the selfish ambitions. It’s a difficult process, but a deep love for one another is the unexpected side-effect, as each person sacrifices self for the team.

Jesus has transformed Oak Bluff Bible Church into a team that loves each other. We cheer for one another. We challenge one another. We succeed when one succeeds, and fail when one fails. We are in this together. Our team is sold out for Christ’s plan, for His church, for His kingdom, and for each other. Love makes a team unstoppable.

Armchair Christians will criticize what we do as players on the field and in the game. I pity these fools.

They don’t know what it’s like to be in the game.

They don’t know the look of hate in the eyes of our opponent, or the unspoken nod of confidence and wink of courage from our team mates. They don’t understand the wisdom of our Leader. They can’t imagine the infinite depth of His playbook.

Christ uses transformed, high-impact teams to advance His kingdom and change lives. Let Jesus transform your team, join a high-impact team, or create a new one.

T Make an impact. Get in the game. M Troy Selley is pastor of Oak Bluff Bible Church in southern Manitoba.

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WITH OUR CHURCHES

Parent-child dedication at SEMC Steinbach EMC (Steinbach, Man.): On March 29, parents who participated in parent-child dedication committed themselves to instructing their children in the teachings of Jesus Christ and declared their dependence on God and His help in guiding and nurturing them.

As a congregation, we committed ourselves to the task of encouraging these parents to keep the promises they had made by praying for them and for their children. Pastor Garry Koop reminded us that our children are the church of today and encouraged us to welcome little ones into the church. Jesus loved little children, delighted in them, and often included them in His teaching.

Martha Kroeker

Parent-child dedication: Kyle and Laura Friesen with Carys Brianna, Nolan and Roxanne Koop with Sierra Olivia, Randy and Laura Kehler with Casey Gage.

Reunions, fundraising, and baptisms at Braeside Braeside (Winnipeg, Man.): Braeside is privileged to welcome many new Canadians into its midst. These individuals and families bring a new enthusiasm to our church and, I might add, to our country.

There have been numerous citizenship ceremonies where 80 or more refugees or sponsored immigrants have for the first time sung our national anthem. It might be a good experience for long-time citizens to attend one of these ceremonies, to see the smiles and excitement of newcomers who are filled with relief at the promise of a new, undisturbed life in a welcoming and peaceful country.

However, for some of these new Canadians there is also sadness because

of family members that were left behind in refugee camps or in a country where there is insecurity and danger.

Braesiders have been pleased and blessed to see a joyful reunion within the Carboh and Buckle families who have welcomed family members after a long separation. We pray that we will celebrate more of these reunions in the near future.

A group of young people and their sponsors spent a weekend in April in a 30 Hour Famine for World Vision projects.

The time was spent in studies with a biblical application that drew attention to world issues such as child soldiers, poverty, famine, and a lack of safety and human rights.

Our Braeside young people joined many other groups across the province in a fundraiser and awareness program organized by World Vision. Participants were church kids as well as community young people.

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The famine was a reminder of how fortunate we are and how we take for granted the good life in Canada while much of the world can only imagine what peace, food, freedom, and good government really are.

A Saturday morning event was a scavenger hunt in a local mall. A yard clean-up was deferred because of an unexpected snowfall but creativity ruled and a snow football game broke out instead. The “famine” ended with a meal of soup and sandwiches.

Al Dueck

On Easter Sunday Nancy Sam-Hunter, Mallika Akota, and Brent Doerksen were baptized and welcomed as members of Braeside by pastors Kim Stoesz and Tim Gibbons.

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WITH OUR CHURCHES

Growing in every kind of weather Picture Butte, Alta.: Anyone moving to southern Alberta quickly learns one thing: You can never count on the weather. No matter how clichéd it sounds or how many jokes about it, the weather here can change drastically from day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute, especially from spring to summer.

Yesterday we enjoyed the sun and temperatures nearly plus 30 degrees Celsius. Today, the sky is grey, rain is falling, and we have yet to reach plus five.

No matter how discouraging it can get at times, it serves as a reminder that the only constant, never changing, and completely reliable are God, His love, and promises to His people.

At Picture Butte Mennonite Church over the past few months, many events have reminded us of the constant love of Christ and the wonderful things that can happen when we put our complete faith and trust in Him alone.

On Palm Sunday, we were blessed to have children and youth from the Sunday School classes present the congregation with a few special songs to celebrate Christ’s sacrifice and true love for His people.

It is truly amazing to see how empty the seats in the congregation are when children are not there to fill them. Seeing them on stage and hearing them praise God together in song gives all of us great hope, joy, and expectations for those

who will be carrying Christ’s message to others in the future.

It was also a great blessing to see six new people join our membership by baptism on May 3 and begin a new chapter in their lives. Listening to their testimonies reminded all in attendance of God’s faithfulness and that his mercies are new every day. He will never leave us in our times of need or distress and will help pull us out if we will only trust Him and hand over control of our lives to Him. Now, as we anticipate the arrival of summer and the warmth we know it will bring, the congregation here at Picture Butte gears up for our grand opening celebration in July that is being planned to help dedicate our new church building to God. We have seen His faithfulness and unwavering reliability in action and know that we will continue to experience great things as we grow together in Christ, no matter what the weather.

“Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save...Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them- the Lord, who remains faithful forever” (Psalm 146:3, 5–6).

Desiree Krahn

Sara Schmitt, Justina Neustaeter, Corny Neufeld, Henry Neustaeter, Abe Penner, and Richard Reimer received baptism on May 3.

EMC invited to Grand Opening!

Picture Butte, Alta.: Picture Butte Mennonite Church cordially invites you to attend our grand opening weekend celebration July 10-12, 2009, for our new church building.

Come out and enjoy a weekend in the sunny south with good food and great entertainment. Have fun and fellowship with family and friends as we worship God together and praise Him for this new building He has provided for us.

RV parking is available at the church property, but please call Abe Bueckert (403-732-5873) to make a reservation.

A canteen will provide snacks, hotdogs, and hamburgers all weekend long.

Meals will be sold by the plate during designated meal times.

The youth group from Mission Heights Community Church in Grande Prairie will hold sessions for children throughout the weekend.

Free will offerings will be taken throughout the weekend.

Desiree Krahn Tentative Weekend Schedule Friday: 6–7 p.m.

Supper 7 –9:30 Music and Kids Session Saturday: 8:30-9:30 a.m. Breakfast 9:30–noon Music and Kids’ Session noon–1:30 Lunch 1:30–3 p.m. Music and Kids’ Session 3–4:30 Auction Fun 4–5 Local Talent 5–7 Supper 7–8 High Valley Concert 8–9:30 Youth Concert and

Speaker Sunday: 8:30-10 a.m. Breakfast 10:00-11:30 Congregational Singing/

Speaker 11:30-1 Lunch 2-4 pm Dedication and Kids’

Session 4:30 Potluck Faspa/Closing

For information, please call: Henry and Anna Wall, 403-824-3765 Herman and Maria Peters, 403-824-3778 Peter and Helena Reimer, 403-327-6509 Abe and Anna Bueckert, 403-732-5873 A Palm Sunday performance from the Sunday School classes

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WITH OUR CHURCHES

Truth Project benefits Prairie Grove that the series did not slide to the Lorette, Man.: What is truth? As negative culture bashing attitude Christians we are bombarded by that many programs descend this question from all sides, and to. He said, “Tacket provides very this past winter our church decided positive teaching to help believers to get some answers. We have been take back ground that we have viewing the Truth Project, and it been losing. The problem is not has been a time of growing in our that darkness overtakes light but understanding of culture and of that darkness takes the place when truth. light diminishes.”

We are learning in various group Pastor Darnell added that the settings: in the Sunday evening series does an excellent job of service, in Bible Study evening presenting a rigorous scientific settings, and in a weekly afternoon approach that reinforces faith. study.

The Olson family also made The Truth Project is a collection it a priority to attend the Sunday of 12 one-hour lessons taught by evening series. Kathy Olson said, Dr. Del Tackett and produced by “We have enjoyed watching the Focus on the Family. Dr. Tackett Truth Project. It gave us many teaches as a professor in a college setting, in a captivating style and Shawna Penner and Kathy Dueck discuss how the Truth Project has opportunities to discuss important with passion to teach a Biblical impacted them. They point out they have learned a lot about church and issues with our children before they worldview.

Lessons include state, and about the impact leaders of wisdom and faith can have on the leave our home and experience the topics like History: Whose Story? culture of a nation. Shawna and husband Wes host the weekly evening world’s view. We could discuss the Truth Project study, and have a regular group of 10 participants. lies of the world and the influence and Philosophy and Ethics: Says they could have upon our lives.”

Who? The series concludes with Tacket clearly and systematically Community and Involvement: God Cares, Gaylene shares her highlights: “I am do I? a mother of young children, and Kara demonstrates the difference between an Jason and Gaylene Dueck, youth and Jesse volunteered free child care for opinion and the truth.

Jolyn Braun pastoral couple, first caught the vision of Sunday evenings so we were able to enjoy this project for our church. Gaylene and the DVD and small group discussion time Marilyn Thiessen, a youth Sunday school with no interruptions! What a blessing! teacher, met Del Tackett and his team and “The videos themselves were very were impressed with their passion about enlightening, but Jason and myself were GIESBRECHT – to Wes and Kim Giesbrecht spreading the vital message of truth. impacted deeply through the small group of Vanderhoof, B.C., a son, Ryan Andrew, on Initially Jason and Marilyn were hoping time we had after the videos were done December 23, 2008. to use the material as youth Sunday each evening. I will miss interacting every THIESSEN – to Henry and Helen Thiessen of school curriculum. However, each video week with our small group. On the other Straffordville, Ont., a son, Dominick David, on is one hour long and discussion time is hand, it will be nice to have our Sunday January 29, 2009. critical for interacting and internalizing evenings free again—it felt like quite a the material. In the end, the church commitment to book so many successive MARTENS – to Korey and Ann Martens of Vanderhoof, B.C., a daughter, Courtney Ann, decided to offer the series in several Sunday nights.” on February 21, 2009. venues and many of the youth attended Darnell Plett, our pastor, appreciated SCHMITT – to Nick and Tina Schmitt of Taber, the Sunday evening sessions.

BIRTHS

New life at Fish Creek Christian Fellowship Calgary, Alta.: Each spring we witness new life all around us as flowers and grass begin to flourish. This reminds us of the new life we can have in Christ Jesus by His death and resurrection. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” What a gift!

Here at Fish Creek we have also been blessed with new life and precious gifts in the birth of Hallie Elizabeth, born

THE MESSENGER May 27, 2009

March 24 to Michelle and Neil Fehr, and Mya Soliece, born April 29 to Melissa and Dean Eggertson. Dan and Janette Fehr are the proud grandparents to both newborns.

Our pastor, Scott Koop, is currently doing a series of sermons on 1 Thessalonians, which is also fostering new life in the entire congregation.

Joyce Landis

Alta., a daughter, Cecilia Renae, on March 7, 2009.

KLASSEN – to Abe and Eva Klassen of Taber, Alta., a daughter, Vionna Renae, on March 10, 2009.

MEDINA – to Miguel and Tamara Medina of Winnipeg, Man., a son, Miko, on March 19, 2009.

CENTENO – to Enrique and Norma Centeno of Aylmer, Ont., a daughter, Norma Alexandra, on April 2, 2009.

SAWATZKY – to Pete and Susie Sawatzky of Richmond, Ont., a son, Michael Grant, on April 6, 2009.

SKIDMORE – to Dean and Tina Skidmore of Lethbridge, Alta., a son, Ryan James, on April 7, 2009.

11

WITH OUR CHURCHES

Encouraged by the Lord’s faithfulness Our condolences go to Susana Braun “all things work together for good to Straffordville, Ont.: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His and her four children on the loss of those who love God.” We joyfully celebrated Easter as we riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. husband and father on March 16. Pastor Richard and Katherine Klassen spent a remembered Christ’s love and sacrifice 4:19).

As so many people are suffering lot of time at the hospital with Susana for us through His death and resurrection. during these tough economic times, the and her husband George while he was On Good Friday we enjoyed a wonderful strain can also be felt in the church—not so sick. We praise the Lord that George potluck breakfast (food and fellowship just financially, but emotionally and found peace with God and want to is always better together!) followed spiritually. Discouragement can set in continue being a support to his family. by a special service and message. In quickly when we allow Satan to control The Lord works in our lives in ways we remembrance of what Jesus did for us, we our thoughts and emotions instead of don’t always understand, but we can be celebrated communion in the afternoon.

Easter Sunday was a special service relying on God. Let us remember to pray sure of His promise in Romans 8:28 that with wonderful hymns and a for each other and not forget message of encouragement God’s promises that He will brought by our new lay minister supply all our needs.

Willy Siemens. The message The Lord is faithful and we was on Three things that are have been encouraged through not useless because Christ rose. some blessed events.

Those things are: 1. The belief On March 8, we had an that there is no resurrection of ordination service for Willy and the dead; 2. Preaching; 3. Our Tina Siemens as lay minister faith. couple.

Whether circumstances are Also in March, we had a difficult or easy at this time, we Revival for Survival night; this always be drawn closer to God was a special night for worship if we are willing to listen to Him and sharing testimonies of and trust that He will supply all what God is doing and has done Willy and Tina Siemens (front left) are Straffordville EMC’s newest minister is so many lives. God draws us couple. They are joined here by fellow minister couples (back) Ike and Maria our needs.

Aggie Blatz closer to Him through hard Froese, Margaret and Abe Berg, and pastoral couple Katherine and Richard times if we trust in Him. Klassen (front right).

Celebrating baptisms at Taber Taber, Alta.: What a great day of celebration when people make the decision to make a public stand of faith.

That’s what we at Taber EMC celebrated on April 19, 2009, when five young people shared their testimonies and their desire to follow Christ.

It is such a blessing to see others make that commitment; it can be a strengthening experience for those who have made that commitment already. And it is in such times that a church needs to stand together and be an encouragement to one another, especially to those who just took that

A potluck meal followed the baptismal service.

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big step, for Satan sometimes tries to distract new Christians and make them question their decision.

Following the morning service, we had a potluck and a great time of fellowship and of course enjoying all the great food

that was provided. And after the potluck, a communion service helped to remind us of what our Lord and Savior has done for us. Praise the Lord, we have been saved!

Eva Koethler

Jennifer Thiessen, Eva Schmitt, Henry Wiebe, Frank Giesbrecht, Martin Bergen, and pastoral couple Dave and Audrey Wiebe participated in the baptismal service on April 19.

THE MESSENGER May 27, 2009

EMC and

Statement of Faith Church Practices A 25-part series

Kim Stoesz

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

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

1. THE LORD’S DAY We believe that in the fourth commandment we have the principle of one day of rest in seven. During the New Testament period, the first day of the week was designated as the Lord’s Day. It commemorated the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. On the Lord’s Day, Christians worship the Lord, teach the Scriptures, have fellowship and refresh themselves in body and spirit (Deuteronomy 5:12–15; Exodus 20:8–11; Isaiah 58:13–14; Mark 2:23–27; 16:2; Hebrews 10:23–25; Revelation 1:10).

Church Practices Article 1: The Lord’s Day

W

hen I was growing up there was a Christian Reformed family who lived on our street and on Sundays this family spent no money. You see, they believed that in order for them to spend money, someone else had to be working and so they would then be contributing to that person breaking the Sabbath.

They prepared ahead of time to keep the Sabbath.

There were no stops for milk, bread, or gas on Sundays and they participated in no activities that required any kind of cost, even if paid for ahead of time.

As a teenager it seemed like an overly strict rule and I often looked for ways around it for my friend! As an adult I waffle between feeling that it was legalistic and, yet at the same time, wondering if in many ways it

was good. After all, setting boundaries can often help us accomplish our goals.

There is a fine line between healthy boundaries and legalism. Setting healthy boundaries in regards to keeping the Sabbath can enhance the day, in a sense giving us permission to have a day of leisure, holy leisure. It may include rest, or reading, but most important is connecting with God who gave us the day.

We must be careful though, that we do not turn the Sabbath into a day full of do’s and don’ts. If that happens we are no better than the Pharisees who were upset with the disciples for picking heads of grain to eat, or with Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath.

After six days of work, God took a day to rest. I doubt that God needed to rest after six days of work, but perhaps He chose to stop and reflect and to see that it was good.

We can go for a long time without a rest, but is it healthy physically, emotionally We can go for a long or spiritually? God saw fit to take a rest and see what He had done. We too, should time without a rest, take a rest and see what God has done, all but is it healthy around us and more importantly, for us and in us. physically, emotionally Exodus 2:8 says to remember the or spiritually?

Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Webster defines holy as “set apart to the service or worship of God.” On the Lord’s Day we need to “quit doing and simply be” in other words, be still and know that I am God T (Psalm 46:1). M Kim Stoesz is senior pastor of Braeside EMC in Winnipeg, Man.

THE MESSENGER May 27, 2009

13

Interlake being assisted by MDS In Manitoba, the area between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba has experienced erratic weather patterns.

This has made it difficult for the farmers in the region.

In the past five years they have dealt with severe drought and low cattle prices due to BSE or mad cow disease. So when torrential rains hit this past summer, not allowing for the harvest of either hay or seeded crops, farmers were even further devastated.

MDS responded several years ago after the drought years and has now been able to respond again. By the end of January, 27 farmers in the south have donated 25 semi-loads of hay and straw to 18 different clients. This has been of great assistance but more will be needed. Temperatures from mid December to the end of January struggled to reach daytime highs of -20 C, which means that cattle needed even more feed.

Farmers have to pay for the freight costs up front but will be reimbursed by

Hay load for Interlake farmers

the government. However, some farmers have found it difficult to come up with the money up front.

One MDS Manitoba board member was sharing in his church about a client who was to receive a load of hay. A few days before the shipment they called to cancel as they could not afford the cost of the transportation. After church a young man who owns a truck came to say that he would donate his truck, fuel, and time to deliver the load to the farmer.

We are thankful for the many farmers who have donated hay and straw, for the truckers who have delivered it, and for those who have donated money to help offset some of the costs involved.

We pray that cattle prices will rise and for drier weather so that the farmers can harvest their crop and at least collect some crop insurance. We are hopeful that the project can continue until the farmers can cut their crop of hay in summer.

MDS

Interest in Anabaptism growing in UK The London Mennonite Centre, while influential in promoting Anabaptism, is one of the UK’s best-kept secrets, says director Vic Thiessen. Supported by Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Mission Network, Thiessen and his wife Kathy recently spent three months in Canada unwrapping the “secret” for congregations.

LMC is a hospitality and resource centre situated in a Victorian house in London, England. It can house up to 12 people, including students and guests, in an atmosphere of community.

LMC sponsors a mediation skills training program and seminars on contemporary subjects. A large library and a mail-in Metanoia Bookstore both carry works with primarily Anabaptist themes.

Thiessen has lost count of how many people have credited books purchased at the store with leading them to re-embrace Christianity.

Thiessen credits the distinct Anabaptist influence of LMC to Alan and Eleanor Kreider who came to direct the centre in 1974. When they taught the insights of Anabaptist theology, says Thiessen, some students felt they were “coming home” to a faith that made Christianity relevant.

“Anabaptists in the UK think Jesuscentred,” says Thiessen. “They think of Jesus as practicing a non-violent

14

understanding and compassion for the poor. To be an Anabaptist is to be completely Jesus-centred and you can do that in any denomination.”

By 1991, to accommodate people curious about Mennonite/Anabaptist theology, the Anabaptist Network was founded.

It has more than a thousand members, distributes newsletters, holds theology forums and residential conferences, and assists study groups and libraries.

Leaders of the Network recently launched the After Christendom series produced by Paternoster, a prominent UK Christian publisher. The first two books in the series, written by network leader Stuart Murray-Williams, are Post-Christendom and Church After Christendom.

The LMC also provides a base for Root and Branch Radical Christian Vision Network, founded in 2003. This Network includes 15 organizations which embrace core Anabaptist values and offer services including a once-monthly weekend Christian studies program; prayer and peace and justice; a think-tank on politics and the media and challenging institutional Christianity; and church planting.

The LMC was started by the Mennonite Board of Missions in 1953, bringing a new way of doing mission work and offering Anabaptist insights to help revitalize Christianity in the UK.

In what is being called a post-Christian era, author and emergent church Brian McLaren and Gregory Boyd, a leading voice in the evangelical mega-church movement, speak well of Anabaptism.

Some Mennonites are surprised that people in other denominations value Anabaptist theology so highly, observes Thiessen. “Will [we] reclaim it?” he asked.

“We need to be proud of our Anabaptist theology and share it ecumenically.”

Mennonite Church Canada

Ministry in Multicultural Perspective (3 credits) June 15–19, 2009 Arley Loewen (Ph.D.) Canadian Mennonite University Winnipeg, Man. This course explores our multi-cultural world where globalization is rapidly transforming contemporary society and bringing people of varied cultures closer together. We will explore these shifts from a biblical perspective to equip us to better understand and relate to people.

Contact CMU at 204-487-3300 877-231-4570 (toll free) THE MESSENGER May 27, 2009

Eden offers new counseling service For people struggling with an addiction, admitting they need help is often the first step to recovery.

But for some, that step is hindered by language, cultural, and religious barriers that make accessing available counseling more difficult.

Enter Mennonite Addictions Services, a counseling program that kicks off 2009 with an increased staff roster and a renewed mission to keep local immigrants in need from falling through the cracks.

The program—a partnership among Eden Health Care Services and four conservative Mennonite churches in the Winkler area—targets those individuals who might shy away from other Manitoba addictions programs.

By being offered biblically-based counseling in their mother tongue of Low German or High German, people are more likely to seek out help, said counselor David Wiebe.

Since its launch in mid-2006, the program’s reputation has slowly grown within its target community, mainly through word of mouth, said Wiebe, a pastor at Sommerfeld Mennonite Church.

Wiebe estimates he’s met with about 50 married couples (in which one spouse is battling an addiction) and another 30 single individuals.

“Without this program, these people would have fallen through the cracks because they would not have accessed

what the province has offered, because there’s a tremendous language barrier,” Wiebe said of the mostly Low Germanspeaking, Central/South American immigrants he’s counseled.

Of those involved with the program, many have successfully overcome their addictions, Wiebe said.

“The success rate would be in the neighbourhood of about 65 per cent,” he said, noting he generally meets with people regularly for several months.

“It’s often the ones who quit counseling too early who fall back into old habits,” he said.

“There’s a high percentage of those people that stop coming and…two months later I get a phone call from them: ‘I need to continue (counseling),’ ” said Wiebe.

Wiebe’s church, along with the Reinland Mennonite, the Old Colony Mennonite, and the German Old Colony Mennonite Church, help to keep the program connected to the region’s Low German-speaking Mennonite community, he said.

While the bulk of its clients are drawn from this community, the program has seen a wider range of people seek out its services in recent years, Wiebe said, including some High German-speaking immigrants.

Wiebe stresses that people do not need to attend one of the four churches that sponsor the program

to be eligible for help. Anyone with an addiction is welcome to give him a call.

“We do not turn away people that come from outside of those four denominations,” he said.

With a growing demand for the program throughout southern Manitoba, a second part-time counselor—fellow Sommerfeld pastor Stan Krahn—was hired late last year to work out of an office in Altona, Wiebe said.

To get in touch with Mennonite Addictions Services, contact Wiebe at 204-362-8833 or Krahn at 204-324-4309.

Ashleigh Viveiros Used with permission of The Winkler Times.

David Wiebe (photo by Ashleigh Viveiros)

Heather Plett honoured as communicator In March 2009 the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society has named Heather Plett Manitoba’s Communicator of the Year for her work directing a national campaign to raise money and grain donations for distribution to developing countries, and to educate and engage people in hungerrelated advocacy.

Plett is the director of resources and communication with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, a Winnipeg-based, national non-profit organization.

Heather was raised as part of Community Bible Church, an EMC church (since closed) in Arden, Man. CFGB Heather Plett receives award

THE MESSENGER May 27, 2009

15

stewardship today Darren Pries-Klassen

I

Chocolate shop as church

t is easy to assume that when it Very interesting. In describing comes to generosity, the Church their business model he could have and its teachings are the best been describing the reason for place to find a first-class model. the existence of the Church: life is Old and New Testament hectic, people are busy, and they Scriptures are filled with passages want to feel special. that challenge all of us to live What if Christians saw selflessly. Praise and honour are themselves as “proprietors” of the given to God the creator and the Church, with a strong commitment needs of others in a hurting world to helping people feel and know that take precedence over our own they are special? wants.

And what if they could find However, things tend to break contentment in this? We’d be well down when living this message on our way to being the place Jesus on a daily basis. While the Church talked about. Hey, that’s not bad. preaches a message of generosity, It doesn’t fully describe it is not always evident in the way everything that the Church should T Christians live. The Church can be, but it is a very good beginning. M benefit from models we see in other places.

Darren Pries-Klassen is a consultant My wife and I have friends who at the St. Catharine’s, Ontario office own a chocolate shop. The moment of Mennonite Foundation of Canada. you enter their small shop you are For stewardship education and estate This is not just a place to met with a feast for the eyes as well and charitable gift planning, contact buy chocolate.

This is a as the palate. Beautiful displays of your nearest MFC office or visit handmade chocolates fill shelves Mennofoundation.ca place where you are made and cases and the contagious smiles of the proprietors and their children to feel appreciated. welcome you.

This is not just a place to buy chocolate. This is a place where you are made to feel appreciated. Many times, before I even make a selection, I am offered a quality coffee and a variety of free samples. Other times when I offer to pay, my money is rejected.

I support customer service, but several times I have told my friends that I am not here to eat their chocolate for free. I am quite happy to pay for what I consume and am happy to support a local small business like theirs.

If you are planning to attend the Mennonite World One evening I asked my friend about their business Conference in Paraguay please call the EMC national model. Without hesitation he told me it was all about office to tell us of your plans. A gathering of all EMC people. “People are busy,” he said. “Their days are people will take place during one day of the MWC with hectic. People come here because they want something a planned tour of EMC involvements in the Asuncion that makes them feel special.” area. More details will be given shortly.

I pushed him and suggested that this sounded quite Please email kzacharias@emconf.ca with your travel admirable, but that he was still running a business and plans. that it needed to make a profit. He just shrugged it off.

Ken Zacharias “I didn’t open this place to make money,” he said. “I Foreign Secretary opened it because I like people.”

Going to MWC assembly in Paraguay?

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THE MESSENGER May 27, 2009

PICTURES OF GOD Joanna Plett

I

Living peace in a world at war

woke up troubled from a When I approach the world promote peace around me.

In the Old Testament, individuals violent nightmare a few weeks of war, it is not with an are often asked if they “come in ago. After several months of peace.” As a Christian, I need to enter studying the last century’s wars abstraction of peace, but every relationship and group with a in two of my university classes, commitment to treating people with I found that they had somehow with a scale by which to justice and acting in righteousness. embedded themselves in my measure peace and the Similarly, people are told to “go subconscious. in peace,” a blessing for the journey.

St. Augustine wrote in The City potential for it.

For me, this is a challenge to part of God that all wars are fought in in peace, not in anger, to resolve pursuit of peace, but peace seems conflicts before parting ways. I want to send people so elusive in our society of violence. Despite constant away in peace, confident that they have been treated conferences and international commissions throughout fairly and with honour. the past century, atrocities abound and wars continue.

As I actively pursue justice and righteousness in all So where does the peace of God break into the battles my comings and goings, I promote peace beyond my of our times?

As I searched out peace in the Bible, I discovered that friendships into my community, city, and land.

As I dream of peace for the world, I no longer seek it was far more tangible than I would have first thought.

I think of peace with God as an emotional calm and rest, an abstract concept, but look for the absence of justice and righteousness to find where the problems lie, and which it is, but that is only a small part of the picture. actively seek or pray for their presence to bring true Peace, I found, is directly related to righteousness T peace to the people and to the land. M and justice. The Old Testament prophets in particular make this very clear. God’s judgment—often played out through war—was in response to the injustice of the powerful over the weak and to the unrighteousness of the people towards God and each other.

On a practical level, this is true; dishonesty and exploitation lead to mistrust, defensiveness, and often violence. God breaks into this cycle first on a very personal level: peace with him.

He achieves this by justifying us through Jesus’ blood, balancing the scales of justice for the things we have done. In the Old Testament, even the land could not know peace until blood and sin had been avenged (2 Kings 9). That is what Jesus did for us on the cross.

After avenging the blood on our hands, Jesus then clothes us in his righteousness so we can approach God. This righteousness, however, is not a one-time event, but a transformation into true righteousness through the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:6, James 3:18, 1 Peter 3:10–11).

Thus, when I approach the world of war, it is not with an abstraction of peace, but with a scale by which to measure peace and the potential for it.

On a more personal level, though, I have a calling to

THE MESSENGER May 27, 2009

17

GERHARD BRAUN 1965–2009

Gerhard Braun was born in Mexico on January 4, 1965, to Abraham and Margaretha Braun. He lived his first years in Mexico and moved to Canada in 1981.

There he met Susana, daughter of Jacob and Margaretha Loeppky, and they were married on September 30, 1990. They became the parents of one son, Bill, and three daughters, Sara, Joanna and Mikayla.

They spent most of their married life in Canada except for a few short periods in Mexico. Gerhard spent most of his working days in trucking, which he enjoyed a lot. George, as he was known by many, loved the outdoors, especially boating and fishing. He also frequently enjoyed cooking on his days off.

In fall of 2008, he was diagnosed with cancer while living in Mexico. This was a difficult time, but Gerhard considered it a blessing that his illness led him to make peace with God. After some treatments there, they decided to move back to Canada in

keynote speaker: Pierre Gilbert, Ph.D.

November. At this time they started attending Straffordville EMC, although George was already too sick to attend.

Susan cared for him as long as possible, but finally he was moved to the St. Thomas hospital where he passed away on March 16, 2009, having reached the age of 44 years, two months, and 12 days.

Besides his loving wife, Susana, and his four children Bill, Sara, Joanna and Mikayla, he is survived by two sisters, Anna (David) Wall and Margaret (John) Neufeld; four brothers, Abraham (Maria), Jacob (Katherina), Henry (Anna), and Pete (Tina); brother-in-law Henry Harder; 45 nieces and nephews; 51 great-nieces and great-nephews. He was predeceased by one brother, three sisters, his parents and grandparents.

The funeral service was held on March 19, 2009, at Mount Salem EMC with Richard Klassen officiating.

His Family

MCC Bike Ride June 14, 2009 Ride the 120 km round trip bike ride from Richer to Woodridge in support of Mennonite Central Committee.

For more information visit mcc.org/manitoba or call Jac Siemens 204-326-2697

MEDA 9 th annual Golf Classic St. Boniface Country Club Winnipeg, Man. 800-665-7026 (information) 204-487-7412, ext. 231 or cjacques@medicure.com (registration) www.meda.org

June 18

15th annual EMC Golf Classic Steinbach Fly-in Golf Course Steinbach, Man. 204-255-8062 (Ron Penner) or 204-371-5209 (Burt Loewen)

June 18

Annual general meeting and spring event Eden Mental Health Services Speaker: Randy Hildebrand Winkler Berthaler Mennonite Church Winkler, Man. 204-325-5355 www.edenhealth.mb.ca

June 18–20

Write! Canada Canada’s largest Christian writers’ conference Speakers: Brian Stiller, Audrey Dorsch, Ray Wiseman Guelph, Ont. 519-886-4196 www.writecanada2009.ca

June 25

July 3–5

July 3, 4, 5 riverton recreation centre riverton manitoba

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

July 25 2nd Annual Tractor Trek Parade of tractors 40 years and older Villages south of Winkler, Man. 204-325-5355 www.edenhealth.mb.ca

radical discipleship 18

June 4

Iron Man golf tournament in support of Eden Foundation Winkler Golf Course Winkler, Man. 204-325-5355 www.edenhealth.mb.ca

59th annual emc convention 2009

increasing the kingdom’s footprint in our world

coming events

register to attend www.emconf.ca THE MESSENGER May 27, 2009

SHOULDER TAPPING

Full text of ads available at www.emconf.ca/service.htm

Wymark EMC, a country church located 20 miles southeast of Swift Current, Sask., is accepting applications for lead pastor. We aim to be a friendly, family-welcoming church body of 70 to 90 people, and seek a pastor who can encourage us by word and example to grow to maturity in Christ. Enquiries can be directed to the Pastoral Search Committee at 306-7739089 (leave a message) or funkfarm@gmail. com (Paul Funk).

Steeprock Bible Camp is located in the north Parkland area of Manitoba, approximately one hour north of Swan River, Man. The ministry focuses on Aboriginal children and their families. The camp operates for five weeks during the summer vacation period. If you love the Lord and love adventure and you feel led to minister to Aboriginal families in this way, please contact Jack Dyck at 204-525-2420 or e-mail longhorn45@hotmail.com.

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

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

Morweena Christian School (MCS) is inviting applications for teaching positions in junior and senior high school classes. MCS is operated by the Morweena Mennonite Church. It is situated 25 kms northwest of Arborg, Man. MCS is dedicated to providing a K-12 education in an environment which holds a high respect for biblical values. Please send resume and pastor’s reference to Tim Reimer, Principal, Fax 204-3643117 or timr@morweenaschool.org.

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

Kola EMC, a country church located 20 miles west of Virden, Man., and two miles east of the Sask. border, is inviting applications for senior pastor. For information and to send resumes, contact Adam Bajus at 204-556-2209 or littlecreek@rfnow.com.

La Crete Christian Fellowship is looking for a full-time youth pastor to be a part of our pastoral team.

La Crete, located in the northwest corner of Alberta, offers a unique blend of a friendly rural lifestyle and a progressive outlook. It is a young and energetic population with potential for an exciting youth ministry. La Crete is a great place to raise a family, even if we are just off the edge of most maps!

LCCF’s service to God is based on core values: a commitment to worship, discipleship, teaching of God’s Word, and reaching our community and world with the gospel. We are a vibrant church of about 350 regular attendees who desire to spread the Word through a variety of ministries.

The youth pastor will direct the youth leadership team in implementing our vision of helping our youth establish and strengthen their personal connection to Jesus Christ.

Applicants are to be committed to a personal Christian faith, a disciple of Jesus Christ who is a willing and teachable leader; a person whose love for the Lord is reflected in their ability to work well with others.

If the Holy Spirit is inviting you to pursue this further, contact us for more details: Call Mike Schellenberg at 780-841-9376 or e-mail lccfc@telus.net.

Steeprock Bible Camp requires speakers and counsellors for its camp this summer.

THE MESSENGER May 27, 2009

RAinbow Christian School is a growing K–8 Christian professional learning community in Vanderhoof, B.C. It is classified as a Group 1 independent school. RCS currently has a staff of six and an enrollment of about 80 students, but is experiencing continued growth. Full-time teaching positions in all grade levels are being accepted at this time for the 2009–2010 school year.

The successful candidate is a committed Christian and possesses the ability to work closely with other staff members, the school’s administration, and parents and students. The person is also passionate about growing a culture of faith and academic excellence.

RCS is also accepting applications for interim principal. This is for the remainder of this school year and possibly for 2009–2010. This is a fulltime position, with 60 percent administration duties and 40 percent teaching responsibilities.

The successful applicatant should be certified to teach in B.C., demonstrate leadership skills and the ability to serve, demonstrate current understanding of the curriculum, be a strong promoter of Christian education, have at least five years teaching experience, and be willing to teach varied classes.

Applications should include a resume, three references (including a pastor’s), transcripts, BCCT certificate, statement of faith, and philosophy of education. Submissions should be sent to Rainbow Christian School Search Committee, Box 710, 2994 Burrard Ave., Vanderhoof, BC V0J 3A0; Ph. 250-567-3127; Fax 250-567-3167; E-mail rcschool@telus.net. Only applicants to be interviewed will be contacted.

CBF Christian School, a Jr. K–grade 8 school located in Swan River, Man., seeks a term teacher for multi grades 5–8 homeroom (September 2009 to June 2010). Must hold a Manitoba Teacher’s Certificate, be born again, and provide pastoral references. Send resume to CBFCS, Box 1630, Swan River, MB R0L 1Z0.

For further information, call 204-734-2174

(weekdays) or 204-734-5702 (after hours).

Only candidates selected for interview will be contacted.

Gruthal Bergthaler Mennonite Church is prayerfully seeking a senior pastor who has a heart for people and is community outreach minded.

We are an evangelical church located in Grunthal, Man., 45 minutes southeast of Winnipeg, and 20 minutes southwest of Steinbach. The town consists of about 1,000 people and is supported by a strong farming community. The church is multi-generational, with a core of middle-aged families, a strong youth program run by a full-time youth pastor, and a strong Sunday school program.

We seek a pastor who has the heart of a shepherd and a desire to see our church grow through reaching the lost and investing in the church’s people. He should have strong preaching and teaching skills. The candidate must have a Bible college degree. Some pastoral experience is preferred. He must be in agreement with our constitution and statement of faith.

Anyone who possesses these qualifications and is interested in this position can forward their resume, along with references, to the following address: Grunthal Bergthaler Church, Box 70, Grunthal, MB R0A 0R0, Attn: Elder Board; or e-mail gbmcleadelder@mts.net.

Continental Mission in Thompson, Man., is looking for a director and a treasurer. Contact board chairman Ruben Goertzen (rgoertz@ mts.net) for job descriptions, or call Bill Penner 204-679-1005 for information.

An evangelical ministry, Continental Mission (started in the 1940s) is involved in evangelism, church planting, camping, and drop-in ministries among First Nations people, mostly in northern Manitoba.

The Hodgson Christian Academy (HCA) is seeking applicants for the position of classroom teacher. HCA is approximately two hours north of Winnipeg on Hwy #17, just south of Peguis and Fisher River Reserves.

HCA, a grade 1-12 school, opened in 2003 upon the request of several Native families attending the local Wesleyan church. It has 18 students. The school operates under the direction of two on-Reserve churches and two other supporting churches. Board members are selected from all four congregations.

The teacher position opening is for a class of 10 junior and senior high students. Manitoba Teaching Certification is not a requirement, but applicants with experience in Christian education will be given preference.

HCA is a satellite school of the Morweena Christian School. Please contact Principal Tim Reimer 204-364-2466 or timr@morweenaschool. org.

19

Kids’ corner Loreena Thiessen

F

Monarch miracle

inally spring is here. Once again robins sing cheerily in the trees. Waxwings peck at last year’s berries. Sparrows collect grasses to build their nests, and the Monarch butterfly returns.

The Monarch is the only insect that flies south for the winter to get away from the cold. It flies 3,200 kilometers all the way to Mexico; in one day it covers 130 kilometers. The journey takes 25 days. In Mexico it rests and feeds until the month of February.

The Monarch travels in large groups of millions of butterflies flying together. On its return flight the Monarch searches out its favourite plant, the milkweed.

On its leaves it lays eggs, each one the size of a pinhead.

When each egg hatches it is only two millimeters long, and it is not a butterfly, but a caterpillar, a miniature eating machine.

The food of the caterpillar is the milkweed leaves and it will need a lot of them; the caterpillar eats its own weight in milkweed leaves in a single day. In two weeks it is full grown.

A caterpillar’s life is constantly in danger. It is so small it can easily drown in a drop of water, and because it moves so slowly other insects and birds pounce on it quickly.

A full-grown caterpillar is striped yellow, black and white. It is hard to tell which end is the head and which is the tail since it has feelers at both ends. The caterpillar needs these feelers to find its way, because, although it has twelve eyes, its eyesight is poor.

in cocoon silence caterpillar morphs into butterfly

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Soon the caterpillar searches for a safe branch. It sticks a tiny dot of silk to the under side of the branch and hangs from it head first. Its striped skin begins to split and shrink. It turns green and then brown, gold and orange. As it changes colour it hardens. The caterpillar is now a chrysalis. (The word chrysalis means gold and developing.)

Inside the chrysalis a miracle is taking place. The chrysalis shivers. Slowly it splits open. Then the head, legs and wings of a butterfly burst out and there it is, a new adult Monarch with all the right colours. The Monarch sits quietly for several minutes and waits for its wings to dry. Then it flies on its way.

God is the maker of all creatures. He owns them all.

T Read Genesis 1:21–25 and Psalm 50:10–11. M

Activity: In a notebook: Divide several pages into four columns on each page.

Label the columns: date, kind of butterfly, place seen, color and markings.

Leave a space for a drawing of your own.

Check a butterfly book to identify butterflies.

Look for butterflies in a garden or a park, at a picnic or on a nature walk.

Look for butterflies throughout the spring and summer.

Write down your findings. You’ll have a good record of butterflies around you.

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