The Messenger Vol. 50 No. 1 January 2012

The Messenger Volume 50 No. 1  January 2012

!

EMC the

200 is turning

Editorials

Fact, faith, and feeling

I

t is 200 years since the EMC began in 1812 in what is now Ukraine.

To celebrate the bicentennial, the past, present, and future of the EMC will be examined through a series of lead articles.

Our links to the EMC are based on fact, faith and feeling—not in that order of importance.

We are linked in fact by historical events: we are shaped by the Early Church, the Protestant Reformation, the Radical Reformation, the 1812 start in Russia, the Evangelical movement, and more. Historical links culminate in our meeting together from B.C. to Ontario and in our common efforts in outreach in Canada and within many other countries.

We are connected by a common faith in Jesus Christ, true God and true man, our Lord and Saviour, our foundation in life (Matthew 7:21–29). We are part of the Body of Christ “bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).

Some readers might ponder Menno Simons’

eight-page Confession of the Triune God (1550).

Through it, we become aware of Menno’s indebtedness to the Church earlier in time while watching him defend the Triune faith in his time. It remains a challenging document for today.

We are connected by a common faith in Jesus Christ, true God and true man, our Lord and Saviour, our foundation in life.

Finally, we are joined together by our commitment to be a covenant community. As we consciously choose to invest in this, we will feel more connected. More importantly, as we give and receive counsel, gather to make decisions, and contribute to joint efforts, we will be connected in ways that go beyond feeling.

– Terry M. Smith

••

The Messenger, a team ministry

T

he Messenger has now entered its 50th year of seeking to inform, inspire and instruct the EMC. There are key names to mention in the history of this magazine: editors Dave K. Schellenberg and Menno Hamm and assistant to the editor Martha Kroeker.

Church reporters provide local news, including birth and wedding announcements. Crosscultural workers write from many countries.

Members send lead articles, letters, poetry, shorter articles, and obituaries.

Columnists focus on chosen themes. Reviewers comment on requested books.

Many church-related organizations are highlighted. National staff members work at serving, listening, and leading through these pages.

Two editors are involved in preparing English materials. When Spanish is involved, Catherine Thiessen and Gerald D. Reimer, both with time in Mexico, are drawn upon.

2 The Messenger • January 2012

The magazine’s layout is designed by assistant editor Rebecca Roman. After its proofreading, the magazine goes to the printing company, where many people—some EMCers and many not—are involved in its production: prepress, printing, collating, labeling and mailing.

What of EMCers who pray for the ministry of this magazine?

Or what of the conference council who yearly votes to purchase subscriptions for members and adherents? By its actions, the council anticipates the gracious giving of many members toward the joint ministries of our EM Conference.

The magazine also benefits from the Canada Periodical Fund, funded by tax dollars. Where do tax dollars come from?

The Messenger is an important meeting point for many EMCers. It is a team ministry.

– Terry M. Smith

Table of Contents Features 6

Let’s celebrate the EMC!

9

What will the EMC be in 2012?

page

24

The EMC is celebrating its bicentennial – Richard Klassen Reprinted from January 9, 1987 – Royden Loewen

11 EMC bicentennial activities

What’s happening to celebrate in 2012?

– The EMC bicentennial committee

Columns

12 Pornography: bad for us and society

15 Archives Alcove

16 Conference council looks at major issues

20 Window on Missions

18 Ministerial discusses ‘developing multiethnic churches’

29 Writings Shared

The Internet can be useful and dangerous – Rev. Nick Friesen

Report on the November 26 council meeting – Terry M. Smith

Dr. Sam Owusu says God is not colour-blind – Terry M. Smith

19 Recognition supper held for David Thiessen Conference pastor honoured for service – Terry M. Smith

Departments 2

Editorials

3

Pontius’ Puddle

4

Letters

The Bogeyman, Anabaptists, and Arminius – Terry M. Smith CEMM holds fourth annual pastoral retreat – Ken Zacharias Kids Can Dig the Bible and Kids Can Make Peace – Lisa Schau

34 Pictures of God Knowing – Joanna Enns

35 Stewardship Today The raising of Ebenezer – Darren Pries-Klassen

36 Kids’ Corner

Keep a secret or a pet – Loreena Thiessen

21 With Our Missionaries 22 With Our Churches 26 News 30 In Memory 32 Calendar 33 Shoulder Tapping

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 3

The Messenger Volume 50, No. 1 January 2012

EDITOR Terry M. Smith

ASSISTANT EDITOR Rebecca Roman

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.

Subscription rates 1 year $24 ($30 U.S., $45 foreign) 2 years $44 ($55 U.S., $85 foreign) 3 years $65 ($82 U.S., $125 foreign) Manitoba residents add 7% PST. Digital only subscriptions: $15 per year.

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 We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage for our publishing activities.

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. 3 – March 2012 issue (copy due February 17)

4 The Messenger • January 2012

Letters The General Board responds to recent letters December 21, 2011 To the EMC Constituency: As the General Board we wish to express our appreciation for recent letters to the editor [September, October 2011] regarding concerns about the need for closer adherence of the conference to its adopted Constitution. Since these letters presumably reflect the views of other EMCers, we take these comments seriously and wish to respond in an appropriate way.

We believe that as a conference we all share a desire to love and follow Christ as fully as we can. Our constitution is our united effort at expressing as closely as possible what we believe the Bible teaches and how we want to apply it in our lives. For the most part our churches respect and adhere to what it contains. Where there is variation, this has not been done defiantly but with a sincere desire to be true to God and the Bible.

In our initial investigations we found that no church to our knowledge has eliminated the peace section from their local constitution. Rather, the church in question has added a footnote to formalize what many of our churches have been practicing, which opens the door to those who do not share this conviction to still become part of the church but allows the church to continue to teach and preach the peace position.

As a conference we have become more diverse, a fact we believe is a gift from God, but which provides us with challenges in shaping what our community of believers from B.C. to Ontario looks like. Some of the mentioned issues have arisen out of a desire by our churches to be welcoming faith communities rather than ones that demand strict conformity

to a certain code before they can be received. Whether this is unacceptable compromise is something we as a conference continue to struggle with. This struggle in fact is not new, as many examples can be cited dating back to our early days as a conference (e.g., headcoverings, mode of baptism, footwashing).

The General Board represents the leadership of our conference and we believe we are seeking to direct our conference life to ever conform more to Christ and God’s Word. We do not think that the recently adopted Harmony Project will solve all our issues, but we do sense that the process in working through to its acceptance has been helpful in raising greater awareness of some of the issues our conference is concerned about and that it will itself be a tool that will assist us in working towards resolving at least some of them.

We recognize that the issues before us have arisen out of sincere study of Scripture on all sides and a sincere desire to faithfully witness to God’s love and grace to a world around us who need the gospel. These issues have generally developed over time, involve many factors, and have been affected by imperfect past attempts to deal with them, and therefore the resolving of them involves more than passing certain verdicts by the General Board.

Our appeal to the conference is for patience, understanding, prayer, love, and a strong desire for the truth as we work together to be all that God wants us to be, particularly in regard to the issues noted in the letters.

Grace and peace, – Richard Klassen, EMC Moderator, On behalf of the General Board

Letters Working for peace is one way to honour solders

In the recent edition of The Messenger, Sen. Don Plett had a letter [Surprised by struggle, December 2011] taking issue with an MCC Manitoba event at the Forks and a Remembrance Day event he participated in.

“Never again” has been an oftrepeated expression of hope following major wars. We all agree that war should be obsolete; soldiers need not sacrifice their lives nor should civilians suffer.

“To remember is to work for peace” represents our desire to live into the “never again.” We recognize that those who fight and die for the country do so based on important values and give of themselves sacrificially. We respect their sacrifices even as we question their methods and propose non-violence.

FEBRUARY 17-19 Steinbach Bible College speaker: Sid Koop cost: $69 www.SBCollege.ca

Our working for peace and proclaiming peace is one way of honouring past soldiers by saying that their sacrifices have meant something and that we “never again” want to see more of these kinds of sacrifices to be necessary.

The Lord Jesus Christ is called the Prince of Peace. Ultimately it is to him that we owe our primary loyalty.

Interestingly, when the birth of the Jesus was announced, God sent an army of angels to proclaim the good news. We want to align ourselves with God’s army to announce the coming of the Prince of Peace and thereby remember the sacrifices of soldiers.

– Steve Plenert Peace Programs Coordinator MCC Manitoba Letters continued p. 28.

Guidelines for letters

A distinction is made between letters intended or not intended by the writer for publication.

Where necessary, the editorial staff will seek to clarify this. The magazine reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, legality, and taste. Letters to the editor should be 250 words or less.

Letters published are generally to comment on issues raised in The Messenger. Letters that do not represent official Conference positions can be published.

Within a Conference comprised of various voices, the magazine is to encourage the “community hermeneutic” toward responsible Christian belief, teaching and practice.

To be published, letters by regular mail and by fax must contain a handwritten signature with at least the writer’s first and last names and an address.

For e-mail letters, the writer’s name, e-mail address, and mailing address are together deemed to be an electronic signature.

In all forms of correspondence, a phone number is helpful to clarify matters where needed.

The writer’s name and general address are to be published. In sensitive matters, names may be withheld upon request or at the discretion of Messenger staff.

Some letters will not be published under any circumstances: letters that appear obscene, that are anonymous or unsigned, that appear to involve a personal attack, or that involve a legal matter.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 5

We want to celebrate the entire EMC story, which includes respecting the earlier years even as we recognize, and celebrate, that our story is much broader than it used to be.

6 The Messenger • January 2012

by Richard Klassen, EMC Moderator

EMC!

Let’s celebrate the

LE

AT I

NG 2 0 0 Y

RS

None of us is unaware of the prominent place that joy, happiness, and even celebration have throughout the pages of the Bible. Paul, notably in the book of Philippians, frequently exhorts us to joy.

Jesus talked about the fullness of joy arising out of our connectedness to him. In the Old Testament, of course, the Psalms contain numerous references to praise and thanksgiving. But a study of Old Testament celebrations can be somewhat surprising.

If we have tended to view the Old Testament people as being a rather sombre bunch, it can come as a shock to learn how seriously they took their celebrations. For example, in Deuteronomy 14 we read that a special tithe of all that the fields produced was to be gathered and this was to be used for feasting! (The General Board rejoiced when $5,000 of our budget was designated for our Bicentennial celebrations.)

Later on it appears that they forgot to do this and so after the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s time we read that they had a revival. This led to a great celebration again such as they had not had in a long time.

Their celebrations included eating and drinking (yes, wine was on the menu!) and reading the Scriptures and worship and camping and so forth—and this went on for eight days.

By all appearances they would have looked with disdain on our feeble one-afternoon solemn “celebrations” where we dare not go overboard lest we succumb to pride or other deadly sins.

The celebrations in the Bible focus generally on God’s gracious and generous character and on his miraculous deeds in the distant past but also in the recent past.

BR

EA

People knew how to celebrate!

The title may set off alarm bells for some.

What? Celebrate the EMC? But we don’t do that in our Conference!

Those of us of Dutch-German Mennonite background may feel uneasy in lifting up earlier KG/EMC history in the fear that those who do not share in this background might feel isolated.

However, we want to celebrate the entire EMC story, which includes respecting the earlier years even as we recognize, and celebrate, that our story is much broader than it used to be.

But beyond these initial protestations, there may well be some naysayers, as there were in Nehemiah’s day. They will look at our Conference and point to theological decay, or they may wonder why it is that there are individual churches “out there” that have grown larger in a year than we have in 200 years, or other similar negative concerns.

Others may have experienced pain, or felt rejection, or become disillusioned with this ragtag bunch known as the EMC. And we acknowledge with regret that all too often these objections may have some valid basis.

CE

I

don’t think of myself as being a “party animal,” nor particularly a Campolo fan, but there was something that resonated with my spirit when I first read Tony Campolo’s book, The Kingdom of God is a Party.

In this book Campolo verified my longstanding contention that in the evangelical world we have largely forgotten the art of celebration. Or, at least, we have not gotten around to replacing all of our prohibitions against worldly amusements with genuine Christian fun.

This momentous occasion of reaching two centuries of existence as the EMC may well be a good time to mend this problem.

emc 1812 ~ 2012

Celebration!

It would be short-sighted to allow these matters, however serious, to dampen our celebrations. In the story in Nehemiah these same reasons could also have dampened their spirits.

They, too, had a less than perfect history, had not nearly always been obedient to God’s Word, at times totally neglected God and his Word, and had shamefully followed after other gods.

This celebration was not about boasting or glorying in their own accomplishments or goodness. Rather their focus was on God. They could not deny that God had done a great thing in and through them. In spite of their own weakness God was working wonders before their eyes. Celebration, like thanksgiving, is an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty and his goodness.

In a sense the opposite is also true. To not celebrate his deeds is a denial of his goodness (see 1 Corinthians 10:10). In any case it certainly will cause us to miss out on being part of God’s work among us.

What God has done

In our humble Anabaptist manner, we have not lived our faith in a flashy or even very public manner. We have preferred to do our thing  www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 7

 quietly in our land. It is difficult to assess the

We are creative people so let's put our heads together and find some innovative ways to make this a great year.

impact we have had in our world or even within the community of faith in Canada and beyond.

It seems obvious that if we assess our progress numerically we might need to repent rather than celebrate. We have not grown significantly in all these years. The reasons for this are probably as varied as they are numerous.

We could justify it by noting that our emphasis on servanthood and “every-member-aninvolved-member” is not popular in a consumer-driven society. We could console ourselves that God, in his sovereignty, has not elected us to be a large player in the Christian world, but that we have been chosen to reach out in the less populated rural areas that also need the gospel.

It could, of course, be that we have been negligent, unfaithful, slothful servants.

Whatever the reason, a good case can be made that our influence is far beyond what the numbers show. Who can measure the impact that our missionary force, proportionally among the largest in the evangelical world, has had world wide? Their fruit is not included in our numbers.

Who can begin to count all the reinforcements we have sent to the other conferences and denominations also labouring in God’s vineyard? I recently met the moderator of a large conference who revealed he originated from one of our EMC churches.

Both at home and abroad I have witnessed our people faithfully working in the trenches, not caring who got the credit, doing menial tasks, whether it be sewing blankets, teaching VBS or outreach Sunday Schools, or singing in prisons, harvesting a field for a sick farmer, or

8 The Messenger • January 2012

preaching the Word to the handful who came out.

How can we celebrate?

It is hoped that this year’s celebration will culminate in a large gathering during the annual convention on July 6–8. Let’s together turn our eyes to God and glorify his name together (at least as many of us who can come).

Worship, rejoicing, singing, displays, tours, some looks backward, some looks forward, a book launching, and many other things will help us to celebrate corporately. Let’s do so enthusiastically. It is also hoped that churches and individuals will take ownership of this celebration and will initiate events in their own territory some time during the year.

Whether your EMC lineage can be traced back to Klaas Reimer and his peers or whether you were attracted by the winsome ways of the EMC and have joined recently, or if you came due to marriage or by default due to the EMC being the closest church, or whatever your journey, we are all part of the same family and we celebrate as equals.

We are creative people so let’s put our heads together and find some innovative ways to make this a great year.

What Nehemiah told his people is still true today: The joy of the Lord is your strength. To God be the glory, great things he has done!

Rev. Richard Klassen (Straffordville) is the Moderator of the EM Conference.

EMC

T

his year marks 175 years since a tiny group of Mennonites began meeting for Bible studies in the Molotschna Colony in South Russia. Their common concern was that the Mennonite church was compromising in its discipleship of Jesus Christ.

Two years later this group, led by 44-yearold Rev. Klaas Reimer, would officially separate from the main church after coming to the painful conclusion that the old Anabaptist teachings of the church being the unblemished bride of Christ were going unheeded.

It was a small group and thus came to be known as the Kleine Gemeinde (KG). Seven generations later the descendent church, the Evangelical Mennonite Conference (EMC) is still a relatively small and conservative body and still teaches a practical Christocentric life.

But many other things have changed. Is the EMC today stronger, wiser, more biblical than its 19th-century forebears? Or has it lost the vision for a life of nonconforming, costly discipleship?

What are the themes, the broad strokes, which outline the 175 years of this small church? For the sake of providing an overview, let us divide our history into four chapters.

Recovering a Lost Vision

Recovering a lost vision was the overarching concern of the church in the first era. In the first 50 or so years the KG was led by three elders: Klaas Reimer, Abraham Friesen and Johann Friesen—successful farmers, avid readers, strict disciplinarians, prophetic leaders.

NG 2 0 0

CE

LE

AT I

Y

RS

What will the be in 2012

BR

EA

?

Reprinted from January 9, 1987

emc 1812 ~ 2012

by Dr. Royden Loewen

They led an unorthodox group, whose members were scattered throughout the villages of the Molotschna colony, met for worship in homes, boldly countered non-biblical trends among Mennonites, suffered the consequences of belonging to an unauthorized church, vigorously published devotional material, and readily defended the cause of the poor and imprisoned.

The Years of Trial

In the second era the Gemeinde was faced with increasingly disruptive pressures, both from within and without. These were the years of trial.

In 1866 the KG left the Molotschna colony to form its own, exclusive colony at Borosenko, 80 miles to the west. Ironically, this was also the year that the group suffered a major split arising from its ideal of an “unblemished” church.

Then came notice of Russia’s new military laws and the group was forced to leave for Manitoba and Nebraska. In the New World the Holdeman crisis of 1882, the Bruderthaler splinter of 1897, the Great War of 1914-1918, and the Manitoba school division of 1919 put the KG more and more on its guard.

The leaders, Peter Toews, A. L. Friesen, Jacob M. Kroeker, and Peter R. Dueck, worked hard and diligently at shepherding their flock during these troubled years.

Is the EMC today stronger, wiser, more biblical than its 19th-century forebears?

The Years of Transition

In 1919 the KG made, or lacked to make, a decision which would open her up to major influences in the years to come. While other 

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 9

 conservative churches decided

to leave Canada, the KG opted to remain in a rapidly modernizing country.

From 1919, when the Gemeinde was forced to accept public school education, to 1962, the church’s sesquicentennial (150th anniversary), forces of change would radically alter the old church. These were the years of transition.

Will the EMC become just another North American evangelical church? Or will it be able to integrate the vision of the Anabaptists with their insistence on Christianity as discipleship, on nonresistance as a way of life, and the church as a brotherhood?

It was often the story of a reluctant leadership moving to accommodate itself to new realities and a progressive laity. Innovations came: Sunday School in the 20s; mission reports in the 30s; local church autonomy and Bible school attendance in the 40s; a name change, a mission board and a official conference structure in the 50s; an English paper in the 60s.

These were both the substance and the cause of the changes. Men, speaking English and preaching evangelicalism, were replacing the seemingly negative teaching of nonconformity and corporate life with the happy truths of assurance of salvation and individual responsibility.

The years since 1962 have seen fewer changes. The church leaders mentioned in the first edition of The Messenger in January 1963—Ben D. Reimer, Archie Penner, Benny Eidse, John P. Loewen, Harvey Plett, Ben Friesen, and D. K. Schellenberg—are still active today.

Our Coming of Age

Only from the future perspective, perhaps our bicentennial in 2012, will we be able to see the significance of the years that we are living through today.

10 The Messenger • January 2012

Will the EMC become just another North American evangelical church?

Or will it be able to integrate the vision of the Anabaptists with their insistence on Christianity as discipleship, on nonresistance as a way of life, and the church as a brotherhood?

How will we handle the influences of humanism, of Pentecostalism, of fundamentalism, of materialism? This fourthly, and largely unwritten chapter, must remain entitled our coming of age.

These are the broad strokes on the canvas of our history. In the coming months we will discuss the finer strokes, the lines and the varying hues of our story.

This is a story of our forebears diligently seeking God’s guidance and the truths of the Gospel of Jesus in an ever-changing world.

By focusing on their commitment, perhaps our zeal for God’s truth can be increased and our understanding of His church deepened.

In January 1987 Dr. Royden Loewen was a member of the EMC Board of Education and Publication (now Board of Church Ministries). Dr. Royden Loewen currently occupies the Chair of Mennonite Studies at the University of Winnipeg.

This article—originally called From Mennonite Gemeinde to Evangelical Conference: A Portrait, 1812–1987—is slightly edited from its original format.

alphacanada.org

can exploring the meaning of life get any better?

Join us for lunch & local alpha stories Steinbach Bible College InnovatIon Feb 15, Noon - 3pm creatIvIty register at alphacanada.org /events flexIbIlIty or call 1 800 743-0899

LE

NG 20 0 Y

RS

CE

B

TI A R

EA

emc the

bicentennial year is here!

emc 1812 ~ 2012

1812–2012

I

t is 200 years since a group of believers on the Molotschna Colony in Ukraine, being unhappy what was happening in the large church, decided to conduct services independently. That was the beginning of the EMC, originally called Kleine Gemeinde (Small Church). A number of celebrations are being planned

to celebrate our past, present and future. Here is a list of some of them, with more information to come: A SERIES OF SIX LESSONS, entitled What’s in

A DISPLAY at the Mennonite Heritage Village

a Name, to be used in the Sunday School and

in Steinbach, Man., focusing on the EMC.

small groups. Be alert, they’ll be out shortly.

VARIOUS ACTIVITIES AT CONVENTION A DVD SERIES highlighting individuals who

2012 which will be at Providence Univer-

have made a significant contribution to the

sity College at Otterburne in early July.

development of the EMC.

Activities will include displays celebrating our missions, workshops focusing on the

A TOUR to the birthplace of the EMC in future, short trips to original settlements, Ukraine in late May and June. a parade of churches with each having a EACH EMC CHURCH will be invited to plan

banner, some fun activities for the youth,

local celebrations for sometime in spring.

and more.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 11

PORNOGRAPHY bad for us and society

by Rev. Nick Friesen

12 The Messenger • January 2012

I

t seems that years ago before the computer arrived we heard the word pornography a lot less than we do today. Let us look at some of the definitions used for this word in the Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary: obscene, licentious, lewd, hurtful, wicked, unchaste (defined as lack of chastity and modesty).

The computer has brought great changes into the world. It is great for business, and gathering, storing, and dispensing of information. It is also great for spreading of the gospel.

The tragic part is that Satan is also using the Internet for his wicked purposes. Parents are often warned to never allow their children to have a computer in their own rooms, but to have it in the living room where parents can observe what is going on.

People of all ages get addicted to pornography on the Internet. Prostitution is said to be fed by the Internet. There are many predators working the Internet. In 1989 Mr. Ted Bundy was executed in the U.S. for murdering 35 women, and he told Dr. James Dobson that pornography had influenced him.

Joe Stowell relates, “A man once wrote to me about his lengthy battle with pornography—a disheartening cycle that punctuated seasons of victory with crushing forays back into an online world of empty lust.

“Finally, he found that putting a visible reminder of Jesus in the corner of his computer screen helped him achieve lasting victory. That constant reminder of the One who set him free caused the offensive websites to lose their appeal” (Daily Bread, October 11, 2010).

Manifestos

But even before the computer, a concerted effort was made to undermine the morals of the United States. You can read this in the Humanist Manifestos I and II. John Dewey, the American philosopher, wrote Humanist Manifesto I in 1933 and Humanist Manifesto II in 1973.

These Manifestos were generally accepted by the U.S. educational establishment. They teach Situation Ethics—that there are no absolute rules by which to live, thus man is the final authority for his actions, based on existing circumstances.

HUMANIST MANIFESTO II: Principle 3 “We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience. Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing no theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stems from human need and interest. To deny this distorts the whole basis of life....”

HUMANIST MANIFESTO II: Principle 5 “…We reject all religious, ideological, or moral codes that denigrate the individual, suppress freedom, dull intellect, dehumanize personality … the possibilities of individual freedom of choice exist in human life and should be increased” (emphasis added).

HUMAN MANIFESTO II: Principle 6 “In the area of sexuality, we believe that intolerant attitudes, often cultivated by orthodox religions and puritanical cultures, unduly repress sexual conduct … individuals should be permitted to express their sexual proclivities and pursue their life-styles as they desire….”

C

losely related to the Humanist movement is SIECUS, which stands for Sexual Information Education Council of the United States.

The SIECUS program is widely used in America.

But parents of 12 school districts in the Minneapolis-St Paul area have asked that the program be stopped, also in some other California cities.

Why do so many people want to believe in evolution even though science has never been able to prove that the Genesis account is not true? Could it possibly be that sinful man does not want to be accountable for his actions?

People of all ages get addicted to pornography on the Internet.

Prostitution is said to be fed by the Internet.

Sex Education

I think parents should always teach their children about their sexuality and not the state.

Children should always receive honest answers to their questions. When a child asks a question, the parent should not try to evade the question but give an honest answer, considering the age of the child.

If a child has not received honest answers, as they grow older their trust may be weakened in their parents, and they might perceive that sex is always sinful. This is not a healthy environment for the child to grow up in. 

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 13

However, when the state gets involved in sex education, we need to look carefully at what is being taught.

Locally in Manitoba, the Deaf Home and School Association called a meeting to elect a committee to bring in a sex education program to the school. I cautioned that a program like this might create some problems.

I related to them some results of these kinds of programs. A similar sex education program had been started years ago in Denmark and Sweden, somewhat earlier than in America.



Some people seem to think that the church should be more like the world in order to win the world for Christ.

But I believe if we would follow Jesus' teachings more closely, the results would be much different.

Ten years later, the physician to the King of Sweden and 140 doctors and teachers petitioned the Swedish Government with their concern about sexual hysteria in the young. Physicians in Sweden say that venereal disease in Sweden is more widespread than in any other civilized country.

The programs later in California produced similar results. Author John Steinbeck has written a book about what happened there.

During my lifetime I have seen tremendous changes take place in the church and society.

Though I was only in grade school at the time, I well remember the day in 1936 when King Edward VIII wanted to marry the American divorcee Mrs. Wallis Simpson.

Stanley Baldwin, who was the British Prime Minister, asked King Edward VIII to abdicate his throne, which he did. How would society respond to a situation like this today?

As we read the account of King David, we see that he looked, and he lusted, and he fell. Please read 2 Samuel 11, where you see David’s fall and 2 Samuel 12 you see how God dealt with it.

Though David was forgiven, God told him the sword would never leave his house.

14 The Messenger • January 2012

We have seen how David got into trouble.

Billy Graham made the statement that a person may not be responsible for the first look, but is responsible for the second look.

Follow the Right Road!

We find these solemn words in I Corinthians 6:9–10 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall enter the kingdom of God.” Some people seem to think that the church should be more like the world in order to win the world for Christ. But I believe if we would follow Jesus’ teachings more closely, the results would be much different. Our methods may sometimes change, but never the message.

In Matthew 7:13–14 Jesus talks about two roads. The narrow road leads to life, but the wide one leads to destruction. What indescribable differences in the destinies!

On which road are we travelling? With the crowd, with the flow?

Romans 12:2: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” I am thankful for Christians who regularly pray for our teachers and students.

Let us now go to the last book and the last chapter in the Bible. Revelation 22:17 says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

Rev. Nick Friesen (Rosenort EMC), 88, was ordained as a minister in 1961. He worked on his small farm, in school maintenance, and in a trailer factory. He served 12 years on the EMC Board of Missions, eight years on the board of SBC, and on the former Problems Committee.

He has been active in various roles within the local church.

Columns • archives alcove

The Bogeyman, Anabaptists and Arminius theology,” said Dr. Harold Bender, “whether they distinctly espoused the Arminian viewpoint or not” (GAMEO).

Balthasar Hubmaier (d. 1528) is described as an “Arminian before Arminius” by Roger Olson, who says Anabaptists nearly a century earlier responded to some of the concerns Arminius addressed (The Story of Christian Theology, IVP, 1999).

As Dr. Harvey Plett has noted, the EMC’s 1954 Historic Articles of Faith has a section “Of the Free Will of Man,” which clearly responds to certain views considered today as Calvinist.

The article reads in part, “On the basis of this free will by which man may decide himself whether he wants to fear God, God will judge the world and pass a just sentence over man on that day of judgment. Man’s soul is drawn towards the good to overcome the evil in himself by the spirit of God. “This is only by the grace of God. Except by the grace of God we are not able to do anything good…

Even the apostle Paul testifies that God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2… even the Almighty God does not force anyone to follow the good….”

Beneath the labels of Anabaptist and Arminian important issues remain today. In 1954 EMC leaders responded in a significant manner—as should we.

by Terry M. Smith

Arminius disagreed with Reformed leaders who believed in unconditional election, that Christ died only for the elect, and that grace is ultimately irresistable.

Jacob Arminius, 1560–1609

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 15

IWIKIPEDIA.ORG

E

ver hear, “Beware of the Bogeyman!”?

Why the term “bogeyman”?

One possible origin has an Anabaptist twist: Johannes Bogerman (1576–1637), a Dutchman, was a Reformed minister who, it is said, believed those considered heretics deserved to die. Because of similar sentiments, earlier Anabaptists lived with the specter of men who hunted them.

Bogerman became the president of the Synod of Dort (1618–1619), a gathering of Reformed leaders who examined, and ultimately rejected, some of the theological views of Jacob Arminius (1560–1609) and some other Reformed leaders (later called Arminians).

Arminius, born a year before Menno Simons’ death, himself died of tuberculosis while his teachings were disputed prior to Dort. He believed in humankind’s total depravity and was uncertain whether a Christian could lose their salvation.

However, he disagreed with Reformed leaders who believed in unconditional election, that Christ died only for the elect, and that grace is ultimately irresistible. He believed that election is conditional on faith, Christ’s atonement is unlimited, and God’s grace is resistible.

Arminius believed in prevenient grace, that we are dependent upon the Spirit’s restoring our free will, enabling us so we can then choose to follow or reject Christ. He held that Christ’s death on the cross was an unlimited atonement—Jesus’ death was intended for all people, not only for a certain class or classes of people.

In short, Arminius rejected the view that in eternity God for his glory arbitrarily chose some people for heaven or hell (double predestination). The Synod of Dort condemned Arminius’s views, and ministers who agreed with him were removed from office, exiled, or imprisoned; one was killed.

Why should this concern us? “Mennonites have been historically Arminian in their

EMC Conference Council meeting

Conference council looks at major issues

PHOTOS: REBECCA ROMAN

Delegates approved a two Board of Church Ministo “central practices of decision makpercent budget increase from tries ing,” the process for “making the decichurches, passed the Unity Editor Terry Smith said sion,” and “the congregation’s responin Diversity document, and The Messenger was affected sibility to conference unity.” considered the EMC’s core by the raising of its subThe paper encouraged the display values at the conference scription price, a change in of Christian character during discuscouncil meeting held on Nov. government programs, and sion and a process for considering is26, 2011, at Fort Garry EMC the move to a monthly. Its sues that arise within the conference. in Winnipeg, Man. costs were reduced from There was lengthy discussion. Fort Moderator Richard Klasabout $140,000 in 2009 to Garry displayed its support of the pasen welcomed delegates. Len $105,000 in 2010; yet, it has per through a statement repeated in Harms, Fort Garry’s new received an increased grant English, Spanish, and Low German. associate pastor of young Len Harms gives the from the Canada Periodical Prairie Rose EMC raised concerns: adults and university stuopening devotional. Fund. Over all, the magazine “unity takes precedence over truth,” dents gave the devotional: 2 has more colour and pages. there is inadequate concern for “acTimothy 2:1–2 speaks of four generaChairman Wes Kroeker read a countability,” the Statement of Faith tions of faith and the need to appreci- recommendation from the EMC Aris being replaced, “the first line of ate “otherness.” chives Committee and the BCM that defence against disunity seems to be our Archives be transferred to the consideration of revising our GovGeneral Board Mennonite Heritage Centre in Winerning Documents” and it does not The board has a new vice moderator, nipeg. The EMC would retain owneracknowledge “at times differences of Abe Bergen (Kleefeld). It is involved ship, but pay a yearly fee for storage. belief and understanding may not be with the Bicentennial celebration, Current space is over-crowded, access resolved.”

MCC’s revisioning and restructuring is hindered, and a solution processes, strategic planning, and the is needed. The transfer is Harmony Project. subject to the Council increasing the line in the BCM Board of Leadership and budget. (Council did not inOutreach crease it.)

Chairman Layton Friesen said Ward Gerald Reimer, conferParkinson becomes our conference ence youth minister, said pastor on Dec. 1, and the search conpost-secondary student mintinues for a church planting coordina- istry responds to a “crucial tor “to help us grow.” time” when young people ofThe Leadership Development ten lack emotional and spiriScholarship Fund was well-used; the tual support as they make “sad reality” is that gifts will be remajor decisions. We want duced by “25 percent” in 2012. to stay connected with each Representatives from Fort Garry EMC display trilingual Ward Parkinson said Brandon is generation. support of the Unity and Diversity paper. adding a team member in Mexico, Good News has engaged a commuHarmony Project The moderator said the paper has nity chaplain, Portage is considerThe paper Unity and Diversity in the helped discussion and even if it “vaning a church plant, many EMCers Evangelical Mennonite Conference ished,” its principles would be used. went to a church planting congress, considered central convictions (core When it was suggested the paper is Many Rooms is adding a fourth house attitudes and beliefs) and central doc- not a theological document, a delchurch, and Picture Butte is moving uments (Statement of Faith, Church egate said it is a “profoundly theologifrom Low German to English.

Practices and more). It then turned cal document.”

16 The Messenger • January 2012

The paper was approved, by the required two-thirds majority vote, to be added to the EMC administrative guide.

Bicentennial Tour

Dr. Harvey Plett advertised the May 27 to June 7, 2012, tour to Ukraine to explore early Kleine Gemeinde/EMC history.

Dr. Harvey Plett presents on behalf of the Bicentennial Committee.

Board of Trustees

The budget, focused on national and international initiatives, was passed at $1,977,000—$50,000 higher than in 2011. While the total increase was three percent, churches were asked only for a two percent increase.

One congregation said it would decrease its giving; another said it could not increase it.

Affiliate Organizations

Janet Plenert, vice president of Mennonite World Conference, hoped that when EMCers think of MWC, we think of ourselves.

A century ago about 99 percent of Anabaptists were in the global north; now only 23 percent are from Europe and North America.

Janet Plenert

Don Peters said MCC Canada has reaffirmed its mission statement. While responding to East Africa’s needs, MCC remains concerned about on-going disasters not in the media’s spotlight.

Harold Penner of Mennonite Foundation of Canada highlighted the need for estate planning and financial literacy: “spend less than you make.”

Ernie Koop of Steinbach Bible College says it is celebrating its 75th anniversary, involved in a dorm project, and challenges young lives to make a difference for the kingdom.

Delegates discuss an EMC Statement of Core Values in groups.

Presentation of Values

Based on discussions with all but two of the EMC’s churches, the Strategic Planning Committee presented an EMC Statement of Core Values. The values were relationships and Christian community, the truth, all people, obedience, discipleship, and families and youth.

The values were not listed in order of importance. Council discussed the list and members were encouraged to add their comments on the EMC website.

Board of Missions

Foreign secretary Ken Zacharias said more workers are needed in Paraguay; Bolivia also needs workers, but this requires creative fundraising.

Gerald Reimer spoke of Ascend, the one- to two-year internship program in cross-cultural ministry, which involves high standards and expectations.

Moderator Richard Klassen closed the meeting, saying he was encouraged by how the day went.

– Terry M. Smith

Subscribe to The Messenger electronically Prefer e-copy to hard copy? Issues of The Messenger are available electronically. You can sign up on-line at www.emconference.ca/ messenger or e-mail messenger@emconf. ca. Provide your name, mailing address, and e-mail address, and indicate whether you wish to continue receiving the print version or not.

For those who are not members or adherents of an EMC church, there will be a $15 annual subscription fee to receive the electronic version only; no additional fee applies if the full print subscription rate is paid.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 17

EMC Ministerial meeting

The people of God should worship together.

PHOTOS: REBECCA ROMAN

– Dr. Sam Owusu

Ministerial discusses ‘developing multi-ethnic churches’ “Ethnic churches are dying” and the Church is called to develop local churches with international flavours— so said Dr. Sam Owusu on Nov. 25, 2011, to the EMC national ministerial members gathered at Crestview Fellowship in Winnipeg, Man. Chairman Layton Friesen, of the EMC Board of Leadership and Outreach, had earlier led in the ministerial’s singing He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.

Then host pastor Vern Knutson read from 2 Chronicles and later turned to Hebrews. When we come into God’s presence, how do we celebrate? he asked.

Ward Parkinson, Canadian church planting coordinator, was asked to “set the table” for the day’s discussion on Developing Multi-Ethnic Churches.

Parkinson said that immigration is a factor in many communities in Canada and, as a result, Dr. Sam Owusu was invited to speak.

18 The Messenger • January 2012

Owusu is “founder and senior pastor” at Calvary Worship Center in Vancouver, B.C., which is described as an “international church comprising of seventy-five nations.” Dr. Owusu, originally from Ghana, is a graduate of Regent College and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

In his first session, Owusu looked at Our Biblical Mandate. His observation that in Vancouver all institutions are integrated except churches left him dissatisfied.

God has an agenda, and he is not colour-blind, he said. Jesus said, “When I come to church, I want to see colour,” said Owusu. In Acts there is movement from Jewish monoculture to an intercultural movement in Christ.

Scripture, not sociology, should be the driving force toward developing multi-ethnic churches. Rather than have ethnic churches meet in the basement of a Caucasian church,

the people of God should worship together, he said.

In the second session he said that embracing the nations presents Challenges and Opportunities. Challenges include the need to witness to the nations, church growth, the need to practice biblical love, and to allow the enriching of our faith.

Owusu also spoke of “obstacles,” including protectionism, cultural enclaves, insecure leadership, intercultural incompetence, and spiritual warfare. He quoted John Perkins, a minister from the U.S.: “Can a gospel that reconciles people to God, without reconciling people to people, be the gospel of Jesus Christ?”

We used to train missionaries and send them, he said. Now we need to act like we are missionaries.

After lunch, Steinbach Bible College president Rob Reimer spoke briefly on the college’s 75th anniversary and on Dr. Pierre Gilbert’s

upcoming focus on the Holy Spirit at the Leadership Conference to be held on March 16–17, 2012.

In the third session on Some Practical Steps, Dr. Sam Owusu advised church leaders who seek that their congregations become multi-cultural to pray fervently, prepare the church, proclaim the gospel, promote inclusion, and persist patiently.

What does an intercultural church look like? It reflects the community, he said.

There was a discussion time after each of his three presentations. When it comes to the matter of the language

to be used in worship, he said he encourages his members to recognize that Canada has two official languages and to worship in English.

The national ministerial took time to commission Rev. Ward Parkinson, who assumes the role of EMC conference pastor on December 1, 2011. In the afternoon there was also a time of sharing church reports and praying for needs that were identified.

Regional representatives pray to commission Ward – Terry M. Smith Parkinson (kneeling) as EMC conference pastor.

••

Recognition supper held for David Thiessen

PHOTOS: TERRY M. SMITH

About 60 people attended David Thiessen’s recognition and farewell supper held on Nov. 24, 2011, at the end of his 11-year service as conference pastor.

Past and current members of the Board of Leadership and Outreach, family and some friends, and national office staff members attended the supper and program at St. Vital EMC in Winnipeg, Man. Layton Friesen, current BLO chair, welcomed those gathered. He said he had learned from David that being a minister is a “high calling” and about self-care. General Secretary Tim Dyck led in prayer.

Board of Leadership and Outreach chair Layton Friesen presents David Thiessen with a gift from the BLO and office staff.

David and Merna Thiessen

Ward Parkinson, a colleague who on Dec. 1 would begin to serve as conference pastor, was called to “roast” David while being conscious that his words might come back to haunt him. He said the office staff might have produced a version of the game “Where’s Waldo?” because David was often away from the office and staff did not always know where he was.

Darren Plett, former BLO chair, said David had modeled “pastor” and shown him how to care for people, churches, and pastors in crisis.

Donita and Anthony Reimer paid tribute to David on behalf of family members; they spoke of her Dad’s

dedicated service, her mother Merna’s steady support of him, and of the cost of ministry.

There was an “open mic” time where various people spoke. Cameron Mackenzie, a professor at Providence University College and a minister at Fort Garry EMC, spoke of David’s serving informally as his “Doktorvater” (DoctorFather), a relationship between teacher and student that went beyond the academic.

Layton Friesen presented David and Merna Thiessen with a gift from the BLO and office staff.

David responded by speaking of the grace of Christ in his life that allowed him to serve as pastor in three churches (Aberdeen EMC, Abbeydale Christian Fellowship, and Fort Garry EMC) and then as conference pastor. He gave tribute to his wife Merna and appreciated his children’s graciousness.

As a closing prayer, Layton Friesen led in the singing of a familiar doxology.

– Terry M. Smith

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 19

Columns • window on missions

CEMM holds fourth annual pastoral retreat

‘We leave this retreat with a new vision for our work as pastors.’

20 The Messenger • January 2012

expressing both joys and challenges. Some expressed how difficult it is to be a pastor. Another pastor then prayed for the one who had just shared.

Pastor Juana Ines de Barba, of the Jehovah Nisi church in Chihuahua City, summed up the retreat by saying, “The retreat is a time and opportunity to know one another by sharing together and to be nurtured from the Word, having fellowship together and expressing to others who we are with a desire to be taught and to be comforted for the edification of our life in Jesus Christ.

“As pastors, we give thanks to God for the brothers who shared the Word with us and for each brother and sister that was present and who we have the opportunity to know. We leave this retreat with a new vision for our work as pastors. Romans 15:4–6.”

I was also impressed by the amount of laughter and fun that the leadership had together throughout the retreat. The retreat was wellplanned and well-balanced with times for laughter, sharing and learning together.

On December 3, 2011, the EMC Prayer Corps asked you to pray for this retreat. Those present expressed appreciation to you for doing so.

Let’s continue to pray for the CEMM pastors and for their conference president Walter Rempening.

PHOTO: KEN ZACHARIAS

T

he Conferencia Evangelica Misionera de Mexico (CEMM) had their fourth annual retreat on December 3–4, 2011, at the Santo Tomas camp.

The weather was cool. The day before the retreat saw a dusting of snow with the temperature falling to -5. The new wood stove in the chapel area, as well as the one in the main cabin,

by Ken Zacharias was greatly appreciated.

Eight pastoral couples were present, including one couple who are pastoral candidates in the Juarez, Nuevo Pacto Church. Although not all of the pastors in the conference were able to attend the retreat, it was a special time for those that were together.

The pastoral couple from the La Norteña church was able to be comforted. The pastor’s sister had been killed in a home robbery in the city of Chihuahua just three days before the retreat began.

I had the privilege and opportunity to share two messages based on Matthew 11:28–30: “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

Pastor Victor Pedroza spoke a two-part series on – Pastor Juana Ines de Barba Anabaptist distinctives, emphasizing the Christcentred life. In the second session he allowed time for response with a question and discussion time.

Not surprisingly, there was a healthy, lively discussion, with the non-violence position and the role of the Holy Spirit in Anabaptism sparking the most dialogue.

Pastor Victor is involved in a new church start in Cuauhtémoc, while his wife Ofelia pastors the Anahuac church.

The pastors desire to be encouraged. Many of the churches have struggles, but the pastors have faith that the Lord is at work and will build His church.

During the communion service each pastoral couple shared about their ministry,

Pastor Florencio Iquado (standing, centre) and his wife (seated) visit with Pastor Juana Ines de Barba of Chihuahua City.

With Our Missionaries

A decade with ‘moments of fullness’ WINNIPEG, MANITOBA

Fall 2011 marked an important anniversary: Amie and I have now been serving in Winnipeg’s North End for ten years!

In fall 2001 we began our assignment with TRI-CYA to lead a church plant in this community. A first step was to look for a house in the neighbourhood and start praying for our future neighbours. We started getting to know the staff at ICYA and find ways of working together with them.

We tried to familiarize ourselves with the North End landscape, learning about local organizations and ministries, schools, businesses, restaurants and streets. We began to meet community people.

I remember the first time I was invited into a North End home ten years ago. Amie decided to spend the evening in a Robin’s Donuts while I joined a small group of men for their Bible study on Manitoba Avenue.

They were among the first aboriginal residents of the neighbourhood that I met, and in coming years we would become good friends and fellowship together in North End Community Church.

When the church plant ended, I joined the staff team of ICYA, serving as a community minister. This role has been a great fit and has allowed us to continue building relationships and communicating Jesus in the North End. We have had the privilege of being invited into many North End homes.

Even more significantly, we have been invited into the lives and stories of many neighbourhood people.

We have been welcomed by single moms, single dads, children, grandmothers, teens and new parents, by

addicts, battered women, residential school survivors and gang members, by committed Christians, skeptics and spiritual searchers.

We have sought to model Jesus and point to his love and power. We have also encountered God here, already at work.

Being allowed into these lives, encountering God’s fingerprints of beauty and grace in unlikely situations, has often felt like walking on holy ground. “While living among the poor, I experienced moments of fullness that were like tide pools teeming with fragile meaning” (John B. Hayes).

In my first letter to supporters 10 years ago, I wrote, “What if we feel inadequate for this work? …How can we step out of a life which we know and into a life full of unknown elements?”

Looking back, it’s true we didn’t know what we were getting into, and our feelings of inadequacy have often resurfaced. But it has been worth it and we look forward to being part of more of the exciting work of God as

we keep on getting in over our heads.

God has blessed us with supporters who have sustained us to continue our ministry for the long haul. Many of you have been actively supporting us through your prayers or finances for many years. Thank you so much.

– Andrew Reimer

Amie and Andrew Reimer (Steinbach EMC) serve with Inner City Youth Alive in Winnipeg’s North End.

Ascend Internship Program Omar Villanueva left Canada on Nov. 14, 2011, to spend the next eleven months in Guadalajara, Mexico, through the Ascend Internship Program.

Omar grew up in Mexico and is now a member of Iglesia Emmanuel in Calgary, Alberta, a Spanish-speaking congregation under the pastoral leadership of Antonio Pitta.

Besides being in love with Jesus and outspoken about his faith, Omar enjoys graphic design and video editing. He plans to complete his Bible college education in the coming years.

The Ascend Internship Program is for those who want to explore whether God may be calling them to full-time missions service. It provides an introduction to EMC missions work and a context in which participants can develop their gifts in outreach, leadership, intercession and discipleship while working alongside career missionaries.

Omar covets your prayers during his internship. You can keep track of the ministry in Guadalajara at www. teamguadalajara.blogspot.com.

– Board of Missions

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 21

With Our Churches Many Rooms Church Community

Summer 2011 at MRCC Winnipeg, Man. — Dedicated covenanting! We hung out in the backyard of Steve and Fiona Thiessen’s place again for our annual covenanting service in June. It also served as a baby dedication event for Emily Grace Kornelsen and her proud-as-punch parents, Jen and Dallas.

Party on! August insanity included many of us at MRCC involved in the annual Spence Street block party. We blocked off the street and helped organize games and events for everyone from the ages of one to a hundred and one.

Luke came away triumphant in the hammer and nail competition and was very happy. In a sad note, many eggs were harmed during the egg-inspoon dash.

Moving insanity! Summer wouldn’t be summer without people changing addresses.

Some people moved with plenty of notice and others moved at a moment’s notice.

Some people moved a few blocks over and some moved a few continents over.

Some people moved Church camp: One, two, three ... Go! away for the summer only to return; others moved away for a pancakes ever produced in the history longer period and it may mean goodof humankind. bye. Each and every move had its Money, Money, Money! This year own unique challenges, stresses, and saw our little church apply for, and reblessings. ceive, charitable status. We are pretty Camp craziness! We crammed 35 excited about this, but it also means a people into a bus (and what seemed lot more work for some people in our like 65 million pieces of luggage into a church. van) and had a ridiculously good time It brings up all sorts of new quesat Beaver Creek Bible Camp on the tions and challenges in regards to September long weekend. tithing, stewardship, and budgets.

Bonding highlights for the 65 Feel free to pray for us as we figure people attending included lots of disc out what God would like us to do. throwing, zip line craziness, injury– Dallas Kornelsen free giant Dutch blitz, and the fluffiest

Counselling Youth with HighRisk Behaviours taught by Corey Herlevsen Egg race: pre-race tension.

Many youth are having a love affair with risk and danger. High-risk behaviours may involve drugs, alcohol, sexuality, skateboarding, dangerous driving, theft, arson, and more. What lies behind high-risk behaviours?

How can families, friends, and youth workers respond biblically and meaningfully to youth engaged in dangerous activities?

March 8–10, 2012 Thursday 7:00–9:54 p.m., Friday 7:00–9:45 p.m., Saturday 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Visit www.SBCollege.ca for more info or to register.

Kids wait to be eaten by the giant crocodile.

22 The Messenger • January 2012

With Our Churches Portage Evangelical Church

Smiles on our faces and in our hearts Portage la Prairie, Man. — Two things are for sure: at Portage Evangelical Church, we love Jesus and we want to share His love with the people who live in our city.

On Saturday, August 27, 2011, we transformed our parking lot into a Western Carnival. Many friends and neighbors joined our congregation for a fun afternoon of hotdogs, popcorn, pony rides, bouncy castles and train rides.

This is the third year that we have hosted this event in an effort to get to know our neighbors and to share with them the love that we experience from Jesus. It was a blessing to have opportunities to serve, to witness, to love and to converse with more than 100 families.

It takes a volunteer base of around 60 men, women and children to run booths, serve food, make music on the main stage, and monitor the petting zoo. God blessed us with a beautiful day, many great contacts, and a smile in our hearts that comes from reaching out.

– Mary Loewen Submitted for Cathy Epp

Guadalajara Prayer Team Date: February 20–27, 2012

This prayer team of seven people will be visiting strategic locations in Guadalajara, praying specifically for the people of this city. If you have a burden to be part of a prayer team, we ask that you consider this selfsupporting opportunity.

Contact Ken Zacharias, kzacharias@ emconf.ca or 204-326-6401.

teamguadalajara.blogspot.com

Face painting and pony rides (right) were part of PEC’s carnival on August 27, 2011.

•• Island Gospel Fellowship

Interim pastoral couple appreciated Burns Lake, B.C. — We were privileged to have Peter and Telita Janzen here as interim pastor from October to the second week of December 2011.

They are from Hillside Christian Fellowship (near Grande Prairie, Alta.).

They visited a lot of homes, and Pastor Peter gave us some wonderful insights in word and deed. These activities were greatly appreciated.

Twenty ladies gathered for a Christmas party on December 5, 2011. Telita Janzen gave an object lesson, basing her lesson from Colossians 3. Set your heart on things above and the gifts we can give in time, a visit, or just a smile.

The youngest little lady there was five months; and, since Christmas started with a child, it was timely when a reading of Mary’s diary was read and she gave soft gurgles of joy.

The church had its Christmas banquet on December 11, 2011, and we said

our good-byes to Peter and Telita.

A long standing member and one of the founders of Island Gospel Fellowship, John Knelsen went to his heavenly home on December 20, 2011. John was active in the Gideons organization.

His memorial service was on December 23, 2011. He will be missed by the church family and his many friends.

– Vida Thiessen

Peter and Telita Janzen

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 23

With Our Churches Abbeydale Christian Fellowship

New Abbeydale faces Calgary, Alta. — On Sept. 4, 2011, we were blessed to receive William Boateng and his sons Augustine and Felix into our membership. Pastor David Funk introduced their stories of faith by thanking them for the gifts they have already shared with our church body.

William and his sons came to us from Ghana almost three years ago.

Upon arriving in Calgary, William prayed about finding a church. One Monday morning he woke up determined to find a place to worship.

“I walked around two churches and something said to me, ‘Abbeydale is the church for you.’ By God’s grace we are here,” he said.

“Maybe I am here to encourage you. Maybe I am here so that you can minister to a stranger. I came as a stranger; now I have friends who bless me and my children.”

Augustine, 18, is grateful to have been born into a Christian family and was baptized when he was 14. About a year later he came to Canada with his father and brother.

He saw Canada as a land of freedom where you could do whatever you wanted and, if you worked hard, you could get whatever you wanted.

His integration wasn’t easy.

In school kids tried to pressure him into joining a gang. God gave him the strength to refuse. They tried to get him to fight, but he tried hard to avoid those situations.

Despite being bullied, he stood his ground. Now they leave him alone, but he has no friends at school. He is grateful to have friends in the church.

Felix’s Christian upbringing makes it difficult to pinpoint a date of salvation, but he was baptized at age 13, shortly before coming to Canada.

As their plane flew into Calgary, he loved the beauty of the bright lights.

His school experience was more positive than Augustine’s and he quickly found friends.

Pastor David welcomed them into our membership, reminding us that it is no accident they are in our midst and that we need them as much as they need us. Every person in our

Pastor David Funk welcomes Augustine, William, and Felix Boateng into membership.

24 The Messenger • January 2012

church body has an important role.

In 1 Corinthians 11 we are reminded that God has arranged the parts just as He wanted them to be.

Despite being a radically diverse group of people, we are one body because of our shared experience of grace.

On Sept. 11, 2011, we joyfully accepted Joshua and Finnessa Adams into our church family. As a teen Josh sought security and a sense of purpose. He recognized Jesus’ unconditional love as the remedy.

Finnessa has been impressed by a sense of God’s vastness revealed in so many ways in her everyday life.

Following their testimonies, they presented their daughters Charity Sofia and Grace Adora to be dedicated. Why choose the formality of parent-child dedication? “As parents we publicly declare that caring for God’s temporary gift is a difficult and important ministry requiring the help of God, family, friends and church,” they said.

We were reminded that children learn the language of faith through us, the Church.

– Brenda Dyck

Josh and Finnessa Adams joined Abbeydale and presented daughters Charity and Grace for dedication on Sept. 11, 2011.

With Our Churches Heartland Community Church

Celebrations, bonding, and Advent!

Landmark, Man. — September 11, 2011, marked a special double celebration for our church: our Little Lambs graduation and our baby dedication ceremonies. Sheryl Plett, Tabitha Hildebrandt, and Doris Andres prepared a wonderful service.

The Sunday School graduation featured a slide show that introduced these young children and their families in a more personal way. A special thank you goes out to all our Sunday School teachers who have committed their time and talents to teaching the next generation.

On October 16 many in our church and the extended family and friends of Andrew Hildebrandt

and Donovan Reimer came together Sunday evening to celebrate their commitment to follow Jesus and be baptized.

In November 2011 our Heartland hockey men entered a team in the EM CUP. I managed to take in one of their games at the T.G. Smith Arena in Steinbach, Man. It looked like they thoroughly enjoyed themselves, though I did hear groaning the next day from some of the more senior players.

On November 18 many Heartlanders packed up their sleeping bags and headed for Camp Cedarwood in Lac du Bonnet, Man. It was our church’s second annual winter family camp. The weekend was a good chance to bond as a church family.

In December 2011, to finish our Advent series, the story of Christmas was told through the eyes of a shepherd boy, the innkeeper, Joseph, and then Baby dedication on Sept. 11, 2011: Jameson, daughter of Mike Mary. Arlene Younger and Lyndsey Moore; Nadia, daughter of Christal and Doug Schulz directed a Barkman; Keagan, son of Jenna and Tony Wall. ladies ensemble,

Women’s ensemble

which was the melodic bond that kept our attention fixed on the most important event in history, the incarnation of God. Another word for incarnation is “Avatar.” The movie Avatar (2009) is a pagan myth with a modern social commentary. In 2010 it became the highest grossing film of all time.

In early 2011, there was the advent of another Shepherd Boy kind of avatar.

(Ethan Funk) If you’re a Jeopardy trivia fan, you’ll remember this “avatar” as IBM’s famous Watson Supercomputer.

Watson beat Jeopardy champions Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings, the top two money earners in the TV gameshow’s history. After losing to the machine, the good-humoured Jennings, a former computer programmer himself, wrote, “I, for one, welcome our new computer overlords!”

Though many people today believe that the virgin birth of Jesus is a myth, Christians know and celebrate God’s unique revelation to humankind, God in the flesh. And as He is the Creator and source of all wisdom, we look forward to His second advent when every knee shall bow before our Lord.

May you experience God’s nearness in 2012!

– Brigitte Toews

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 25

With Our Churches Pansy Chapel

Baptisms, elders, and shoeboxes Pansy, Man. — July 24, 2011, was an exciting day for all of us at Pansy Chapel. Five people—Chris and Coral Heese, Chantelle Heese, Elvera Wiebe and Annabelle Reimer—had chosen this service to testify of God’s grace and His working in their lives by taking water baptism.

The church was more than packed with family and friends, and the entourage to the creek just behind the church (literally beside Pastor Leonard Barkman’s house) is always a special part of it. It’s our version of the Jordan River.

Then we returned into the chapel to bless them with special thoughts, verses or prayers. That part, of course, is ongoing even now.

In October 2011 we were privileged and blessed with the dedication of our

freshly chosen elders and their wives. Dennis and Betty Anne Braun continue another term, but new are Cornie and Martha Sawatsky and Danny and Janice Reimer. A special spot in the service was made for their commitment and prayer for them.

As they work at being the eyes and ears of the con- A July 24, 2011, baptism was held at the creek. gregation and helping meet various leadership needs, may God and various leaders to form a prayer inspire and bless them much! circle around them with the intent of We didn’t think we could beat last sending each gift off with a personal year’s record, but we outdid ourselves and hearty prayer. with shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse.

Our passion for this project has On Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, we piled up been growing since we have had peoall 172 Christmas boxes (about a third ple involved with the distribution of of them were backpacks) at the front the gifts. They tell us how important of the church. We invited the elders and precious our efforts are.

– Betty Barkman

•• News Thiessen awarded bursary Sarah Thiessen (Blumenort) received in November 2011 the Emma Baerg Missions Bursary, awarded from Bethany College where Sarah is a first year student. She, her parents Paul and Lois, and siblings have been connected with Burkina Faso for years.

Emma Baerg devoted 32 years of her life serving as a missionarySarah Thiessen teacher in India.

– Bethany College and EMC

26 The Messenger • January 2012

Janet Plenert new MDS manager in Canada Mennonite Disaster Service Region V (Canada) is pleased to announce that Janet Plenert has been named its manager. Plenert will oversee MDS Region V’s disaster response in Canada and USA. She replaces Lois Nickel who resigned in August.

Janet Plenert

Janet is currently the vice president of Mennonite World Conference and has broad experience within Mennonite Church Canada.

– MDS

News

‘We must live within this whole church, or we won’t live’ Larry Miller reflects on 22 years at MWC’s helm

PHOTO: MERLE GOOD

Strasbourg, France — Dr. Larry Miller, who had worked in missions and with MCC, became Mennonite World Conference’s executive secretary during the Winnipeg assembly in 1990. Now he is reflective as he leaves.

“My primary calling has been to amplify the voice of the Global South and its rising,” he says. “The centre of gravity of the global church has shifted South. We must

In 2011 Cisca Mawangu Ibanda of Congo (DRC) presented gifts to executive secretary-elect César García (r) and Larry Miller.

in th ere h W

e world...can you

“The church is both local and global....

One without the other is heresy.”

– Larry Miller

continue to adjust our sails accordingly to catch this new wind of the Spirit.”

“The church is both local and global…The special foundational task for MWC during these years has been to recover this New Testament view of the church.

“At the same time,” he states, “the global church without the local church is not fully the church either. One without the other is heresy.”

Another theme: “Even as we’ve begun to grasp the wonder of what it means to belong to our particular global family of faith, we are still a fragment by ourselves…We must see other global Christian churches as part of the whole church universal to which we also belong. We must live within this whole church, or we won’t live.”

“While the giftedness of our Anabaptist community is being acknowledged by other world communions, the limitedness of it is also…Together, we’re recognizing our need of each other,” says Miller.

– MWC

Member sought for BCM

hM

volu nte er wi t

DS

photo by Duane Steiner

?

These Canadian volunteers are helping their neighbours in Minot, ND. The experience is out of this world.

The EMC General Board, and the Nominating Committee, invites submissions of names of people to serve on the EMC Board of Church Ministries. The board is currently one member short on its seven-member board.

The BCM has a wide mandate in the areas of education, publication, youth, and archives. It oversees The Messenger and the National Youth Committee.

The BCM meets for an evening every other month. Members are also to take on a committee role: Youth, Archives, Education, Inter-Mennonite Chaplaincy Association, or Worship/Music (currently part of the Education Committee).

Names of educators, historians, worship leaders, and youth workers (and others interested in these areas) can be submitted to Tim Dyck, EMC General Secretary. Between council meetings, the General Board makes appointments.

– Board of Church Ministries

Call or write 1-866-261-1274 mdscn@mds.mennonite.net to discover what is needed where and when.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 27

News

Foodgrains Bank continues work in East Africa $13 million committed to help 355,000 people

PHOTO: BARB SUMMERS/PWS&D

Winnipeg, Man. — Twenty-two projects worth $13 milAbout 960,000 people benefit from CFGB’s assistance. lion—that’s what Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) “We continue to be grateful for everyone who donates has committed to help about to help us help those who don’t 355,000 people suffering from have enough to eat,” says CFGB drought in East Africa. executive director Jim Cornelius.

About 18,500 tonnes of food “Even though East Africa is out and other assistance is being disof the news, needs there continue tributed by 22 projects in Kenya, to be great—and there are many Ethiopia and Somalia. other needs around the world Eight of CFGB’s 15 members that receive no media attention. are active in the region, while Every gift is welcome.” others are offering financial In addition to East Africa, support, says international proCFGB is also inviting donations grams director Grant Hillier. for Pakistan, which experienced The responses in East Africa Women wait for a food distribution in Northern Kenya. severe flooding in fall 2011. are part of CFGB’s larger work CFGB can be contacted at around the world, with 72 projects worth $23 million havwww.foodgrainsbank.ca or 1-800-665-0377. ing been approved since April 1, 2011.

– CFGB

Letters

••

continued from p. 5

A rich history of courageous choices

Having recently celebrated the incarnation of the Prince of Peace, I found the letter from Don Plett [Surprised by struggle, December 2011] surprising.

I grew up in the Midwest during the 1950s with a father who has a World War Two U.S. Marine and subsequent Army Reserve officer and was immersed in a strong blend of civil religion and military life. Nearly 36 years ago, by the grace of God, I was grafted into the Anabaptist Mennonite branch of Christian faith and life.

During one of our voluntary service terms with MCC, I was at home

28 The Messenger • January 2012

on Memorial Day and assisted Pops and his comrades putting flags on veterans’ graves. We had a very good conversation about service, and I told Pops how I appreciated him and the value of service that he lived.

Like him, I felt that service was a high priority and shared that I chose a different path of service, which he clearly respected.

To appreciate the freedoms that we enjoy does not mean we forget who we are and whose we are. Because our highest allegiance is to God, we have a rich history of courageous choices and lifestyles that have

put us in conflict with the dominant culture of the day.

As brother Plett said, “We should all work towards peace; something we should do every day, 365 days a year,” which, of course, includes Remembrance Day. So when courage is demonstrated at The Forks, by fleshing out “to remember is to work for peace,” my response is one of deep gratitude.

Should Jesus show up at The Forks and be offered a poppy or a button with “to remember is to work for peace,” I wonder which he would choose.

– Brad Nance Winnipeg, Man.

Columns • writings shared

Kids Can Dig the Bible and Kids Can Make Peace (Faith and Life Resources, MennoMedia), $19.99. Reviewed by Lisa Schau, a member of St. Vital EM Church.

F

inding curriculum for Sunday School or other kids’ programs is difficult. Balancing the issues of cost, amount of prep work, wanting activities that are engaging but meaningful can be stressful!

When I was given two thin soft cover books to review called Kids Can Dig the Bible and Kids Can Make Peace, I was skeptical. But we tried the Dig the Bible curriculum with our Children’s Church, and it was worth it.

Both books include real-life stories, scripture passages, songs, crafts, interactive games, and friendship building activities. There are instructions about how to prepare oneself to lead, fun ways to help kids memorize scripture, suggestions for snacks, recommended books for kids to read, and suggestions for managing behavior issues. The curriculum is thoughtful, imaginative, and comes with many options for activities.

This curriculum is not about filling time on Sunday morning. It’s about giving kids (and their teacher) opportunities to live out our faith.

Each book contains complete plans for 10 one-hour sessions: opening day, eight Bible lessons and closing day. It is geared for a larger group (some games require two teams of eight kids each) and for grades one to five (children need to be able to read). Our group was younger (ages four to eight) and so we did some adapting.

Using the curriculum required quite a bit of prep work: gathering or purchasing craft supplies, props for storytelling or for the games suggested. Some projects require recycled

materials; others require items from craft/dollar stores. There is no music CD, so we chose songs (from a long list) that we knew or for which we had music.

Kids Can Make Peace is about finding ways to make peace: with the environment, ourselves, people around us, and in the global community.

Kids Can Dig the Bible is about learning the Bible: what it is, what is in its different sections, and how it came to us. It encourages kids to see the Bible not as a list of instructions to be obeyed, but to celebrate the Bible for its encouragement, guidance, and pointing us to the God who loves us.

This curriculum is not about filling time on Sunday morning. It’s about giving kids (and their teacher) opportunities to live out our faith. There are extended project options like making blankets and bird houses for others (Peace) or treasure chests and wall hangings (Bible) that can be worked on each week.

There are many suggestions that would take you outside of church walls to make a difference in the community. At the end of the Bible lessons, during an interactive Sunday morning service, our entire congregation celebrated the gift of God’s Word to all of us.

It was quite a bit of work, but I loved every minute of it. When it was over, I was ready for the summer break.

But what a way to end! We have given the kids help to become students of the Bible and shared in a celebration of how good our God is to give us a book through which He welcomes us to know Him.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 29

In Memory

John H. Knelsen 1917-2011

John H. Knelsen passed away on December 20, 2011, at the age of 94 in Burns Lake, B.C. He was born to Abraham and Helena Knelsen at home on the S.W. quarter number 25 in McMahon Township, Sask., on October 26, 1917. He married Elenora (Nellie) Reimer on November 10, 1940, in McMahon, Sask.

Dad’s mission in life was to minister to others physically and spiritually. From the time he was a child on the farm until his last days in hospital, he tried to help people in small and big ways.

He was a Conscientious Objector during World War Two and ministered to men in camps during his Alternative Service years in Banff and on Vancouver Island. He encouraged men to quit smoking and helped others by writing letters. Once he returned, he farmed for years near McMahon, Sask. During the revival in the Swift Current, Sask., area, the Knelsens joined the EMC church in Chortitz.

Yet, because of health issues, Dad realized farming was not for him. He felt the Lord calling him to move his family to become part of the EMC’s church start in Burns Lake. In 1961 he became a founding member of Island Gospel Fellowship.

Over the years he was Sunday School superintendent, board member and chairman, deacon and lay

30 The Messenger • January 2012

minister. As recently as November 2011 he preached a morning sermon.

He joined Gideons International, spent years building up the local camp, and enjoyed handing New Testaments to students. He started IGF’s Christian Service Brigade.

Prayer was the largest focus of his ministry. It extended to family, church family, missionaries, community, and government (local, provincial and federal). After each election he wrote the new official, congratulating them, admonishing them, and assuring them of his prayers. Dad lived an evangelistic lifestyle, ministering to people and encouraging many.

He dearly loved his wife Nellie. They were together for 67 years. When they walked together, they always held hands.

In later years when Nellie was in a wheelchair, he accommodated her needs. For the past four years he grieved deeply.

He leaves to mourn: his children, Rick (Grace) of Winnipeg, Rosalind of Smithers, Peter Allen of Smithers, Tim (Jean) of Vanderhoof, Judy (Willy) of Burns Lake, Marian (Bruce) of McClure, Dolores (John) of Burns Lake; grandchildren Litonya, Ryan, Les, George, Pomeroy, Brian, Tracey, Trevor, Rod, Terry, Angela, Gloria, Abram, Gillian, Keenan and Rhett; 27 great-grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter.

He is also survived by his sisters Mary Olfert and Jessie Krahn and sister-in-law Susie Knelsen all of Sask.; and by numerous cousins, nieces, nephews; and many friends.

He was predeceased by his wife Nellie, son James, parents Abraham and Helena Knelsen, son-in-law George Illes, sister Helen, and brothers Abe and Jake.

His memorial service was on December 23, 2011. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills…My help cometh from the Lord, which made Heaven and earth…

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore” (Psalm 121).

– His Family

Mary K. Loewen

1907–2011 Mary K. Loewen was born to Cornelius and Anna J. Loewen on March 20, 1907, in Rosenort, Man. She was ushered into glory on Tuesday, Sept.

27, 2011, to be welcomed by her Saviour.

Reflecting on Aunt Mary’s life, it was a long life; some of us might say that, for the most part, it was a tedious life.

She attended the Rosenort School.

On August 2, 1931, at the age of 24 she made her public profession of faith by being baptized and joining the Rosenort EMC (Kleine Gemeinde) where she remained a member all of her life.

Growing up on the farm she did her share of the hard labour. In her younger years it was not unusual for her to be out on the field managing a team of four to eight horses.

Mostly, however, she worked in the garden and in the house. Aunt Mary was truly a green earth-friendly person, making everything from scratch and avoiding all chemicals that might contaminate the soil and the body.

The long winter months provided time to catch up on sewing and other stitching projects. Her embroidery and crocheting were done to perfection and nurtured her keen sense of artistic creativity.

In the summer of 1996 her sister Tina passed away. She joined her sister

In Memory Margaret and brother Jake at the Eventide Home that fall. In April 1997 her sister Margaret passed away.

Within six months, Aunt Mary had lost her two closest sisters and her home. It was like the dark clouds of life’s events were not going to leave her and she grieved greatly.

The Flood of 1997 created more changes, which eventually brought her to the Red River Valley Lodge were she resided till the day of her death.

We, as a family, wish to thank the wonderful staff at the Red River Valley Lodge who provided Aunt Mary with all the loving care throughout the 14 years that she resided there.

During her stay at the Lodge, Mary experienced several falls and approximately eight years ago she suffered a fractured hip. There were several deep fainting episodes over the years as reminders that her body was aging.

To the very end her mind was alert and, though she had almost complete hearing loss, she recognized us and was always happy to see us.

On September 22 she fell and her pain was intense. Every effort was made to keep her comfortable. At one point she expressed her desire to die.

On September 27 her wishes were granted.

She was predeceased by her parents Cornelius and Anna Loewen; siblings and spouses, Elizabeth and Peter T. Kroeker, Margaret, Anna, Helen and John Koop, Tina, Peter and Elizabeth, Isaac, Cornelius and Margaret, Jacob and Helena, and John.

She is survived by her sister-in-law Helen B. Loewen and numerous nieces and nephews.

The verses found in 2 Timothy 4:7–8 seem to perfectly fit Aunt Mary, and may we all be challenged to make them our own as well.

– Her Family

Nicholas Eidse 1921–2011

Our dear Dad, Nick Eidse, passed away on August 21, 2011, at Red River Valley Lodge in Morris, Man., at the age of 90 years. Dad went to be with Jesus, his Redeemer and Friend, forever free of pain, no crippled feet, not hearing impaired.

Dad was born on Feb. 17, 1921. He will be sadly missed by his children, Mary Ann (Ernie Loewen), Florence (Danny Loewen), Elmer (Lucille), Larry (Sandi), Jim (Terri), Marlene (Clarence Dueck), Karen (Lloyd Kornelsen), Laverna (Rob Rempel); 31 grandchildren; and 25 great-grandchildren.

Dad is survived by four brothers, Johnnie, Dave, Benny and Frank; and one sister, Elizabeth Siemens.

He was predeceased by his wife Mary in 2007; two great-grandsons, River and Ocean; eight sisters and six brothers.

Dad grew up on the big D. K. Eidse farm, working with his brothers and hired hands from an early age, learning all about farming, endurance and getting a job well done. He got his elementary education at Rosenhoff North School and had the opportunity to take grades 9 and 10 in Steinbach.

Dad accepted Jesus as his Saviour and was baptized upon the confession of his faith. His siblings observed Dad’s joy and peace and decided to follow Jesus.

In 1940 Dad came before Judge

Adams to defend his position as a Conscientious Objector. Dad was granted his request and served in Dryden, Ont., for five years.

Dad and Mom farmed hard at Pleasant Valley for 40 years. Dad worked hard and provided for his family through years good and bad.

Dad was a people person, an amazing example of love and acceptance, interested in each person he met.

He would listen to our struggles and achievements and prayed for his children and grandchildren. He kept up friendships from the past.

Highlights of Mom and Dad’s trips were a mission tour to Paraguay when ZP-30 started and later visiting Ernie and Mary Ann when they were missionaries there.

Dad was curious about world affairs, reading widely and listening to CBC radio every night. He enjoyed studying, spending time in the Word, preparing well for Bible study and Sunday School.

Dad and Mom served as deacons in Pleasant Valley; and even after this assignment ceased, visiting the elderly and shut-ins was still a priority.

Dad loved music and singing. What a joy it was to sit with him and sing from his collection of favourite songs.

Dad was a storyteller. All of his stories had great and wonderful detail and were told to us throughout his life. His many life stories of battles he fought and won leave an example for us to follow.

Dad’s peace during his last years amazed us. We know he prayed ahead for this time and he leaves us this legacy from Philippians 4: 6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your minds in Christ Jesus.”

– His Family

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 31

In Memory

Peter F. Kroeker 1933–2011

Peter F. Kroeker went home to be with his precious Lord and Saviour on Friday, Oct. 14, 2011, at the age of 78 years.

He passed away peacefully with his family at his side at Bethesda Hospital in Steinbach, Man. Peter was born to Peter A. L. and Elizabeth Kroeker on July 25, 1933, in Meade, Kansas. He accepted Jesus as his Saviour as a teenager and was later baptized upon the confession of his faith.

Peter married Minola (nee Eidse) on Aug. 12, 1962. He is survived by two daughters, Gailene (Michael) Rauser and Lorraine; one son, David (Freda); and one grandson, Jamieson Rauser.

His loving wife of almost 49 years, Minola, predeceased him on July 23, 2011. He was predeceased by one

Calendar daughter, Lorna May, in infancy and one daughter, Brenda, in 2008.

Peter was a generous and compassionate individual. He had a great sense of humour and enjoyed telling stories.

It brought Dad great joy when the whole family would gather together for special occasions. The family really was Dad’s life.

Peter had several different jobs throughout his working years: CP Rail, Plateau Mills, CN Rail, and working at Loewen Windows for the past 20-plus years. Dad was a great provider.

Dad spent his last two weeks in hospital. Thankfully he didn’t have to spend more time suffering before the Lord took him home.

We as a family would like to thank Dr. William for his care over the years.

Thanks to Dr. Earle for her kind, compassionate care for Dad during his last week.

The nursing staff at Bethesda Hospital gave Dad fantastic care. Thank you!

As well, thanks to all our family and friends who upheld us in prayer, provided meals, etc. You are all so appreciated.

His funeral service was held on Wed., Oct. 19, 2011, at the Evangelical Fellowship Church in Steinbach, Man., with pastors Allan Dueck and Glen Koop officiating. Interment was in Heritage Cemetery.

– His Family

British Columbia no events currently

Alberta no events currently

Saskatchewan no events currently

Manitoba Feb. 17–19 IMPACT youth discipleship weekend Steinbach Bible College 204-326-6451 www.sbcollege.ca

Mar. 16–17 SBC Leadership Conference: Can These Dead Bones Live Again?

Speaker: Dr. Pierre Gilbert Steinbach Bible College 204-326-6451 www.sbcollege.ca

July 6–8 EMC Bicentennial Convention Providence University College 204-326-6401 www.emconference.ca

Ontario no events currently

32 The Messenger • January 2012

Shoulder Tapping Pastoral positions La Crete Christian Fellowship Church (EMC) is looking for a full-time associate pastor to be an integral part of the pastoral team.

La Crete, located in the northwest corner of Alberta, offers a blend of a friendly rural lifestyle and a progressive outlook. The town offers a range of family-oriented amenities, including an excellent educational system, opportunities for sports and recreation, variety and affordability in shopping, and healthcare services. La Crete is a great place to raise a family, even if we are on the top edge of most Alberta maps!

LCCF’s service to God is based on the core values of a commitment to worship, discipleship, teaching of God’s Word, and reaching our community and world with life-changing Good News. We are a vibrant church of approximately 500 regular attendees who desire to spread the Word through a variety of ministries designed to help us fulfill the church’s mission.

The associate pastor will provide direction to our care giving and out-reach ministries as well as work closely with the pastoral team to strengthen the parishioners’ personal connection and commitment to Jesus Christ.

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

If the Holy Spirit seems to be inviting you to pursue this further, please contact Isaac Dyck at 780-926-9455, idyck@mmiab.ca, or www.lccfc.ca.

Rosenort EMC seeks a full-time senior pastor to begin immediately. Rosenort EMC is a rural

The EMC Church Planting Task Force with the Board of Leadership and Outreach is beginning the process of calling a Canadian Church Planting Coordinator.

Job description and qualifications can be found at www.emconference.ca/serve.

To speak to someone about this role, contact the search committee: Peter Dueck (204-364-2442 or peter.dueck@vidir.com), Stephanie Unger (204-779-2888 or sunger@ shaw.ca), or Randy Fehr (519-773-9021 or tpmconglomorate@gmail.com).

Resumes can be submitted to CPC Search Committee, 440 Main St, Steinbach, MB R5G 1Z5 or to any search committee member.

church with regular church attendance of approximately 250 people. Rosenort is situated in southern Manitoba with agribusiness as the main industry.

Our church is a multi-generational church with strong family ties.

To submit a letter of application or request information, contact Arlin Scharfenberg, ascharfenberg@xplornet.ca; 204-746-6154; Box 106, RR 1, Morris, MB R0G 1K0.

Youth work Mennville EMC and Riverton Gospel Chapel (EMC), in Manitoba’s Interlake region, seek a full-time youth pastor for a joint youth group. Candidate should have strengths in relationship building and have an ability to plan a comprehensive youth program. Contact Paul Peters at 204-378-2740 or paulhecla@yahoo.com.

Other opportunities Horsemanship instructor and summer barn staff needed for Christian camp operating summer programs for underprivileged kids. Also needed are summer staff members: counselors, kitchen staff, maintenance, nurse, secretary and program directors. The camp is located near Edmonton, Alta.

Email bright.wood@hopemission.com or website: www.brightwoodranchcamps.com. Police checks are needed.

Steinbach Bible College invites applications for position of Faculty in Biblical Studies and a related ministry focus. The candidate will teach and provide direction for mentoring women at the college.

The successful candidate will have a minimum of an M.A., experience, and skills in church-related ministry, as well as a commitment to participate in the CMC, EMC, and EMMC conferences. The candidate will be committed to the mission of SBC as an evangelical Anabaptist college equipping servant leaders for church ministry, and our core values of the Bible as the foundation, Discipleship as the process, Community as the context, and Mission as the purpose for learning.

Teaching responsibilities include Biblical studies and a ministry focus such as worship, spiritual formation, family ministries, or others. Other responsibilities include guiding student ministries as well as mentoring women as leaders, academic advising, resourcing churches and conferences, and teaching in alternative formats.

Preference will be given to candidates with an MA degree or higher in biblical and ministry studies.

Candidates will possess proven teaching skills and a passion for discipling young adults. Candidates desiring to continue post-graduate studies are encouraged to apply.

Applicants will be committed to fully integrating classroom learning and church ministry, as well as supporting the mission, core values, lifestyle

expectations and statement of faith of the college.

See www.SBCollege.ca for information about the college.

Review of applications will begin March 1, 2012 and will continue until the position is filled. Only candidates for interviews will be contacted. The position starts August 1, 2012 with salary based on qualifications and experience.

Applications should be made by sending a resume with a cover letter, and three references submitted to: Dr. Terry Hiebert, Academic Dean, Steinbach Bible College, 50 PTH 12 N, Steinbach MB R5G 1T4, or thiebert@sbcollege.ca.

Inner City Youth Alive is hiring a full-time work skills coordinator. This individual will possess skills in the trades such as renovation, carpentry and flooring in order to provide hands-on job training for young adults in the North End, and will desire to mentor them in their daily life. If this is you, please contact James at 204-528-8779 ext.205 or james@ icya.ca, or visit www.icya.ca for more information on the position.

Eden Foundation invites applications for the position of director of development.

Eden Foundation based in Winkler, Man., supports the programs of Eden Health Care Services, which is owned primarily by the Mennonite Churches of Manitoba. Eden provides acute and community mental health recovery services in collaboration with our faith constituencies, local communities and the Regional and Manitoba Health Authorities.

The Director of Development works collaboratively with the CEO and staff and is responsible to the Foundation Board. Duties include church and constituency reporting, public relations and marketing, fundraising and all aspects of fund development.

Qualifications: A University degree or equivalent training or experience, strong and creative communications skills, demonstrated project or event management experience and familiarity with the Manitoba faith constituency. The Board is seeking an individual who exhibits a strong understanding and affirmation of the intersection of faith values and mental health recovery.

Submit resumes to Director of Development Search, Eden Foundation, Box 129, Winkler, MB R6W 4A4. Fax 204-325-8742; james@edenhealthcare.ca.

Applications will be received until the position is filled.

The Messenger does not sell advertising, but provides free space (classified and display) to enhance our Conference, its churches, boards and ministries; interMennonite agencies and educational institutions; and the wider church. Ads are not to be for monetary benefit. To place an ad, e-mail messenger@emconf. ca or call 204-326-6401 and ask for Rebecca Roman.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 33

Columns • pictures of god ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

Knowing

M

by Joanna Enns

y criminal law professor made every class a new adventure this past semester. We never knew what to expect as he picked apart—and often disagreed with—the decisions of high court judges. He taught us not only how to read and apply the law, but also to test it and question it and see why it has been applied in certain ways in specific cases.

Some students got so lost in his complexities they quit coming to class altogether and studied criminal law from the textbook.

By the end of the semester, however, those of us who stuck it out had started to get a handle on our professor’s take on the law.

We knew which Supreme Court judges he agreed with, which ones he didn’t, and which factors he would consider when analyzing their judgments. Even before class, I could often correctly pick out the sections he would highlight and what he might say about them. But the real test of our knowledge was the 100% final exam.

An upper year student told us that in law school you never have a criminal law exam; you have your professor’s criminal law exam. When I took my professor’s final exam from last year in preparation for this year’s final, I realized how true that is.

I can study and read and increase knowledge. This knowledge only becomes a part of me, however, once I immerse myself in the way the Teacher interprets and applies the law.

I also realized how well I knew my professor.

Working through the exam questions, I knew intuitively how my professor would respond and which issues he was trying to draw out. Although I needed to brush up on my case references for my final, I knew that I had somehow absorbed the core.

34 The Messenger • January 2012

This experience was an epiphany in knowing. Gaining knowledge is fairly simple and can be achieved by books as easily as going to class.

But immersing yourself in the way a particular person analyzes and interprets that knowledge takes you to a whole new level of knowing and into the realm of intuition rather than memorization.

This was a challenge for my Christian life.

I can study and read and increase knowledge.

This knowledge only becomes a part of me, however, once I immerse myself in the way the Teacher interprets and applies the law.

Jesus’ complicated questions about the Old Testament law and his apparent challenges to it were a shock and affront to the teachers of the law. Many of the common people were fascinated by the ways he took the old law and reinterpreted and reapplied it. Some followed him eagerly to hear more; others left him and returned to their books and traditions.

As I go through life, I can often come up with the verse or principle that might apply to a situation I encounter, but my intuition needs some work. When I watch the news or am engrossed in a controversial conversation, I rarely have the sense that I know exactly how Jesus would respond to this comment or situation.

My challenge and goal in the New Year is to brave the complexity and immerse myself in the Teacher, to listen to Him interpret the world and the law so that I myself can learn to go beyond the surface of knowledge to the heart of knowing.

Columns • stewardship today

The raising of Ebenezer Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer—“the stone of help”—for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!”

– 1 Samuel 7:12 NLT “The Ebenezer stone represented a fresh beginning, a reversal of course for God’s people. It also said something important about God: his mercies were everlasting; his covenant was forever.”

– Charles Lehardy from his dream with new resolve. His life would no longer be one of misery, but one of gratitude; and in so choosing he was transformed into the ebullient Ebenezer, who laughed with joy and overflowed with generosity.

“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, ‘God bless us, every one!’”

This year, may we all generously share God’s blessings with others!

Have you ever met a happy, ungenerous person? Of course not!

They don’t exist.

ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

T

he Advent season is a time of preparation and anticipation. The Christmas season is a time for celebration and repletion. What follows, for me, is a season of contemplation.

This year, I reflected on the classic Charles Dickens’ story, A Christmas Carol. In particular I thought about Ebenezer Scrooge, the miser who was the very essence of miserable.

He was surrounded by generosity and love, but willfully rejected it. He lacked generosity and was ungrateful to the extreme, unable to either give or receive.

Have you ever met a happy, ungenerous person? Of course not! They don’t exist.

As the story goes, Scrooge received a gift on Christmas Eve that he could not refuse. In one night Scrooge was brought face to face with his choice to reject love and generosity over his lifetime.

He came to accept the misery of his life as the direct consequence of his choices. Then something amazing, something astounding happened: Scrooge received grace through his decision to live differently.

Just like the Ebenezer stone signaled a new beginning for Israel, Ebenezer Scrooge awoke

by Darren Pries-Klassen

Darren PriesKlassen is the executive director of Mennonite Foundation of Canada (MFC). For stewardship education and estate and charitable gift planning, contact your nearest MFC office or visit Mennofoundation.ca.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 35

Keep a secret or a pet

C

by Loreena Thiessen

an you keep a secret? Your best friend is having a birthday and you’re invited to the party. You have a gift, something she really likes. Can you keep it a secret?

What do you do? You want her to be surprised so you don’t tell.

Do you keep a pet? What do you when you keep a pet? You take care of it, feed it, walk it, take it to the vet if necessary.

You play with it. You are responsible for it and make sure it gets what it needs.

Near a river or creek a sign says, “Keep away from the ice!” or “Keep back from the edge!”

What does this mean? It means to stay away from danger so you’ll be safe.

The word keep means to watch over or to guard. Keep is a common word used everyday.

Keep also means to have or hold. You keep your dog on a leash. You keep your books on a shelf.

You keep your lunch in your locker. You may have keepsakes, special items you want to save which remind you of a special person or event.

Who is the keeper?

1

Across

2. keeps out the ball 6. a dungeon (two words) 7. makes sure of peace 8. special item

Down

1. responsible for animals 3. forever (two words) 4. sells bread and milk 5. guards the gate

There are zookeepers, goalkeepers, and gatekeepers. There are storekeepers and peacekeepers. Each one is responsible to guard and take care of something.

Adam’s job in the Garden of Eden was to take care of it and keep it. It was his home and his work to look after.

Mary kept or saved Jesus’ words in her heart (Luke 2:51). God requires you to hear his words and keep them (Luke 11:28). It means to know them and to do them.

Psalm 121 is a promise of protection. Who is the protector? God is.

He says he will keep you, guard and watch over you; he is your keeper. What will he do as he guards and watches over you? He will not doze off; he will not fall asleep. He will always do his job.

Read Psalm 121. Keep his words.

2 3

4

5

6

DESIGNPICS.COM

7

8

36 The Messenger • January 2012

Answers to Who is the keeper? Across: 2. goalkeeper, 6. the keep, 7. peacekeeper, 8. keepsake; Down: 1. zookeeper, 3. for keeps, 4. storekeeper, 5. gatekeeper

Columns • kids’ corner

The Messenger Evangelical Mennonite Conference 440 Main St, Steinbach, MB R5G 1Z5 Publications Mail Agreement #40017362