The Messenger September 2017

The Messenger With Our Churches a publication of the

Evangelical Mennonite Conference

Volume 55  No. 5 September 2017

ALSO INSIDE: Inviting Healthy Change page 6 10 Things Not to Say to a Grieving Parent page 10

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Menno Simons, Remembered and Forgotten

page 13

Editorial

Relating to Others Through Senua’s Sacrifice

T

he Board of Church Ministries is tentatively exploring a Mental Health Initiative that could be partly reflected in The Messenger. Stay tuned for more information.

The initiative fits well with a current video game I have been making my way through for the past few weeks, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, by developer and publisher Ninja Theory (Rated: M). Writing about video games may be something new for The Messenger, but as the saying goes, “Write what you know.”

Senua’s Sacrifice is an unusual game in that it is more focused on a deeper understanding of mental illness and fostering empathy for those that have it. The protagonist is afflicted by “psychosis,” a mental disorder that has many potential causes with symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and catatonia.

The developer has spent significant time and care creating this narrative, and Senua’s mental state is more than

just a gimmick. The mental health advisor Dr. Paul Fletcher and nonprofit Wellcome Trust are given top billing as the game begins. Fletcher is a psychiatrist and professor of Health Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge.

The story follows Senua on her Dante-esque journey through the Celtic/Norse underworld of Helheim to find her lost love, Dillian.

Throughout the journey not only does Senua have to face the trials set before her, but also those of her own mind.

The player is constantly asked to question their reality through the use of distorted visuals and a constant bombardment from the voices in Senua’s head that at times can be trusted and at others not. Explaining it in a few sentences will not do the experience justice.

At times it can be nearly impossible to make decisions based on the conflicting information thrown at the player by the six voices Senua hears.

I found that I was being told specifically what I should do to succeed, but I had begun to just ignore all of the sound I was hearing. It took several failed attempts in an encounter for me to realize that my coping attempts were hurting my progress.

This mimics an exercise that many mental health professionals will use when trying to inform people about psychosis. Volunteers attempt to maintain a conversation while they are bombarded with conflicting statements from people around them. In living with a condition, some struggling people shut out the real conversation around them—and we need to be understanding.

While the narrative structure of Senua’s Sacrifice takes a Norse framework, there is much that we can learn from this game. It allows for an amount of empathy that I have not previously found in books or other media.

The game forces the player to experience the frustration and paranoia that those with psychosis and schizophrenia deal with in many of their daily interactions with others. It demonstrates the patience needed for us to love our neighbours who suffer from this all too common condition and allows us to walk a mile or two in the shoes of those we don’t often hear about.

– Andrew Walker

The game forces the player to experience the frustration and paranoia that those with psychosis and schizophrenia deal with in many of their daily interactions with others.

2 The Messenger • September 2017

Table of Contents Features

Columns

6

5

Inviting Healthy Change – Gord Penner

10 10 Things Not to Say to a Grieving Parent – Angelyn Kuiper

Writings Shared

16 Further In and Higher Up Suffering the Corinthians – Layton Friesen

page

22 Focus On

13 Menno Simons, Remembered and Forgotten – Terry M. Smith

17

Praising the Lord for Cornerstone Fellowship Church!

– Tim Dyck and Terry M. Smith

31 Reformation Reflections

Departments

An Ugly Incident Over Communion – Terry M. Smith

2 Editorial

34 Here and Far Away

3 Pontius’ Puddle

The Same Last Year and Next Year – Jocelyn R. Plett

4 Letter 17 With Our Missionaries

page

29

35 Stewardship Today

23 With Our Churches

It's Better to Give!

– Wendy Helgerman

32 News

36 Kids’ Corner

33 Shoulder Tapping

page

A is for Apple – Loreena Thiessen

page

23

19

Check out Layton Fiesen's column on page 16

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 3

The Messenger Volume 55 No. 5 September 2017

EDITOR TERRY M. SMITH tsmith@emconference.ca

ASSISTANT EDITOR ANDREW WALKER awalker@emconference.ca

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

The Messenger is the publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. Its purpose is to inform concerning events and activities in the denomination, instruct in godliness and victorious living, inspire to earnestly contend for the faith.

It is published 12 times per year, six in print (also online at www.issuu.com/emcmessenger) and six in a website format at www.emcmessenger.ca. To get the most out of The Messenger, viewing both versions is encouraged.

Letters, articles, photos and poems are welcomed.

Unpublished material is not returned except by request.

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

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

Subscription rates (under review) 1 year print subscription $20 ($26 U.S.) Manitoba residents add 8% PST. Single print copy price: $2 Subscriptions are voluntary and optional to people within or outside of the EMC. Subscriptions are purchased by the Conference for members and adherents.

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

ISSN: 0701-3299 Publications Mail Agreement Number: 40017362 Advertising The Messenger does not sell advertising, but provides free space (classified and display) to enhance our Conference, its churches, boards, and ministries; inter-Mennonite agencies and educational institutions; and the wider church. Ads and inquiries should be sent to messenger@emconference.ca.

4 The Messenger • September 2017

Letter

Silence Needed in the Sanctuary I agree with the Apostle John: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 3).

Having lived the days I have it is easy to say: So much of Western Christianity is going to the dogs in our day.

It is not entirely so. Our present younger generation is doing some things better than we have done in the past. The Bible speaks about “our fathers have sinned in the past,” which is true. And probably it could also be said that many generations have stressed some good traditions and neglected some others.

In our present western Christian generation our “fear of the Lord” is poorly respected, I believe. May our Lord help us to improve that! Philippians 2:8-11 includes “that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow.”

Guidelines for letters

Letters published are generally to comment on issues raised in The Messenger. The magazine reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, legality, and taste. It can refuse publication.

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.

How much knee bending, physically and spiritually, am I doing and in our church is there going on?

Do I like to do my prayer on the recliner and the Christian commitment is it done at our convenience? In Calvary, Jesus knelt down and prayed.

In my earliest church attendance, worship was started with kneeling in prayer and was closed with kneeling in prayer. Silence in the sanctuary, singing and preaching were part of the worship.

Today there is loud visiting in the sanctuary pews until the preacher shouts for the worship to start and cracks a joke at which those who can hear it will chuckle.

Does our present generation need to be more devout and sanctified?

God bless!

– Jake K. Friesen Steinbach, Man. For letters by e-mail, the writer’s name and e-mail address are deemed to be an electronic signature. The writer’s regular postal address is to be included in e-mail correspondence.

The writer’s name and general address are to be published. In sensitive matters, names may be withheld. Letters to the editor are to be 250 words or less.

Want to get more from The Messenger?

The Messenger is free of charge in an enhanced electronic version at the electronic magazine database service Issuu. at https://issuu.com/emcmessenger. On Android or IOS, search the app store for the free Issuu app (Issuu: A World of Magazines). Once downloaded, open the app and search for “The EMC Messenger.”

The Messenger has a six issue print cycle with increased quality in

January, March, May, July, September, and November.

The Messenger has launched a new website at www.emcmessenger. ca. Content is made available weekly (editorials, lead articles, church news updates, missions news, job listings, and more). The website is optimized for desktop, mobile and tablet viewing, and is integrated with the EMC’s social media.

Column • Writings Shared Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, Nathaniel Philbrick (Penguin, 2006). 463 pp. $20.

ISBN 9780143111979. Reviewed by Terry M. Smith, minister and Executive Secretary.

E

ver hear of “King Philip’s War”? Darryl Klassen’s question and suggested book title led me to this look at the Pilgrims’ first few decades (about 1620 to 1676) in what is now the U.S. Canadians know that First Nations helped the first Pilgrims in the U.S. to survive and about the first Thanksgiving feast they celebrated together. As Darryl has said, Mayflower puts a different spin on traditional images. In my view, if they had known what was ahead, the First Nations people might have let the first Pilgrims starve or freeze to death.

The Pilgrims, who had left the Anglican Church in England, sought to establish a pure, separate lifestyle in the New World. Their ideals hit the reality of living in a mixed European community and the struggle for survival. The second generation of Pilgrims forgot how reliant their parents were on the First Nations. The European population grew; the fur trade and

spirituality declined; and, as farming developed, more land was sought.

Some First Nations, observing their loss of lands and control, began a short-lived war (1675-76), partly under Philip, who had adopted a European name. In response, the Europeans distrusted even the “Praying Indians,” converts to Christianity; they were exiled to an island where harsh conditions killed many. As Praying Indians began to be trusted, they were used, with Mohawks, to turn the war.

The ugliness of war, not one-sided, is revealed here. Only rare voices on various sides can be found to object to the conflict, or to advocate for social justice for First Nations and show spiritual concern for them. Nor did the ugliness end with the war; when the war was over, many First Nations people were shipped as slaves to the West Indies.

Philbrick’s assessment tempers mythology with reality.

Titles Self-Published by EMCers in 2017 or Earlier In Praise of Altruism: Living For Others Because Selfishness is the Pits, Arden Thiessen (2017). A critique of human selfishness, it focuses on the love, generosity, and practical kindness central to the teachings of Jesus and his apostles. 213 pp. ISBN 9780978052522. $10 (paperback).

The Stranger: A Story of Romance and Intrigue, Eleanor Lee Gustaw (2017). Romance and intrigue follow detectives Thea and Gene Ashton where they discover God’s amazing plan for their lives and redefine their calling. 396 pp. ISBN 9781512776874. $27.95 (paperback).

Food For Fun and Fellowship: Favourite Recipes of the Canadian Evangelical Mennonite Conference, Melanie Frayle (2006). Nearly every EMC church is represented in these

favourites to be used to express Jesus’ love by serving family and entertaining at home. 291 pp. $16 (coil paperback).

The Gentleman, Jacob Enns (2012).

On a hunting trip Jeff Nolan, a widower and a pacifist, is confronted by a serial killer. How does he respond?

ISBN 9781460202418. 210 pp. $14 (paperback).

Twenty Big Questions: Toward a Biblical Worldview for Restless Truth-Seekers, Arden Thiessen (2016). A gentle defense of core biblical beliefs, showing their unity is the best witness to their truthfulness and validity. 221 pp. $10 (paperback).

Titles are available from the national office or the authors. Prices do not include postage costs. www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 5

Convention 2017

Inviting Healthy Change

ANDREW WALKER

by Gord Penner

6 The Messenger • September 2017

Convention 2017

C

hange is inevitable! It is all around us, in our family, our churches, and in our country. In times of change, how can we ensure that the changes we make are healthy and aligned with the will of God? Three Old Testament stories help us recognize keys to healthy change: Joshua, Jephthah, and Esther.

Joshua: Remember God is Faithful!

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The transition in leadership from Moses to Joshua was a time of crisis. Imagine following a successful leader like Moses. His was a tough act to follow, to say the least! “For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all of Israel” (Deut. 34:12).

The Lord assured Joshua of His continued presence, just as He had been with Moses. The changes ahead were monumental and unnerving. The Lord admonished him, “Be strong and courageous!” Sometimes change is thrust upon us; sometimes we look for it because the old ways are not working anymore. But knowing how God has been faithful in the past can help us to move forward with confidence.

The change in leadership came at a crucial time. Israel was moving from wilderness wandering into a land with walled cities. They

Joshua at Jericho

The Lord assured Joshua of His continued presence, just as He had been with Moses. needed to shift their victim mentality from the days in Egypt to heirs of the promised land, one which God said He would give to them. Their hope rested in His promises for their future.

At a personal level, we also need to remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness. We need to recall God’s protection and direction in our past.

These stories help to prepare our children for adult responsibilities and decisions as they leave our “nest.” They help us to be strong and courageous. The Lord’s faithfulness does not change.

Joshua and his generation were successful in taking the land.

Jephthah: Choose Scripture Over Relevance

However, after Joshua died, “another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what He had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals” (Judges 2:10-11). How was it possible to forget God so quickly? Very simple.

By failing to pass on the faith and knowledge of God to their children, the next generation did not know Him. As the people forgot God, they continued their downhill spiral throughout Judges until the end of the book states that “everyone did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).

Jephthah was one judge who led during this dark period of Israel’s history. His story illustrates the result of anchoring change to well-intentioned enthusiasm rather than God’s Word. As the Ammonites rose to attack Israel, Jephthah mustered an army and went on the attack.

Before going, he made a vow to win God’s favour: “If you [God] give the Ammonites into my hands whatever comes out of the door of my house to

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 7

Convention 2017 disconnected from a correct understanding of Scripture, we end up looking like “the world” and become like salt that has lost its flavour, good enough to be thrown out and trampled underfoot (Matt. 5:13).

Healthy change takes place when the Word provides a solid foundation for how God wants us to live as a distinct society in the world. Healthy change must be anchored on a clear understanding of the Word.

Esther: Place Others Above Self-Interest

Queen Esther

meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD’s and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering” (Judges 11:30-31).

After Israel’s victory, Jephthah’s daughter ran out of the house to welcome her victorious father.

Jephthah kept his vow and sacrificed her. Tragic!

Jephthah should have known from the Torah that God forbids human sacrifice. Israel had been told, “You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods” (Deut. 12:29-31, emphasis added).

Jephthah‘s enthusiasm trumped faithfulness to Scripture and the result was costly.

What do we learn from the story of Jephthah? Change can be motivated with a desire to be “relevant.” But when relevance is

Jephthah‘s enthusiasm trumped faithfulness to Scripture and the result was costly.

8 The Messenger • September 2017

Esther’s story provides a third key to healthy change. When the Jews returned from Babylonian exile, some remained in Persia, including Esther and her cousin Mordecai. When Queen Vashti refused King Xerxes’ demand to attend a feast, she was deposed and Esther won a beauty contest to become her replacement. Esther followed Mordecai’s advice to keep her Jewish heritage a secret.

One of Xerxes’ officials named Haman suffered from low self-esteem, which is shown by his request to the king to issue an edict that everyone bow down to him. Mordecai refused, and this irritated Haman. Mordecai explained that as a Jew he would not bow down to any mere human. This further incensed Haman and he devised a plan that would kill not only Mordecai, but all the Jews in the country. He drew up an edict and the king signed it.

When the Jews heard of this new law they were appalled and they fasted and mourned.

Mordecai, through servants, made Esther aware of the crisis. She replied that she could not enter the king’s presence without his invitation. To do could result in death. Esther’s loyalty was put to the test. What cost was she personally willing to risk for the sake of her people? Here is her dilemma: if she approaches the king, she risks death. If she does not plead for her people, they will be killed.

Convention 2017 So long as we live, we will keep changing. We need to ensure that the change is healthy. Change that is connected to our past and anchored in God’s Word.

Mordecai advised her: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house that you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14).

Esther chose the needs of her people above her own. Esther survived and not only were the Jews are spared, but “many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them” (Esther 8:17).

We all come to defining moments in our lives. Maybe not as dramatic as Esther’s, but ones that are very important in God’s plan. We are given a choice how we will respond.

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Healthy Change

Joshua teaches us to move forward with confidence, based on God’s faithfulness in our past.

Jephthah illustrates the result of forsaking a biblical foundation in order to pursue relevance.

Esther teaches us the value of seeking wise, godly mentors and committing to fervent prayer in times of change. Sacrificing self-interest for the sake of the community is key to furthering God’s mission, and may result in growth we might never have imagined.

So long as we live, we will keep changing.

We need to ensure that the change is healthy.

Change that is connected to our past and anchored in God’s Word. To do this, we must have a faith that lays aside personal preferences to advance the kingdom of God—in our own lives, in our churches, and in our conference.

Gord Penner (Ridgewood), BRS, MDiv, ThM, is an ordained EMC minister who serves as a professor of Old Testament studies at Steinbach Bible College. This article is his summary of the three messages he presented during the 2017 EMC Convention.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 9

10 Things Not to Say to a Grieving Parent

by Angelyn Kuiper

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hen my onemonth-old daughter Eloise passed away unexpectedly last September, the comments and questions started rolling in. Everyone means well, hoping to say something that will bring some level of comfort and peace. But not all comments bring the comfort intended.

I’ve heard all of these statements at some point in the past six months.

Some might make you cringe, and some of these statements you may have said before (and that’s okay). The point is not to make you feel bad or shame you for things you’ve said in the past, but perhaps help you better navigate interacting with a grieving parent in the future.

I’m not a grief expert by any means, but here are some phrases/questions said to me and my husband that have stung:

2. “At least you still have each other.”

I agree. I am blessed to have my husband in my life during this time, and I think he’d say the same about me. Having someone to grieve with who completely understands and identifies with what I’m feeling is a comfort. I know this journey of grief would feel unwalkable without him. But we still lost the biggest love of our lives.

We loved being a family of three, and we both hate that we’re back to a family of just two. We’re incomplete, broken.

I know God doesn’t necessarily cause evil to happen, and that he is always working for our good and his glory through our tragic experiences.

1. “At least she’s in heaven.”

There is no at least in losing your child. There is no bright side. I’ve heard variations of this comment several times: “It must feel bittersweet…”

“At least she’s with Jesus...”

“At least she’s in a better place...”

Am I grateful that Eloise lives in heaven and is rejoicing in her Saviour? Definitely. Am I grateful that someday I will be reunited with my daughter in heaven and spend eternity together?

Absolutely. But this hope I have doesn’t lessen the sting of losing her much too soon. I’m always going to wish she could be in my arms.

10 The Messenger • September 2017

3. “God has a plan.”

We will always wish Eloise’s journey included living a long and happy life on earth with us.

I don’t like this turn of events, and I’d like to request a different plan (pretty please?). I know God doesn’t necessarily cause evil to happen, and that he is always working for our good and his glory through our tragic experiences. I pray that someday we’ll be able to see the hand of God working in our lives during this time. But I’ll be wrestling with God on this giant “why” question for a long time.

4. “You’re still young. You can have more kids.”

We do plan on having more kids, and that’s something to look forward to. I know that future children will bring us joy, but I will always look at my family knowing it’s not complete on this earth. The hole she left can never be filled. Future babies we have aren’t replacement babies. Keep in mind, also, that the statement “you can have more children” is not true for everyone.

6. “I know how you feel.”

I hear this comment often, usually followed by a lengthy story of their loss: “I had a miscarriage…” or “My friend died last year….” Instead of sharing stories of your losses, make the moment about the grieving parent in front of you, not yourself. It can be hurtful when someone tries to compare their loss to yours. It can feel like they’re trying to change the conversation or take the focus off your loss.

It’s also important to note that losing a child is a unique experience. It’s different than losing a friend, a grandparent, a parent, etc. Not that those losses are any less significant—they’re just different. Unless you’ve also lost a child, it’s impossible to fully identify with a parent who has lost a child.

I don’t always love the person I’ve become since losing my daughter.

5. “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.”

Does this statement really bring comfort? When it was said to me, it made me question how well I was coping with losing my child. Should I be handling this better? Why do I break down so often?

Losing my daughter is way more than I can handle, but I know God doesn’t deserve my blame for her death. God stands beside us, even through our darkest moments. And thankfully, he is a God of grace, and his new mercies every day ensure that I can continue walking through life.

7. “You’ll be a much stronger, more compassionate person because of your loss.”

I certainly have more compassion for others, especially those who are grieving. I’ve also developed a great deal of strength out of necessity. But I also lost a big part of myself. I’m more anxious, less carefree, less optimistic, and more

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 11

DESIGNPICS

Don’t avoid a grieving parent just because you don’t know what to say.

emotional. I don’t always love the person I’ve become since losing my daughter.

8. “At least it happened early on.”

Losing your child is devastating no matter how old they are.

9. “What can I do for you?”

Too general. Try instead: “Can I bring you dinner Tuesday night?” or “I’m planning to mow your lawn this weekend.” The more specific, the better. Especially in the first couple months after my daughter’s death, I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t even know what kind of help to ask for.

It’s best to make a specific offer, and keep making those offers well into the future too. The meals and favours tend to stop after the first couple months, but grieving parents could use favours long after that.

10. Nothing at all

Don’t avoid a grieving parent just because you don’t know what to say. I’ve had people physically change directions just to avoid me. I would much rather you risk saying the wrong thing than completely avoid me. Even a simple “I’m sorry” goes a long way and lets me know that you care and are acknowledging my daughter’s death.

Take heart! There are some things you can say to a grieving parent. Here are a few suggestions: I’m so sorry.

I’m praying for you.

12 The Messenger • September 2017

No parent should have to go through this.

My favourite memory of your son/daughter is when…

I’d love to hear about your son/daughter.

I think about you and your son/daughter often.

Your son/daughter will be missed.

I’m sure you miss him/her so much.

When in doubt, just listen, be present, express your sympathy, and know you’re not going to have the magic words to make a grieving parent feel better. Your efforts to interact with us and walk beside us are appreciated and noticed. We’ll do our best to give you plenty of grace, and we hope you give us grace, too, as we plod through the rocky and unpredictable lifelong road of grief.

Angelyn Kuiper is a writer and marketing specialist who works for the Christian Reformed Church in North America. She’s passionate about finding ways to love our neighbours in tangible ways and empowering the church to respond to God’s call to let justice flow like a river. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is a mom to daughter Eloise in heaven and wife to husband Michael. She attends Faith Community CRC in Wyoming, Michigan.

Her article first appeared in the CRC News (March 29, 2017).

The Protestant (Radical) Reformation Through 2017

Menno Simons, Remembered and Forgotten

by Terry M. Smith

I

n this year when the Protestant (Radical) Reformation is remembered, Menno Simons is a 16th century leader to whom we are indebted and yet often forget. Some EMCers know Menno’s story; others know little. Pastors play a role in this.

Many of us were raised within the EMC. We’re shaped by this Dutch former priest, indebted to the Radical Reformation, influenced by the Small Church’s leaving the Big Church in 1812, and have family who were born on “this side” or “that side” of a river.

For others, few reasons why we attend an EMC church clearly relate to Menno Simons: it meets nearby, is evangelical, friendships, family, Kids’ Club, VBS, camp work, Sunday School, coming to faith in Christ, limited options, church conflict elsewhere.

Some people attend because a local EMC church has Mennonite in its name; others, because it doesn’t. Some attend because of a church’s non-resistant position; others despite it or because it might mean little locally. Yet each church is linked to Menno Simons.

Credit WGM and Others

Credit leader Ben D. Reimer and the Western Gospel Mission’s workers for opening the EMC door 70 years ago to non-Dutch/German people. The WGM in 1946-1961 planted churches in non-Mennonite communities in three provinces, downplayed the term Mennonite because it was a barrier to outreach, and adapted somewhat to local cultures.

As people have noted, it is ironic that aggressive church planting happened by pacifist German-speaking people just after World War Two. Credit also goes to non-Dutch/German people who decades ago became members (or a pastor, such as Edwin Wright) when it might have been easier to go elsewhere. As a result, changes have happened and are happening.

Honed Earlier

GAMEO

For some of us, our “Anabaptist convictions” were partly honed in Baptist, Pentecostal, and other Evangelical circles before joining the EMC. I was attracted to the Mennonite church because the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, a fine denomination, would likely not have ordained me because of my stance on the Holy Spirit. I sought an evangelical option (despite my United Church roots) and was influenced by MCC on peace and social issues. Joining the EMC in particular was more luck than good management—credit Jim and Virginia Dyck (then in Wabowden) and the EMC contingent among SBC’s faculty.

Thought and Menno Simons Menno said to test what he taught by the Word— and stay with the Word. His focus was on Christ.

Whether we’ve joined the EMC from the inside or outside, we’re to consider Menno Simons’

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 13

teachings. It dishonours him and seems un-Anabaptist to do otherwise. Not that we must agree with him on all matters. Menno Simons insisted that people test what he said by the Word and Spirit and, if there’s a difference, stay with the Word and Christ (Complete Writings, 311).

Menno never said to study Scripture because all roads lead to him. His focus was different: it was on Christ.

Exploring Menno Simons and the history he symbolizes is enriching, confusing, and disturbing—as can be any part of Church history. We might become aware of the many Anabaptist divisions, how some Anabaptists disassociate from Evangelicals, and how some people merge faith and culture under the term Mennonite. For some people the migrations to Prussia, Russia, Canada, and elsewhere fall within family history that is both significant and enriching; to others, the connection that matters starts and remains in Canada.

Comfort in Menno

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When disturbed, though, we can find some comfort in Menno Simons: he disliked divisions among Anabaptists, wouldn't want the church to be named after him, and thought the term Anabaptist didn’t fit him (334, 630). What might he think, then, when people claim to be born Mennonite, talk of Mennonite food and language, or describe themselves as Mennonite while not following Christ? How is Menno Simons honoured if not allowed to critique the church named after him?

What’s attractive for some of us is that Menno was evangelical in his understanding of Christ and his work.

“For Christ’s sake we are in grace; for His

14 The Messenger • September 2017

sake we are heard; and for His sake our faults and failings . . . are remitted,” he wrote in 1550.

“For it is He who stands between His Father and His imperfect children, with His perfect righteousness, and with His innocent blood and death, and intercedes for all those who believe on Him and who strive by faith in the divine Word to turn from evil . . .” (506).

Assurance of Salvation

Further, Menno Simons taught that a weak follower of Christ could have an assurance of salvation. In 1557 he pointed a sick woman to Christ: “I pray and desire that you will betake yourself wholly both as to what is inward and what is outward unto Christ Jesus and His merits, believing and confessing that His precious blood alone is your cleansing; His righteousness your piety; His death your life; and His resurrection your justification; for He is the forgiveness of all your sins; His bloody wounds are your reconciliation; and His victorious strength is the staff and consolation of your weakness….” What wonderful words!

He told her, “ . . . rest assured that you are a child of God, and that you will inherit the kingdom of grace in eternal joy with all the saints” (1051-1052). I once showed this passage to Rev. Dave K. Schellenberg, the WGM’s former field man, EMC church planter at Portage la Prairie, and the first editor of this magazine. It puzzled him. If earlier Kleine Gemeinde leaders read

An Unnatural Death

Menno’s writings and he taught on the assurance of salvation, why did they seem so uncertain of assurance?

No Boast of Perfection

Comfort in Menno Simons can also be found in his being an imperfect saint. “Think not, beloved reader, that we boast of being perfect and without sins,” he wrote in 1552. “Not at all. As for me I confess that often my prayer is mixed with sin and my righteousness with unrighteousness” (506). J. C. Wenger, a modern Anabaptist scholar, highlighted such references (footnotes on 233, 311, 447).

Menno was properly concerned about Protestants who sang of freedom in Christ “while beer and wine verily run from their drunken mouths and noses.” He objected in 1541 that “anyone who can but recite” that salvation is by grace through faith alone, “no matter now carnally he lives, is a good evangelical man and a precious brother.” Simons was concerned about a living faith, about faith and practice. Memorization and slogans weren’t enough then. They still aren’t.

Such correction wasn’t always well received: “If someone steps up in true and sincere love to admonish or reprove them…and points them to Christ Jesus rightly,” Menno said, “…then he must hear…that he is one who believes in salvation by good works, is a heaven stormer, a sectarian agitator, a rabble rouser, a makebelieve Christian, a disdainer of the sacraments, or an Anabaptist” (334). How might Menno Simons be received today as a preacher within our EMC churches and on Mennonite colonies?

J. C. Wenger says Menno wrote far too much defending what now is mostly discarded: that Jesus was born in Mary, but not of her (836-837). I agree. Nor do we need to hold to his strict view of church discipline: a spouse is to separate from a mate under discipline (478-479). He fluctuated on this depending, we can suspect, on who was pressuring him at the moment (1048-1049, 1058-1061).

His six “true signs” of the “Church of Christ” are useful for assessing a church’s maturity and doctrinal integrity (734-743), though I hold that denominations can be in Christ while partly in error. As well, given our strong concern in the EMC for evangelism and church planting, it’s important for us (including missionaries and evangelists) to learn from Menno’s concern for peace and social justice (100, 117-119, 194-198, 367-368, 602-604).

Menno said more. Agree or disagree with him on a particular matter, we best not dismiss him. He held his views in a difficult time at a high personal cost. If he physically died a natural death denied many others in his time, his memory dies unnaturally in our time if we forget him—whether our local EM church name says Mennonite or not.

Terry M. Smith (Rev.) joined the EMC in 1979, served as a pastor from 1985-1996, and became executive secretary to the BCM in 1997. He was raised in the United Church and baptized in a Baptist church. During journalism studies he was called to ministry and began pastoral training at Central Pentecostal College. He is a graduate of SAIT, SBC, MBBC, and PTS. Major source: The Complete Writings of Menno Simons (Herald Press, rev. 1984) edited by J. C. Wenger. A biography of Menno Simons is on 1 to 29; an autobiography is on 668674. Leonard Verduin, a Christian Reformed minister who died in 1999, graciously served as translator.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 15

Column • Further In and Higher Up

Suffering the Corinthians

W

hen we see things happening in the wider Church we strongly disagree with, we are tempted to react rather than suffer. Cutting myself off in disgust from sinful churches gives me a sharp jolt of spiritual Red Bull, but is this how Jesus responds to our sin on the cross?

I hear three major reactions in my church friends right now. First, many are reacting against the evangelical supporters of Donald Trump. “Evangelicals” are those people, the thinking goes, who welcome the most misogynist and xenophobic politicians in order to maybe win a round in the culture wars. And so, in order to prophetically denounce Trumpism, these reactionaries distance themselves from a larger evangelical movement that includes the likes of John Wesley, Billy Graham, and Elizabeth Elliot, not to mention Dr. Archie Penner.

A second reaction going on currently is a reaction against churches (especially Mennonite ones) that have affirmed same-sex marriage.

In this reaction these churches are associated with sentimental, liberal drip that exists only to “affirm” the latest contrivance of the sexual revolution.

This is causing serious irritation in relations between Mennonite churches and conferences.

People who react in this way suggest we pull out of MCC, MDS, and Mennonite World Conference because this work makes us guilty by association.

A third reaction is coming from people repulsed by the ultra-conservative Mennonites in their communities. These reactionaries want nothing to do with the name “Mennonite”

by Layton Friesen Conference Pastor

ISTOCK

Cutting myself off in disgust from sinful churches gives me a sharp jolt of spiritual Red Bull, but is this how Jesus responds to our sin on the cross?

16 The Messenger • September 2017

because this associates them with legalism, cultural Mennonitism, and narrow-minded social control.

“We don’t make our men grow beards.

We don’t make our women wear bonnets. We don’t harbour drug dealers, nor do our young gather behind Walmart on Sunday evenings to drink and smoke tires. So please don’t call us Mennonite.”

For the record, I disagree with Trumpism, same-sex marriage, and Mennonite drug-runners.

But the old rugged cross looms large over all our reactions. The Sinless One overcomes our sin not by dissociating himself from us, but by embracing us. This dwarfs all our pathetic attempts to maintain purity by distance. It silences all our fearful self-righteousness, all our shrill assumptions that, contrary to the whole Scripture, we were not that hard for Jesus to associate with.

We were a pleasure for him to come and visit.

It was not our sins that held him there. God did not need to hold his nose when he came to our house. Not like those other people—God has to be so gracious to them, so long-suffering and merciful. Why does Jesus keep consorting with those people? Has he no standards?

Here is the basic question confronting our reactions: If Jesus still associates with these people, if they are still part of the body of Christ despite their sin, what basis do we have for separating ourselves from them? Unless we know that Jesus has damned them, what theological basis do we have for disassociating ourselves?

The Corinthian Test is relevant here. Paul lays severe accusations (1 Cor. 3:1; 5:1,11; 6:5-6; 6:16). But instead of cleansing himself of association with this poor excuse for a church, Paul writes to them, sends them his best pastors (Timothy and Apollos), and eagerly anticipates spending the winter with them (1 Cor. 16). Paul is willing to endure the suffering this church causes him because everything in life must finally yield only to the gospel of Christ (1 Cor. 9:12). Paul suffers the Corinthians. Who will we suffer?

With Our Missionaries

MAF assists amid drought KENYA

BOM

In December 2016, predictions were already being made that the drought situation in Kenya would only intensify in the New Year. Below average rains in the past few years have meant that there is not enough forage for animals in the country’s arid livestock-dependent north.

In 2016, 1.3 million Kenyans were in need of food aid, and that number is expected to rise as high as four million in the months ahead. Humanitarian officials are predicting that unless there is coordinated action by the international community and NGOs, it is a catastrophe waiting to happen.

In February the Kenyan President declared the drought a national disaster, with 23 of 47 counties affected (including Marsabit), and has called for international help. The number of food insecure people has more than doubled; and over 350,000 children and pregnant and lactating mothers are acutely malnourished.

Many children are unable to attend school because of the drought’s impact.

In 2012 it looked like the Kenya program would be winding down to a bare minimum. The idea to start a sub-base in Northern Kenya began in 2014 when an assessment was done of the needs in Kenya. In January 2015 this assessment was incorporated as part of the Program Development Plan; and in March, the position for a pilot/manager was advertised (and you know how that turned out).

In past weeks, the MAF Team has been making it a priority to get the word out that we have a plane based in

One hundred goats were slaughtered and distributed to local residents who are dealing with a drought. Melvin Peters is on the right.

northern Kenya. The story of Esther comes to mind; God’s purposes will prevail and it is up to us if we want to step up and be a part of His-story. “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance … will arise from another place, but you and your [organization will no longer have work in Kenya]. And who knows but that you have come to [LogLogo] for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14, paraphrase by Kari).

In African culture a person’s wealth is in their herds.

The more livestock a man has, the greater his worth in the community. These simple people, living off of the land, do not have bank accounts; their animals are their life.

In a season of drought there is not enough food and water for all the animals. But re-education will take time and so meanwhile, creative ways of handling the situation need to be implemented like at a recent event that Melvin was able to witness.

He flew the Marsabit County Governor to the town of North Horr where he was meeting up with government representatives from Nairobi for a drought awareness and famine relief effort. They purchased a hundred goats from the villagers; the animals were immediately butchered and returned to feed the villagers. This did three things: reduced the herds, provided needed income, and fed hungry people.

We trust that, as the word gets out and NGOs receive the funding they need to help with the drought, MAF will be found faithful for such a time as this.

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

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 17

With Our Missionaries

An angel, a meetinghouse, and God’s sovereignty FORT CHIPEWYAN, ALBERTA

During a frontier career, we were somewhat familiar with the assistance of angels as boat propellers confronted miles of unknown rapids and ski planes required a sudden lift over treetops or aerial wires. Now on dry, rough land this angel was dressed as a police officer.

Dad and I were en route to Fort Chipewyan with materials to expand a church building—too much loaded upon our too-light equipment. Despite business in Hay River and Fort Smith during our day-and-a-half trip we were on schedule to arrive just before Bible study. Then one of our wheels fell off and ended up several feet of snow away from its axle.

When the officer showed, he managed by chains, boomers, ropes, axes, and more to winch the truck aboard a ramp-less trailer and tow it many miles with his threequarter-ton pickup.

My Dad enquired, “Mr. Trudeau might also be contributing to this cause?” But the officer had ventured out on his personal time even while he was tired and hungry following a full day of duty. I told him that on our nation’s 150th anniversary he’d done our country proud. He was surprized that we were able to lift so much that day with so little.

It is a stretch of faith in any location to attempt a building project without funds, but rigorous remote conditions add to this. The venerable Apostle Paul explained it: “For now we (church-planters) live, if you (supporters) stand fast in the Lord!” (1 Thess. 3:8).

Our Lord just carried on from where the good angel left off and continued working things out for His Glory.

One of my sisters, and then a physician from McMurray who hardly knows us, supplied almost all the food and air freight for the construction that commenced late in May. A local Metis friend donated his backhoe and his trackhoe when the ground-frost proved to be rock-solid. He also sailed his freighter upriver, bringing in our roofingmetal for free because, he says, Christians are “good for the community.” The county donated and delivered gravel.

While I cannot mention every contribution, I must recognise my father for his sacrificial gifts of time, much equipment, and costs. He and Mum taught us children, in exemplary fashion, the sovereignty of our God from before I can remember. Now in his mid-eighties, Dad continues to carry out, often alone on ice roads, more demanding ministry trips than do most pastors and many missionaries.

Annette’s home church paid for our development permits, some materials, and the tickets for several members to fly from Oregon to do the groundwork and main construction. And our Lord provided extra grace: neither of the main carpenters was enjoying full health at the time.

For my part, I worked with a shoulder mildly dislocated while dragging the waters for the bodies of men who had hit an iceberg several weeks previous.

As we carried on with the meetinghouse addition, even while everything else around was feeling grey and grim, many of our neighbours appeared somewhat cheered. They saw in our optimism something positive and worthy of support.

– Arlyn van Enns Arlyn van Enns has been a pastor and community developer in northwestern Canada since 1983 under La Crete Christian Fellowship and Northern Canada Evangelical Mission.

Join with Christ in shaping our

BOM

WORLD

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

18 The Messenger • September 2017

With Our Missionaries

Hacienda Verde holds Grand Opening BOLIVIA

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On behalf of the MEM team and the community of Green Farm (Hacienda Verde), Bolivia, I want to thank the EMMC, EMC and Sommerfeld churches for supporting us by attending the grand opening and dedication at Hacienda Verde on April 1 and 2.

We enjoyed good weather, good food, and super good music. We had worship and excellent music ministry from Manitoba, Paraguay, and Bolivia. About 500 people attended the event each day. The cooking staff prepared 1,400 burgers for Saturday lunch; that speaks to the event’s success.

God has blessed us with many people that have dedicated much work to the project. This is a combination of so many ingredients. First and foremost, God has blessed us. Investors saw the vision and were willing to put money into the project. People from the colony risked their lives and reputation into the hands of God to settle in a new place with dense forest, mosquitos, and bugs. Missionaries were willing to sacrifice family and comforts of home and move into the jungle. Last, but not least, many people have been praying for us. God wants to be exalted through that.

We expect that many people will come to know the Lord through the work at Hacienda Verde, and that it will cause growth in Christians. Children are already experiencing good Christian education; youth are getting together and playing games. In addition, there are Bible studies, and for the families there is good fellowship. This is all “soil” where the good seed of the gospel can grow.

We are seeing many people from the colony coming to ask for work. Young people would like to experience a broader world and they are also afraid in the colony. The young men are often threatened with a beating if they don’t obey in a certain way.

We are currently short on employment so some have been turned away. As time and development continues we believe that there will be more work so that we can hire these young men.

We are currently developing another village where there will be 18 lots. Nine lots will have five hectares (12.5 acres) and nine lots with 7.5 hectares (18.75 acres). There seems to be a high demand for this size of properties. Bigger plots of farmland will also be developed this year. We are working on plans, and hope to start building the new, permanent school building in 2017.

The power line is being constructed right now. The rains are slowing the work a bit, but the rain is also good for the soil. We are told to expect the grid power by August.

“And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have” (2 Cor. 8:10-12).

We wish you God’s richest blessing to all.

– Bill Kehler, MEM field director Note approved by Ken Zacharias, EMC Foreign Secretary: A new place to live was needed for people rejected by their colonies for their evangelical faith in Christ. Some investors got involved in purchasing land; and, over time, ownership will become local.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 19

With Our Missionaries

28 years later a call to return to PNG PAPUA NEW GUINEA

BOM

Twenty-eight years ago we made our first trip to Papua New Guinea. It was on a Destination Summit trip with New Tribes Mission (now Ethnos Canada). We left Saskatchewan in January in a blizzard and joined about 20 other folks in California before heading to Hoskins, West New Britain, PNG. Our main project was pouring a cement slab for the Missionary Children’s dorm. Hoskins is about five degrees south of the equator, and, after working there a few days, the team renamed it Hotskins.

Hot, humid days were spent working in the sun with one breadfruit tree for some relief; and the generator went off at nine every evening, which this meant the fans stopped too. The days were a little overwhelming for us, to say the least. We came to see what the Lord has for us as we contemplated full-time mission work in PNG, but, at first, it was hard for me to see past the sweat in my eyes.

The Lord is faithful and brought a couple of things to make it clear that tribal evangelism in PNG was what He had in mind for us. First was a trip into the jungle to help two couples and a single lady with construction on their houses. It was still hot, sweaty work, but working alongside the tribal people, and experiencing their excitement of having these missionaries come to live with them, gave me a clearer picture of what it was all about. I can still picture one young man in particular.

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AND MINISTRY The GSTM is a special place that helped me—by its faculty who care and think, students from different traditions, and subject matter that stretched the soul— to serve in the Church. The bursary for EMC students helped a lot, too.

David Kruse MA (Theological Studies), 2011grad

A bursary for graduate students from the Evangelical Mennonite Conference is available.

For more information contact mkrohn@cmu.ca.

cmu.ca/gstm CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY

20 The Messenger • September 2017

The other was when a missionary couple shared their testimony with the team one evening in Hoskins. They had just arrived a few months earlier for their orientation time.

They were in their 50s when they decided to come as fulltime missionaries. I can’t remember what they said, but it was definitely another confirmation from the Lord of the path He had for us.

We came back to Canada and made the commitment to go into training with NTM in Ontario. We did that in the fall of 1990. We look back and continue to see God’s faithfulness on the journey. He brought us back to PNG in 1993 to work with the Pukapuki people on the other side of the country. Now, 28 years later, He’s leading us to go back and help in Hoskins again for a time.

The children’s dorm has served its purpose over the years, but the school is now closed. We just heard that it will have to be demolished because of termites.

There are no longer missionaries in the tribe we visited 28 years ago, but there is a church with a New Testament and believers following the Lord. I don’t know about the young man in my mind’s eye, but I know that he at least had the opportunity to hear God’s plan of salvation. There will be many people from that village that we’ll meet some day in heaven. We had a small part in their lives. Sometimes that’s all we have.

– Tim Schroder Tim and Laurel Schroder (Pelly) serve with Ethnos Canada (formerly New Tribes Mission).

With Our Missionaries

A vibrant church: the continuing fruit of my parents’ lives!

BOM

MEXICO I came back from Mexico more convinced than ever that God is real, powerful, and working in the lives of people everywhere. It was spring break mission trip (March 24 to April 2) to the City of Juarez in Chihuahua state.

One of the most powerful moments for me was during Sunday morning worship at Nuevo Pacto, an EMC mission church plant, our first day there. I’d been looking forward to worshipping there. It’s a church into which my parents, Jake and Bertha Kroeker, invested many years; it was my home church through my high school years. But that was in the late 70s—almost 40 years ago. I only recognized a few older people.

The worship started with powerful celebration, loud enough for the neighbourhood to participate in even without coming to church. The band was great. The worship leader did a lot of good teaching and application between songs. But the most powerful thing for me was a deep connection with these people as we worshipped the same almighty God. I found myself getting emotional. How do you explain that kind of love and unity among strangers from such different cultures? A few tears managed to sneak out and make their way down my cheeks. I tried to stop it at that, but just then they slowed the worship right down, reflecting on God’s love and how unworthy we are to receive it.

Now I really started crying, overwhelmed by the love and presence of God there and by the love and unity I felt with those Mexicans. I sat with my head in my hands and cried. The man next to me sat down and put his head on the chair in front of him. The man in front of me was wiping away tears.

What a blessing to experience the continuing fruit of my parents’ lives in this vibrant and healthy church. What a privilege to be invited up by the young preacher to interpret into English his Les Kroeker ponders.

message on the true Gospel—that Jesus did not come to make our lives easy by taking away all our poverty, suffering, and sickness. He came primarily to take care of our sin problem and only he was qualified to do so.

After the service I couldn’t get away because I was getting so much love and attention from people who wanted me to know the impact my dear parents had had on them.

It was well into the afternoon before we finally made it to the market place for lunch: chile rellenos and Coca-Cola while serenaded by mariachis sitting out in the patio under the warm Mexican sun.

How do you explain such love and unity with complete strangers across culture and race if not for Jesus?

God is real and powerful and working in the lives of people everywhere.

How do you explain the love and unity with our mission trip team members, so different in so many ways?

Seven individuals, four households Four grown men; three children; one lone girl Ages 11 to 60-plus Most hardly knew each other; some had never even met Squeezed into a minivan (including luggage) 2,700 kms one way; 27 hours; two 14-hour days with one short stop for sleep Shared sleeping space with guys who snored or coughed and coughed One insistent on eating only authentic Mexican food But we got there and back, got a house straightened out (14 inches out of level in a span of 14 feet), and a new roof put on. It’s just not natural for a group like this to get along so well and work so well together, is it? How often do you see examples of that outside of the Church? It does happen occasionally, but it’s not the norm like it is among followers of Jesus. Love and unity in a common mission because of a common love for Jesus Christ. God is real and powerful and working in the lives of people everywhere.

“I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me” (John 17:23, NLT).

– Les Kroeker Les Kroeker is the associate pastor at Portage Evangelical Church. He is the son of Jake and Bertha Kroeker, who served as EMC missionaries in Mexico from 1958-1998.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 21

Column • Focus On

Praising the Lord for Cornerstone Fellowship Church!

A

bit of sad news was shared during conference council: the Cornerstone Fellowship Church was closing in June 2017. While we accepted this reality, we prefer to focus on and thank the Lord for the congregation’s many years of ministry.

The congregation began services in 1958, formally organized in 1962, and closed in June 2017.

It originally began as the Swift Current EMC, an extension of the Wymark EMC located at nearby Chortitz that was started through a revival among Sommerfelder Mennonites in 1958.

When some people affected by the revival moved to Swift Current, they began to hold Thursday night services at the rented Southside Hall in 1959. In August 1959 the former Mennonite Brethren church in Swift Current was purchased and a Sunday School, in German, was started. The first Sunday morning service was on Nov. 29, 1959.

There was a desire to establish a church in Swift Current for the many people who were relocating into the city from the rural churches in the area. From the outset, the church provided biblically based teaching to many people from Low German background. The congregation provided a witness and a place for people to grow in their Christian faith.

K.P. Unger was the first worker, being sent in 1960, with the outreach being jointly that of the Wymark EMC and the EMC Board of Missions.

The church became formally organized and

by Tim Dyck General Secretary

The ministry of the Cornerstone Fellowship Church of over 57 years had a positive impact for the Kingdom of God and for that God is praised.

ARCHIVES

and Terry M. Smith Executive Secretary

God is praised for many years of positive impact.

22 The Messenger • September 2017

autonomous in January 1962 within the EMC. After forming, the church enjoyed an extended period of spiritual and numerical growth, moving from their original building into a larger facility to provide for the expanding ministries. Many EMC missionaries and pastors originated from the Swift Current and Wymark churches, and some were still serving as of 2017.

Eventually, the congregation relocated to the former Swift Current Bible Institute campus, which was the location of the 2002 EMC Convention. Unfortunately, the campus required extensive repairs and maintenance and became a drain on the church. It was sold in 2012.

Several attempts to revitalize the church were unsuccessful. In 2003 the congregation decided to rename the church to the Cornerstone Fellowship Church. In the last several years, they have had two pastors on staff in an effort to reignite the church in the community.

They have provided a vibrant children’s program in the past several years.

In March 2017 the congregation made the decision to shut down operations as of June 30, 2017. The EMC General Board was made aware of this decision and accepted the decision of the church with sadness. While it was disappointing to see a church close its doors, there was gratitude for the many years of vibrant ministry of the Cornerstone Fellowship Church in the community of Swift Current. The ministry of the Cornerstone Fellowship Church of over 57 years had a positive impact for the Kingdom of God and for that God is praised.

Among its pastors were K. P. Unger, Ben and Henrietta Friesen, Dave and Lydia Dueck, Milton and Gladys Fast, Cornie Kehler (lay, interim), John and Tina Toews, Lester Olfert (associate, senior), John Taylor, Mel and Mary Koop, Randall and Faith Krahn, Bryon and Janice Bezanson (youth, associate, senior), Michael Vanderswaag (associate). Among its deacons were Cornie Janzen and Jake Funk.

Sources: Lester Olfert and D.K. Schellenberg.

With Our Churches Heartland Community Church

LANDMARK, Man.—Heartland Community Church has sprung forward into a new season of ministry and service opportunities as we listen and follow God’s leading.

Looking ahead, we have recognized the need to add a new part-time pastor of care to our pastoral leadership team.

Duane Froese has been our Prayer and Care service team leader for the past three years and he was affirmed in this new role on March 19. Duane will help mobilize the team at Heartland to encourage, serve, and help all of us connect to God and others in our church and wider community.

On Easter Sunday we hosted a travelling band of Christian musicians from Bellville, Ont., called FM Reset, who led our Easter worship. They have been touring Eastern and Central Canada, playing in schools and churches along the way, encouraging youth to live different. The band got their start as the young worship team out of Pastor Andy Woodworth’s previous church, and they said that Andy’s encouragement to keep practicing helped them stay focused and develop as a group.

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HEARTLAND

Resetting our priorities

The Dawood family was welcomed.

On April 30 our church was formally introduced to the Dawood family for the first time since arriving in Winnipeg in December 2016. Al Reimer spoke on behalf of the Syrian Refugee sponsorship group, which is made up of Heartland donors, and a committed group of fellow Christians in downtown Winnipeg who live in the same area as the refugees.

Al said, “The Dawood family—father Mohamad, mother Aisha, daughter Mawlooda, son Mostafa—continue to make progress in settling in a new country, learning English, going to school, pursuing training for possible employment, and create a network of friends. They have maintained a positive attitude as they confront the seemingly overwhelmingly task of creating a new life.”

Mr. Dawood, with the assistance of Sultan Kittened, a translator who volunteered his service for this purpose, shared some of their family’s life experiences in war-torn Syria. He was a farmer by trade and when uprooted from his homeland, not all the Dawood adult children were able to come to Canada. They got separated during the crisis. After the service we shared a meal with the family and an offering was taken for gardening tools so they can get started on their own urban garden project.

We look forward to more mission opportunities coming our way as we bear good fruit and remain rooted in Christ.

– Brigitte Toews

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 23

With Our Churches Steinbach EMC

Additions to the church family

SEMC

STEINBACH, Man.—We rejoiced on Nov. 20, 2016, as we listened to the testimonies of those who had decided earlier in their lives to follow Jesus and now chose to publicly confirm this decision by taking the next step in their spiritual journey and being baptized. With joy we welcomed them as part of our church family, together with several others who transferred from other churches.

There was a special sense of joy and anticipation in the sanctuary on May 14, 2017, as we gathered, joined by many guests, for a celebration of baptism and welcoming new members as part of our covenant community. Seven young people shared their faith stories of God’s involvement in their lives and indicated their desire to be baptized as a public declaration of their commitment to follow Jesus.

Another four people transferred their membership from other churches.

– Martha Kroeker

A parent/child dedication was held on May 28: Rob and Sharon Steeves (Conor, Declan and Niamh), Margaret and Darcy Friesen (Dawson Thor), Jeremy and Adrienne Buhler (Thomas Elliott).

•• Portage Evangelical Church

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man.—“Let the little children come to me” (Luke 18:16). On Sunday, May 7, 2017, two couples brought forward their precious little ones to the Lord. Pastor Glenn Loewen spoke to the parents and congregation about their responsibility to bring up children to love and obey the Lord Jesus Christ. We as a congregation commit to praying for them and standing with them as they seek to train their children in God’s way. The couples were Jeremy and Nikki Nickel with daughter Bethany and Gerry and Genine Wood with son Quintin.

On Sunday, June 11, we were honoured and blessed with hearing the testimonies and prayer requests of seven special people. Dale and Brenda Baer, Paul and Demaris Friesen, Andres Friesen, Christian Loewen, and Carlos Vargas were accepted as members of PEC. May God continue to bless and encourage them in life’s journey and we as a church family pray for their requests and be available to help them as the Lord leads them on life’s journey.

– Catherine Epp 24 The Messenger • September 2017

PEC

Parents dedication, seven members received

Jeremy and Nikki Nickel with Bethany

With Our Churches Steinbach EMC

Jason Heide: blessed by the comradery STEINBACH, Man.—Jason Heide was asked to tell us about his ministry as the youth pastor at Steinbach EMC. He began serving on June 1, 2008.

I was born and raised in Winkler, Man. After high school I spent a couple of years at Briercrest College and then, after meeting my soon-to-be wife, transferred to Providence College to complete my Bachelor of Arts degree. Throughout high school and college I spent my summers serving at Winkler Bible Camp. After college I spent two and a half years working there full-time as the director of one of their satellite camps.

Tell us about your family.

I am blessed to be married to my beautiful and supportive wife Paige for the past 11 years. She is such an integral part of our ministry to the youth at Steinbach EMC. God has blessed us with two wonderful boys, Logan (7) and Lucas (5). Over the past seven years they have helped me learn so much about what child-like faith looks like. It has been such a joy to respond to their surprisingly deep questions about God.

How did you hear about Steinbach EMC and what led you to serve here?

Toward the end of my time at camp I felt God leading me elsewhere. I didn’t know where. I just knew that working with youth was what I wanted to continue to do. Paige and I had just built a new house and I was looking for job listings close to home. When I saw the ad for a youth pastor at the Steinbach EMC, I remember asking Paige (assuming she wouldn’t be interested), “What would you think about moving to Steinbach?” To my surprise she was very positive about the possibility and I applied. Six months later we sold our new house and moved to Steinbach. It’s been amazing to see the way God’s hand was at work in all the details that have led us here.

To understand you as a pastor, what do people need to know?

In 2006, while I was working at Winkler Bible Camp, I

BOM

Tell us about where you were raised, educated, and served prior to Steinbach EMC.

Jason and Paige Heide

remember the director had asked each of the staff to complete the following statement: “I work at Winkler Bible Camp because....” My answer that day is the same answer I have today with the only difference being the place I am serving. “I want to be involved in work that will still be worthwhile in eternity.” One of the greatest joys in my life and ministry is seeing people come to know Jesus and give their lives to follow Him!

What do you think of the EMC?

I grew up attending a non-denominational church in Winkler and therefore had no first-hand experience of what a conference was like prior to moving here. Since joining the EMC I have found it to be a fantastic experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed the conference events I’ve been a part of, specifically TRU, the Young Adult Retreat, and Abundant Springs. I have also been very blessed by the comradery and the relationships I have been able to build with the other youth pastors in the region. It’s encouraging to know that we are in this together.

What else would you want to say?

I thank God for how He has graciously worked in and through me. It is a wonderful privilege to be able to partner with our Lord and Saviour in this significant work of reaching people for Him. – Pastor Jason Heide

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 25

With Our Churches Pansy Chapel

PANSY, Man.—Summer has its specialties. In our church that includes things like the annual church picnic at the local park. This year’s event on June 11 seemed quite perfect. The weather, the attendance, the food, as well as the activities were all amazing, which we appreciated. (We were rained out last year.)

One thing we tried differently this time: we had the service in the church first before moving over to the park.

Haven’t heard the deciding vote on that yet; maybe we started a new trend.

Another big summer highlight is the baptism service and, since our “tank” is down in the river, our best choice is always a summer baptism. The service we had on June 18 involved five men.

Each of their lives is uniquely different as their stories so clearly portrayed. Yet each came to the same conclusion: It was time to commit fully to Christ and to make a public confession of that through baptism. May God richly bless and guide you all five.

Roseisle EMC

ROSEISLE, Man.—It has been a busy year of 2017 so far at Roseisle EMC. We started the year with our Winter Retreat hosted by Winkler Bible Camp. The congregants of Roseisle EMC gathered together for three days for fellowship, evening inspirational sessions, and winter fun. We were blessed to have our interim conference pastor Ralph Unger as our guest speaker for the weekend.

In March twenty-five adults from our congregation attended a leadership theme event titled Equip. The event was designed to make a leadership investment in the

REMC

Baptized at Pansy Chapel on June 18, 2017, were Denzel Derksen, Glenn Funk, Jared Falk, Gus Durksen, and Tanner Friesen. Pastor Dylan Barkman stands with them.

Our summer building project is well on the way. The new education wing is taking shape and the possibility of using it yet this fall is definitely rising.

Another new thing this summer is our first ever website.

Yes, it’s up and running. Thanks to Gus. You can now follow us online, re-listen to a message, and check the schedules at www.pansychapel.com. I am excited about that.

– Betty Barkman

••

God will continue to guide us

26 The Messenger • September 2017

PANSY

Church picnic, baptisms, website

congregants of Roseisle EMC. We participated in team building exercises, heard talks from guest speakers, had discussion times, and focused on our visioning for the future of Roseisle EMC. We honoured our mothers and fathers of Roseisle EMC this year with our annual Mother’s Day Tea and Father’s Day Breakfast. These special mornings were a great chance for us to celebrate the unique contributions that mothers and fathers make to lives of our families.

Our Sunday School year came to close with our annual outdoor Sunday School Picnic. Each class contributed to the service by presenting a song or skit to inspire the congregation. Pastor Paul Walker preached on “A season for everything” from Ecclesiastes 3:1-7. He encouraged the congregation that God was one constant in every season of life. The afternoon featured a potluck barbeque, games, rally races, fellowship, and baseball.

We rejoice in all that God has done among us at Roseisle in the past several months. As we look forward to the future, we trust that God will continue to lead and guide our congregation.

– Kaylee Walker

With Our Churches Good News Community Church

Being practical, moving beyond silence STEINBACH, Man.—On July 16 the GNCC met at Dan and Helen Reimer’s for a pool party. There was the usual conversation and food and then one of the divers drew blood as a result of a dive. All turned out well, except for a bit of a headache for the diver. Just a small reminder of how potential accidents are around us and how easily one takes health and so many other things in life for granted.

A few weeks earlier Curt Reimer and his son Simeon spent four days hiking the Mantario trail with his brotherin-law and two nephews. They were out there in God’s country enjoying the woods and the lakes and so on, but his comment after the hike was, “I’ll never do that again.”

(Seemingly there were flying insects and foot blisters present as well.) Apparently his older son, who was not on the hike, says he is interested in hiking the trail as well. Decision time, Curt.

In late April, at a brunch at Wally and Ruth Doerksen’s, Mark Reimer reported on his time in Puerto Lopez.

He was with a work team that went to repair houses after the earthquake there last year. Mark retired from a lengthy

teaching career at the end of January and is looking to spend a greater amount of his time in Puerto Lopez in the future. There will be another work team going out next February, which will include bricklayer Rob Wiebe from Kleefeld EMC and others.

Wally and Ruth Doerksen spent some time with a fellow cancer survivor and his family. He also has multiple myeloma and was going through the same procedures as Wally; and so we tried to be an encouragement to him and his family.

Ruth worked with them on some housing issues they had in May and in general we tried to be the neighbours that it is so important to be. The family has since moved to London, Ont., where they have family and the girls will go to university.

Also at the end of April, Dan Friesen spoke in the Mitchell Community Church as part of a group called Sharing Our Stories of Recovery sponsored by Manitoba Schizophrenia Society and Mood Disorders. Dan has lived with bipolar disorder since a teenager and knows well the efforts required to daily maintain mental balance.

Medication, counseling, mentors, and speaking on behalf of the society have led him to a useful and productive life. He is now in the process of a career change as he is attending the University of Winnipeg to obtain his Bachelor of Education with the goal of becoming a teacher.

The group was involved with a young couple where mental health issues led to a variety of crises. Mental health affects 20 to 25 percent of our society and should be taken as seriously as any other health issue. For too long it has not been spoken about except in hushed tones and that makes it difficult for those with mental health issues to talk about their situation to others, which, in turn, likely causes more potential issues.

I have lived with depression for over twenty years, and for me it is not something that “goes away.” Medication and counseling have also helped me, but daily and weekly I try to make decisions that will have a positive reaction for not only me, but the people around me.

Understanding family and friends are also helpful.

There are so many varieties of mental illness that one should be careful not to lump people into a broad category.

How we relate here as neighbours is as vital a part of what we do as Christians as anything else.

– Wally Doerksen

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 27

With Our Churches Taber EMC

TABER, Alta.—At the beginning of the year we began the search for new deacon couples. We spent time praying for God to reveal the right candidates to the members as we began the nomination process, and God answered our prayers. We elected two new deacon couples, Nick and Mary Enns and David and Agatha Reimer, into our ministerial team.

The Deacon Commissioning service was held on Mother’s Day, May 14, 2017. The church benches were full of family and friends that came out to support our new deacon couples. They shared their heartfelt testimonies and the church stood behind them in support of the ministry to which they have committed.

Our Sunday School children blessed us with a special number during the service, followed by a Mother’s Day lunch for the congregation which is always well received.

Our church life is always busy; some days we might even say it’s too busy. But it’s during these busy times that we experience the Lord’s blessings in many ways.

Our Sunday School committee and teachers have been a

Picture Butte Mennonite Church

TEMC

Deacons commissioned on Mother’s Day

David and Agatha Reimer and Nick and Mary Enns are surrounded by supporters: (front) Eva Koethler, Margaret Sawatzky, Eva Klassen, and Margaret Loewen, (back) Pastor Ralph Unger, Jake Koethler, George Sawatzky, Abe Klassen, and Pastor Dick Loewen.

blessing to our children and parents again this year. I’m sure they all look forward to our summer break to refresh and rejuvenate for the following school year.

We are busy here at the Taber EMC, planning and preparing different activities to strengthen our fellowship and faith in our Almighty God so that we may be a blessing to our families and our community.

– Tina Dyck

••

Eight members accepted, pastoral couple installed

PBMC

PICTURE BUTTE, Alta.—The Picture Butte MC rejoiced alongside these young folks that openly committed their lives to Jesus Christ on Sunday, May 28. Two transferred their memberships, while the other six were baptized. Each one had their own unique testimony. Pray that these young candidates will fearlessly be able to live out their faith as they continue in this walk in His grace.

Abe and Helena Martens, Helen and Peter Reimer, and church planting coordinator Charles Koop lead in prayer for Maria and Ben Dyck.

28 The Messenger • September 2017

August was an exciting month at the Picture Butte MC! We had five days of VBS to start the fun. Praise God for all the wonderful volunteers that came out to help.

We’ve also had church in the park with the community as well as surrounding churches. It was a great turn out along with absolutely beautiful weather and all together such a blessed time.

Also we had the pleasure of having Charlie Koop, EMC church planting coordinator, come out on Aug. 27 and bring an eye-opening message as well as witness the installation of our new pastoral couple Ben and Maria Dyck. It was an emotional day for the congregation as well as the new pastoral couple as we’ve committed to work together to further the kingdom of God. Please keep the Ben and Maria Dyck in prayer as they move forward with this new role.

– Helen Enns

With Our Churches Blumenort EMC

BLUMENORT, Man.—On May 28, 2017, Lionel Peters, Mason Kehler, Jerica Reimer, Jonah Reimer, Blayne Berard, and Ryley Froese publicly declared their trust in God by way of baptism. Let’s pray for them as they step out in faith in their daily lives.

We had many exciting programs happening this summer. Vacation Bible School will be happening at the end of June. The theme this year was Operation Arctic.

Camp started at Eagle Lake Bible Camp this July through August. We are happy for all the excited kids who participated in these programs and we prayed for the safety of all staff, volunteers, and children involved.

– Janice Harder

BEMC

Summer Programs Held

Jonah Reimer, Mason Kehler, Ryley Froese, Blayne Berard, Lionel Peters, and Jerica Reimer were baptized on May 28.

•• Kleefeld EMC

Farewell to Pastor Darryl and Sharon Klassen

KEMC

KLEEFELD, Man.—Another chapter in the history of Kleefeld EMC draws to a close. Having served as Senior Pastoral couple for 15-plus years, Darryl Klassen and his wife Sharon have decided to retire from this position and go on to serve the Lord in other capacities.

On Sunday morning, June 25, 2017, Darryl’s topic for his final message as pastor in our church was “Peace I Leave With You.” After this inspiring message, the congregation presented Darryl and Sharon with a Terry Redlin painting and a gift certificate to Kerith Lodge (a Focus on the Family retreat centre). This was followed by a standing ovation and a farewell lunch. We will miss you, Darryl and Sharon and family. We wish you God’s richest blessings as you continue on in your journey.

– Lou Friesen

Sharon and Darryl Klassen have moved on from Kleefeld EMC.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 29

With Our Churches Northern Fellowship Chapel

Kids Club has grown this past year

30 The Messenger • September 2017

Emily Willems come to share with us before they go with their family to Papua New Guinea within the following year.

Our Kids Club has grown this past year.

Children come after school on Tuesdays, and we have had 35 on our roster with an average attendance of 21. The hour keeps us hopping with hot choc- NFC pillars: Marg Cone, Lorne and Marolate, snacks, crafts, garet Moorhead story, game and music.

Judy Schmidt has graciously come from Cornerstone to help with snacks. We have appreciated Austyn Davis, a young student, who has come to give a hand. As well, Randall, Faith, Janice, Kristen, Fae, and Yvonne come out to help with clean up, dishes, and helping here and there.

Snow removal, grass cutting, and cup washing somehow gets done by those who almost do these jobs in secret!

I do believe that the “behind the scenes” workers are Randall, Lee, Yvonne, Shawn, Barb, Lorne and Jerry. Tom Fehr brings his mother Helen, and we are so glad she moved here from Carrot River.

We appreciate Mike and Deanna Anderson for their presence whenever their work shifts permit them to come.

Evelyn (four years old) and Ollie (one year old) continue to enlighten our Sundays and they also enjoy puppets Froggie (Kevin) and Susie (Kristen).

Kristen Imrie often leads the singing, accompanied by Faith at the piano, and Kevin Imrie usually treats us to violin at the closing congregational song.

In closing, I also want to extend a huge thank you to our EM Conference for their continued support. We miss Ward Parkinson who was always so supportive of us up north and say thanks to Ralph Unger, our interim conference pastor. We look forward to meeting with Layton Friesen, who has been appointed conference pastor and began his position this fall.

– Janice Imrie NFC

CREIGHTON, Sask.—We are so thankful for Pastor Randall and Faith Krahn. The combination of insightful sermons and musical gifts that they share with us is very much appreciated by all.

Lorne and Margaret Moorhead continue to be pillars in our church. Margaret has been dealing with some health issues and we ask that you keep both Lorne and Margaret in your prayers. Marg Cone, another pillar, has also needed periods of rest and we are so thankful for her.

We continue to share our pastoral couple with the Cornerstone Community Church (MB) in Flin Flon and there have been Sundays when we combine services. Joe Buie at Cornerstone has been helpful in helping us plan our Sundays.

On May long weekend we met at Simonhouse Bible Camp for Sunday service. Former pastoral couple Dale and Marge Warkentin shared with us on May 28. It was good to have them in our midst once again.

On June 11 we had a combined service at the Rotary Wheel where we sat around the fire and roasted hotdogs.

On July 2, the Sunday during the Homecoming in Flin Flon, all churches in our area had a combined service at the Lutheran Church. On July 9 Trevor Friesen came to NFC while Rebekah rested at the lake with sister Sara Lynne and Dave Koop. They have moved back to Canada and are now settled in Rosenort. We pray for the restoration of Rebekah’s health and for their re-adjustment in Canada.

On July 23 we had a combined service when the Simonhouse Bible Camp staff came to share their experiences; and in August we will meet together when Nathan and

Column • Reformation Reflections

An Ugly Incident Over Communion his is my body”(Mark 13:22)—who would fight over this? In the sixteenth century, some people. Today?

Roman Catholics hold that the wafer or bread is transformed into the actual body of Christ. To the senses, it appears as bread; to faith, it is the actual body of Christ. Menno Simons left partly because he could no longer affirm this teaching.

Martin Luther, the reformer in Germany, held that the bread remained bread, but was, in a spiritual sense, the real presence of Christ. When received by faith, it becomes a means of grace.

Ulrich Zwingli, the reformer in Zurich, held a third view: “ . . . the words ‘ this is my body’ were meant symbolically,” he wrote. “… I found the precious pearl: that the ‘is’ of the words of institution must be understood as ‘means.’” Some early Anabaptists adopted Zwingli’s view, but not all. Pilgram Marpeck, for instance, held that more than a symbol was involved.

“Overshadowing other events in the last few years of Zwingli’s life,” says historian Hans Hillerbrand, “was the controversy with Luther concerning communion.” In 1529 Philip of Hesse invited Zwingli and Luther to participate in a conversation on communion. Among those involved were Martin Luther and Philip Melancthon on the “real presence” side, and Ulrich Zwingli, Johannes Hussgen, and Martin Bucer on the symbolic or memorial side.

Philip of Hesse wisely counseled that Zwingli and Luther were both too “vehement and fiery” to talk together initially; each were first to talk with someone else. Those gathered were not to “seek his own advantage, but rather God’s honour, the profit of Christendom and brotherly accord” and, he said, to “present their arguments in modesty as becomes this matter.”

The discussion didn’t go well. Luther was uncomfortable interpreting “this is my body” figuratively. Hussgen replied, “You consider it faith that Christ is in the bread. It is an opinion and not faith. It is wrong to attribute too much to the element.” At one point Luther said, “Even if we debate for a hundred years, we are not going to prove anything.”

DESIGNPICS

“T

When it seemed that the meeting was falling apart, Martin Bucer appealed to Luther: “I ask: Will you recognize me as a brother or do you think that I err so that I can overcome them? Please tell us what displeases you in our teaching!”

Luther refused. “I am neither your master nor your judge nor even your teacher,” he replied. “Your spirit and our spirit do not go together. . . .Thus, as said before, we commend you to the judgment of God.” Chancellor Fiege diplomatically thanked people for their participation and dismissed the meeting. Zwingli and Luther returned home, each claiming victory.

In reality, everyone lost. The Lord’s Supper is to assist community among believers, yet Zwingli and Luther parted scarcely recognizing each other as believers. Given what was at risk within the Protestant Reformation and its positive desire to reform the Roman Catholic Church, this in-fighting served no one well. It saddens me five centuries later.

Visualize three Christians sitting in the same pew today at a communion service. One holds to a symbolic view, another the real presence, and a third transubstantiation. Do the differences matter? This is an important question.

A second important question is may they receive communion together? As a pastor, I know my answer. What’s yours?

by Terry M. Smith Executive Secretary

Visualize three Christians sitting in the same pew today at a communion service. May they receive communion together? As a pastor, I know my answer.

What's yours?

R. G. Clouse, “Oecolampadius” (Johannes Hussgen), Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. J. D. Douglas (Zondervan, 1981); H. J. Hillerbrand, ed., The Reformation (Baker, repr. 1987); R. H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (Mentor, 1950).

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 31

News

SBC launches Pursuit discipleship school Program focuses on leadership development.

SBC

STEINBACH, Man.— Young adults have a new discipleship school option as Steinbach Bible College launches its Pursuit program in January 2018.

Pursuit features two mission trips, a focus on experiential leadership development, and a lighter academic load than regular SBC programming.

Randy Krahn “I’m excited to lead the Pursuit program because I’m passionate about people growing through new experiences,” says program director Randy Krahn. “I hope students leave the program having experienced Jesus at work in their lives and being confident in who they are as disciples and leaders.”

Randy has a BA with a focus in youth ministry and 10 years of experience in camp and youth ministry. He brings an excitement for Jesus, people, and outdoor adventure to the Pursuit program. Katelyn Troyer serves as assistant director.

With the first cohort starting January 2018, Pursuit is a four-month program (January through April) for young adults who desire to pursue God through travel, leadership experiences, discipleship, worship, community, and mission.

32 The Messenger • September 2017

Pursuit extends the weekly experiential learning components to include urban and international ministry experiences, including in Guyana (two weeks) and internationally with Mennonite Disaster Service (seven to 10 days).

Steinbach Bible College’s campus serves as Pursuit’s base-camp, grounding the program Katelyn Troyer in experiential learning, biblical instruction, and life-on-life mentoring.

Pursuit will help young adults grow confidence, purposefully explore the world, build life on the richness of God’s Word, and servant leadership ability. Participants will study the Bible, worship together, pray, serve, build friendships, and seek God through devotional God-times.

Katelyn Troyer says, “I am excited to have the opportunity to help lead Pursuit students on an adventure of exploring leadership, service, and what it means to build God’s kingdom!”

For information, contact SBC at 204-326-6451 or info@sbcollege.ca.

– SBC

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

EMC Positions* Crestview Fellowship (www.crestviewfellowship.ca), an EMC church located in the St. James-Assiniboia area of Winnipeg, Man., is prayerfully seeking applications for a half-time (approx. 20 hours/week) Youth Pastor or Director. Our current mix of youth are two-thirds from the community with little or no church background and one-third from the church.

If you have questions about the position, please call Pastor Darrel Guenther at 204-837-9490 or Scott Groen at 204-885-0233, or send your questions and/ or resume electronically to darrel@crestviewfellowship.ca. Those nearing graduation and new graduates are welcome to apply.

Fort Garry EMC is seeking an associate for pastoral care (.2FTE) to provide pastoral care to congregants of our church. The successful candidate will work closely with the senior pastor and other ministerial staff in this ministry. This position is highly relational in nature and requires that the candidate possess and nurture a vibrant evangelical faith. It is preferred the candidate have formal theological education and relevant experience providing pastoral care.

Preference will be given to candidates who are members or attendees of FGEMC or another EMC church.

FGEMC is a congregation of 220 located in Winnipeg near the University of Manitoba. To apply, please submit a resume via email to the Search Committee at ilmckenzie@hotmail.com by Aug. 31, 2017.

EMC Ministerial Retreat Wilderness Edge, Pinawa

Treesbank Community Church, a wonderful rural, body of believers about a half hour from Brandon, Man., wishes to hire a mature and trusted shepherd. Start: Early to middle 2017. Salary: To be negotiated based on qualifications, experience, and time working. Hours: Full- or part-time will be considered; hours can be negotiated. Benefits: supervision and growth, some professional development, pension through the conference office. Valid driver’s license and own transportation are essential.

Travel expenses incurred for work travel will be reimbursed. More info about TCC available upon request.

Annual contract. Hiring remains open until a suitable candidate is found. Possible Activities: Teaching, visitation, worship leading, preaching, Vacation Bible School, youth work, drama, community service work, administration, small group work, a focus on congregational growth and development, shepherding and outreach. E-mail a letter and resume citing “Church Pastor” to Treesbank Community Church, Lyndsey Friesen, 204-720-0193, lyndz_2@hotmail.com.

An international school in a creative access country in Central Asia is looking for qualified teachers: Secondary English, Secondary Maths, Secondary Science, Principal. Our school is dedicated to transforming the lives of our students, the communities we’re part of, the country we serve.

You’ll be able to apply your skills in an exciting and challenging environment that will transform you as you transform others! You’ll be supported by a friendly, vibrant team of committed colleagues.

Parents are involved in many aspects of the school, giving it a unique family feel. You are welcome to serve for a year or longer.

For information and an application, contact tdyck@emconference.ca

Where are position ads to be sent?

Please send all position ads, including pastoral search ads, to messenger@emconference.ca. All ads are to be 150 words or less. All ads can be edited. Please advise us when it is no longer needed.

Other Positions Morweena Christian School (MCS) is a rural K-12 school 90 minutes north of Winnipeg, Man. MCS serves about 150 students. It is looking for classroom teachers for Grades 6-7, Grade 8, and various Grades 9-12 math and science courses.

Candidates need to be certifiable in the Province of Manitoba, embrace the EMC Statement of Faith, and be active in congregational life. Please send resume to or get more information from: Tim Reimer, Principal, timr@morweenaschool.org

Calendar

November 25-27, 2017

For more information go to: www.emconference.ca/emc-ministerial-retreat

Alberta October 13-14 Discover Your Ministry Potential La Crete, AB

Manitoba November 25 Conference Council

Theme: "Unity...cultivated not fabricated" Speakers: Kevin Wiebe and Darren Plett Early bird registration – 185.00/person After November 1 – 195.00/person

November 25-27 EMC Ministerial Retreat Wilderness Edge Pinawa

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 33

Column • Here and Far Away

The Same Last Year and Next Year

L

ISOCK

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

ast year on my wedding anniversary I found a lump in my breast. It was six weeks after we had returned to Madagascar from an extended furlough and all I could think of was, “I can’t leave the country now! We just got back!”

The lump set in motion many strong emotions, anxiety and confusion being preeminent, yet the provision that followed was nothing short of miraculous in a country where good health care is hard to come by.

In short, there “just happened” to be a team of German surgeons, obstetrician/ gynaecologists, and anesthetists coming into the Madagascar within a week or so of my finding the lump. I had the lump removed and it tested clear. It was a very quick resolution to what felt like a scary situation. My physical health in regards to the lump is perfectly fine now, thanks to God’s provision. (Read more on my website.)

This year on the same date I remembered this event and the fear and mental battle that encompassed what I had planned to be a celebrative day with my family. In the midst of these memories I received an email with amazing news that financial help was available for a Malagasy friend to purchase a house.

While buying a house is a big deal on a normal day, this news was especially thrilling because the house will not only provide a place to live, but also a sanctuary from a heinous living situation and long-term abuse. It symbolized “hope and a future”(Jer. 29:11). A house is normally far out of the realm of possibilities for poor Malagasy. This provision from friends is an unasked for, undeserved gift. Free and with no strings attached. When I conveyed the news to my Malagasy friend there was much praising the Lord for His provision. He is so good to us!

Our society today has set us up to expect and desire “free-house” days every day. In so doing, when we experience the “lump in the breast”

God is the same all the time: good, merciful, and desiring His children to seek Him.

34 The Messenger • September 2017

days we become confused, angry, and question what God is doing in our lives. Yet, reflecting on my anniversary date for the past two years, I am reminded that God is the same then as He is today. He doesn’t change when times are fearful or fantastic. He is good every day!

I came across a section of the Psalms that speaks of God’s wondrous works on behalf of His people. Yet, “In spite of this, they kept on sinning; in spite of His wonders, they did not believe. So He ended their days in futility and their years in terror. Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again. They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer” (Psalm 78:32-35).

God is the same all the time: good, merciful, and desiring His children to seek Him. “Breastlump days” and “new-house days” and all those “mediocre days” in between are equal opportunities for us to turn our faces up to our Father in trust and love.

In the end, no matter what happens, I’m learning that what is most important is true and consistent communion with the Almighty God. His goodness will remain the same, no matter what happens. This is Good News especially for those embarking on journeys of great transition and change, such as life.

Column • Stewardship Today

It’s Better to Give!

M

y father Russell Koch is a very innovative man. Thirty-three years ago he started a silo repair business. One of the reasons he is a successful entrepreneur is that he finds solutions to his clients’ problems, even if the requests are out of the ordinary.

A couple of years ago my dad had the opportunity to be innovative and use some of the spare silo materials he had stored. For many years his cousin Lloyd and his wife Earla have been involved in improving the Shirati KMT Hospital facilities in Tanzania.

In 2010 they started to search for solutions to the hospital’s water storage problem. The hospital pumped water in from nearby Lake Victoria, but their water tank was in poor shape and constantly leaked. In 2015, Lloyd approached my dad to help them repair the existing tank.

My dad thought it would be better to build a new tank. He had the parts of a Harvestore silo that, in his mind, could be a great solution to their water problem. He discussed the idea with Lloyd, and a new project was born. My dad donated the silo and booked a trip to Shirati.

My mom Hazel got involved as well. A container was rented to ship the silo parts to Tanzania and since there was extra space they, along with friends, family and church members donated items for the hospital and surrounding communities. While my dad built the water tank, my mom gave sewing lessons to women from the area and helped distribute the donated layettes, clothing, toiletries, and school supplies.

When my parents came home, their excitement and joy were clear to see.

They told us how happy the hospital Russell and Hazel Koch

staff were to have enough water for their daily needs. My dad loved working with the people of Shirati who helped build the tank. “To be there, working side-by-side with such great people, there’s nothing that compares with that,” my dad exclaimed.

Their experience made me think of Acts 20:35, “And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive” (NLT).

Columnist Sharon Salzberg writes, “Generosity generates its power from the gesture of letting go. Being able to give to others shows us our ability to let go of attachments that otherwise can limit our beliefs and our experiences . . . [and we can] carry ourselves to a state of greater freedom. In short, being able to step outside of oneself and give is an essential ingredient for happiness” (The Real Power of Generosity, www. onbeing.org/blog/the-real-power-of-generosity).

Lloyd had mentioned the needs of Shirati to my parents two years previously, but my dad wasn’t interested. Once he went, however, the experience changed him. It impacted him so much he went back the next year for six weeks to help them build a new intensive care unit. My parents have a newfound passion for the people in Shirati. They stay in touch and are dedicated to supporting the community financially.

The fear of not having enough might be holding us back from being generous. Instead of giving, we can be prone to hold onto things to try to find happiness, but the Bible reveals that real joy is found in being generous. It may not make sense that giving up something that is precious to us (our money, our possessions, our time) can bring us joy. Yet experiences like that of my parents prove that it is true; that generosity is not only beneficial to the recipient but also provides joy to the giver.

Perhaps you’ve heard this message many times but haven’t tried it for yourself. Give generosity a try, and, without any obligation, let Abundance Canada help!

by Wendy Helgerman

The trip to Tanzania changed my father.

Wendy Helgerman is the Communications Specialist at Abundance Canada. For more information on impulsive generosity, stewardship education, and estate and charitable gift planning, call 1.800.772.3257 or visit abundance. ca.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 35

Column • Kids’ Corner

A is for Apple

D

by Loreena Thiessen

There’s an old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

o you like apples? Which one will you choose?

Apples contain many nutrients, good things your body needs to stay healthy.

Because of this they are called the King of the fruits. Apples are attractive, shiny and round.

They come in bright colours. Bright red apples attract bears. Bears can also smell their sweetness. Some apples are green, others are golden and pink. Choose one. Take a bite. It’s crisp, juicy, and sweet tasting.

Apples are easy to carry with you. You can take one in your pocket or in your backpack.

They last and don’t spoil easily. But don’t drop them. If they fall and get bumped a soft spot will appear and turn into a bruise. The bruise will grow and the apple is spoiled.

You can eat an apple anywhere, walking to school, while playing on the playground, or riding along in the car or on the bus. They don’t make a mess.

You can eat apples made into apple sauce, apple pies, apple strudel, and in muffins and cakes. There are candied apples you eat on a stick. You can dunk for apples in a large tub of water, but make sure you hold your breath as you try to grab one with only your teeth.

Apples help digest the food you eat.

Apples have vitamins, C, A, and B1, B2, and B6, and minerals, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium and iron. All of these help keep your body healthy and strengthen your teeth.

Apples are good for your heart and your brain too.

Apples are a good snack. Eating an apple will fill your stomach so you can last from lunch until supper. Even though apples are 90% water, they give you energy. When you play hard at soccer, or swimming, or on a hot summer day at the beach, eating an apple will boost your energy and satisfy your thirst.

36 The Messenger • September 2017

An apple will keep you from getting too tired and help you focus. It will help you think better. Eating an apple will help you do your homework.

There’s an old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” All the good things apples have for you are good reasons to eat one every day.

Have you heard the saying, “You are the apple of my eye”? It means you are the most loved. God’s people are the apple of his eye. They are his beloved. Read Deuteronomy 32: 9-14.

In Psalm 17: 7-9 King David prays for protection. “Keep me as the apple of your eye and hide me under the shadow of your wings,” he prays.

God promises protection if you stay near him.

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