shikka

Hello church!

This past fall, I have been working with Mennonite Central Committee Ontario in helping to organize a service and learning trip for young adults to Bangladesh in June. The trip is for people over age 18 who want to learn more about the work of MCC and have an international learning experience. The program is called Shikka, which is the Bengla word for 'to learn.'

We will be staying with the Sisters at Global Family Catholic Mission and will be teaching children English, and playing with them through songs and games. This will be an opportunity to learn about another culture, religion and language and see where the money from MCC's Global Family Program is going.

I have learned a lot about organizing and planning this year through Shikka. It is a learning experience in itself to take on a role such as this one and receive applications, plan meetings and work on fund raising.

I have wanted to share about this in church for the past few Sundays but I always think about it after the service. So, here is the update! Stay tuned for fun fund raisers coming up and more news about this exciting experience!

Peace,
Rebecca

new initiatives

As we move into this season of Lent it is worth noting some new initiatives taking shape among us at Community Mennonite Church - initiatives that in different ways reflect the Lenten pursuits of soul-searching, taking stock, and repentance.

1) a group has met a few times to discuss our environmental concerns and desire to work toward specific and concrete changes. One family has begun the process of conducting an "energy audit" of their house, with a view toward becoming outfitted for solar power generation. The hope is that we as a community can support this process, learn from it, and help to facilitate more households "going solar." From such humble origins the 'Stouffville Initiative for Solar Energy" is beginning to take shape... drawing some inspiration from similar initiatives that are emerging in different parts of Toronto.

2) our congregational Care Groups have begun to meet for a simple meal of soup and bread, a brief time of sharing, and prayer. These groups meet on the second Sunday of every month and are open to all ages.

3) on Wednesday evenings during Lent (8:00-9:00) Joyce is leading a group in exploring different forms of prayer.

If you would like to participate in any of these groups, please don't hesitate to be in touch. It's good to walk together on this journey of learning to love God and God's creation, our neighbours, and ourselves.

don't bring your horse to church

Here is an article by Pastor Cameron - soon to be published in the Stouffville Free Press:


Perhaps you have heard that Stouffville was named after a Mennonite family that settled here in , but you've wondered, “What happened to the Mennonites?” They may not be as easy to spot as you think.

I can still remember my sister telling the story of when the people she worked with discovered that she was a Mennonite. While she was a university student, she worked summers in Waterloo. People who had not grown up in the area were talking about wanting to see some Mennonites. “I'm a Mennonite,” my sister announced. With utter astonishment on her face, her co-worker asked, “Well, where do you keep your horse when you're at work?”

It's easy to understand why the image of the horse and buggy comes to mind when we talk about being Mennonite. Since some Mennonites have rejected some technological advances, they are very conspicuous. Most Mennonites cannot be identified by what they drive or what they wear. We are a diverse Christian denomination, with churches in downtown Toronto as well as in rural Ontario. We have churches in every continent on the globe. In fact, in 2003 there were as many Mennonites in India as in Canada and for years Africa has been the continent with the most Mennonites. So you may not realise who are the Mennonites around you.

What Mennonites do share are beliefs that can be traced to the beginning of our church. Our church grew out of the Anabaptist movement that began during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The Anabaptists took a radical stand in saying that the church should be separate from the State. This doesn't sound radical today but in Europe at that time, kings, princes and political leaders would decide the church to which their people would belong. So a baby became a Christian and a citizen of the State through infant baptism. The Anabaptists challenged this practice by refusing to baptize infants. Instead, they baptized only those who were old enough to choose to join a church.

Mennonites also share the heritage of being an “Historic Peace Church.” In the midst of the religious wars of the sixteenth century, Mennonites learned that violence does not make the world a better place. They came to believe that when Jesus said, “Love your enemies”, he meant that we cannot use violence against anyone, even those we detest. Peacemaking has come to mean many things to us, including nonviolent conflict resolution, economic justice and caring for the earth.

Community Mennonite Church of Stouffville would be happy if you would join us in striving to follow Jesus Christ. We meet at the Parkview Village auditorium on Sunday. Our Sunday School for all ages meets at 10:00 a.m. and our worship service begins at 11:00 a.m. Come as you are – with whatever mode of transportation you like!