FEATURED
Dennis Rader said, “I was a good man, who just did bad things.” Who is Dennis Rader? True crime fans will recognize his name, because Dennis Rader is a serial killer better known as BTK—an acronym for his modus operandi. He bound, tortured and killed his ten victims.
For the past few years, I have asked what it means to be the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. What are the elements that make us who we are? What combination of flavours gives us a distinct style and approach to ministry that identifies us as being EMC? What values do we commonly hold that shape our ministry mindset? Because they exist.
I was first introduced to the sonnets of John Milton in college. One in particular, no. 19, “On His Blindness,” has stuck with me. In it, Milton reflects on the question of his value to God as a writer now that he is going blind. He ends by observing that a king with thousands of servants rushing about doing his bidding is equally served by others who stand by, waiting.
When historians tell of our ancestors’ arrival from Russia, they also never fail to mention two other creatures: ravenous crop-destroying grasshoppers, and hordes of bloodthirsty mosquitoes. These insects added insult to injury during years of drought, poor crops, and other struggles. It seems that life for our newly-Canadian forebears could be a hungry, itchy one. Being a people of the land was not always an easy task.
It was probably the most pickles I had seen in my life. Whole dishes, in fact, were dedicated to containing vast quantities of the canned cucumbers. This was one of my first experiences with an Anabaptist congregation outside of the Sunday morning service: a funeral for a beloved member of the church.
THE LATEST
Do you believe in human freewill? Two basic approaches have been debated for thousands of years. First, some Christians believe in libertarian freedom. Here, freewill means people really could choose to act differently than they do. Sally chose to follow God, but she could have chosen to follow Baal instead.
When my husband and I decided to put our antique collection online in 2017, the budget-friendly option was a free tutorial course that I completed while being a stay-at-home mom. Speaking of motherhood, I joke that building the website was more painful for me than giving birth. But that’s not a fair comparison. I had pain medication and a medical team for childbirth. For the website, I was on my own.
The subtitle for Mary Brandt’s memoir No Limitations is “How God called me into the mission field knowing I would go blind.” This book clearly shows there is no limit to what God can do despite inadequacies and disabilities, and it leaves the reader in awe of Brandt’s courage and trust.
“What an exciting day! This morning I picked up 210 copies of the Gospel of Luke!!!!” That is the first sentence of a recent newsletter that we received from Paul Thiessen after more than 30 years of translation work in West Africa.
SBC’s Leadership Conference topic this year was The Transformative Presence of Jesus in Baptism and Communion. Patrick Franklin, associate professor of theology at Tyndale University, was the main speaker for this weekend. He assumed the task of walking through perspectives on baptism and communion not familiar in our churches.
Dennis Rader said, “I was a good man, who just did bad things.” Who is Dennis Rader? True crime fans will recognize his name, because Dennis Rader is a serial killer better known as BTK—an acronym for his modus operandi. He bound, tortured and killed his ten victims.
For the past few years, I have asked what it means to be the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. What are the elements that make us who we are? What combination of flavours gives us a distinct style and approach to ministry that identifies us as being EMC? What values do we commonly hold that shape our ministry mindset? Because they exist.
Imagine a pianist who could say “I love you” to his lover by playing a song at the piano. The better the pianist and the better he knew his lover, the more compelling this love song would be. In some ways it might be even better than talking or writing a letter.
EMC NEWS
In the emergence of the Sunday school and youth group movements of the nineteenth century, the church was seen as inherently trustworthy. The programs it ran and the people who ran them could be trusted. Over the years, there have been many damaging stories of abuse and inappropriate behaviour.
EMC young adults gathered at Red Rock Bible Camp in Manitoba for times of learning, fun and worship on March 6–8, 2026.
On April 17 and 18, the EMC ministerial and conference council gathered for their semi-annual meeting. This cycle of meetings is online. It was good to see strong attendance from across the Conference.
The Regional Leadership Forum emphasizes the vibrant life of our local churches and encourages open dialogue about their successes and challenges. As the EMC continues to grow, these meetings are essential touchpoints that ensure the efforts and energies of our directors stay connected to grassroots experiences.
GROWING TOGETHER
SBC’s Leadership Conference topic this year was The Transformative Presence of Jesus in Baptism and Communion. Patrick Franklin, associate professor of theology at Tyndale University, was the main speaker for this weekend. He assumed the task of walking through perspectives on baptism and communion not familiar in our churches.