For us at Many Rooms Church Community (MRCC), living in the neighbourhood is a core part of our church’s DNA. We are a network of house churches in the Spence and Daniel McIntyre neighbourhoods in Winnipeg’s core area. We worship and fellowship in our homes and enjoy living within a short walk or drive from each other.

Picture a sleepy prairie hamlet nestled at the foot of the Pembina Hills in southern Manitoba, surrounded by rolling hills and lush farmland, with a small creek running through it. This lovely farming community boasts six streets, three churches, a community store, an outdoor rink, a public rose garden, and a memorial. It is in this idyllic setting that you will find Roseisle EMC, a growing congregation of worshippers of all ages and backgrounds.

We can behold the beauty of the mosaic that the Creator has crafted: people from Syria with their hijabs and accents rooted in their mother tongue (Kurdish), talking with people from Ukraine, searching in English for a common point to understand each other. At another table, we see someone from Kenya laughing during a chat with some Canadians and Brazilians.

Abbeydale Christian Fellowship, where one can only guess what kind of interesting and wonderful surprises are in store. The Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday worship services were each unique and a blessing in their own way, culminating in a distinctly international experience.

It is indeed a blessing to be joined together in worship with people of other nations. The blessing becomes even more tangible when born-again believers who have been raised in other beliefs or countries intentionally choose to become a part one’s own church body.