On June 3, 2023, Conference Council delegates gathered at Rosenort (Man.) EMC and online on Zoom to manage the business of the EMC. This included approving the closure of Good News Community Church in Steinbach, Man. and approving amendments to the EMC Constitution.

On the weekend of April 28–29, SBC celebrated another class of graduating students, both at the college chapel and at the Emmanuel Evangelical Free Church (EEFC) in Steinbach.

On May 6, Braeside Church held its first ladies breakfast of 2023, where the men of the church treat the women to a delicious breakfast.

I must consent to it, but baptism is not essentially about me acting. I am being baptized in the name of Christ. Christ asks each of us, “Can I have you?” When we answer “yes,” the church as the representative of Christ takes us and pours the water of baptism over our heads.

During the June 2, 2023, Ministerial meeting, Cameron McKenzie, Board of Leadership and Outreach (BLO) chair reviewed several documents that have been in process for a few years. The Ministerial Misconduct Policy and the Ministerial Ethics Commitment were both approved by the ministerial and are offered as resources to churches and pastors.

An occupational hazard of ministry is not finishing well, and this was the topic guest speaker Lorne Meisner was asked to address at the Ministerial meeting held on June 2, 2023.

In August, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) challenges people to donate 10,000 school kits—full of school supplies—for 10,000 children around the world. This School Kit Challenge has the extra incentive of a school kit photo contest.

A lot of people wonder exactly what it means to honour truth and reconciliation and also be a follower of Jesus. I think that as followers of Jesus we ought to be the people most concerned with truth and reconciliation.

Faith Eidse’s memoir is essentially a coming-of-age story, but what makes it unique is the backdrop of growing up in Africa with intermittent periods spent “back home” in Manitoba. Her childhood and teenage years encapsulate experiences seldom faced by children in Canadian culture.

We’re only about halfway through an eight-hour journey back to our homes. We are sweaty, tired, and wouldn’t be blamed for being a little grumpy. But that’s not the current mood; youth are singing along to music behind me right now. The reason is simple: we were just at Abundant Springs.

The Personnel Committee is pleased to announce that Betty Ramones has agreed to serve as EMC church leadership assistant and that Beth Reimer has agreed to serve as EMC office accountant.

In spring 2022, Cardus, a Canadian non-partisan think tank, gathered data from nine surveys taken between 2017–2022 in order to get a snapshot of the religious landscape in Canada. In reading the report it is obvious that the events of the past three years have negatively affected the religious landscape in Canada.