♪Most of us know someone who is autistic, or you may be autistic yourself. Stephanie Fast, teacher and student, works to bring clarity to autism and presents ideas for making autistic people feel welcome in EMC congregations.

♪The sun ebbed, reflecting off the Sea of Galilee. Water lapped against the small fishing vessel, and the familiar cry of seagulls echoed overhead. A young rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, slept as his disciples conversed in low tones.

Then, in a moment, everything changed.

♪I was twelve years old when my best friend at the time shared with me that there was a place where you could go where you would feel awkward for not raising your hands in praise to the Lord while you sang. Hearing this was revolutionary for me.

Aside from my Christian faith, drawing, writing, and crafting are my defining feature. However, faith and art initially seemed incompatible. Many creative Christians live in this tension.

Morgan Fehr’s article “Ancient, continuous, and meangingful” describes a faith experience formed by wrestling the angel, as in Genesis 32. We benefit from thoughtful, focused clarity in exploring the complex ways the church draws us in and pushes us away, sometimes at the same time, and this is really wonderful writing.

♪Inspiring practices of faith based on the first commandment are mainstream in our discipleship process, but inspiring practices of faith that focus on the second command can be a little tricky.

♪An infinitely happy God is good news to a world in pain. God has no baggage. Nothing triggers him. He is always in the best imaginable space to hear our prayers and enter our pain.

♪Do you remember learning about “above,” “beyond,” “in,” “of,” and the other approximately 150 prepositions that belong in the English language?

To graduate from Steinbach Bible College is already a high honour, but when it was announced that I was SBC’s 2000th graduate, it left me speechless. SBC has been training servant leaders for almost 90 years, and I have the honour of being the 2000th graduate that SBC is sending back out into the community to love Jesus, serve the church, and engage the world.

I mused that if Mennonites are a small toe [in the body of Christ], maybe the EMC are just one hair on that little toe!

The Messenger receives a first, second and third place win for the Canadian Christian Communicators Association awards for work published in 2024.

So much to celebrate in Roseisle: Ordination for Pastor Fernando, a growing Sunday school program and everything God is doing in our midst!