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Our second video in the Vision20/20 series: Preparing for Phase III
Learn about the tools we have available to help you be ready for March 15-16 meeting with Betty Pries. (Hint: It's better with sound.)
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Vision20/20 video series - A Season of Prayer
#1 What are we listening for?
#2 Preparing for Phase II
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 New MCA Ordination: Heather Klassen was Ordained by Mennonite Church Alberta and Foothills Mennonite Church during Foothills’ morning worship on Sunday, February 10, 2019. Continue to pray for Heather and Foothills as they recognize her calling as a Celebrant to be an extension of their congregation’s ministry, and as we as MCA affirm that calling. Words of encouragement and support can be sent to Foothills Mennonite Church at office@foothillsmennonite.ca.
Photo courtesy of Ruth Bergen Braun.
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Springridge Mennonite appoints part-time pastoral leader
With the recent retirement of our pastor, Harold Schilk, Springridge Mennonite Church embarked on a search for a new pastor to fill our part-time position. Months later, it became clear that we may not be successful in finding a pastor and we began to explore ways we could continue as a church community without an official pastor.
After much discussion, meetings, prayer and reflection, we became more and more enthused about an alternate plan. We would look inwardly for leadership. As a result, we have called on Tany  Warkentin to fill the role as part-part-time Pastoral Leader. Tany has already demonstrated pastoral gifts over the past years and had already heard the call to this type of leadership from a variety of people. Tany, together with the Pastoral Committee who have been a part of our church for decades, will be responsible for the worship and pastoral duties.
We as a congregation have come to an tentative understanding that we would invite 2 guest speakers every month and for the remaining Sundays, have audio or video sermons, readings or any other creative forms of worship. We are most grateful for the huge resource that Common Word affords, shared sermons from other sister congregations and gifts within our own congregation.
As we begin this voyage, which is new, challenging, yet hugely exciting, we don’t want to journey alone. Tim Wiebe-Neufeld has helped us get started and we hope that the larger Church, here in Alberta and even beyond will journey with us. We need your prayers as well as any gifts you feel led to share with us over the next year whether it be preaching, teaching or just coming and worshipping together.
Thank you. Submitted by Linden Willms
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2019 Trivia Night - February 9
Edmonton vs. Calgary
a Camp Valaqua Fundraiser
Thank you to everyone who came out to Trivia Night. Camp Valaqua raised $5000 toward their bathroom renovations. As of December 13, 2018, a balance of only $13,800 remained on the loan.
And as for the Edmonton - Calgary rivalry, it seems to have come to an apparent tie between Jemmll (Calgary) and Not Cheating (Edmonton).
Pictured above is team Jemmll, Calgary winners. (left to right) Marie Fraser, Steve Zimmerly, Mikaela Heidebrecht, Lori Pauls (down low), Ethan Heidebrecht, Lauren Harms (down low), Jonas Cornelsen. Photo by June Miller.
Picture of Edmonton winners was not available at publication time.
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Closure of CPT Indigenous Peoples Solidarity team
 For thirty years, Mennonite Church Canada has been a sponsoring body of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). Since 2002, CPT has had a full-time team accompanying Indigenous communities in Canada as they defend their traditional lands from governments and corporations. Over these years, CPT’s Indigenous Peoples Solidarity team (IPS) has helped the church learn more about the violence of ongoing settler colonialism and has given us opportunities to live out our peace convictions right here, in this “home and native land.” It is with great sadness that CPT announces the closure of its full-time Indigenous Peoples Solidarity program due to shortfalls in CPT’s budget. Please pray for those currently serving on the IPS team: Chuck Wright, Kathy Moorhead Thiessen and Carolina Santana. Pray also for the many Indigenous partners that will be affected by this decision.
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 Senators Receive Ecumenical Letter: This week, Senators serving in the Upper House of Canada’s Parliament, will receive an ecumenical letter encouraging them to support Bill C-262 (The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act). Drafted and signed by leaders of various faith-based organizations, the letter urges the Senate to “make a non-partisan decision in support of legislative reconciliation.” Please pray for the Senate as they discern how Canada can move closer to honest and fair relationship with Indigenous peoples. For more info on Bill C-262, and how to support, see www.pfir.ca.
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Camp Valaqua is looking to purchase a truck this spring. If you would like to contribute, make cheques payable to Mennonite Church Alberta or send an etransfer to treasurer@mennonitechurch.ab.ca. Please designate to Camp's facility upgrade fund. Our mailing address is Box 1839; Pincher Creek, AB T0K 1W0. Please contact Kim Friesen Wiens (friesenwiens@gmail.com) with any questions.
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 Annual Delegate Session
Vision 20/20 - Phase III - Discerning God's Call
March 15 - 16
Bergthal Mennonite Church, Didsbury, AB
Use this direct link or you can find it on our website: www.menonitechurch.ab.ca/events.
Annual Reports will be distributed on February 15th.
Attention Organizations: Register for a display table.
Come as a delegate or a participant in the Vision20/20 process.
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June 29 - July 1
Saturday afternoon - Monday noon
36035 N Parallel Rd, Abbortsford, BC
Opening Session includes installation of our new Executive Minister, Doug Klassen.
Pre-Gathering Events:
Friday June 28: Leaders Assembly
Saturday am June 29: Business / Delegate Meeting
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Check out our website for Gathering 2019
The website for Gathering 2019 is officially live. Go to www.ignitegathering2019.ca for all you need to know about our gathering of our nationwide church family in Abbotsford, B.C., coming up from June 28 to July 1 (28th is Leaders Assembly). This website will be updated regularly as registration and the schedule become available in the coming months. Be sure to visit and share with your church community via social media. Let's get the word out! If you have questions about information on the website, please contact the MC Communications Officer at kdsawatzky@mennonitechurch.ca.
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Photo taken by June Miller at Foothills Mennonite Church, celebrating 20 years of service for Doug & Rose in September 2018.
Celebration for Doug & Rose Klassen:
Save the Date - April 28. Join a Sunday evening celebration at Foothills Mennonite Church. (Hint: LOTS of music.) As you may know, last fall Doug accepted the position of Executive Minister for Mennonite Church Canada. He and Rose will be leaving in May for Winnipeg. Foothills Mennonite invites our Alberta family to join in the celebration. More details to come.
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Annual Heritage Retreat @ Camp Valaqua
Save the Date! Are you over 50 years old? Gather together with your peers on Wednesday, June 12 at Camp Valaqua for the 2019 Heritage Retreat - created for the 50+ crowd. More details to follow.
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Common Ground Treaty Walk - May 31 to June 14, 2019
 For 15 days, 30 Indigenous, unionist and Church walkers will journey 340 kilometres from Edmonton (Treaty 6) to Calgary (Treaty 7) on the Common Ground Treaty Walk. Stopping at a dozen sites to host public “Treaty Talks” (see www.treatytalk.com), the walk seeks to honour the sacred covenants of these lands and the TRC’s call for “sustained, public education and dialogue” on Treaties. Would you like to join? We have space for four to eight core Mennonite walkers! If you are interested and available for 7-15 days, please email Steve Heinrichs (sheinrichs@mennonitechurch.ca), director of Indigenous-Settler Relations, for more details and a registration form.
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S H A K E:
Rattled by the Radical
Attention grades 6-12
Join other youth from across Canada.
July 28-Aug1, 2019
Shekinah Summer Camp, SK
Shake: Rattled by the Radical, July 28- August 1, 2019 at Shekinah Summer Camp, SK – what you need to know! Cost: $375/person. Travel subsidies and sponsor discounts available before the early-bird registration deadline: April 26, 2019. Final registration deadline: May 31, 2019. Our days will include: Biblical reflection and storytelling, shared meals, activities and play, special guests, and more! Visit www.prairieyouth.ca for full details and registration.
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A Tour of Israel/Palestine: A Holy Land for Jews, Christians, and Muslims
A CMU Study Tour
April 26–May 13, 2019
Led by Gerald Gerbrandt, PhD, President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Bible
During this tour we will:
- Visit important archeological sites and ask how they help us understand the Biblical story.
- Visit traditional pilgrimage sites so as to stimulate reflection on our faith
- Learn about the three major religions in the land (as well as the Samaritans and Druze, two other smaller Abrahamic faiths) through presentations and conversation with representatives of these faiths.
- Learn about the contemporary conflict as we listen to people caught up in it.
For further information contact Gerald at ggerbrandt@cmu.ca, or by phone at 204.487.3300, ext. 667 or visit http://www.cmu.ca/met/
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2019 Calendar
Mar 15-16 MCA Delegate Sessions @ Bergthal
Vision20/20 - Discerning God's Call
Mar 29-31 Missions Consultation - Calgary
Apr 6-7 Joint Council in Calgary
Apr 6 MCA Meets Joint Council
Apr 28 Celebrating Doug & Rose Klassen
May 13-15 Faith Studies Conference -Lethbridge
May 31 - Jun 1 MCC Relief Sale - Coaldale
May 31-Jun14 Common Ground Treaty Walk
Jun 7-9 MCA Women's Retreat @ Sylvan Lake
Jun 12 Annual Heritage Retreat @ Valaqua
Jun 15 Valaqua Hike-a-thon
Jun 16 Valaqua Garden Party
Jun 29 - Jul 1 MC Canada Gathering 2019, Abbotsford BC
"Igniting the Imagination of the Church"
Jul 28-Aug1 Shake: Rattled by the Radical @ Shekinah Camp SK
Oct 5-6 Vision 20/20: Phase IV - Incarnating God's Call
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International Witness
 Bock Ki Kim (MC Canada Witness worker South Korea) gave a presentation on Anabaptist Community last month at the Third Annual Anabaptist Conference sponsored by the Korea Anabaptist Center. Bock Ki reported that there were about 90 participants who were engaged in good discussion throughout the day’s gathering. Some of the topics discussed were: Anabaptism and conscientious objectors in the context of North and South Korean conflict; and what are important elements to form Christian communities.
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 We are now in a Season of Prayer, leading up to Phase III: Discerning God’s Call to be held on March 15 & 16 at Bergthal Mennonite Church. We are invited as individuals and congregations to open ourselves to God in prayer. We are invited to listen for God’s voice as we consider what God may be calling us to be and do. How might we prepare the fertile soil of our hearts and minds to receive the seeds God has in mind for us?
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www.commonword.ca
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Worship Calendar:
 The season of Lent is rapidly approaching. This season is a time of reflection, fasting and prayer as we prepare for Easter. Whether you’re looking for a family or adult study, a DVD series, or a book of prayers, CommonWord has something for you. Resources can be found at http://www.commonword.ca/go/1451.
 Cheaper by the Dozen is a bulk loan option for pastors, librarians and church committees to preview new materials, host thematic displays over several weeks or circulate items within the congregation. You’ll receive 12 different loan items that you can keep on hand for an extended period of six weeks. For more information on this great opportunity visit www.commonword.ca/go/1584.
 Featured Resource: Two of the most authoritative voices on the funeral industry come together in The Good Funeral: Death, Grief, and the Community of Care to discuss the current state of the funeral. Through their different lenses—one as a preacher and one as a funeral director—Thomas G. Long and Thomas Lynch alternately discuss several challenges facing "the good funeral." These include the commercial aspects that lead many to be suspicious of funeral directors, the tense relationship between pastors and funeral directors, the tendency to exclude the body from the service and the rapid use of cremation. It is an essential resource for funeral directors, morticians, pastors and anyone else with an interest in current funeral practices. Order at www.commonword.ca/go/1734.
 Field Notes Book Club: Blogger and speaker Sarah Bessey recently started a "spiritual formation book club." Included in her book selections are CommonWord favourites Four Gifts (www.commonword.ca/go/1701) and Unsettling the Word (www.commonword.ca/go/1600). If you would like to join the book club, you can sign up for Sarah’s monthly e-newsletter “Field Notes” (http://sarahbessey.com/). CommonWord will special order any titles that you require in order to follow along.
Sarah Bessey will be the speaker at MCBC's spring women's retreat.
Buy, Borrow, Download from CommonWord
Free Shipping on borrowed items.
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 MCA now accepts e-transfers at treasurer@mennonitechurch.ab.ca.
Stories, Events, Announcements?
communications@mennonitechurch.ab.ca
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We join with MC Canada Witness workers Dann and Joji Pantoja as they continue to advocate for peace in the Philippines. On January 27, two bombings occurred at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the city of Jolo, on the island of Sulu of Mindanao. More than twenty worshippers were killed and dozens more were injured: the first blast happened inside the cathedral and the second blast was outside as armed forces arrived to investigate. Sadly, three days later further destruction and bloodshed took place when an explosion at a mosque in Zamboanga City left two dead and four wounded. Pray for the many grieving families and loved ones affected by this violence and for the ongoing peacebuilding work of the Pantojas through PeaceBuilders Community and Coffee for Peace. 
As a short-term Ministry Volunteer with Mennonite Church Canada, Palmer Becker is serving in a volunteer teaching role in Tanzania and Ethiopia from February 4 to March 4. At the invitation of both Meserete Kristos Church & College of Ethiopia and the Mennonite Church of Tanzania, Palmer will offer his gifts in teaching from his materials, Begin Anew and Anabaptist Essentials. Please pray for strength and health for Palmer as he travels and teaches Ethiopian and Tanzanian church leaders these next several weeks. 
