 Tuition Assistance for Post-Secondary Students
MCA offers tuition assistance for any MCA students attending a post-secondary Mennonite / Anabaptist affiliated institution or program. Please visit www.mennonitechurch.ab.ca to download an application. Deadline to apply is July 31, 2019.
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Next Steps
abbreviated version
Five Essential Themes
When we gathered in March 2019, we wrestled and discerned together. We concluded that MCA and its people are being called to pursue five essential themes:
- Prayer & Prayer Practices (Scripture reading, leaning on God’s love for MCA; noticing where God is at work)
- Core Commitments + Engagement with Deep Longings (love of God & neighbour, place to ask questions & bring real issues, study MWC core convictions)
- Deep Community (sheltering tree and adoption imagery for inclusion; multi-age, multicultural, youth, camp; ecumenism)
- Character (kindness, forgiveness, welcome; claim who we are)
- MCA Ministries (Camp, Muslim-Christian dialogue, pastor supports; share stories between congregations; share prayer needs, learnings, struggles)
Where we are going
As congregations, we are inviting you to continue in prayer over the coming months. As an overarching theme, we ask for prayers for guidance as we discern God’s calling together. More focused requests for prayer related to our identified themes will be sent out in coming months.
The Reference Group will be working with the outcomes of the collective discernment in March and wrestling further, asking, “What does it mean to live into the themes we have discerned?” You will be hearing more from us over the summer and in the fall in this regard.
Our next Vision 20/20 event will be November 1 (evening) and 2 at Calgary First Mennonite. All of MCA is invited to come to celebrate our commitment to one another and to God, to affirm directions for MCA and, most importantly, to practice together the discipline of being the people of God together. Please plan to have representatives present from your congregation.
We thank you for your ongoing prayers, engagement, and participation in our Vision 20/20 process of renewal. May God allow us to see clearly the way ahead!
In Christ,
The MCA Reference Group:
Debbie Baergen, Tracy Brown-Ewert. Kate Janzen, June Miller,
Paul Neufeldt, Tim Wiebe-Neufeld, Betty Pries
Download full document here.
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Menno Simons Christian School presents
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
May 2 & 3 @ 6:30 pm and May 4 @ 4:30 pm
See Mackenzie Miller orEugena Lee for tickets. Or purchase at the door.
Or contact June for more information: jmiller@mennonitechurch.ab.ca.
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Camp Valaqua Work Day May 4, 9-4
Join us to help get camp ready for summer! Wood splitting, tipi setup, brush clearing, and cleaning are on the agenda. We'll feed you lunch and provide snacks!
Facebook Event
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 Christian Faith Studies
Biblical Storytelling:
the transformative power of sacred story
May 13-14
@ Lethbridge Mennonite
Evening Sessions open to public.
Register for day sessions online at
mennonitechurch.ab.ca/events
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 MCA Women's Retreat 2019
The Faces of Mary: companion on the journey
with Irma Fast Dueck
June 7, 8, 9 - Sylvan Lake
Register at mcawomen.ca
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 June 28 - July 1
Abbortsford, BC
Main Session
2p Jun 29 - 12p Jul 1
Leaders, Jun 28
Delegates, Jun 29, am
Women's Lunch, Jun 30
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Dr. Elaine Heath, says the greatest challenge for the western church today is to “regain a gospel-centric imagination.”
At Gathering 2019, Heath will consider how the emergence of new expressions of church “can open our collective imagination.”
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 Walk for Common Ground
May 31 to June 14, 2019
from Edmonton (Treaty 6) to Calgary (Treaty 7)
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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
New Info! Early registration has been extended to May 3. No payment is due right now. Early registrants are eligible for MC Canada subsidies.
Published Cost: $375/person. Final registration deadline: May 31, 2019.
Visit www.prairieyouth.ca for full details and registration.
Please do not let cost deter you. You will not pay full price. Contact Chad Miller for more details (chadmiller@nucleus.com) about the MCA subsidy.
Download poster here.
Download information sheet here.
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Calgary First to host final Vision20/20 phase
Phase IV - Incarnating God's Call
November 1-2 Calgary First Mennonite
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2019 Calendar
Apr 28 Celebrating Doug & Rose Klassen
May 4 Valaqua Spring Work Day
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
Nov 1-2 Vision 20/20: Phase IV - Incarnating God's Call
Mar 20-21, 2020 Annual Delegate Sessions
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 Violence in Burkina Faso
On Sunday April 28, a protestant church in Burkina Faso was attacked just as the service was ending. Six lives were lost. Aljeezera covered the story ( read here). Pray for the church in Burkina Faso. Although violence has escalated dramatically this year against teachers and others, this was the first targeted attack against Christians. The pope had special prayers for this Protestant church ( read here). The Mennonite Church is 600km from the violence.
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The Poovongs share about new church plant
 Thailand Witness workers Tom and Christine Poovong have rented land for income-generation ministry for new believers. New Jesus followers will earn an income, learn how to manage their finances and live out their faith. The Poovongs are teaching these new disciples how to be free of poverty, drug, alcohol addiction, gambling, and sexual sin. Join Tom and Christine Poovong in prayer as they ask God to show them the families with which they will live and minister at the new church plant. The Poovongs and their team will teach these disciples of Jesus to go out and preach the gospel to their villages.
Angolan Mennonite Churches facing government pressure
 One of the big challenges for Angolan Mennonite churches is the training of leaders, as required by the government. The Angolan State does not want parishes to be led by lay people. They also require churches be represented in each of the 18 provinces. A second challenge is the lack of Bibles, songbooks, or elements of communion. The Angolan church leadership is in conversation with Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM) about partnering to give their leaders upper-level training. Pray for the three Mennonite churches in Angola as they face the challenge of needing trained leaders and the ongoing threat of being shut down for their size and for not being in line with the requirements of the government.
Please pray for George and Tobia Veith as they live and serve in China. Pray for wisdom in their teaching, writing, and relationship building.
 Pray that Mary Raber, who works with MC Canada partner Mennonite Mission Network, will be granted temporary resident status by the Ukrainian government before her current visa expires. Rules in Ukraine’s militarized zone keep changing and legal status has not been granted to any church. Pray for wisdom for the leaders, and that church life will be allowed to continue.
Pray for church leaders from Japan, Korea, and China as they gather at the Forum for Reconciliation in Northeast Asia at the end of May 2019. Pray that God's spirit of peace will lead conversations and that relationships can lead to healing. (https://neareconciliation.com/)
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 As congregations, we are inviting you to continue in prayer over the coming months. As an overarching theme, we ask for prayers for guidance as we discern God’s calling together. More focused requests for prayer related to our identified themes will be sent out in coming months.
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www.commonword.ca
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Worship Calendar:
 There’s less than two weeks until Mother’s Day. If you’re looking for worship ideas for this special day, visit www.commonword.ca/go/1781. We’ve got ideas, songs, and prayers that you can use to show appreciation for the mothers in your community.
 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. Order 12 different loan titles and receive an extended borrowing period as well as other benefits. For more information, visit http://www.commonword.ca/go/1584.
 What does it mean that Jesus was called Christ, and how can this forgotten truth restore hope and meaning to our lives? Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, author Richard Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. Thought-provoking, practical, and full of deep hope and vision, The Universal Christ is a landmark book from a beloved spiritual writer, and an invitation to contemplate how God liberates and loves all that is. Order or borrow at www.commonword.ca/go/1782.
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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