In this issue
E3 Prayer
A Menno Minute
One Good Thing -- Tany Warkentin
Upcoming ADS workshops
Chin Church Celebration
Missions and Services Update
Camp Valaqua Rentals
Family Feud Fundraiser
and more
Plus... updates from our wider faith communities
(If this newsletter does not format properly as an email, please click the link above to view in your browser)
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E3 = MCA
Year 1 Christ in life
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Our E3 Prayer
As we begin preparations for yet another Lent and Easter
without the usual gathering for worship – please be with us and help us through to a new Alleluia.
Please also remember in your prayers those in our congregations for whom Covid-19 is much more than a daily statistic.
Pray for renewed health for those who are ill and comfort for those who are grieving.
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A Menno Minute
A Menno Minute. What a great title for a collection of writings from our faith community. Thank you, June Miller, for initiating what has become a signature piece of our MCA Communiqué.
A Menno Minute is a collection of writings, true, but what IS a Menno Minute and who can write one? I sometimes joke that the qualifications are minimal. Are you a Menno? Do you have a Minute? But seriously, my favourite prompt for these writings is “How have I seen God at work in (my life, this day ... fill in the blank)?” Not all writers use this prompt but it can be a starting point. Some writers are inspired by something they’ve read or experienced while others are grateful for an opportunity to simply reflect on something meaningful to them. Writers can be MCA leaders, pastors, committee members, or simply people who are part of our faith community. If you think you’d like to write a Menno Minute, please volunteer. The possibilities are limitless.
That said, some weeks, like this one, a Menno Minute did not appear in time for publication. I hope and pray that we can be gracious and patient, knowing that there will be another Menno Minute next week and likely the week after. In the meantime, catch up on some you may have missed. As the website says, Read more.
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On e Good Thing. Just One Good Thing.
Tany Warketin, Springridge Mennonite
My One Good Thing is...the dining table around which our 3-generation farm "cohort" gathers every evening. Along with food, there is the sharing of the day's activities, discussions on theology and science which often send us to Google for more info, and processing life issues. This table is a place of sharing, learning and growing together for young and old(er).
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Join another Pre-session ADS workshops Saturday February 20, at 1:30 p.m. with a chance to visit with Tany Warkentin and Jeanette Hanson from International Witness and Steve Heinrichs from Indigenous Settler Relations. Both are hoping you'll bring questions!
Register today!
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"God is doing a great work among us and it is in this light
that we want to share this important milestone in the life of Chin Church with you."
All are invited via Zoom. Read CCCC's celebratory Letter of Invitation
linked from the MCA website home page.
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Calgary Chin Christian Church
On Monday, February 1, Mennonite Church Canada asked our nationwide community of faith to pray for the people of Myanmar as well as for our Myanmar siblings here in Canada.
Please continue to remember our brothers and sisters in the Calgary Chin Christian Church in your prayers.
Having received an extension to continue in their current space, the Calgary Chin Christian Church has made the decision to delay their official move-in date. On March 14, 2021 they will celebrate both their Grand Opening and their 10-year anniversary.
They celebrate the work that has been completed and have shared a virtual tour on the MCA Facebook page.
They will continue to fundraise for tech equipment (TVs, projectors, monitors, computers, a sound system) and office furniture. Donations accepted with gratitude!
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Missions and Service Committee
is inviting you to join two events beyond our Mennonite family.
Continuing the Conversation.
A three part monthly series, which began in February, patterned after the yearly Christian Muslim Dialogue. 
This series brings together people in small Zoom Rooms,
on the first Tuesday of the month.
Remaining dates: March 2, April 6. 7-8 p.m. Mountain Time.
Topics: Know your Neighbour, Hospitality, Embassy, and Unity.
Registration required: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrce6qrjwrEtSEEM4BusjibbyMYs0VP-RF
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Itching to get out of the city for the weekend? A night?
Or maybe you want to do school with your kids in nature for the week.
Rental options and inquiries at www.campvalaqua.com/rentals
We're renting individual units to members of the same household.
No shared space due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Just 1 hour NW of Calgary. Starting at $50/night.
Get access to:
- Outdoor firepits
- Walking trails
- Cross country skis and trails (weather permitting)
- BBQ
And of course, NATURE'S BEAUTY  ![]() | |
from Kevin Stoesz, Camp Valaqua committee chair
Camp Valaqua's Family Feud Fundraiser
March 6, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
We are changing things up this year for our annual Camp Valaqua Fundraiser! Join us on March 6th from 7-8:30 for our first Family Feud evening. This event will be held over Zoom.
Sign up with a group of people or sign up as an individual and I will find a team for you. Please fill out the Registration form. I look forward to seeing you all on March 6th. Feel free to email kbstoesz@gmail.com for any additional questions.
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MCA Annual Delegate Sessions will be held via Zoom on March 20. Each congregation is entitled to send one delegate per 15 members (or part thereof). Registration by both delegates and guests is required and can be found on the MCA website www.mcab.ca. The Zoom link will be emailed to those registered in advance of delegate sessions. Churches are asked to submit their delegate slate by March 12.
Just prior to the Delegate Sessions, a zoom link will be sent out by email.
Pre-assembly workshops have been scheduled for the dates and times below.
Register at www.mcab.ca
February 20 MC Canada (Indigenous Settler Relations. International Witness) 1:30 p.m.
February 27 RJC 10:00 a.m. and MCA Executive 1:30 p.m.
March 6 Mission & Service 10:00 a.m. and Constitution & Bylaw 11:00 a.m.
March 13 Camp Valaqua 10:00 a.m. and CMU 11:00 a.m.
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Mark your calendars and plan to join our MCA family of congregations
for Worship via Zoom
as we launch Year Two of our E3 Action Plan:
Encountering, Embracing, Embodying Christ in Community
March 21, 10:30 a.m.
See www.mcab.ca to register. |
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Thank you! Mennonite Church Canada congregations successfully matched the $50,000 donation for MWC COVID-19 Sharing Fund in 2020. Of this, $11,901.90 came via Mennonite Church Alberta!
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 Call for RJC alumni & friends to join virtual choirs: We invite anyone interested to join one or both of the virtual alumni & friends choirs that Richard Janzen is putting together for RJC's upcoming Virtual Choirs & Cakes fundraiser event on March 14. There will be a mass choir (alumni, friends, greater community, & RJC students) and an alumni & friends choir. All are welcome. If you are interested in singing, email richard@rjc.sk.ca.
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Congregations launch new websites through MC Canada congregational website hub
Fifteen congregations have launched new websites through the Mennonite Church Canada congregational website hub. Read about the benefits of the platform during a pandemic and how congregations make use of other tools like online giving and registrations.
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Indigenous-Settler Relations
 TOMORROW FEBRUARY 18. Canada, The Churches, & Bill C-15: A Webinar Discussion
The church has been called by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to adopt and comply with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. But what should we make of the government’s newly proposed Bill C-15 legislation? We’ve got a fantastic webinar event coming up on February 18th to help us understand these matters. Join a brilliant set of panelists— land defender Ellen Gabriel, professor Sheryl Lightfoot, Chief Wilton Littlechild and Archbishop Mark MacDonald— and invite your friends to take part in the discussion. Everyone is welcome! To register CLICK HERE.
Prayer for new Mennonite Church Canada-CPT Internship
 Please pray for Allegra Friesen Epp (Home Street Mennonite Church, Winnipeg, Man.) as she begins a joint internship with Mennonite Church Canada and Christian Peacemaker Teams' Turtle Island Solidarity Network. Allegra will work out of Winnipeg (Treaty 1 & the Homeland of the Metis Nation) for a six-month term, relating to churches, CPT partners and Indigenous solidarity groups. Pray for strength, wisdom and joy as she navigates this work and builds new relationships.
Read an interview with Allegra and CPT Canada coordinator Rachelle Friesen.
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International Witness
Bylers to begin Anabaptist training in Asia
Pray for Ruthie and Myrrl Byler sent jointly by International Witness and Mennonite Mission Network to support Anabaptist training in Asia. Pray their visas for Thailand will be available soon so they can start working with various partners in the region.
Partnership sees new literacy teachers trained in Congo
Praise God for four recently completed teacher training events for the Congo Literacy Project, held in Mutena, Kamiji, Kamayala and Bita in December and January. Pray that 80 newly trained teachers would have the courage and determination to begin literacy classes in their respective congregations. The literacy project is supported by International Witness and Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission.
Connection with Colombia churches amid violence
Pray for groups meeting in both Colombia and Canada to work on ideas for bringing our churches into closer relationship. May we support each other in the issues that face us. Pray that the violence threatening rural Colombian congregations decreases.
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New Guide - Season & Event Calendars
A comprehensive set of links to church season resources, lectionary materials, thematic items for holidays and calendar events - www.commonword.ca/go/calendars
Lent
From Friends of CommonWord
This is a family memoir, racial analysis and decolonization workbook by Elaine Enns and Ched Myers. Due to be released in a few weeks. Shipping generously subsidized by Mennonite Church Canada Indigenous-Settler Relations office – www.commonword.ca/go/2243.
Copyright and Recording Information for Voices Together
Here’s a comprehensive spreadsheet, compiled by the Anabaptist Worship Network, noting whether a Voices Together song is licensed by OneLicense, CCLI, or is Public Domain – www.commonword.ca/go/2266
New book by Lorne Brandt from MCBC
 A narrative look at Mary, the mother of Jesus – www.commonword.ca/go/2254.
Calendar
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The Church and the Coronavirus Pandemic
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See the MCA website for up-to-date Covid-19 information as it impacts our worshiping together.
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Have a story to tell? One Good Thing to share? Feedback on the MCA Communiqué?
Email communications@mcab.ca
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MCA Calendar
ADS Pre-session Workshops
February 20 MC Canada (Indigenous Settler Relations. International Witness) 1:30 p.m.
February 27 RJC 10:00 a.m. and MCA Executive 1:30 p.m.
March 6 Mission & Service 10:00 a.m. and Constitution & Bylaw 11:00 a.m.
March 13 Camp Valaqua 10:00 a.m. and CMU 11:00 a.m.
March 6 Camp Valaqua Family Feud Fundraiser
March 14 Chin Church Grand Opening and 10 Year Anniversary
March 20-21, 9:30 a.m. Annual Delegate Sessions -- via ZOOM
Sunday, March 21, 10:30 a.m. Online Worship for ALL MCA congregations
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