Guest Speakers

Kathy Bergen

Available to you for conversations, sermons and discussion on Palestine-Israel concerns. Part of the MCEC Palestine-Israel Working Group.

Shelley Campagnola

Shelley Campagnola is the Executive Director of COMPASS Refugee Centre (formerly MCRS). “It is an incredible privilege to work with a team so committed to providing welcome and much needed assistance to people seeking refuge in Canada. I am humbled by the people who come to us from over 40 different countries, hoping to build new lives here, safe at last from the violence and threat to life and well-being they and their families faced.”

Shelley is a gifted speaker, and loves to unpack biblical truths about God and his homecoming heart for people. She also loves to do presentations and workshops designed to help people of all ages catch a vision and respond in uniquely personal and local ways to the ever-shifting practical, social and political realities that are a part of people being on the move.

Lori Guenther Reesor

Lori is an enthusiastic speaker on church and money.  She tries not to get weighed down by her academic credentials.  She is commended for her ability to facilitate group discussions, and brings a wealth of experience to the topic.  Check out her blog and contact information.

Peter Haresnape

Peter is available to preach or lead workshops on topics including Indigenous-Settler Relations, Land Justice, Peacemaking & Nonviolence. Originally from the UK, Peter has worked with CPT's Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Team, the Student Christian Movement of Canada and now serves Toronto United Mennonite Church as a pastor.

Stephen Kennedy

Stephen Kennedy has a heart for growing the next generation, and the leaders serving with students. Stephen was a Youth Leadership writer for Youth Specialties, focussing on creating impactful and healthy Youth-Group cultures, graduated from Conrad Grebel with an MTS in 2020, and has had the opportunity to support and coach fellow Youth-Workers in his 12 years of Ministry. Stephen currently pastors at Avon Church in Stratford, and continues to manage a multi-denominational Retreat for students across Southern Ontario.  

Stephen has experience speaking to students, and offering Youth-Leader training in an approach he calls, "Dinner-Party Ministry". The more Youth Groups and Youth-workers connect, the better we will all be. 

Esther Kern

Available to you for conversations, sermons and discussion on Palestine-Israel concerns. Part of the MCEC Palestine-Israel Working Group.

Brandon Leis

Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Brandon Leis, a dynamic speaker, teacher, performer, and workshop facilitator who has a passion for church music. With a focus on gifts-centered music making and participant engagement, his workshops/sessions are designed to explore a broad range of topics as they relate to the music of our worship. Brandon teaches in the faculty of music at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, serves as music director at Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church in Kitchener and is the artistic director of the Menno Singers. 

Possible Workshop/session topics:

• Musical skills: Song leading/conducting (especially unfamiliar songs/hymns and those with irregular meter), accompanying skills, learning/teaching new songs, incorporating instruments, re-framing or re-contextualizing hymns , hymn writing/arranging 
• Identifying and incorporating our gifts: How to incorporate those with varying degrees of musical giftedness - especially children and youth - into the music-making of our worship 
• Performance vs. Worship: Being aware of the boundary between when we worship God through our music-making and when we are worshiping the music we are creating or the creators of the music
• Why do we do what we do in the way we do it? Adopting the spirit of asking both why and why not with our worship, our planning patterns and with our leadership-styles
• The question of ‘Style’: Do we understand the ‘styles’ of music within our worship? What is at the core of our appreciation of some songs/hymns and not others? How can we present music in an ‘authentic’ way for the entire congregation? 
• Balancing the new and old; Being open to the creative work of the Holy Spirit and the traditional roots that anchor us in worship.
• Service Development: What role does music play within our worship? Coordinating our music with other elements of worship– within and between services 
• The possibility of uncertainty, and ‘letting go’ to certain standards and metrics we apply to our music-making, to identify some that are more important
• Identifying roles of individuals within worship - are there participants, observers, leaders and performers? 
• Looking at the physical worship space and its strengths and/or limitations for our music making: Can I see you, can you see me? Are you within arm’s reach? Physical proximity and formation in congregational singing  
• Our music and worship as a place of multi-valenced engagement: Music's ability to reach the ‘heart’, ‘head’ and 'body' 
• Identifying the ‘right’ way to sing a hymn: Seldom is there a universal and identifiable 'right way' to sing a hymn, yet we are aware of many ‘wrong ways’. How do we know what we should do?
• Utilizing our resources and worship materials (technological, paper, human, etc.): What resources are ‘open’ to us for church music? What can we appropriate for our usage and from where?  
• The many roles music can play in our worship: From 'special music' to prelude, offertory, transitional, reflective pieces and actively engaging in song, music can transform elements of our worship
• Participation and exclusion within the congregation; Are our musical choices excluding some participants, both new and old? 
• Trusting your musical and theological instincts: Is it okay to not be a 'professional' and still participate in the development and implementation of our music and worship?

Lifted Voices

Lifted Voices is a singing group of six women from First Mennonite Church in Kitchener who have been singing and praising God together for over 25 years. They provide special music or a full worship service. Worship services consist of music, scripture, readings, prayer and drama.

They are open to singing for small groups or for the entire congregation for a Sunday morning worship service.

They would prefer to stay within a one hour drive of Kitchener/Waterloo, however, would consider further distances if there was compensation for travel. Due to vacations, they are typically not available during July and August.

Cedric Martin

Theatre of the Beat is a Canadian touring theatre company working to catalyze conversations on social justice and its intersection with the beliefs of the communities it finds itself in. Their original plays Gadfly: Sam Steiner Dodges the Draft, A Bicycle Built for Two, Forgiven/Forgotten, This Will Lead to Dancing, Yellow Bellies, #ChurchToo, and Unmute have toured churches, festivals, universities, and prisons across Canada. Theatre of the Beat also leads weekly theatre workshops for incarcerated women in Grand Valley Institute for Women, a federal penitentiary located in Kitchener, Ontario. 

If your congregation wants to learn more about Theatre of the Beat, please reach out to Cedric (Artistic Producer) at info@theatreofthebeat.ca. 

Cedric would love to meet your community and share with your congregation the work and mission of Theatre of the Beat.

Colin McCartney

Colin McCartney is the founder of UrbanPromise Toronto and current President and Founder of Connect Ministries (www.connectministries.org). Colin is also part of the MCEC family through his wife Judith who is church planting with the MCEC and is also training urban leaders in under - resourced neighbourhoods for the MCEC. Colin has appeared on Canadian television, radio and national newspapers regarding urban issues. He is an author of two best sellers (“The Beautiful Disappointment” and “Red Letter Revolution”, Castle Quay Publishers), mentor to pastors and business people and is in high demand as a ministry trainer and coach.

Michel Monette

Michel is MCEC's Catalyzer Minister.

• Married to Lyne in 1990
• I have 3 children.  Bérangère 25 study to become worship pastor in Abbotsford, Thierry 23 study to become a personal trainer, Zachary 19 as cerebral paralysis still at home
• Born again in 1991 as MB, I did a Bachelor (not yet finished, miss 3 or 4 class) in theology at ETEM (MB University in Montreal)
• Started in ministry in 1998 as preacher for Conseil Mennonite du Quebec (CMQ)
• Moved in France as a church planter in 2000
• Planted two church in under resources neighbourhood in the Parisian area.  One in Eaubonne and one in Cergy-Pontoise.
• Came back to Canada in 2004 to plant a non-traditional church as a pioneer in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve where I started Hochma with my wife.
• I’ve been preaching about grace and love since 2000 after reading Philippe Yance’s “what so amazing about grace”.
• Had help church and pastor to understand their neighbourhood to develop pertinent program align with there reality.
• I work with the Haitian community in Montreal, Haiti and Aruba since 2011.

Brent Musser

Brent is Director of Facilities and Environmental Stewardship at Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp & Retreat Centre. He is available to preach or lead a Christian Education type class on topics related to the connection between faith and our relationship to creation. Specifically, he can help explore the ways the natural world is a community of which people are part, a gift from God, and a charge for which we are responsible. He is also happy to share about Hidden Acres, its ongoing ministry, and some of the ways the camp practices care for the environment. Brent has a Master of Divinity from Evangelical Theological Seminary and has served as a Mennonite pastor in Pennsylvania. He is also an aspiring naturalist who is seeking to learn more about the creatures with whom we share God’s world. 

Don Neufeld

Don is the Canadian Coordinator of Mennonite Men, a bi-national organization, and the initiator and co-editor of the 2019 publication, Peaceful at Heart: Anabaptist Reflections on Healthy Masculinity. With a passion for extending an invitation to males to seek healthy expressions of masculinity and to engage in positive conversations about gender, Don is available to lead men’s breakfasts or retreats, or for other speaking engagements including Sunday morning services.  As a social worker (Master of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier, ’91) with 30 years of experience and theological interests back to the mid 80s (Bachelor of Theology, CMBC, ‘86) at Canadian Mennonite Bible College (now Canadian Mennonite University) Don brings a perspective of the intersection of understandings of social dynamics, mental well-being and Christian faith.

Chris & Amanda Pot

Chris and Amanda serve at Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp in the capacities of Program Director (Chris) and Single Mom’s Camp Coordinator (Amanda). Chris also serves on the board of the Mennonite Camping Association (a bi-national association of Mennonite and Anabaptist camps in Canada and the USA).

Both Chris and Amanda are available (individually or together) to share about the positive impact that camp has, and can have, on the lives of those that experience it. They can also bring along members of the summer camp staff team to lead a “Camp Sunday” service including staff sharing stories about their experiences at camp, a message/sermon, music, and children’s times.

Fred Redekop

Fred has been a pastor for many years. He preaches from the lectionary texts, in order to work/preach on difficult texts and was affirmed at the church for his style and content. 

He has travelled to Turkey and Greece, exploring the world of Paul and is willing to do a four-part bible study on the complex guy we call Paul of Tarsus.

Al Rempel

As MCEC Regional Minister, Al would be delighted to participate in your service of worship or adult education time. He welcomes the opportunity to speak on congregational vitality, Christian discipleship, stewardship and missional vocation. He is open to being a resource for interactive events.

Dave Rogalsky

Dave Rogalsky loves preaching and teaching!  Working with the biblical material to help folk draw nearer to God is his passion. He has pastored in various congregations for 36 years. He lives in Waterloo with his partner Annemarie, near to his adult children and grandchildren.

Elmer Thiessen

Elmer is a semi-retired philosopher, having moved to Waterloo in 2007. While living in Alberta for most of his teaching career, he was active in his home church as Moderator, Elder, Lay-minister and Sunday school teacher. He has also preached and given teaching seminars in other churches and church colleges. In 2001-2002 he did a year of pulpit supply in the Seven Persons Community Church in Alberta, while this church was without a pastor.

Elmer likes topical preaching, but will also follow the church’s lectionary. Some possible topics for seminars or a Sunday school series: the Ethics of Evangelism; Biblical Ethics for Today’s Postmodern Society; A Christian Worldview; A Biblical Approach to Knowledge; Doubt; Committed Openness; Christian Education in the Home and the Church.

He is available during most of the year. An honourarium and travel expenses as per church policy would be appreciated.

Mykayla Turner

Mykayla Turner holds a Master of Sacred Music degree. Currently, she serves as a worship coordinator for The Church at Nairn. She loves speaking with Anabaptists about worship and music, especially in relation to community music, intergenerational dynamics, ecumenism, and/or rural life. She also enjoys crafting contemplative liturgies. Mykayla is a competent pianist, chorister, and liturgist. Additionally, she serves as one of the co-directors of Ontario Mennonite Music Camp and catalogues music for Together in Worship, a curated collection of free worship resources from Anabaptist sources. She is a curious, dedicated, and collaborative leader working to spark conversation at various intersections: church and academia, Anabaptism and ecumenism, "traditional" and "contemporary" worship, and urban and rural congregations—just to name a few. Mykayla is available for sermons, workshops, lectures, concerts, and other congregational events.

Patricia Wagler

Patricia is a follower of Jesus, Ordained Minister, certified Spiritual Caregiver, and Labyrinth Facilitator, and simply enjoys planning and facilitating events with any age group, any topic. Patricia is available for speaking/preaching, leading retreats/workshops. 'We can have a conversation and develop an experience that will invite participants to encounter God.' 

She also has a canvas labyrinth that she travels with, as well as an outdoor labyrinth on my farm that she uses for events.

Special music can also be provided for worship or events.

Amanda Zehr

Amanda has spent several years working in pastoral ministry in Mennonite churches around southwestern Ontario. 

Amanda has a BA in Recreation and Business and a Masters of Theological Studies, both from the University of Waterloo.