MCEC Celebrates 18 Years of Transitioning into Ministry.

This past March, a group of 12 pastors gathered at Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp (HAC) to share stories and celebrate a journey of learning together. These were the last MCEC Transitioning into Ministry (TiM) equipping days. Started in 2007, the TiM program supported and prepared pastors as they began their ministry journeys.

Pastors come from a huge range of backgrounds. Some may come from a seminary education. Others are called from diverse careers or are bi-vocational pastors, leading congregations alongside a different day job. Whatever their personal backgrounds, pastors face unique challenges as they lead, support and teach in their communities. Seeing these challenges and the struggles faced by those beginning their ministry, MCEC wanted to help.

"The coaching provided in the TiM program gave us a safe space to share our diverse experiences, our highs and lows, our fears and our hopes for ministry.”

In many Canadian churches new pastors were leave their role after just a few years. Marilyn Rudy-Froese was the chair of MCEC’s leadership council at the time. Marilyn remembers, “We saw a lot of pastors struggling to adjust to the challenges of their role. This was a concern in MCEC as well as in other denominations. There was an ongoing conversation about what could be done to help.”  Looking to address these difficulties, TiM was created—a program to support pastors, introduce resources they could access and help them build connections and relationships with others. Muriel Bechtel and Marianne Mellinger, both MCEC staff at the time, developed the programing for the first cohort.

Each cohort would participate for three years, with in-person equipping days at Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp twice a year. The pastors were paired with a mentor, an experienced pastor who could walk with them, empathize with challenges and provide support. During the learning sessions, there would be time to explore strategies or support resources, as well as opportunities for group discussion and games. Participants often remarked that the informal parts of these gatherings were just as valuable as the programing. After a late night of telling stories and sharing jokes, one pastor remarked, “I haven’t laughed this much in decades.” Pastors developed personal connections at TiM that have lasted through the years.

“We saw a lot of pastors struggling to adjust to the challenges of their role ... There was an ongoing conversation about what could be done to help.” 

Zac Klassen, pastor at Boomingdale Mennonite Church, was part of the final MCEC TiM class which concluded in March. He says, “Two aspects of TiM stand out as the most significant and formative. First, it drew together new pastoral colleagues for support, learning and laughter. I made many friends at TiM and am grateful for that. Second, the coaching provided in the TiM program gave us a safe space to share our diverse experiences, our highs and lows, our fears and our hopes for ministry.”

For the last five years, the program was facilitated by Marilyn Rudy-Froese, leadership minister, and Cathrin van Sintern-Dick, regional minister. They worked together to shape resources, organize mentorships and plan the equipping days at HAC. One particularly memorable moment came during Cathrin’s first in-person equipping days in 2022. Just before the weekend, Marylin got sick with COVID, leaving Cathrin all alone to run things (with Marylin supporting as best she could on Zoom). Thrown into the deep end, Cathrin rose to the challenge and the event was a great success.

In reflection, Cathrin says “It has been a joy to be part of TiM. The opportunity to connect with our MCEC pastors, see growth and learning, and experience the space at HAC was very rewarding. Stepping away from everyday life and work commitments to work on ministry skills together was always a great privilege.”

Cathrin and Marilyn both highlight how much working with the TiM pastors caused them to learn about their own ministry and faith. Marilyn observes, “Asking others about their faith and calls to ministry regularly brought me a new understanding of my own faith and what it means to be Mennonite.” She continues, “Having the chance to connect with pastors from a huge range of both cultural and religious upbringings about what they believe and what brought them to pastor in MCEC was really meaningful to see.”

Now, Mennonite Church Canada has began facilitating a TiM program for pastors from across Canada. Administered by Al Rempel, Associate Executive Minister, TiM continues to help pastors learn and grow together.

Over it’s time 78 pastors came through TiM. MCEC is thankful for all the people that helped it happen through the years, including Muriel Bechtel, Marianne Mellinger, Henry Paetkau, Megan Lennox, Becca Smoot-Enns, Marilyn Rudy-Froese and Cathrin van Sintern-Dick.