Weekly News
Welcome! Here you will find all the news and events that your congregation will need for the week - MCEC Prayer and Event Highlights, Mennonite Church Canada Updates, Announcements. Check out the hot buttons to ministry opportunities and pastoral transitions. Administrative Assistants: make sure to see the Bulletin Cut and Paste. Bookmark this page and check back regularly for updates. New items will begin to appear on Monday and the newsletter will come to your inbox on Wednesday.
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Bulletin Cut and Paste
Administrators: Thank you for sharing the MCEC story with your congregations. Please continue offering valuable feedback on how we can tailor announcements to empower you in your ministry.
Prayers
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- Please pray for the MCEC community of congregations. This week we pray for Burning Bush Forest Church and for Wendy Janzen, who provides leadership to this community. Pray for them as they gather for worship on the third Sunday of every month, guided by the creek, the hemlock, maples, and ironwood, the changing seasons, and by the Spirit.
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Pray for the Joint Council of Mennonite Church Canada as they meet on January 31. Pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance as they discern God's leading for Mennonite Church Canada. Pray for Anthony Siegrist, MCEC Executive Minister, Ben Cassels, MCEC Moderator, and Chung Vang, pastor at First Hmong Mennonite Church, who represent MCEC on this nationwide council.
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Pray for the MCEC Creation Care Working Group as they guide our regional church in responding faithfully. Grant them wisdom, energy and hope as they encourage us toward healing and stewardship of God's creation.
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God of peace, we lift our world to You today, longing for healing where there is conflict and hope where there is fear. Calm anxious hearts, protect the vulnerable, and guide leaders and communities toward justice and reconciliation. May Your peace take root in us, that we might become instruments of Your compassion in our troubled world.
- Please pray for the MCEC community of congregations. This week we pray for Burning Bush Forest Church and for Wendy Janzen, who provides leadership to this community. Pray for them as they gather for worship on the third Sunday of every month, guided by the creek, the hemlock, maples, and ironwood, the changing seasons, and by the Spirit.
Announcements:
- Mennonite Church Canada Armchair Travel! January 27, 2026, 7pm (CST). Join Karla Cuca Vasquez, SEMILLA Ambassador in Guatemala, and several Canadians who have experience the rich cultural and scenic land first-hand. Hear their stories and travel with them from the comfort of your own home! Join in Zoom meeting here.
- MCEC Intercultural Volleyball Tournament February 28, 2026, Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, Kitchener. A fun day of intercultural, intergenerational volleyball, fellowship and fun with congregations across MCEC. Register your teams today!
- MCEC Idea Exchange - Churches Caring for Creation, March 7, 2026, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m., 800 King St. E., Kitchener, ON. Join A Rocha Ontario and MCEC for our morning event to explore how Christian communities can make creation care part of the way they serve God and neighbour. A morning of stories and insights from experienced panelists. More information and to register.
- MCEC Pastors Gathering: A Conversation with Pablo Kim, April 24, 2026, 7 - 8:30 p.m., MCEC 50 Kent Ave., Kitchener, ON. Join us for an evening of rich intercultural dialogue with Pablo Kim Sun, author of Building Mennonite Belonging: Toward an Intercultural Church. Together, we will explore how faith communities can respond faithfully and creatively to the realities of cultural, ethnic and racial diversity in the twenty‑first century. Registration opens soon.
- MCEC Financial Zoom Call, April 15, 2026, 7-8MCEC Annual Church Gathering, Saturday, April 25, 2026, Steinmann Mennonite Church, Baden, ON. A one-day ACG designed to energize congregations in worship, discipleship and mission. Explore practical workshops, engage in meaningful conversations and discern God's guidance together for our shared future. Mark your calendars.
- MCEC Intercultural Worship Gathering, Saturday, April 26, 2026, 7-9 p.m., 800 King St. E., Kitchener, ON (First Mennonite/Shalom Worship & Healing Center). All are welcome to this time of worship, unity and celebration as various congregations come together to honour our diversity in Christ. Mark your calendars.
Mennonite Church Canada
Mennonite Church Canada’s Joint Council meets on Saturday, January 31.
Prayer for the Holy Spirit’s guidance as they discern nine action items that have developed out of Gathering 2025. Each item will have congregational, regional, and nationwide significance. Stay tuned for the results!
MC Canada Moving Forward Together: Year in Review 2025
Share this review in your annual reports and newsletters and discover the incredible momentum building throughout MC Canada.
International Witness
Global Companion – China. Anabaptist teaching is finding a welcome audience in small groups of believers in China as they face many of the same kinds of challenges as did their ancestors in faith. Read more.
Global Companion for February- Cuba Facing debilitating shortages of electricity, food, and gasoline, the church in Cuba is going ahead with training courses for pastors this month, provided by SEMILLA seminary in Guatemala. The need for trained leaders across Cuba is high and your prayers and support of these training courses will be a source of great encouragement. Give here and send prayers and messages of support to Jeanette Hanson, International Witness Director.
Join Karla Cuca Vasquez, SEMILLA Ambassador and several Canadians who have experienced the rich cultural and scenic land first-hand. Hear their stories and travel with them from the comfort of your own home. January 27, 2026, 7 p.m. CST on Zoom.
Join the Mennonite Church Canada Learning Pilgrimage in South Africa! Journey alongside South African Anabaptists as we build relationships, listen to lived stories, and explore how their experiences of faith, justice, and reconciliation can inform our own efforts to heal colonial wounds with Indigenous neighbours in Canada. Learn more or contact Tany Warkentin for details.
Climate Action &
Indigenous Relations:
Indigenous Relations
The Jubilee Fund is a project of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Central Committee Canada that attempts to address imbalance of wealth and power between people of Indigenous descent and Canada’s settler population through supporting Indigenous led movements to steward and care for the land. Deadline proposal due February 15th. More information.
Climate Action
Pray for the Climate Action/Creation Care working group in your region. These are folks dedicated to supporting the church in responding to the climate crisis in faithful ways. You can learn more about the group in your region here. Contact your group to see what’s up and how you can get involved!
CommonWord Bookstore and Resource Centre
Upcoming Book Events
- Register to receive the zoom link and come prepared for an engaged discussion with author and Disability rights activist, Tatum Tricarico. A wonderful way to begin Lent.
- Join our conversation about decolonization, in person or via live stream, with author and Indigenous rights activist, John Olthuis.
Church Year Resources
Materials to buy, borrow or access online. Includes Together in Worship Resources.
- Resources for the Epiphany season (January 6-February 17)
- Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday materials from Mennonite World Conference (for the Sunday on either side of January 21)
- Resources for Ash Wednesday (February 18)
- Resources for the Lent season (February 18-April 4)
Lenten Guided Prayer Experience
The annual contemplative prayer resource for individuals, small groups and congregations from the Mennonite Spiritual Directors of Eastern Canada.
Together in Worship Resources
Nationwide Web-Hub - All MCEC congregations are welcome to join
If you are considering a change to your website, definitely consider the new nationwide web hub. It is much more than a web building tool. Contact Lisa Williams, Director of Communications, for more info.
Click below for information about the features, pricing, testimonials and links to launched websites.
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