December 2009

A Dream Birthed From Boxes of Love
Joanne Sou is no ordinary girl of twelve. While other girls her age tried to fit in, Joanne sought to stand out. When her family decided to visit her grandmother in Laos, Joanne did some research and what she discovered inspired her to act.

Read more to learn how God has led a congregation since this young teenager was moved to respond to the people of Laos.

Lao Canadian Evangelical Mennonite Church is a part of the MCEC community of congregations and receives assistance as an MCEC supported ministry. Your gifts to MCEC help this congregation as they reach into the Laotion and Canadian communities in Toronto, ON with the love of Jesus Christ.
To learn more, contact Brian Bauman, MCEC Mission Minister. If you wish to support this and other emerging congregations and ministries, please visit our donation page.

Discerning How To Be A Faithful Church

"It is not incumbant upon you to finish the task [of discernment], but you are not free to desist from it."
- Jack Suderman, Executive Secretary, Mennonite Church Canada

Jack Suderman challenged the group of 250 persons gathered for the MCEC consultation on the life of the church in October, 2009. Discover how Jack challenged MCEC and learn more of three congregations interviewed about their discernment journies.

Download the MCEC consultation handout which includes Jack Suderman's Paper: Being a Faithful Church. Join the conversation on the blog!

Engaging the World Blog

• How is your congregation engaging the world in the gospel and extending the peace of Jesus Christ?
• Inspire others and be inspired as we share, learn, and grow as a community of congregations.

Add a comment to the blog and share your congregational story.

Engaging the World blog was birthed from an invitation to Renew Your Financial Partnership which was sent to the congregations in November This invitation included some of the cutting edge ministry stories from congregations within MCEC and MC Canada.

On The Same Page
On the Same Page is a way to connect congregations to helpful resources by featuring the books that MCEC staff and volunteers are reading.

Al Rempel, Regional Minister, recommends, In Tune With God: The Art of Congregational Discernment by Sally Weaver Glick.

"This book is a meaningful next step for leaders and congregations who found themselves inspired by the recent MCEC consultation on the life of the church where together we looked at discernment." - Al Rempel

If you have a resource that you feel would be helpful to the MCEC community of congregations, and would perhaps be interested in writing a short review, please contact Joan Schooley, MCEC Administrative Assistant.