Mennonite Women Canada: December 2013

Dec 24, 2013

Christmas Greetings!

May the love, that came that Christmas night,

light all your days with hope and joy!

Dec 23, 2013

Darnell and Christina Barkman along with their children Cody and Makai are Mennonite Church Canada Witness workers in the Philippines. They are current recipients of our Pennies and Prayer Legacy Fund. Their latest newsletter was recently posted on our web page under Stories/Interviews/Profiles. They also have a BLOG where you can read more about their life as a family, their joys and their challenges.

Dec 19, 2013

One more Christmas Idea!

This past week I was on Facebook and saw this post by Velma Harder, from Grace Mennonite Church in Prince Albert, SK. Velma and I are Grandma and Oma (respectively) to two wonderful boys - Nicholas and Andreas - who live in Winnipeg. When I read her post I was challenged and decided to include it here as well as share it on my Facebook page. It's just one more Christmas idea and a wonderful way to share the gift that was given on that first Christmas Day so many years ago.

Velma wrote:
Several weeks ago we gave our family an advance on their Christmas present. We gave each of them (children and adults) $20 but there were strings attached. They were told they were not to spend any of that on themselves but to think of creative ways in which they could brighten someone else’s day. When we are together over New Years we will all talk about how we spent our $20. I gave my $20 to contribute to food hampers for the less fortunate. I shared this in our church and asked people to consider matching my $20. The resulting contribution was astounding. So, now I will go a step further and ask you to match my $20 by donating to your local food bank, community school, church or other charity of your choice. Thank you so much and I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas.

Dec 16, 2013

More Christmas Ideas

Still looking for that special book for under the Christmas tree?

Not much time left!!!!

Check out these titles on the MennoMedia website.

Bonnet Strings: An Amish Woman's Ties to Two Worlds, by Saloma Miller Furlong, offers a universal story of overcoming adversity and a rare look inside an Amish community. Readers of Amish fiction and viewers of the PBS documentaries such as The Amish and The Amish: Shunned will find in it a true story of woundedness and healing, of doubt and faith and of the often competing desires for freedom and belonging. Click here to read more and to place your order.

Mennonite Girls Can Cook - Celebrations

The bestselling authors of Mennonite Girls Can Cook return with a second course in their new Celebrations cookbook. From mouthwatering mini-muffins and succulent souffle to campers' stew and lattice-topped grilled apples, the Mennonite Girls share recipes to honour all of life. Filled from cover to cover with devotional reflections, personal stories, and beautiful photos, this book contains much more than recipes - it will soon become your kitchen companion for life's celebrations. Click here to read more and to place your order.

Sacred Pauses

In a fast-paced world full of distractions, spiritual practice can help us become more centred -- more in touch with ourselves and other, more in touch with the world around us, more in touch with God. Sacred Pauses is an introduction to this more centred way of life. Click here to read more and to place your order.

Buffalo Shout, Salmon Cry

Edited by Steve Heinrichs. How can North Americans come to terms with the lamentable clash between indigenous and settler cultures, faiths, and attitudes toward creation? Click here to read more and to place your order.

Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World

This memoir evokes a lost time in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, when a sheltered little girl with big dreams entered a family and church caught up in the midst of the cultural changes of the 1950's and 60's. With gentle humour and clear-eyed affection the author, Shirley Hershey Showalter, who grew up to become a college president, tells the story of her first encounters with the "glittering world" and her desire for "fancy" forbidden things she could see but not touch. Click here to read more and to place your order.