MB Mennonite Women host Sister Care event ~ May 13 & 14, 2016

WMCEC Sister Care Retreat ~ May 10-12, 2016

WMCEC Sister Care Retreat

Women of MCEC Sister Care Retreat 

October 30, 31 and November 1, 2015

For a downloadable poster and registration form please go to OUR WEBSITE. 

Correction note:  The wrong date was printed in our latest CONNECTIONS.  The correct date is October 30, 31 and November 1, 2015.

Sister Care in Ontario

 
Sister Care Seminars provide women with tools for ongoing personal healing, recognizing and celebrating God’s grace in their lives, and responding more confidently and effectively to the needs of others in their families, congregations, and communities.

On October 3 and 4, 2014 forty-five women from across Ontario gathered in Cambridge for a Sister Care Seminar sponsored by Women of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (WMCEC).  

The co-presenters (also the co-writers of the resource along with Ruth Guengerich) were Carolyn Holderead Heggen (left) and Rhoda Shenk Keener (right).  They are currently working on a video to accompany the 64-page manual. The manual is available to borrow through the Mennonite Church Canada Resource Centre or for purchase through the Mennonite Women USA office office@mwusa.org or 316-281-4396.

See a link to Martha Smith Good's write-up on the blog post from Oct 17.

Here are some comments that the WMCEC 

executive received about the weekend!

During our time together, what was a highlight for you?
 - the calm spirit, the caring, the stories
 - the blessing at the end of meeting
 - we all have had brokenness; I am not alone.    
 - being with sisters/women and sharing with each other
 - listening to the stories and speakers;  my feelings are normal  

What did you find helpful...for your own faith journey... for walking with others?
 - understanding how physical relates to emotional/mental issues
 - hearing the transforming power of listening and caring
 - I am God’s beloved daughter and God doesn’t change
 - be available, be sensitive, be quiet and listen
 - hearing other women’s stories of grief and healing

Sister Care in Ontario

This afternoon I was on Facebook and checked out a post by Mennonite Women USA.  I saw this article about the Sister Care Seminar held in Cambridge, ON on October 3-4.  It is written by Martha Smith Good, a retired pastor, who participated in the seminar along with 45 other women from across southern Ontario.  You can read it here.  I hope to track down some photos from the event and will post them as soon as I can.

SISTER CARE – What’s it all about?

Have you heard about Sister Care yet? It is a resource put out by Mennonite Women USA to “address issues of identity, self-care, compassionate listening, loss and grief for women/caregivers in the church”. 

I first heard about Sister Care in January 2012 when I was invited by a group of women from Bayshore Mennonite Church in Sarasota, FL to attend a Sister Care mini-workshop. After a time of worship and singing led by Doris Diener, Minister of Southeast Mennonite Women, about 45 women participated in several activities to help us focus on where we have met God in our lives and how we can work through our relationships towards healing.

 Since that time ongoing conversations between MW USA and MW Canada executive have resulted in an invitation extended by Women of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (WMCEC) for Sister Care presenters, Carolyn Holderread Heggen (L) and Rhoda Shenk Keener (R) to share the seminar with women in Ontario.  

Carolyn and Rhoda are passionate about equipping women for caring ministries and will present 4 sessions as follows:

1.     Claiming our identity as God’s beloved

2.     Caring for self and others

3.     Compassionate listening

4.     Transforming loss and grief

More detailed information about Sister Care can be found at 

MW USA’s website. (click here)

SISTER CARE SEMINAR DETAILS

DATE:  Friday and Saturday, October 3 and 4, 2014

LOCATION:  Cambridge Hotel and Conference Centre, Cambridge, ON

REGISTRATION is limited so please register early. Cost of registration is $60 payable to WMCEC ($70.00 after September 19). Overnight accommodations and meals are recommended and payable through the Conference Centre. Cost for room and meals: $105 to $125. Food only: $75.

For more information contact 

Phyllis Ramer 519-236-7332, peramer@hay.net 

Dorothy Hamm 905-562-7443 or dorthhamm@hotmail.com

Phyllis, WMCEC Coordinator says:  "We have been blessed by financial support from the MCEC Go and Grow Fund and Mennonite Savings and Credit Union.  Because of their generosity, we are able to keep costs for participants below $200 for this quality seminar." 

Sister Care Worksop at Assembly

Follow-up to Assembly reporting:  On July 14, I wrote "Rhoda Keener, Co-director of Mennonite Women USA brought greetings and shared about their Sister Care program."  For those who are wondering what Sister Care is all about you can check back to a blog I posted on January 27, 2012 or check the MW USA website.  

We had invited Rhoda Keener to lead a workshop/seminar during Assembly to introduce Sister Care.  Rachel Bergen, Co-editor of the Canadian Mennonite Young Voices feature was present and reported the event on-line under the heading "Sisters equipped to care for their sisters". I looked for the article in the print edition but I couldn't find it.  Thanks, Rachel, for your perspective on this seminar.  You can find it here!

Announcement:  The Executive of Women of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (WMCEC) has invited Rhoda Keener and Carolyn Heggen to present a Sister Care Seminar in Cambridge, ON on Friday and Saturday October 3 and 4, 2014.  For more information and to get a registration form please contact Phyllis Ramer (Co-ordinator) by email at peramer@hay.net or by phone at (519) 236-7332.

International Connections

 

Christina, Darnell, Cody and Makai

After I posted the previous entry, I began to think that I should remind you about some of MW Canada's connections with women and organizations beyond our borders.  The fourth point in our Mission Statement is ~ serve and minister across the street and around the world.  For over 62 years our women's organization has connected with and supported women in mission and ministry both at home and abroad.

Currently money from our Pennies and Prayer Legacy Fund goes to programs in Botswana (Taryn and Nathan Dirks) and the Philippines (Christina and Darnell Barkman).  We post updates from these two couples when we get them.  Check back in older posts to read these updates.  You can also follow their blogs by clicking on their names above.

Nathan and Taryn

MW Canada also works together with MW USA to publish a Bible Study Guide (BSG) for women each year. The 2013 BSG is called "Courageous Women of the Bible" and has been very popular. The 2014 BSG is in the final editing stages and will be available in late June or early July.  We'll publish a post to let you know when they are ready.  Each church will receive a complementary copy and more can always be ordered from MennoMedia and the Resource Centre.

MW USA has a ministry called Sister Care.  "Sister Care seminars provide women with tools for ongoing personal healing, recognizing and celebrating God's grace in their lives, and responding more confidently and effectively to the needs of others in their families, congregations, and communities."  The Women of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (WMCEC) have invited them to present a seminar in Ontario this fall.  The location, date and time will be announced in the coming months.  Ruth Guengerich, co-director of MW USA has been invited to present a workshop at our Mennonite Church Canada Assembly this July at CMU in Winnipeg.  Please sign up for the Sister Care workshop and for our annual meeting when you register.  Reminders will be posted here.   

Sister Care: Equipping Women for Caring Ministry, Mennonite Women USA, 2011.
How can congregations provide better care for women's needs?

Mennonite Women USA has prepared this 4-session manual to address issues of identity, self-care, compassionate listening, loss and grief - for women/caregivers in the church. Four units, with reflection and action options, and an extensive appendix, offer women's groups an important manual for discussion and discovery. Based on the "Sister Care" seminar, this manual can also be used separately to move your group closer to God and to each other as you extend "care" to the women in your church and community.

Borrow free
from Mennonite Church Canada Resource Centre here.

Questions or suggestions?

Please contact the Resource Centre
or check our loan policy.

Loaned books are sent anywhere in Canada - free of charge - both ways!

We'll profile a new title at this blog every month