If won’t be long and we will be celebrating the 75th Anniversary of MCBC, and looking to the future, with Stuart Murray (also known as Stuart Murray Williams) author of “The Naked Anabaptist” as our featured speaker . March 2nd and 3rd, 2012. Be there! Read the book. Stuart will be the speaker at our LEAD Conference on Friday, do a workshop at our Annual Meeting on Saturday, then be our keynote speaker at our 75th Anniversary celebration on Saturday evening. All at Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Abbotsford.
We have just hired Brander McDonald as our MCBC Indigenous Relations Coordinator. He came by recommendation of Steve Heinrichs, who held this position until he was called to be the Directory of Native Ministry for Mennonite Church Canada. He lives in Chilliwack.
Brander says, “As a Cree First Nations believer in Jesus I am delighted to be given this opportunity to join with MCBC in relating the First Nations Cultural mindset and of what it means to carry the Jesus Walk. MCBC has had the extraordinary courage and vision to embrace an Indigenous person to relate the First Nations protocols and bridge building leadership to its members. This is truly an exciting time!”
Brander speaks of his two passions, “1. The passion I hold is speaking into the question of what it means to be a First Nations cultural person and to be fully engaged as a lifelong follower of Jesus. Not the Jesus of residential schools of the past, not of government policy, but the Saviour represented in the gospels and even of Anabaptist traditions. I have a passion to share what it means to carry this cross-cultural heart for the healing of my native peoples and the church community to which I grew up in. 2. The second passion associated with this is in regards to being a singer songwriter who can share these same stories and lessons through song and speech.”
Please welcome Brander to your churches. Remember, we also have a commitment to keep raising funds for this position.
What I think is so cool is that there are a lot of very Anabaptist oriented people out there doing stuff that reflects Anabaptist principles, yet they are not particularly Mennonite. Stuart Murray fits in this category. They fully appreciate what Mennonites are on about, but they have found their way to the same beliefs through different corridors. I was at the Creative World Festival near Mission in August, put on by a bunch of young evangelical Christians who care deeply about justice and the arts. I would invite you to consider attending the “Why Everything Must Change” conference at 10th Avenue Alliance Church in Vancouver on September 24th, featuring words by Brian McLaren, Greg Paul, (Shane Claiborne & Stephen Lewis by video conference) and more; music by Carolyn Arends. Check it out at http://www.ychange.ca/.
Lastly – We are on the verge of settling the property issues related to the departure of Olivet Church from MCBC. No matter how you slice it, this is a tough journey for those affected by it. There are no fully satisfying answers, but in the end it is about healing and hope, and we are seeking to help where we can for the love of Jesus to prevail.