Hellos

Ryan van Kuik & Family

Ryan van Kuik

TITLE: lead pastor, Nechako Community Church, Vanderhoof, B.C.

START: Jan. 15, 2018

EDUCATION: BA in Biblical and theological studies; Prairie Bible College, Three Hills, Alta.

PREVIOUS MINISTRY: ordained by the Christian & Missionary Alliance; Bethel Fellowship Church (C&MA), Three Hills, Alta. (2000– 2010); Boundary Community Church (MB), Midway, B.C. (2013–2017)

FAMILY: Juanita; daughters Marijka, Analia

Athanase Chiruza

Athanase Chiruza

TITLE: lead pastor, Mission Pentecostal Church, Regina – a partner with Parliament Community Church

START: Jan. 7, 2018 (began at Mission Pentecostal in 2015)

EDUCATION: Institut Biblique Panzi, Pentecostal Assemblies of God Bible College, Bukavu, DRC

PREVIOUS MINISTRY: Church planter, pastor, bishop in DR Congo, Tanzania, Zambia

FAMILY: Beata; 5 children

Willy Reimer

TITLE: pastor of discipleship ministries, Willingdon Church, Burnaby, B.C.

START: June 2017

EDUCATION: MDiv, MB Biblical Seminary, Fresno, Cal.

PREVIOUS MINISTRY: CCMBC executive director, 2011–2017; founding pastor, SunWest Christian Fellowship (1996–2012)

FAMILY: Gwen; 3 adult sons

ON MINISTRY: I love having a front-row seat to life transformation. I am also very excited to see the next generations fall in love with Jesus and serve him with their lives.

Community News

Marc Bergen has been appointed MEI Secondary School vice-principal, Aug. 1, 2018. Prior to coming to MEI as a teacher in 2016, Marc worked at a group of Christian private schools in Indonesia (2014–2016). Marc has an MEd in educational leadership from Concordia University in Portland, Ore.

Goodbyes

David Wiebe, executive director, ICOMB, 2011–2018

The board of House Blend Ministries decided to close the ministry in fall 2017. Begun in 2007 as a vision of prayer to respond to people in poverty and marginalization in the core area of Winnipeg, the ministry led by Rachel Twigg Boyce of fostering compassionate community developed a regular weekly prayer gathering attended by a diverse group of people in the West Broadway neighbourhood and beyond. “As House Blend closes, we recognize that the material, spiritual and relational needs of people in the community are ongoing,” says board chair Dan Nighswander. “We encourage the church to continue seeking ways to respond faithfully to God’s passion for the least of these and to the second commandment, to love our neighbours as ourselves.”

Westview Christian Fellowship, St. Catharines, Ont., began services in 1988 as an outreach of Grantham MB Church. The church started a ministry to women of Queenston Heights in 2007. In 2017, the congregation withdrew from the Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches and was accepted in Mennonite Church Eastern Canada.

Changes in Quebec:

The Association des Églises des frères mennonites du Québec (AEFMQ – Quebec MB conference) welcomes long-time pastor, C2C mobilizer, and leadership development liaison with L2L Alain Després to a part-time role as provincial coordinator in 2018, supported in part by provincial conferences. This position brings together some of the usual functions of a conference minister as well as some of the other functions of an Executive Director. Danielle Lajeunesse continues to produce Le Lien as a quarterly magazine in French for the MB constituency. However, Le Lien will be offered as a downloadable PDF only in 2018. Lajeunesse began serving AEFMQ with continuing education in 2011 at the 50th anniversary of the AEFQM, and as Le Lien editor in 2014.