B.C.’s Menno Place celebrated its 60th anniversary Mar. 2 with a banquet that attracted 350 people and raised $40,000. Founding board member Jake Baerg recalls when a committee gathered in a circle on a piece of land off Abbotsford’s McCallum Road in 1953, thinking about starting a retirement home. They prayed, “If it was the Lord’s will, that we could buy this property, to make it a success, and to bless it.” One of the largest seniors’ care facilities in B.C., Menno Place now offers the full range of elder care, from independent living apartments to long-term care, to 700 people. Abbotsford’s mayor and provincial legislature members gave congratulations, and a series of video stories gave testimonies from board, staff, residents, and volunteers. Revenue from the banquet kickstarted a campaign to enhance the chaplaincy programs across Menno Place’s campus of care. Board president Gerd Bartel said, “The foundation of our campus is caring in a Christian manner. Today, we are building on our legacy of spiritual care.”
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Barrie McMaster
Veteran broadcaster Barrie McMaster was the MB Herald B.C. correspondent 2007–2015.