Equipping No. 75 April 2007a resource packet for equipping Mennonite Church Canada pastors and leaders

	Miriam Tshimanga-Maenhout is responsible for this issue of Equipping.

Greetings! What a difference it often makes if somebody says “Thank you” to you, even for a daily task you do. Be it for a nice meal at home or when you open a door for someone who leaves a shop with full bags. Thank you is an expression that means you don’t take things for granted. There is still wonder for the things that happen around you.

Jack Suderman expresses a sincere “thank-you” for all the congregational “gifts” to the Body of Christ. As he explains the roots of the word “thank-you”, he also shows the connection between Eucharist, gratefulness and gifts. And as we have communion with each other, we celebrate the good gifts of the Lord and of each other.

Giftedness is also the theme of the letter written by the denominational minister. Women gifted with the call to serve in ministry are increasing in numbers. Does the appreciation of female pastors grow in the same number, or with Sven’s words: Are we practicing what we preach?

If you have questions or comments, please call 1-866-888-6785 (or locally, 888-6781) or email me at . Enjoy!

PS: Can you help ensure that these resources reach the right people? Thank you!

Miriam Tshimanga – Equipping Coordinator

Inside this issue of Equipping:

Mennonite Church Canada

• Many ways to say Thank You! – Jack Suderman (for bulletin boards, leaders, and church newsletters)
• Prayer, News and Notes – April 2007 (for bulletin announcements, newsletters, bulletin boards)
  • PDF Version to download
  • Web version to browse

Christian Witness

• Celebration Story – Colombia: Two churches, two struggles, one vision of faith
  (for bulletin boards, leaders, and church newsletters)

Christian Formation

• "Women Pastors: Are we practicing what we preach?" – a letter by Sven Eriksson
  (for pastors, education leaders, bulletin boards, and church newsletters)
• Resource Update: April 2007: No.4 Resource advocates available to help churches
  (for worship planners, teachers, pastors, librarian, church administrator, etc.)
• Youth Assembly registration forms are now available at your church office or you can download a registration form at www.mennonitechurch.ca/events/abbotsford07. Online Registration will be available soon. (youth pastors, youth, youth leaders)

Extending our faith . . .

• Mennonite Publishing Network: [366 KB PDF file - Help with PDF files]
  (for families, (for education leaders)
  • ROUNDabout The newsletter for Gather ‘Round leaders (Sunday school teachers, superintendents, education committees, families)
  • Resources, games, DVBS materials for kids and families.

Note about Resources

All new resources are being added to the Resource Centre Catalogue, where you can use keyword searches to find the resource you need.

Note about PDF documents:

Trouble cutting & pasting from Acrobat PDF files? The newest version of Adobe Reader lets you select the exact amount of text you want, even from documents that contain columns (older versions of Reader selected text line by line across all columns – a process that would jumble text and challenge even the most patient user). Download the latest FREE version of Adobe Reader with this link.

• To select text from a PDF document, choose the “I” beam Select Text tool from the Adobe Reader tool bar at the top of the screen, and highlight the text you want to copy from the document. Copy it. Then paste it into your bulletin or other document.
• To select images from a PDF document, choose the "Select Image" tool from the Adobe Reader tool bar at the top of the screen, and highlight the image you want to copy from the document. Copy it. Then paste it into your bulletin or other document.