Equipping No. 86 May 2008 a resource packet for equipping Mennonite Church Canada pastors and leaders

	Alice Pound is responsible for this issue of Equipping.

Happy Spring to all!

Here in Winnipeg, the geese and the robins herald the new season with their appearance once again. As a newer staff person at MC Canada, I am impressed with all the resources MC Canada has available for church nurture and growth. Enclosed you will find a wide variety of resources. Also included are stories and prayer requests of Witness workers in different countries, to help us stay connected with the work in the wider church.

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

– Alice Pound

PS: Please help ensure that these resources reach the right people. Thank you!

Mennonite Church Canada

• A Time to Remember, to Be, and to Do - Jack Suderman (pastors, leaders, and bulletin boards.)
• Prayer, News and Notes – May 2008 (for bulletin announcements, newsletters, worship planners)
  • PDF version for download
  • Web version to view

Christian Witness

• Celebration Story: The Challenges and Joys of Parenting in a New Culture - Fanosie and Dianne Legesse, in Ethiopia (for bulletin boards, leaders, worship planners, and church newsletters)

Christian Formation

• Growing and sustaining pastoral leaders – Dave Bergen (for pastors and congregational leaders)
• ‘Many Peoples Sunday’ worship resource. This was included with the April Equipping (for worship planners, teachers, pastors, education committees, librarian, etc.)
• KidsPak: Native Ministry: Reaching Up to God with Aboriginal Christians (for worship planners, teachers, pastors, education committees, librarian, etc.)
• The Parish Paper (for worship planners, teachers, pastors, education committees, librarian, etc.)
  • May 2008: How Effective is our Financial Communication [153 KB PDF file - Help with PDF files]
  • June 2008: “Teaching Moments” strengthen Governing Board Meetings! [135KB PDF file]
  • Website Announcement [93KB PDF file]

Support Services

• Promotional Items (for pastors, office administrators, ushers etc.) [54KB PDF file]
  • Magnets for Church Matters – a radio program that explores the Life of the Church (for your church kitchen) *
  • Cards for www.youtube.com/mennonitechurchca - (see memo for distribution suggestions) *

Extending our faith . . .

• Mennonite Publishing Network: (for worship planners, teachers, pastors, education committees, etc) *
  • Close to Home Pastoral Care Pamphlets: It’s time to reach out.
  • Gather ‘Round Bible Study information for church and home.
  • Faith & Life Resources Summer 2008 product information
  • Mennonite Worship Bulletins 2008-2009
  • Mennonite Publishing Network 2008 Catalogue: Books, Curriculum, Periodicals and church supplies
• Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary: Upgraded? Conversations on Technology and Worship*

* Hard Copy Items - please see your Church Admin people for these items.

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.