Introducing Sven Eriksson

Justina Heese

In the midst of much change in Mennonite Church Canada, we also take this opportunity to welcome Sven Eriksson to his new position as Denominational Minister. In this role, Sven provides resources to pastoral leadership across Canada and develops ministerial leadership policies. He assists churches and pastors to find each other, helps establish guidelines for pastor’s salaries, benefits and sabbaticals and plans the annual ministers’ conference at assembly.

Sven Eriksson was appointed in September, 2002, and started work as Denominational Minister of Mennonite Church Canada on February 15, 2003. He succeeds Henry Paetkau who left the position to become the president of Conrad Grebel University College on January 1, 2003. Sven comes to Mennonite Church Canada with pastoral experience at Peace Mennonite Church in Surrey, B.C.as well as experience as dean of students at Columbia Bible Institute, working for Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and being a counselor in corrections. Sven was born in Finland, and he and his wife Laura have three children. Sven has a strong sense of call to ministry and embraces the challenges of this time and place as the ministry that God has provided.

—Justina Heese, Executive Secretary, Formation

Serving in Opportunity and Danger

	Sven Eriksson, MC Canada Denominational Minister

Safety is the place that we instinctively seek; but leadership in the Kingdom of God will sometimes put us out of our safety zones, into the place where opportunity and danger meet.

Consider Nehemiah, the Hebrew court official in the court of the king of Persia, during the latter years of the exile. His diary is found between Ezra and Esther in the Old Testament.

In Nehemiah 2, we find him in a place of opportunity and danger.

He had heard that Jerusalem was in disgrace; the broken down walls suggested to the world around, that God had abandoned his people to vulnerability and disgrace. In response, Nehemiah’s care for his people and his desire for the glory of God lead to deep and costly personal involvement. He entered a prolonged period of prayer and fasting.

We find Nehemiah serving in the royal palace. The danger lay in Nehemiah’s sadness in the presence of the king. Royal officials had to present a happy demeanor in the royal presence; sadness or depression could cost them not only their jobs, but their lives.

The opportunity, in this moment of danger, opened before him when the king said, “Why does your face look so sad…?” Amazingly, the point of danger turned into a door of opportunity.

In this white-knuckle moment, Nehemiah found the courage to trust the king with his burden: “Then I prayed to the God of heaven and said to the king, ‘If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah…so that I can rebuild it.” The result of this courageous request was that a leave of absence was granted Nehemiah as well as supplies for the building project and a safety escort for his journey. And the diary of Nehemiah records the completion of the rebuilding of the walls.

When we find ourselves in that uncomfortable zone, between danger and opportunity, pray, then risk the very thing that safety would prevent, and see what God will do.

— Sven Eriksson