Emissions Reduction Grant: Grace Lao Mennonite Church 

Church building in top-3 most important places for members

For members of Grace Lao Mennonite Church, their building is one of the three most important places. Pastor Yoel Masyawong recounted that, “One member said to me, ‘There’s three places I know how to drive [to]: work, home, and church.’ That’s how much the church means to the people.” Today, about 20 families comprise the 50 regular Sunday service attendees. Most are low income shift workers in factories.

When the original members of Grace Lao arrived in Canada as refugees circa 1980, they came with a background as farmers who cared for the land that produced their crops. That sense of stewardship has carried through to caring for their meeting place n Kitchener, Ont., which they purchased in 1999, said Masyawong.

To help ensure their building lasts a long time, they recently installed a new steel roof with help of a $3,000 Emissions Reduction Grant from Mennonite Church Canada. The roof is estimated to last 50 years.

The congregation believes in sharing what they have. The church opens its doors to other Laotian Mennonites in the area for events and seminars. A group beyond their doors held their Christmas celebrations at Grace Lao.

Ecological sustainability goes beyond opening up their building to guest users. Many members are avid produce growers who often bring their in-season vegetables and fruits to share with the congregation. “The church in summer time never has to buy their vegetables,” said Masyawong.“Ninety-five per cent of members, their backyard will be vegetables, chilli, beans, pumpkins.” One family has a pear tree, and brought two buckets of pears to share with the church. “That’s become a tradition for our congregants,” a practice that extends to sharing the bounty from fishing and deer hunting expeditions.

Grace Lao has already installed more energy efficient LED lighting and upgraded the building’s windows. The new steel roof reflects heat in summer, which will keep the building cooler in summer — a welcome comfort as the group can’t afford to repair its air conditioning system.

As for future building upgrades, they are considering installing heat pumps to supplement the current expensive electrical resistance heating system.

For the first generation of Lao Canadians, it’s top-of-mind to care for their church facility, noting that they paid off their mortgage around 2015. “This will be the place that we hand on to our next generation’s children,” Masyawong said. “I’m glad for this opportunity to make congregations aware of creation care and integrating it with our faith, [and] how God has given us creation and commended [its care] to us.”