Hamilton Mennonite Church
143 Lower Horning Rd L8S 3G8 Hamilton, ON, Canada

At this time of the year, many Mennonites wear red "To remember is to work for peace" buttons, sometimes with, and sometimes in place of, a poppy. The buttons are a witness to our belief that as followers of Jesus, we are called to turn from active and passive participation in systems of violence, and to practice peace in how we work, live, spend, learn, create, speak, act, and pray. Our remembering requires lament, confession, and the kind of hope that inspires broad convers...ation about building communities of peace for and with all of our neighbours, near and far. Find the worship & devotional resources HMC used for Peace Sunday this week on the Mennonite Central Committee website, on the theme "A refugee people: How the church can choose welcome in the face of global displacement". Order your own buttons there too! https://mcccanada.ca/learn/more/peace-sunday See more

What a wonderful day to ride as an HMC team for Welcome Inn Community Centre in the North End of Hamilton! This was our 8th Ride for Refuge as a church. This year will be memorable for the beauty of the rail trail and being downhill for almost the whole second half

The Hamilton Mennonite Church Ride for Refuge team is once again riding to fundraise for Welcome Inn Community Centre in the North End of Hamilton. Join, support, or encourage our team here: ride.w-ith.me/wicc

Whether you are learning or teaching in school or at home, whether you start this week or later, this is a prayer and a blessing for you, for all that is new and familiar and uncertain. On location in our primary Sunday school classroom, echoes of generations of HMC kids are part of the prayer. Thanks to Adam Tice and Bex Gaunt for creating such a beautiful song, "In the Morning, In the Evening" (Tune: Copyright 2019, GIA Publications, Inc. Text: Copyright 2013, GIA Publications, Inc. OneLicense.net License #A-721111). Look it up.

We pray for our global Anabaptist family, and especially the Indonesian Mennonite churches, while the time grows longer before we can meet together again. We pray together for the healing of the world. We give thanks for all that we can share with one another across great distances (for example, read about the global response fund in the comments).

On Tuesday, Aug. 4, an explosion killed at least 135 people and injured more than 4,000 others in Beirut, Lebanon. The blast, which shook the whole city, is bel...ieved to have been caused by large quantities of ammonium nitrate, used for fertilizer and explosives, stored unsafely in a warehouse at the city’s port. Together, MCC and its program partners in Beirut will address rehabilitation and clean-up needs arising from this disaster. Staff will determine details of the response over the coming days. You can help! MCC welcomes donations to this effort. Canada: mcccanada.ca/beirut-response U.S.: mcc.org/beirut-response Thank you for helping provide restoration to those whose lives have been upended by this explosion. #mccpeace

Our Sunday services continue online, but if you drop by the church building for anything, remember to bring your mask! Love your neighbour as yourself and wear a mask if you are able.

Thanks for the preaching exchange, Peace Mennonite Church! It was wonderful to be "in" Dallas, TX for my first time, and to have Samuel Voth Schrag with us "in" Hamilton last month. Thanks for the warm (I know, too warm these days!) hospitality.

The next book on Pastor Alissa's reading list, as we strive to add our voices, our actions, our humility, and our repentance to the refrain that Black Lives Matter.

A memory (and a book list) to call us into continued learning for this National Indigenous History Month.

A memory from celebrating Pride month last year, and gratitude for the diversity of the body of Christ.