Edmonton
Location
For the tourist
view of the city, you can go to a variety of websites that will describe in
detail the festivals, activities, recreation opportunities, and more available
here. What follows is a view from a
different perspective – a view through the eyes of some who desire for true
SHALOM to come to Edmonton.
Edmonton is a
place of great physical beauty to be found in the parks, the river valley, and
even in some of the architecture but not without some ugliness, scars, and
wounded people. Edmonton is a place
where “the arts” are celebrated but not always accessible to some of the most
vulnerable nor appreciated by the comfortable.
Edmonton is a place of seemingly endless opportunities but also
seemingly insurmountable obstacles for those who aren’t part of the more
privileged majority.
Edmonton is a
place of great diversity: in people, in status, in beliefs. It is a city of many languages and cultures –
mostly tolerated, often celebrated but sometimes isolated and occasionally vilified. It is a city searching for an identity –
longing to be on the cutting edge of progress but often finding itself stuck in
the middle of status quo.
Edmonton is a
place with an aging population but due to geographic location, also the
destination of many trying to obtain a new start, a better life, financial
gain. It is a city where migrants,
immigrants, and long-term residents live, work, and play side-by-side but where
there are limits to generosity and often an “us vs. them” outlook. You see diversity is embraced by some,
tolerated by others while being seen as a threat by others.
Edmonton is a
place where justice is sometimes trampled by the stampede of those wanting to
benefit from the economic opportunities afforded by ‘black gold’. It is a city where the voices of the
powerless are sometimes drowned out by the shouting crowd demanding their ‘fair
share’ of the prosperity being gained through natural resource
development. It is a city where the disenfranchised
are sometimes lost in the crowd surging forward to seize the gold ring
associated with oil and gas.
It is into this
place that the Edmonton MVSU is calling people to live a different way. By giving a helping hand to assist the
disenfranchised become more engaged in society.
By speaking for those who have lost their voices to ensure they are not
forgotten but heard and respected. By
standing alongside those threatened to be trampled protecting them and
assisting them to not only survive but thrive as children of God.
Edmonton is a
place where adventure awaits you. It is
an adventure that will change your life.
It is an adventure that will help change our world. Come join the adventure! But be warned . . . . . you will never be the
same!
Unit life
The
Edmonton Mennonite Voluntary Service Unit (EMVSU)
Started in 2011, the EMVSU is a small
community of full-time volunteers serving in agencies that seek to meet human
needs in the Edmonton area. Up to five EMVSU volunteers at any one time share a
house, and each person volunteers with a specific agency in the community for a
term of one or two years. EMVSU
volunteers also affiliate with the Holyrood Mennonite Church congregation which
is the support church for the unit. The
EMVSU receives monthly stipends for volunteers from the agencies where the
volunteers work; this money is pooled and used to pay for basic monthly living
expenses. EMVSU is intended to be a community where God’s abundant hospitality
is experienced, and where the adventure of following Jesus is encouraged. We
welcome you to consider a place within the EMVSU unit!
Church
Holyrood Mennonite Church is a
wonderfully diverse group of people. Our
inter-cultural and inter-generational congregation of one hundred members is
made up of people from around the world.
This includes over one third of the congregation who have recently
arrived in Edmonton from countries in West Africa.
We are united by our commitment
to follow Jesus. Our vision statement
reads like this: “Training apprentices
of Jesus to share God’s abundant hospitality with people of all ages and
cultures through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
As apprentices, we seek to learn
from Jesus how to live. Jesus calls us
to share God’s hospitality, which means sharing God’s concern for peace,
justice, reconciliation, care for the poor and vulnerable, and care for
creation. At the same time being
hospitable means inviting people to be reconciled to God, and inviting people to
follow Jesus with us.
Our efforts to follow Jesus have led us to various
ministries: sponsoring and welcoming refugees;
providing volunteer tutors for two refugee homework clubs; hosting a weekly
food bank in our church building; establishing a partnership with Pentecostal
churches in Liberia, and supporting their hospitable efforts as they build a
school and a hospital; organizing an annual Prayer Walk for Peace; and forming
a Mennonite Voluntary Service unit.
We also value supporting one another as a
community of faith. We gather weekly on
Sunday mornings to worship God, and to learn from one another in Sunday School
class discussions. During the week
smaller groups of people meet to nurture each other. Two groups meet in people’s homes; one meets
at a restaurant for breakfast. We have a bi-weekly women’s group, and a monthly
prayer meeting. For part of the year an
informal group of athletes meets to play squash on Saturday mornings! As well,
every month or two we host a community life event for the whole
congregation. It may be bowling,
watching a movie together, or enjoying
each other’s gifts at a talent night.
There is acceptance, a warm
welcome and a place at Holyrood Mennonite Church for everyone. You can also expect to be challenged to grow
in your faith, for we take the teaching of Jesus seriously. We would love to have you join us in the
great adventure of following Jesus together!
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