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Read the March 2014 Issue 4.0 of our e-newsletter. Spring is here and excitement is in the air! The students of the Menno Simons Centre are wrapping up their term and using more Internet bandwidth than ever. Is it homework, or is it YouTube – or both, in the case of TED talks?

Great news!  Summer 2014 and Fall/Winter 2014/2015 registration is now open!  Click on the link provided to apply to live in the Point Grey area, (with a view of the ocean) at the Menno Simons Centre today!

Saturday, April 12, 2014, 8:00 pm
Emmanuel Free Reformed Church, 3386 Mount Lehman Road, Abbotsford, BC

Sunday, April 13, 2014, 8:00 pm
Knox United Church, 5600 Balaclava at West 41st, Vancouver, BC

Abendmusik continues its 22nd season with a traditional Lent Vespers.  You and your friends are cordially invited to attend this event which features 60 minutes of uninterrupted choral singing, congregational hymns, meditative responsive readings and prayers. The 26-voice chamber choir will be  conducted by our Music Director, Michael Murray, organist and Director of Music at St Philip’s Anglican Church in Vancouver and founding member of Vancouver’s musica intima. During an organ offertory, an offering will be taken in support of the Choir and The Menno Simons Centre, a residence for the 23 Christian university students attending Vancouver’s various universities and colleges.

Former Menno Simons Centre Residence Coordinator Kathryn Schmidt (now Assistant Professor of Music at Goshen College in Indiana) wrote a devotional for Advent at “Life comes” based on Psalm 80:1-7 and 17-19.

Read the December 2013 Issue 3.0 of our e-newsletter. Greetings to all of the friends of the MSC in this blessed season of Advent! We all have so much to look forward to, not only our seasonal celebrations, but also the assurance of a full realization of our Lord’s Kingdom. The full complement of voices in the Abendmusik Vesper Choir always inspires me to pause and prepare to share the joy of the gift of God’s son Jesus …

Saturday, December 7, 2013, 8:00 pm
Emmanuel Free Reformed Church, 3386 Mount Lehman Road, Abbotsford, BC

Sunday, December 8, 2013, 8:00 pm
Knox United Church, 5600 Balaclava at West 41st, Vancouver, BC

Abendmusik will begin its 22nd season with a traditional Advent Vespers.  You and your friends are cordially invited to attend this event which features 60 minutes of uninterrupted choral singing, congregational hymns, meditative responsive readings and prayers. The 26-voice chamber choir will be  conducted by our Music Director, Michael Murray, organist and Director of Music at St Philip’s Anglican Church in Vancouver and founding member of Vancouver’s musica intima. During an organ offertory, an offering will be taken in support of the Choir and The Menno Simons Centre, a residence for the 22 Christian university students attending Vancouver’s various universities and colleges.

On Sunday, September 8th the Point Grey Inter-Mennonite Fellowship (PGIMF) will be hosting a Student Welcome worship service BBQ at the Menno Simons Centre (MSC). Dr. J. Evan Kreider, one of the founders of PGIMF and the PCDA, will be speaking on the topic of “Go in Peace”. Welcome the new student residents at the MSC — all are welcome to join us after the service for a potluck and sausage barbeque.

Now that he has returned from Africa, Michael Thomas will present at two events in the chapel of the Menno Simons Centre at 4000 West 11th Ave, Vancouver:

• Wednesday, August 14, 2013 @ 7:30 p.m. – join the MSC residents for a potluck community meal at 6:00 p.m. and stay for the presentation.

• Sunday, August 18, 2013 @ 10:00 a.m. – join the worship service of the Point Grey Inter-Mennonite Fellowship (PGIMF) and hear Michael speak during the sermon time.

The PCDA established a Faith & Life Integration project this year called Pioneering contextualized theological education in Africa. As a volunteer of the PCDA, Michael Thomas visited the Akrofi-Christaller Institute (ACI) in Akropong, Ghana from April 14 to May 18 to examine how ACI’s approach to theological formation helps students understand the relationship between learning, faith, culture, and mission. The PCDA contributed some seed funding, and you are invited to make a charitable donation to support this Faith & Life project by designating the funds to the “African theology” project.

The Menno Simons Centre is mentioned in the article “The church as landlord – Providing affordable housing for students may keep young people connected to the church” by Emily Loewen, Young Voices Co-editor, from April 23, 2013 in the Canadian Mennonite magazine. Emily described a congregation that was thinking of purchasing a house in Saskatoon to provide a community living space with affordable rent for Mennonite students who are not studying at a Mennonite University. She then interviewed Kevin Hiebert (PCDA VP) and  Sam Dueckman (former MSC resident) to learn more about the work the Centre has been doing in this area for the past 26 years.

Saturday, March 23, 2012, 8:00 pm
Emmanuel Free Reformed Church, 3386 Mount Lehman Road, Abbotsford, BC

Sunday, March 24, 2012, 8:00 pm
Knox United Church, 5600 Balaclava at West 41st, Vancouver, BC

Abendmusik will continue its 21st season with a traditional Lenten Vespers.  You and your friends are cordially invited to attend this event which features 60 minutes of uninterrupted choral singing, congregational hymns, meditative responsive readings and prayers. The 21-voice chamber choir will be  conducted by our Music Director, Michael Murray, organist and Director of Music at St Philip’s Anglican Church in Vancouver and founding member of Vancouver’s musica intima. During an organ offertory, an offering will be taken in support of the Choir and The Menno Simons Centre, a residence for the 22 Christian university students attending Vancouver’s various universities and colleges.