March 15th, 2021
Meet Mennonite Church Canada’s Sustainability Leadership Group

Group addresses environmental, social impacts of nationwide community of faith

By Mennonite Church Canada

Mennonite Church Canada is committing to improve the sustainability of its programs and ministries. 

“Leadership and commitment are some of the most critical pieces in helping an organization become more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable in all that it does,” says Tim Wiebe Neufeld, executive minister for Mennonite Church Alberta and chair of Mennonite Church Canada’s Sustainability Leadership Group (SLG).

Approved by Joint Council in January 2020, the SLG has met six times since its inception in February 2020.

The SLG focusses on the environmental and social impacts of Mennonite Church Canada activities. It identifies ways the regional churches and nationwide community can improve in these areas while remaining economically sustainable.

“The term ‘sustainability’ links economic, social and environmental effects,” says Wiebe Neufeld. “It intends to find that place where we meet current needs without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”

The group is also committed to supporting congregations in assessing their own sustainability by providing resources and networking with other agencies, like Mennonite Creation Care Network (MCCN).

In preparation for Earth Day on April 22, the SLG encourages congregations to study MCCN’s curriculum “Every Creature Singing.” The group is also developing an online tool based on work by students from The King’s University in Edmonton to help congregations prioritize actions and identify resources on sustainable practice. It will be released this summer.

“A sustainable church community understands that creation care is foundationally linked to our beliefs and practice of faith, as a grateful response to God the Creator and as an integral component of justice and peace-making with our neighbours (human and otherwise),” says SLG member Joanne Moyer.

The group currently contains representatives from three of the five regional churches, who work or volunteer for organizations that prioritize creation care and sustainability:


Clockwise from top-left: Joanne Moyer, Tim Wiebe Neufeld, Henry Krause, Jess Klassen, Allan Hiebert.

Allan Hiebert - Secretary/Treasurer of Mennonite Church Canada’s Joint Council

  • Home congregation: Foothills Mennonite Church, Calgary, Alta.
  • Suggested resource: The “Every Creature Singing” curriculum is a starting point for congregational study on creation care.

Jess Klassen - Centre for Resilience Co-Director at Canadian Mennonite University, Member of Charleswood Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, Man.

  • Home congregation: Charleswood Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, Man.
  • I bring a connection to the CMU learning community, a body that is committed in pedagogy and practice to nurturing people committed to the sustainability of the church community and the land.
  • Suggested resource: A Rocha Canada, a Christian organization that engages in community-based conservation science, environmental education and sustainable agriculture. CMU is proud to work with A Rocha Manitoba through the CMU Centre for Resilience.

Henry Krause – Member of MCBC’s Leadership board, Indigenous Relations Task Group and Creation Care group

  • Home congregation: Langley Mennonite Fellowship, Langley, B.C.
  • In helping our church live into the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, the relationship between caring for the environment and reconciliation with our First Nations sisters and brothers has become significant to me.
  • Suggested resource: A Rocha B.C.

Joanne Moyer - Director of Environmental Studies at The King’s University in Edmonton, Alta., and council member for Mennonite Creation Care Network.

  • Home congregation: Edmonton First Mennonite Church, Alta.
  • Over the last decade I have researched faith-based engagement in environmental concerns and activities in Kenya and in Canada. I have a broad perspective of how different churches, faith groups and organizations address these issues.
  • Suggested resource: “For the Love of Creation,” is a collaboration of KAIROS, Citizens for Public Justice and MCC, on climate change.

Visit our Sustainability webpage

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Media contact

Tim Wiebe Neufeld