Menno Place says good-bye to CEO, Karen Biggs who retired today
Menno Place said good-bye to retiring CEO, Karen Biggs today, January 13, 2023.
After 9.5 years of faithful and dedicated service to Menno Place, Karen Biggs did a final walkabout. The Menno Place Team gathered to wish her well in her retirement, sharing photo memories from her first week of work in 2013.
Thank you, Karen, for your leadership, your advocacy and the improvements that you brought to residents, families and staff while you led us. We thank you for your leadership, especially during the COVID pandemic when care for the elderly was most challenging.
We wish you a wonderful retirement with many opportunities to share your love, knowledge and skill with others.
Blessings to you, Karen!
Until a new CEO is announced, Kathrin McMath (COO) will be Acting CEO of Menno Place.
Hymn Stories – January 2023
This month’s hymn is a All Creatures of our God and King. This inspiring expression of praise found in nearly every hymnal was originally written in 1225 by one of the most interesting figures in all of church history. Giovanni Bernardone, who was better known as Saint Francis of Assisi, was a medieval monk who spent his lifetime as an itinerant evangelist, preaching and helping the poor people of Italy.
Click to listen.
Hymn Stories – December 2022
This month’s hymn is a Christmas classic from the 19th century. Written by Father Joseph Mohr and composed by Franz Gruber, the story of “Stille Nacht” features a broken down organ on Christmas Eve, a poem, and the lofty desire to write the perfect Christmas song!
Click to listen.
Hymn Stories – November 2022
The hymn, “Jesus Paid It All”, has ministered to and blessed countless numbers of people for more than a century. “A woman scribbles a poem on the flyleaf of her hymnal, an amateur church musician unknowingly creates a matching tune, an unknown pastor provides encouragement and another hymn is born.”
Click to listen.
Hymn Stories – October 2022
The deeply personal hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour” was written out of the daily experiences of a busy housewife and mother, Annie Hawks, in the year 1872. “Suddenly, I became filled with the sense of nearness to the Master, and I began to wonder how anyone could ever live without Him, either in joy or pain. Then, the words were ushered into my mind and these thoughts took full possession of me – ‘I need Thee every hour’.”
Click to listen.
National Day for Truth & Reconciliation – Sept 30
Each year, September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The day honours the children who never returned home and survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
Menno Place will recognize September 30th as a Statutory Holiday.
As a Christian faith-based organization, we believe in a God who reconciles us to Himself and to one another. We value this opportunity to reflect, learn, and seek healing together as a nation.
Here are a few helpful resources to get you started:
Learn more about Residential School History
Watch first-person stories of survivors
Four Ways the Church Can Observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
Approaching Truth and Reconciliation with Love in Our Hearts, the MB Herald’s conversation with John Johnstone of the Leq’á:mel First Nation
National Seniors Day – Oct 1, 2022
This Saturday, October 1, 2021 is National Seniors Day! THANK YOU, seniors for your wisdom and love and for the impact you have in all of our lives!
Hymn Stories – September 2022
A favourite hymn for many, “Be Thou My Vision” has a storied history going back to the 8th century! Find out more about this hymn and other helpful resources for seniors.
Menno Place Video: Welcome Home
Explore the Menno Place Campus of Care in Abbotsford, BC!
