Macau easily topples Las Vegas as the world's leading gambling centre. People from all over East Asia visit Macau to risk their fortunes and nest eggs - or to find better paying jobs in the lucrative gaming industry. Starting an outreach church in this setting comes with challenges and blessings. In this episode, Mennonite Church Canada Witness workers George and Tobia Veith tell how they share God's stories of healing and hope with people from all walks of life in one of the most densely populated cities in the world.

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The ongoing health of the church requires that believers continue to strengthen their overall capacity to discern the word and the mind of God as the church wrestles with the critical agenda of our time. Robert J. Suderman, General Secretary of Mennonite Church Canada, has written a paper to guide the church in matters of being a faithful body in times of tumult and widespread disagreement on a variety of issues and biblical understandings. The paper is entitled Being a Faithful Church: Testing the Spirits in the Midst of Hermeneutical Ferment. In his paper, Suderman presents a forgotten but refreshing reminder that the church needs to re-ignite its commitment and its capacity to be a people of God's word. In this interview, Suderman discusses the key points of how he thinks believers and congregations can get beyond disagreements when discerning the word of God together. This episode was recorded live at the 2009 Mennonite Church Canada Assembly in Saskatoon, Sask.

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As communication technologies and international travel grow, the global village shrinks. So too with the church. Many Christians are struggling with economic oppression, conflict, poverty, and lack of healthcare and educations in their homelands. Can a church become a global church? How? Danisa Ndlovu, President of Mennonite World Conference, offers some stories and tips of how the international church stands with struggling churches around the world, including in his country of Zimbabwe.

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Gordon Allaby and his Mennonite congregation in Osler, Saskatchewan are passionate about non-violent peace building. Just as importantly, they have demonstrated considerable creativity in getting the peace message out into the public square in their part of the world. Gordon is the son of a Baptist minister, is both a Canadian and American citizen who himself was interrogated by USA military officials after applying to be a conscientious objector. In 2008, Osler Mennonite Church sponsored a Mennonite Church Canada resolution challenging congregations across Canada to speak more openly and directly to the public to challenge the increasing militarization of Canadian society. The resolution was overwhelmingly passed, and in 2009 resulted in a Peace in the Public Square advertising campaign - see www.LiveForPeace.org for more information.

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What can the church learn from the South African church's experience with apartheid and its Truth and Reconciliation Commission? Dr. Piet Meiring is an ordained minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, a theology professor at the University of Pretoria, has authored or co-authored thirty books, and has been deeply involved in apartheid issues in South Africa for over three decades. Most recently he served with South Africa's truth and reconciliation commission, and has since been invited to serve as an advisor in a similar process in Rwanda. In Part 1 of this two part series, we learn about the church and its role in both supporting and dismantling apartheid. In Part 2 we ask Dr. Meiring what the church in Canada can learn from the South African church experience, and how we can apply this knowledge to the recently launched Aboriginal Truth and Reconciliation process in Canada.

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What can the church learn from the South African church's experience with apartheid and its Truth and Reconciliation Commission? In Part 2 we ask Dr. Meiring what the church in Canada can learn from the South African church experience, and how we can apply this knowledge to the recently launched Aboriginal Truth and Reconciliation process in Canada. Dr. Piet Meiring is an ordained minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, a theology professor at the University of Pretoria, has authored or co-authored thirty books, and has been deeply involved in apartheid issues in South Africa for over three decades. Most recently he served with South Africa's truth and reconciliation commission, and has since been invited to serve as an advisor in a similar process in Rwanda. In Part 1 of this two part series, we learn about the church and its role in both supporting and dismantling apartheid.

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Daylins Rufin, active Baptist pastor and seminary professor in Cuba, dispels myths about the church in Cuba.

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Doug Gay lectures on Practical Theology at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, is an ordained minister, has been an inner-city pastor in London, England. He also has a special interest in Anabaptist theology. Doug talks about the influence of Anabaptist and Mennonite theology in the ecumenical church setting in the United Kingdom.

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Canada's indigenous peoples have had a rocky relationship with the Christian church. Can this relationship be healed, and if so, what can the ordinary person contribute to the healing? In this episode, we explore the topic with Anita Keith. Anita is a Christian of Mohawk, Algonquin and British descent. She is an Ordained Minister, an instructor of Aboriginal Education at Red River College in Winnipeg, and an Administrator for the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies.

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What does it mean to have food security, what does the Bible have to say to us about food security, and what does the church have to do with food security? Join Church Matters and guest Stefan Epp, Food Policy Analyst with the Manitoba Food Charter, as we explore what food security and the church mean in both local and international contexts.Now available from popular Podcast providers.