A Gift that Keeps Giving
Gary Dyck, Blog Coordinator
Executive Director, MHV
Christmas is about celebrating a Gift that keeps giving, so I thought it would be a good time to talk about how we can all give gifts that keep giving. I first heard the word ‘endowment’ as a young college student. At the time, I thought it was something for very wealthy people to establish and contribute to. Like scholarships known by the name of a single benefactor or Harvard’s 40-billion-dollar endowment started by wealthy people over a century ago (which makes Harvard one of the wealthiest entities in the world). However, as the Executive Director of the Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) it has been my privilege to see another side.
Remembering a Pillar of Steinbach Community
Barry Dyck, Guest Author
Post co-written by Gary Dyck, MHV
I (Barry Dyck) met Seaton Coleman shortly after starting my job at Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) in 2009. One pleasure of working at the museum was meeting people from all over the world, and another was getting to know a lot of local people through their support for MHV. Seaton was one of those who supported the museum in several ways: as a visitor, as a donor, and as an “owner.”
It was not uncommon to encounter Seaton and Norma Coleman enjoying the food, activities, and socializing on festival days like Pioneer Days. They were both cordial and had interesting experiences to talk about. Reading Seaton’s obituary, I noted with interest the role that dancing played in their lives as a couple. One of MHV’s traditions on festival days is to feature local bands. Down the village’s main street, the Colemans heard the amplified music, and I saw them start dancing in front
Two Uighur girls in Urumqi, China (Gary Dyck)
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It s not just Christians who are facing increasing persecution in China, and a man from Steinbach is troubled by news out of the country this week.
News agencies are reporting that the International Criminal Court will not be pursuing an investigation into the mass detention of Muslims in China.
Gary Dyck spent ten years living in northwest China prior to accepting the role as Executive Director at Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach in 2018. Dyck says when he moved there, he immediately noticed the systemic racism that existed with government towards the Uighurs, which are Turkic Muslims. Relations were hostile and by 2016 there was increased security and policing in the area he lived. Dyck says a year later it was very evident that fewer and fewer people were out on the street.
The Year 2020
Executive Director, MHV
I think all of us will be happy to move on from this year. Like a review for a poor Amazon product most of us would give it one star and say ‘Tried it. Don’t recommend it’. However, it is good to take time to review the year and grieve what needs to be grieved and be thankful for what we still have.
At the Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV), our first quarter was actually pretty good. The budget we had made in January even surpassed expectations. Schools were coming for our programming. Admission to our February Winter Carnival grew from 176 in 2019 to 507 in 2020. We had been awarded a grant to repair our Chortitz housebarn and planning for our Spring Gala and MCC 100 Years Exhibit was well under way.