Anne Hansen

Mary Anne Isaak

Lately, I’ve been learning to watercolor. First, the planning—imagining the picture and sketching it out in pencil. Then the risky, fun part —applying paint to wet paper. It’s the unplanned blending-running-mixing of colors that creates the most beautiful aspects of the painting. For me, being a pastor is a little like watercolor painting. The Scriptures fire my imagination of what the kingdom of God can look like in our congregation. Sketching out the picture comes through conversations and careful planning. And then, like watercolor, beauty is created in the unplanned blending-running-mixing of ideas, dreams, needs and gifts of everyone in church.

I’ve been on the pastoral team at River East MB Church since January, 2011. After mission terms in Congo and Russia, with our denomination, I got my first taste of pastoring in a little Mennonite Church in Vermont, and then for almost 13 years in an MB church in Clovis, California. I’m married to Jon Isaak, and have two adult children, Peter and Rianna. In 2017 the global flavour of our family was enhanced again when Rianna married Benni from Germany.

Aaron Thiessen

Several years ago, I dragged a few of my friends to an avant-garde jazz concert. Having little exposure to the genre, they approached the evening with a fair amount of skepticism, and understandably so—the avant-garde has a reputation for being inaccessible, noisy, or just downright weird. Despite this, they came along, and after the show was over, one of them said something to me that has stuck ever since: “The music only started to make sense to me when I saw the band in action, performing it together.” I sometimes think about this experience when I think about the Church. To many people, the Church may seem like avant-garde jazz: inaccessible, noisy, and weird. Yet, when the Church comes alongside one another, as people riff off of one another and the Triune God in a visible, passionate way, there is a strange beauty and captivating energy to the ensuing music, even if it is sometimes dissonant.

As the Pastor of Youth and Young Adults at River East Church, I am excited to partner with young people as we make a whole lot of noise for Jesus. Between my studies at Canadian Mennonite University and a lifetime of volunteering within the Church, I have been privileged to see God at work in and through the lives of young people. I am married to Simone Thiessen, who also has a soft spot for youth ministry, and together we are parents to our daughter Zoe and son Elliott.

Marilyn Rudge

After more than a decade of making lattes and espressos, I thought a change might be nice and decided to come work with the excellent team that is River East Church. It is delightful to once again be learning new things! In my spare time, I love to engage in all sorts of creative pursuits, the latest of which is having learned to crochet. Ask me about my owls. 😉

I am married to Kyle and we have two children, Kianna and Ender.

Marilyn Rudge