One Sunday morning in July 1993, we and our three daughters drove up to our church parking lot at Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship in Winnipeg, Man., to find two rather large black SUVs strangely parked outside the marked lines.

We were early because Bert was the newly elected congregational chair, and we needed to check on things.

As we walked into the church, we saw what appeared to be security people wandering around the building. To our great surprise, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter walked in.

Bert approached to greet them, and Jimmy Carter asked to speak to the pastor. Bert replied that we did not have a paid pastor but used lay ministers. (Even today, 57 years after our founding, we do not have any paid positions.) One of these lay ministers was Adolf Ens, who arrived a bit later.

We are not very clear on how the next few minutes went, but we ushered the Carters to a center seat. We, Ens and a few others shared about the structure of our fellowship. This included details such as no paid staff, our membership in the General Conference Mennonite Church and a focus on the priesthood of all believers, with all members voluntarily serving each other and the community.

Apparently, the Carters came to our church because they had asked around for a Mennonite church and were interested particularly in that priesthood focus.

The service went on as usual with a specific small group providing the service. Of course, the Carters were introduced. They joined in the service, hymn book in hand, singing and appearing to enjoy the small, intimate gathering.

After the service, they stayed to chat over coffee. We invited them for lunch, but they insisted we join them for a lunch prearranged at d’8 Schtove, a restaurant offering Russian Mennonite fare with a name inspired by Low German for “The Eating Room.”

We and our three daughters had lunch there with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, along with their security team and executive secretary. They enjoyed Mennonite foods, questioned our daughters and shared about their involvement with Habitat for Humanity.

Our conversation included sharing more about the history of Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship and some Mennonite history, but he already knew quite a bit. We gave them a copy of our hymnal. Jimmy Carter said if he was not a Southern Baptist he would choose to be a Mennonite. They left for an afternoon rest at the University of Manitoba women’s dorm. The facility lacked air conditioning, but it’s where they stayed for their Winnipeg visit.

We received a nice handwritten letter weeks later from the Carters expressing gratitude for our hospitality and fellowship at church.

We were supposed to reconnect years later through Habitat for Humanity over lunch. But the former president unfortunately had heatstroke and was in the hospital for observation. He was back on the Habitat job the next day.

How blessed the world was to have such a great servant leader.

Lee and Bert Friesen are among the founding members of Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship and have each served on the Board of Directors of Mennonite Economic Development Associates.