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Upcoming events at Mennonite Educational Institute in Abbotsford, B.C.: The Third Annual Faith and Arts Festival, April 30-May 4. This year’s theme is “Creation”. Artwork by students, professional and amateur artists will be displayed throughout the school; Steve Bell Dessert Concert, Monday, April 30, 2001; MEI Fashion Show; and Junior Spring Concert, Wednesday, May 2, 2001. More information on these events is available by phoning MEI at (604) 859-9762. – Mennonite Educational Institute
A main road in rural Cambodia was repaired in February with help from Mennonite Central Committee. Travel on the dirt road was difficult due to heavy floods in September 2000 that washed out much of the road, sporadic rains this winter that kept many washed-out areas muddy, and roadblocks caused by large supply trucks getting bogged down in the mud. MCC hired local contractors to provide 12 culverts for a 19-kilometre stretch of the road connecting Reakchey and Mesang villages. The repaired stretch gives nearby villages access to larger market towns and the route to Phnom Penh, the country’s capital. As a result, prices of common commodities have gone down. Villagers transporting and installing the culverts were paid with food through the UN World Food Program. MCC provided a total of $156,000 for Cambodia flood relief in October 2000, which also included rice seed, farming tools and school supplies. – Mennonite Central Committee
Richard Wurmbrand, founder of The Voice of the Martyrs, died Feb. 17 after a long illness. He was 91. Wurmbrand was born in Romania. He and his wife Sabina converted to Christianity in 1936 and joined the church of the Anglican Mission in Bucharest. He became a minister and pastored the Norwegian Lutheran Mission in Bucharest. The Wurmbrands were arrested several times by the Nazis, and Wurmbrand began an underground ministry evangelizing Russian prisoners of war. This ministry later continued with Russian occupation forces in Romania. In 1948 Wurmbrand was kidnapped by Romanian authorities and imprisoned in Bucharest, where he was subjected to brainwashing attempts, physical and mental torture and threats to his family. In 1950, Sabina was imprisoned and sentenced to forced labour. After her release in 1953, Romanian authorities told her that Richard had died in prison, but he was found to be alive and was released from prison in 1956. In 1959, he was rearrested for preaching the gospel. Political pressure from Western countries led to his release in 1964; in 1965 Norwegian Mission to the Jews and Hebrew Christian Alliance gave the communist government $10,000 to let the Wurmbrands out of Romania. In 1967, he published the first issue of The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter as a way to inform Christians about the persecuted church. By the mid-1980s, The Voice of the Martyrs was working in 80 restricted countries. Wurmbrand wrote 18 books in English and others in Romanian; his books have been translated into 38 languages. His best-known book, Tortured for Christ, is about his prison experiences. In 1990, the Wurmbrands returned to Romania after 25 years of exile. Sabina died Aug. 11, 2000. – Evangelical Press News Service
Enrollment at Christian colleges and universities in the US is growing six times the rate of secular institutions. According to the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the latest enrollment at over 100 CCCU-affiliated institutions grew by 24% over a seven-year span. During the same period, enrollment at public institutions grew only 4%. – EPNS
About 7,000 Jewish Christians (Messianic Jews), including spouses and children, live in Israel. The Jewish Christian Church has grown significantly over the last 12 years mainly due to immigration from Russia and the US. Presently, Russian speakers make up about 50% of the Jewish Christian population in Israel. Other reasons for the growth are natural population increase and evangelism. About 120 congregations (including house churches) are Hebrew-speaking, about 30 are Russian-speaking, and six speak Amharic (an Ethiopian language). The average size is about 80. Most of the leaders were converted outside of Israel and have no theological or biblical training, yet the congregations tend to be very leader-oriented. – World Pulse
Leamington (Ont.) MB Church has new e-mail addresses for the church office and pastors: church office, office@lmbchurch.com; senior pastor Henry Regier, henryregier@lmbchurch.com; associate pastor Graham Beer, pgraham@lmbchurch.com. The church’s Web site is www.lmbchurch.com. – Leamington MB Church
In Colombia, police figures for 2000 show that 25,660 people died in violence, up 5% from 1999; 1226 died in 205 mass killings, 22% more than in 1999; and 1480 terrorist acts were committed, 24% more than in 1999. Police report that leftist guerrillas committed most of the murders. For 40 years, Colombia has been torn by conflict between rebels, paramilitary groups and the army. – World Pulse
John Hof, president of the B.C. chapter of Campaign Life Coalition, a national pro-life group, was awarded $25,000 in an out-of-court settlement in March. Hof took issue with comments made July 12, 2000 by Joan Smallwood, then B.C.’s Minister of Women’s Equality. Smallwood linked Hof to radical abortion groups in her comments to a CBC reporter regarding the stabbing of Vancouver abortionist Garrison Romalis on July 11. Smallwood apologized July 14, stating she was wrong for implying that Hof condoned violence against abortionists because he had attended conferences of radical anti-abortion groups in the US. Smallwood admitted later that Hof had often condemned violence and that Campaign Life had posted a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of Romalis’s assailant. Hof said the $25,000, which was paid by the B.C. government, will go to Campaign Life and other pro-life groups, including the University of British Columbia’s Students for Life group. B.C. Christian News
Red de Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice Network), a Mennonite organization based in Honduras, helps reintegrate ex-gang members into society through employment, community service, religious instruction, a sports program, and more recently, tattoo removal. Many Honduran youth have tattoos, but employers won’t hire them because tattoos are associated with gangs; applicants are often asked to disrobe during job interviews so employers can inspect them for tattoos. Ricardo Torres, a Mennonite Central Committee worker, and Denis Mata, an employee of the Network, heard about a tattoo removal machine from one of the youth they worked with. The machine uses infrared light to disintegrate skin cells that hold tattoo ink. The Network borrows the machine during off-hours from a Roman Catholic clinic and recruits two nurses to bandage and treat burns. Gangs (known locally as “maras”) are a severe problem in Honduras. A government agency estimates that 35,000 gang members and “sympathizers” live in and around the city of San Pedro Sula alone. The area has four to five murders a day, most of which are gang-related. The tattoo removal program is so popular that the machine has been booked for the next five months. – MCC
Former MCC worker Ricardo Torres removes a tattoo from a young Honduran.
MCC news photo by Denis Mata |
80,000 people in Mozambique have lost their homes due to flooding and heavy rains that began in late February; thousands of families living along the Zambezi River are at risk. The disaster comes one year after a cyclone caused major flooding in southern Mozambique, affecting a million people. Mennonite Central Committee and Canadian Foodgrains Bank are responding to the recent floods with relief supplies, seeds and tools valued at $250,000. The aid will be administered by the Christian Council of Mozambique. – MCC
Since 1998, 323 Iraqis have been killed and 957 injured in US and British bombing of their country. – MCC
Coaldale (Alta.) Mennonite Brethren Church is planning a 75th anniversary celebration for May 19-20 with the theme “Great is Your Faithfulness.” The weekend will feature a mass choir under the direction of former Coaldale resident John Pauls. Speakers for the weekend will be Rudy Heidebrecht, former long-time pastor of Coaldale, and Don Petker of Selkirk, Man. Former members and town residents and other visitors are welcome to join in this celebration. More information can be obtained by phoning the church at (403) 345-3636. – Coaldale MB Church
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Last modified April 19, 2001.
© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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