People & events

Bruce Clemenger has been appointed president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, effective June 1. He has served on the EFC staff since 1992 and is currently director of the EFC’s Centre for Faith and Public Life, based in Ottawa, which he helped found in 1996. He has a B.A. in economics and history and a Master of Philosophical Foundations in political theory, and is currently working towards a Ph.D. in political theory.

—Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

Chilliwack Central MB Church in Chilliwack, B.C. voted April 27 to change its name to Central Community Church.

There are 7 million Muslims in the US, but only 2 million attend the nation’s 1209 mosques. About 30% of those are converts, particularly blacks who got involved in Islam through mosque-sponsored interfaith discussions or programs to help the needy.

The third Canadian National Church Planting Congress will be held Nov. 19–21, 2003 at First Baptist Church in Vancouver. At the first Congress, held in 1997 in Bramalea, Ont., evangelical churches committed themselves to planting 10,000 new churches by the year 2015. So far, 1000 additional churches have been planted, but more recently older churches seem to be closing as fast as new churches are being planted, so little progress is being made. Speakers for the 2003 event include Len Sweet, E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew University in Madison, N.J. and author of the book Soul Tsunami; Eddie Gibbs, Donald E. McGavran Professor of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary and author of In Name Only and I Believe in Church Growth; Connie denBok, a Natural Church Development coach, United Church minister and church planter; and Claude Payne, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and author of Reclaiming the Great Commission. Payne has reorganized his diocese as one church of multiple missionary outposts called Community of Miraculous Expectation. Further information is available at outreach.ca.

—Church Planting Canada

Ranjha Masih, a Christian, was sentenced to life in prison for blasphemy by a Pakistani court on April 26. His alleged offense, which he denied, was that he threw a rock smashing a neon sign bearing the Muslim statement of faith. The offense occurred in 1998 during a funeral procession for John Joseph, Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad, who had committed suicide in front of the Faisalabad courthouse in order to protest the victimization of Christians under Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws. Under those laws, offenses such as Masih’s are supposed to carry a mandatory death sentence. Masih’s lawyer will appeal the verdict to a higher court. Three other Pakistani Christians have been acquitted of blasphemy in the past year, after having spent several years in jail. Seven others are still in jail; five have already been convicted.

—Compass Direct

The B.C. College of Teachers in April suspended high school teacher Chris Kempling from teaching for one month after finding him guilty of conduct unbecoming a member. The suspension stems from letters Kempling wrote to a local newspaper between 1997 and 2000 stating that there are serious health risks associated with homosexual sex, that homosexuality is the result of abnormal psychological influences and that many religions consider homosexuality to be immoral. The suspension was scheduled to start May 1, but that will be delayed as Kempling plans to appeal the decision in court.

—Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Globe and Mail, National Post

Government-run lotteries, video lottery terminals and casinos in Canada generated $11.3 billion in revenues in 2002, up $600,000 from the previous year.

—Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Ottawa Citizen, Statistics Canada

62% of the victims of sexual assaults reported in Canada in 1997 were under age 18; there were 9200 victims aged 11 and younger, and 9800 victims aged 12–17.

—Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Statistics Canada

The United Methodist Church in the US is losing 40,000–50,000 members a year. However the denomination is giving its 50 bishops raises of over $8000 a year, raising their salaries to over $110,000 by 2004.

—Evangelical Press News Service

The California State Assembly voted 41–34 on April 21 to insert a new definition of “gender” into the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act to include those whose identity, appearance or behaviour is different from their identity at birth. Businesses (including Bible bookstores and organizations such as the Boy Scouts) which refuse to hire cross-dressers or transsexuals could be fined $150,000 or more. Homosexual Assemblyman Mark Leno stated that the unemployment rate for transsexuals in San Francisco is 70%. The bill will now go to the state Senate for debate.

—Evangelical Press News Service

A Rueckenau Support Group has been formed to renovate the former MB church building in Rueckenau, Ukraine for use as a church building once again (see News, Feb. 28). The group is seeking to raise close to $100,000 for this purpose. The CCMSM organization (c/o Art Hamm, 310–32025 Tims Ave., Abbotsford, B.C. V2T 2H3) is collecting the money. Further information is available by phoning 905-468-9060, 204-726-5675 or 604-853-0999.

—Rueckenau Support Group

Children in fatherless families are five times more likely to be poor, three times more likely to do poorly in school and twice as likely to engage in criminal activity.

—Alliance For Marriage

A Russian Evangelical Alliance was founded April 2 in a meeting of 150 representatives from over 40 churches, organizations, missions and local associations. A similar alliance was founded in 1906 but fell apart in 1907 due to disagreements between those who practiced believer’s baptism and those who practised infant baptism. Russia currently has about 720,000 Protestants.

—Evangelical Press New Service

The government of Haiti granted voodoo recognition as an official religion in April. Voodoo priests and priestesses now have the legal power to preside over marriages and baptisms. Voodoo is a mixture of African witchcraft and Roman Catholicism. Its practices include offering sacrifices of animals and alcohol to spirits.

—Evangelical Press News Service

19 Christian bishops marched to police headquarters in Harare, Zimbabwe Feb. 28 to protest persecution of churches by the government of Robert Mugabe. The 19 were arrested and charged with “contravening public order and security”. They were later released on bail. Mennonite Central Committee has been trying to send food aid to the struggling country, but the food has been held up in customs for several months.

—Compass Direct, Mennonite Central Committee

Rinaldy Daminik, a Christian leader in Indonesia, has been charged with possession of weapons. Police say the weapons were found when they stopped his car in August 2002, but Daminik was not arrested till Sept. 11. His trial has been repeatedly delayed due to lack of evidence. Daminik’s supporters claim he is being framed because he helped negotiate the Malino Peace Accord signed by Christians and Muslims in the Sulawesi region in December 2001. The conflict has resulted in 500 deaths and the destruction of over 10,000 homes over the last 4 years. Christians and Muslims say the Indonesian military want to keep the conflict going because the peace accord calls for the withdrawal of the military from the area and the military have established a number of profitable businesses which they are reluctant to leave. Damanik has also accused local officials of pilfering half of the $12.7 million set aside for aid to refugees in the area in 2001 and 2002.

—Compass Direct

Charles E. Bennison, an Episcopal bishop in Pennsylvania, has generated controversy by saying that Jesus sinned; advocating homosexual marriage; and denying the bodily resurrection of Jesus, the authority of Scripture and the uniqueness of Jesus as the only way to salvation.

—Evangelical Press News Service

Ibero–Americans are people with Spanish and Portuguese ancestry, including Spaniards, Portuguese, Latin Americans and Hispanic North Americans. In 1996 there were 3900 Ibero–Americans serving as Christian missionaries. Today there are 6500.

—World Pulse

Medical doctors in Oregon wrote lethal prescriptions for 58 terminally ill patients in 2002, but only 38 actually used the prescriptions to commit suicide. Physician-assisted suicide was legalized in Oregon in 1997. In 1998, the first full year in which the law was in effect, doctors wrote 24 lethal prescriptions, and 16 patients committed suicide. Oregon is the only US state to have such a law.

—Evangelical Press News Service

Eritrean police raided four worship services and a wedding in charismatic churches in four cities in February and March; 170 people were arrested, abused, beaten and threatened for up to 15 days before being released on bail; none has been formally charged. A year earlier, in February 2002, 133 charismatic worshippers were arrested; the 59 civilians were released, but the 74 soldiers are still doing hard labour at a military prison. In May 2002, the government forcibly closed 12 Pentecostal charismatic congregations. Eritrea, in eastern Africa, only recognizes four religions: Islam (50% of the population), the historically dominant Orthodox Church (40%), the Roman Catholic Church (5%) and a Protestant denomination begun by Swedish Lutheran missionaries in the 19th century (2%). There are now about 20,000 charismatic Christians in the country, many coming out of a renewal movement in the Orthodox Church. The government is trying to force them back into the Orthodox Church.

—Compass Direct

Eden Health Care Services invites you to “Under One Roof. Celebrating Family”, a Benefit Evening following the annual general meeting. Featured speaker will be Dr. David (Doc) Schroeder and family members including musical group, “House of Doc”, sharing experiences of their unique intergenerational household in word and song. Refreshments and dessert will end the evening. Thursday, June 19, 7:00 pm at Grace Mennonite Church, Winkler. Offering in support of Eden programs. Call 204-325-5355 for more information.