People & events

Waleed Al-Abrashi helps Noor open a Mennonite Central Committee relief kit at the Elwiya Orphanage for Girls in Baghdad. After receiving the kit, the 15-year-old resident of the orphanage looked up at a Mennonite relief worker and responded in English, “It’s beautiful.” The home’s 66 girls will share 33 kits, which include shampoo, soap, towels, a hairbrush, bandages and other items packed in a five-gallon bucket. During the recent war, they stayed in the building, sleeping in the hallway to keep away from windows. Unlike some other children’s homes, their residence escaped looting. So far this year, MCC has shipped more than 41,000 relief kits for distribution in Iraq.

—Maria Linder-Hess, MCC Communications

“Hymn Sing for Peace” in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. attracted a good crowd May 2. Hymn sheets were distributed and song leaders directed the crowd in familiar hymns.

The Canadian Japanese–Mennonite Scholarship recipient for 2003 is Hijin Park of Toronto. Park will use the $1500 award to complete a doctoral program in Sociology and Equity Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, examining how the movements of people and capital between the Pacific Rim and Canada are “shaped and produced by Canadian government policy.” Mennonite Central Committee created the scholarship in 1985 to express regret for injustices suffered by Japanese–Canadians during World War II.

—MCC Canada

Stewardship guru Larry Burkett died July 4 in Gainesville, Georgia, after battling both cancer and heart disease. Following his 1971 conversion, Burkett undertook an intense study of what the Bible says about handling money. He formed Christian Financial Concepts in 1976 and for the next 27 years shared his knowledge of “God’s principles for financial order and integrity” through books, seminars and radio.

—Evangelical Press News

Mennonite Benevolent Society, owners and operators of the Menno Home, Hospital and residences in Abbotsford, B.C, announced building plans for a new tower and two new residences at its 50th anniversary celebration May 24. From 4 residents in 1954, MBS has grown to one of the province’s major long-term care organizations. It serves some 500 people.

—MBS release

Fewer than one of every 10 churched teenagers has a biblical worldview, according to California-based Barna Research Group’s latest report. Interviews of 305 teens revealed that while 80 percent recalled some insight or category of lessons learned in church, few said they understood enough of the Bible to base decisions on its principles.

—Evangelical Press News

Canada’s Christian community now has a place to meet on the Internet. The “virtual house” at christianity.ca, an initiative of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), consists of 12 rooms where people can “gather, share and grow together”. EFC communications director Gail Reid says the site promotes unity within the church in Canada while respecting its diversity.

—EFC release

After two years in a small windowless space at the Mennonite Central Committee building, Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) extension office in Winnipeg has re-located to roomier, brighter quarters. The move reflects growth in staff and services offered by the extension office, connecting Canadian volunteers with disaster response opportunities. The new address is 306–2265 Pembina Highway, Winnipeg, Man., R3T 5J3.

—MDS release

The Peace Theology Research Project of Mennonite Central Committee is the 2003 recipient of the Frank H. Epp Memorial Fund Award. The two-year effort will examine Mennonite peace theology in light of current realities. Duane K. Friesen, Lydia Harder and J. Robert Charles will each give one-quarter time to consult with various people, and then produce a book-length document that helps lay a theological grounding for nonviolence.

—Conrad Grebel University College

More than one million soup cans later: Hopi Mission School in Kykotsmovi, Arizona has a new mini-van through Campbell’s “Labels for Education” program. Most of the school’s teachers are Mennonite Voluntary Service workers. Nicky Peters coordinates collecting, trimming, and shipping the labels, which come in from people across the continent. This is the third van the school has earned through the program; collection for a fourth is underway.

—Canadian Mennonite

Dr. Bill Bright, 81, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ died in Orlando, Fl. July 19. A self-described “happy pagan” before accepting Christ in 1947, Bright started Campus Crusade four years later to reach students at UCLA. It has spread to 191 countries and has 26,000 full-time employees and some 225,000 volunteers. Burdened for the evangelization of the world, Bright wrote the “Four Spiritual Laws” and commissioned the “Jesus” film.

—Evangelical Press News

The Canadian Council of Christian Charities, which serves the Christian charitable community in a variety of ways, including representation to the government, has appointed John Pellowe of Waterloo, Ont. as Executive Director. He will replace Frank Luellau, who will retire the end of this year after 20 years service.

—CCCC release

The Canadian government’s denial of visas to some 50 international participants, including the entire India delegation, dominated the news spotlight at the 10th Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation in Winnipeg July 21 to 29. Critics allege Ottawa discriminated against the Lutherans; Immigration Canada counters that it denied the visas for “very good reasons”.

—Winnipeg Free Press

A Vietnamese Mennonite Church in Ho Chi Minh City facing ongoing government interference in constructing a church building, is getting the support of local and international Catholics. After construction was halted, the Vietnamese Catholic Conscience of San Jose, California distributed the news worldwide. Two Catholic priests in Vietnam then published an unprecedented “Letter of Solidarity with the Protestant Church in Vietnam.”

—Compass Direct

Shopping for school supplies? Mennonite Central Committee is launching a drive for 40,000 school kits to be shipped to Iraq early this fall. Many Iraqi families cannot afford notebooks, pencils and other school items. The kits will go to children who do not get supplies from UNICEF or other agencies, says MCC worker Dave Pankratz in Baghdad. Further information is available at any MCC office or mcc.org.

—MCC News

Tyndale College in Toronto, Ontario has been granted university status by the Ontario Legislature. The Christian institution will change its name to Tyndale University College and Seminary and begin offering Bachelor of Arts degrees this fall.

—ChristianWeek