People & events

Emergency food aid begun by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique during a devastating drought in southern Africa in 2002 has been completed. Overall the drought has passed, says MCC’s director of Food, Disaster and Material Resources, Willie Reimer. “The support was very, very helpful.” Zimbabwe, where the last harvest remained meagre, will continue to receive help.

—MCC News

A new AIDS Toolkit has been developed by Mennonite Central Committee to help youth understand AIDS from a Christian perspective and connect to the global AIDS problem. The interactive resources, games and discussions are geared to high schoolers but can easily be adapted for others. More information is available at 1-888-622-6337 or www.mcc.org.

—MCC News

The largest Christian retail chain in the U.S., Family Christian Stores, which sells Bibles, books, Christian music and other church-related merchandise in 315 locations in 39 states, will now be open Sundays. CEO Dave Browne says customers were surveyed before the decision; 80 percent said they shop on Sunday.

—Evangelical Press News

Sweatshops, product safety, high CEO pay, environmental record, and adult entertainment are the top five business ethics concerns for religious investors in the U.S., according to a national opinion survey recently released by Mennonite Mutual Aid and MMA Praxis Mutual Funds. Traditional “sin” issues like gambling, abortion products, tobacco and alcohol were less important. Further findings can be viewed at www.mma-online.org.

—Mennonite Mutual Aid release

Mike Yaconelli, co-founder and owner of Youth Specialties, considered by many “the father of modern youth ministry,” died in a vehicle accident in northern California Oct. 30. Author of Dangerous Wonder and Messy Spirituality, he was passionate about equipping youth workers to change the lives of students.

—Youth Specialties

Operation Mobilization (OM) has a new international coordinator. Peter Maiden replaces George Verwer, who is stepping down to devote himself to speaking, prayer and networking. Maiden has worked with Verwer since the mid-1980s and is also a speaker and Bible teacher. OM ministers in over 80 countries with nearly 3,000 missionaries.

—Operation Mobilization

George Zondervan, 69, walked nearly 7,700 kilometers, from Stanley Park in Vancouver to Pier 21 in Halifax, to raise money and awareness of world hunger for Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFB). The 7-month walk raised over $75,000. Zondervan, who grew up in Holland, remembers how Canadian soliders shared their rations when they liberated his country during World War II.

—CFB release

The small congregation of the Forest Grove (B.C.) MB Church ran an ad in the local 100 Mile Free Press thanking Victor and Helen Stobbe of Rose Lake, B.C. for their weekly ministry. October was Clergy Appreciation Month, so the church took the opportunity to honour the Stobbes for their faithfulness, wisdom and love, and to invite others to their services.

—Forest Grove Church

A coal-mining town of 7,000 wracked by generations of labour disputes and then the collapse of the mining industry is finding ways of working together. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and the Catholic Sisters of Charity have started the New Waterford Art and Frame in New Waterford, Nova Scotia. The effort represents entrepeneurship as well as shifts in attitudes.

—MCC Canada News

Representatives of Mennonite Church USA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America met Oct. 17–19 at Bethel College, North Newton, Kan. to discuss their understandings of baptism. The meetings were part of a 3-year dialogue, begun in 2002, to foster reconciliation between the two groups. In 1999 the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America distanced itself from condemnations of the Anabaptist movement in the Lutheran Augsburg Confession.

—Mennonite Weekly Review

The Southern District Conference of U.S. Mennonite Brethren met in Oklahoma August 1–3. Financial considerations shifted the focus to intensive discussion of the budget and related issues. The process produced unity on the proposed budget and a charge to district leaders to develop a “strategic plan of action.” Roland and Lois Reimer, who are retiring, were honoured for their 14 years as district minister couple.

—Christian Leader

A Jews for Jesus evangelistic campaign in Toronto this fall highlighted tensions between the messianic group and Jews for Judaism, which calls itself “counter-missionary.” Jews for Jesus volunteers distributed close to 300,000 pamphlets discussing Jesus’ divinity; the other organization shadowed them in several locations and distributed counter materials. The ensuing debate concerned both tactics and issues of belief.

—ChristianWeek

The mobile canner of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), on the road for the 57th year, stopped in Manitoba Nov. 27–29. Two stops are planned for Ontario: Leamington, Apr. 19–23 and Guelph, Apr. 26–30. In total, the unit will travel to 36 locations in North America. The crew are (l–r) Alfredo Berg, Brazil; Jerry Hiebert, Paraguay; Tim Friesen, U.S.; Marcus Heinrichs, Canada. Not pictured is Ernst Dueck, Paraguay; he will replace Berg, who resumes his position as MCC truck driver.

—MCC News

Preparing “tentmakers” is the focus of a new program at Trinity Western University, Langley, B.C. The Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL) “exists to get more committed Christians into countries presently inaccessible to missionaries,” says director Bill Acton. Twenty students are currently enrolled.

—TWU release

People walked to church, sat on the floor, sang without electronic instruments and spoke without microphones at Jubilee Mennonite Church, Winnipeg, Nov. 16, to celebrate the Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. One couple had to leave before 7 to make the 9:30 service. Fortunately, the weather was relatively mild for the time of year in Manitoba.

—Jubilee Mennonite Church

After 41 years involvement with Palestine’s Hope Secondary School, Beit Jala, West Bank, the Mennonite Central Committee is ending its partnership and financial support. Begun in 1962 by Rachel and Walter Martin and Bernard and Nettie Klassen, with a vision to provide quality Christian education to Palestinian children, the school is thriving. It has developed income generating projects to cover its costs.

—MCC News

Abortion rates dropped by 22% in the United States during the 1990s, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate dropped from 27.4 to 21.4 abortions per 1000 adult women over the decade. Among teenagers, the rate dropped 39%. It rose, however, among poorer women.

—Evangelical Press News