People & events

Christianity in China is growing rapidly in spite of strict controls and persecution. Officially, there are about 15 million Protestants and 5 million Catholics in the country, but the true number is estimated as high as 80 million, including those in secret underground churches. Less than 4 million Christians existed in China when the Communists took power in 1949. The greatest growth is in evangelical Protestant churches.

—Globe and Mail

Same-sex marriage has come to the fore in various US jurisdictions, as it did in Canada in 2003. The Massachusetts legislature is debating the issue; officials in San Francisco are issuing same-sex marriage licenses in defiance of state law. “The re-definers of marriage are working tirelessly,” said Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship. “Their agenda is to tear down traditional marriage and make it meaningless by removing its distinctives.” Dr. D. James Kennedy, America’s most widely-televised Presbyterian minister, stated that defending marriage is “not discrimination” and that gay marriage “has never been a constitutional right in America.”

—Evangelical Press News

People involved in the settlement of the Boat People 25 years ago are invited to tell their stories at a history conference planned for October 2005. The massive migration of Vietnamese refugees made refugee sponsorship an ongoing concern of Mennonite church communities and changed their ethnic composition. Hosts or sponsored families interested in participating should contact Royden Loewen at the University of Winnipeg, or Ken Reddig at Mennonite Central Committee Canada.

—release

In the wake of outrage over the recent Super Bowl halftime show, the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) meeting in Charlotte, N.C. Feb. 13–18 called on religious broadcasters to lead the way in higher standards of broadcast decency. Speaker Franklin Graham also generated controversy when he told broadcasters the re-election of President Bush must be a top priority. A record-setting 6,000 people attended the event.

—Evangelical Press News

Operation Mobilization (OM) will purchase a new ship to replace Logos II, which has been in OM’s service since 1989. OM runs two ocean-going vessels, Logos II and Doulos, carrying Christian literature and offering presentations of the gospel to visitors in ports around the world. The new ship, “Logos Hope,” will cost an estimated $20 million.

—Evangelical Press News

Mennonite Trust Ltd. (MTL) of Waldheim, Sask. is giving $3,400 to each of its owning conferences in 2004. Mennonite Church Saskatchewan, the Sask. Conference of MB Churches and the Fellowship of Evangelical Biblc Churches are free to use these profit distributions in whatever area of need or ministry they choose.

—MTL release

As a victim and survivor of violence, Debbie Barriault’s work in Moncton, N.B. to mend relationships between the public and sex offenders raises eyebrows. She is building “Circles of Support and Accountability” as peer networks for sex offenders after release from prison. “I felt God was calling me to this,” she says. Her part-time position with the local chaplaincy is funded by Mennonite Central Committee.

—MCC Canada News

Zimbabwe was Africa’s breadbasket five years ago. Now it is the world’s neediest recipient of food aid. Corn, the country’s staple, is extremely scarce and many Zimbabweans depend on emergency aid. President Mugabe confiscated farms and gave them to loyal supporters inexperienced in running agribusiness. The Mennonite World Conference was held in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe last August.

—World Pulse

Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is keeping up strong links with Zimbabwe. At its Jan. 15–18 meeting in Akron, PA. the General Council issued a statement committing MWC to prayer and to join the Brethren in Christ Church (BICC) in Zimbabwe in monitoring social and political developments. It is considering how to respond as the country continues its downward spiral. The Council also reported a positive Assembly 2003 financial balance.

—MWC release

March 22 marks World Water Day and reminds that one-sixth of the world’s population does not have access to a safe source of drinking water. Mennonite Central Committee is involved in a range of water projects, from providing well rings in rural Laos to helping families dig wells in Bolivia to advocating for protection of water sources in Kentucky’s Appalachia region. To learn more about water issues and MCC’s work, see Water is life at MCC.

—MCC

Three men transporting blankets donated by Mennonite Central Committee in northern Uganda were ambushed and two killed Feb. 5 by members of the Lord’s Resistance Army. The men were part of a local church-sponsored team of 270 bicyclists helping transport blankets to rural regions of the war-torn country. The men who died were 25 and 27; MCC has made a financial contribution to their families.

—MCC News