People & events

Gordon Legge, 56, former religion editor of the Calgary Herald and founder of the Centre for Faith and Media, has died. He went missing in the mountains Feb. 22; his remains were found May 11 near Banff. His journalistic passion was to increase understanding and coverage of religion in the media.

—ChristianWeek

The Mennonite parents of conjoined twins in Germany refused to have an abortion although doctors recommended it, saying the decision of life or death is not theirs to make. Joined at the head, the girls are consigned to immobility unless successfully separated. The parents are encouraged that Benjamin Carson, a leader in pediatric neurosurgery and a dedicated Christian, will attempt the separation.

—Mennonite Weekly Review

The Moscow City Appeals Court has ruled to uphold a lower court decision to strip the Jehovah’s Witness community in that city of their legal status and ban their activity. The decision affects 80 congregations and some 11,000 Witnesses in Moscow.

—Compass

The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. at 16 million members, voted at their recent annual meeting to leave the Baptist World Alliance, saying the global group is too liberal on gay rights and other issues. Affiliation with the Alliance is nearly a century old, but theological differences have marked the last decade.

—Evangelical Press News

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has named new co-directors, beginning September 1. Founding director Gene Stoltzfus is handing over the role after 16 years of leadership, to Carol Rose of Wichita, Kan., who will serve as operations coordinator out of CPT’s Chicago office, and Doug Pritchard, currently coordinator of CPT Canada, who will serve as program coordinator out of Toronto.

—CPT

Exploring the world of relief sale quilts: researchers Marilyn Klaus and Sharon Sawatzky of Kansas are looking for stories to document the history of relief sale quilts and their contributions to Mennonite Central Committee, and to explore how quilts and quilters have changed. The perspectives of quilters, designers, buyers or spectators can be shared at quiltingculture.com or 913-859-9283.

—MCC News

The life of David was presented in musical drama by Bethany College, Hepburn, Sask. April 17 in one of the school’s most ambitious productions yet. Directed by Ministry Arts instructor Susan Goerz, “David, a man after God’s own heart” involved more than 80 people in cast, crew, choir and orchestra.

—release

Colombian Mennonite leader and peace activist Ricardo Esquivia attributes his protection from arrest to the overwhelming response of the international community, and thanks those who took action by calling or writing the Colombia government. In a visit to Washington, he and other religious leaders from Colombia asked the U.S. government to cut off military aid to Colombia.

—Mennonite World Conference

The Vatican is releasing more than 2 million files on prisoners of war and other missing person from its secret archives, hoping to emphasize the humanitarian aspects of the World War II papacy of Pope Pius XII. Critics have claimed Pius did not do enough to save Jews from the Holocaust; Vatican officials say the documents show the church’s “ample charitable and social work inspired by principles of universality and impartiality.”

—Evangelical Press News

Video-game neurology, a relatively new discipline of science, examines how electronic games affect the brain. Results of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicate that playing a video game “sparks a unique neurochemistry”; the brain responds to entertainment violence as real and stores it as “long-term memory.” Since the player is the character, the images are more intense and lingering than violence via movies or television.

—Globe and Mail

David Esau

Cedar Park Church, Delta, B.C. closed its doors Sunday May 30 to hold an outdoor service in conjunction with the community’s May Days celebration. A joint venture with Ladner Christian Fellowship, the service included drama and a message by Cedar Park’s pastor David Esau. Esau hopes this first “experiment” will become an annual event.

—report

The Voice of the Martyrs reports that Gu Xianggao, a leader in the underground Christian church in China, was beaten to death April 27 while in the custody of the Public Security Bureau (PSB). Gu, 28, was a teacher in a church in Harbin City, northeast China. Another Christian leader was also taken into custody during the PSB raids there.

—Evangelical Press News

The Gospel Light Singers sang together publicly for the last time May 16, in a program at Boissevain (Man.) MB Church. They have made 8 CDs in 8 years, the last 2 in Low German for programs Jacob Funk produces out of Family Life Network. Singers Henry Wedel, Ernie Enns, Alfred Dick and John C. Klassen sang in the former MB Communications Octet; Dick and Klassen also sang in one of the first Gospel Light Hour quartets of the 1950s.