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Larry Miller, executive secretary of Mennonite World Conference (MWC), attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II in Rome, April 9, as a fraternal guest. He and MWC president Nancy Heisey also sent a letter of condolence to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which has been engaged in an international dialogue with MWC for more than 5 years.
—MWC News
Churches in sub-Saharan Africa are not winning the war against AIDS, said Rev. Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches in Nairobi. Some churches are preaching that AIDS does not exist, and others focus only on healing by prayer. “We have to mobilize the African church into the realization that the disease has the capacity to annihilate all of us,” he said. United Nations estimates say the region has 10 percent of the world’s population but is home to two-thirds of all people living with AIDS.
—Christian Courier
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) is disappointed that the House of Commons defeated a proposed amendment to Bill C-38, the Civil Marriage Act, on April 12. Had the amendment passed, it would have been the end of Bill C-38. EFC president Bruce Clemenger reminds that there will be several more votes on the bill, and urges Canadians to continue to voice their concerns.
—EFC release
A Vietnamese superior court upheld the prison sentences of pastor Nguyen Hong Quang (3 years) and evangelist Pham Ngoc Thach (2 years). More than 200 persons gathered to demonstrate their support for the Vietnamese leaders; only pastor Quang’s wife and Thach’s father were allowed into the appeal hearing. Mrs. Quang said she was disheartened by the decision, fearing further pressure on the church. Pastor Quang is said to be in good health and spirits, helping prisoners who are HIV positive. Church worker Le Thi Hong Lien, 20, who suffered a physical and mental breakdown during imprisonment, was released. Two days later, some 30 officials broke up a Bible study she was attending, arresting, interrogating, then releasing her and the others.
—Mennonite World Conference News, Compass Direct
Rainald Duerksen, a Mennonite Brethren ophthalmologist based in Paraguay, is on a cross-Canada speaking tour for Christian Blind Mission International (CMBI). Recognized for his achievements in prevention of blindness, Duerksen’s goal is to train eye doctors from throughout South America, a continent where more than 3 million people are blind. Half could have their sight restored through a 12-minute surgery. CMBI is partnering with Duerksen to build an eye hospital in Asuncion, in order to treat more patients and train eye doctors.
—CBMI release
The legacy of quilts: A new Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) quilt exhibit and a new book from Good Books celebrate the legacy of MCC quilts sent to Europe after World War II and the stories of the brave women who used them to warm refugees fleeing the ravages of war. The exhibit will travel for 3 years, to MCC relief sales, quilt shows and other sites. Passing on the Comfort: The War, the Quilts, and the Women Who Made a Difference was written by An Keuning-Tichelaar, a Dutch Mennonite active in refugee work, and Amsterdam bookstore owner Lynn Kaplanian-Buller.
—MCC News
Dr. Chris Kempling is back in the news over his battle to publicly speak his views on homosexuality. In April, he was given a three-month suspension of his counselling position with the Quesnel School District in B.C. for speaking at the 2003 annual conference of NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, a group that helps homosexuals come out of the gay lifestyle. He has been a school counsellor since 1990.
—Evangelical Press News
336 Black Sudanese slaves were liberated March 23–April 14 through the mediation of the Arab–Dinka Peace Committees at Warawar and Manger Ater, Southern Sudan. Interviews with 51 of the female slaves reveals a high pattern of rape and other abuse. Arab cattle camp leaders have pledged to free their remaining Dinka slaves. John Eibner of Christian Solidarity International (CSI) says unless enslavement of Black Africans is rapidly eradicated, a lasting peace for war-torn Sudan remains elusive. Conservative estimates place the number of slaves in the tens of thousands.
—Christian Solidarity International
Radio to China: three mission organizations recently marked the one-year anniversary of a unique partnership to broadcast the gospel to China. The Radio Bible Project, a partnership of The International Bible Society, Faith Comes By Hearing, and Trans World Radio, estimates more than 10 million people have been reached with the Word of God since the first broadcast in March 2004.
—Evangelical Press News
A gala dinner event brought together some 200 people for food, music and storytelling early April, in support of Columbia Bible College (CBC), Abbotsford. Chris Dyck, director of CBC’s Outdoor Leadership program, had the crowd in stitches as he shared “the adventures of diver Dave.” Walter Bergen, VP of Development, shared the story of A.R. Kauffman who changed the course of the history of Mennonites in Canada by paying their debts with CP Rail. More than $100,000 was raised for CBC’s operating budget.
—CBC release
Staff of a new temporary hospital on Nias Island, Indonesia, run by a Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) partner organization, have been busy attending to the wounded of that country’s second devastating earthquake, which struck in March. MCC made $60,700 available to Yakkum Emergency Unit, the disaster response unit of the Christian Public Health Association of Central Java and Lampung. It is part of MCC’s long-term, more than $15 million Cdn response to the Dec. 26 tsunami. Unlike much of Indonesia, which is primarily Muslim, nearly 90 percent of Nias residents are Christian.
—MCC News
Over the past year, MCC has shipped some 16.3 metric tons of dried soup mix and 13,560 kits containing hygiene items and educational supplies to North Korea, to be given to schools for children with disabilities, such as pictured above. The distribution was carried out through MCC partner Caritas, a confederation of Catholic relief, development and social service organizations. This April, MCC also sent some 177 metric tons of canned meat to North Korea, a record amount.
—MCC News
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