People & events

Aid to North Korea from Mennonite Central Committee was halted as of Jan. 1. The North Korean government dissolved the organization that MCC and other humanitarian organizations were working through and said it no longer needs foreign relief, but assistance in development work instead. Over the past decade, MCC has provided relief aid to North Korea valued at more than $16 million Cdn.

—MCC News

86 evangelical leaders, including Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren and pastor Jack Hayford, signed a call to action on global warming. The Evangelical Climate Initiative states Christians must care about climate change because it hits poor nations hardest and “we are called to love our neighbors.” Other evangelical leaders refused to sign. Focus on the Family’s James Dobson and Prison Fellowship’s Chuck Colson said they supported wise environmental stewardship but global warming wasn’t a “consensus issue” for evangelicals.

—Evangelical Press News

Cesar Garcia, president of the Mennonite Brethren Church in Colombia, and his wife Sandra Baez and two daughters are currently visiting churches in Canada to speak about how Anabaptist churches are responding to decades of violent conflict in his country. The 44 MB congregations in Colombia are working to resolve conflicts, teach peacemaking skills, and care for victims of violence. Garcia’s speaking tour is sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee; contact MCC for schedule information.

—MCC News

$1.2 million. It’s the largest gift in Tabor College’s history. The Mennonite Brethren-affiliated liberal arts college in Hillsboro, Kan. received the gift from Joel Wiens, a Wyoming entrepreneur whose connection with the school reaches back to memories of his grandfather writing $5 cheques to support Tabor. President Larry Nikkel announced Feb. 17 that the gift will help fund the current capital campaign for residence facilities, as well as future athletic facilities.

—Tabor College

A new music school in Kalagala, Uganda honours the memory of Diane Kroeker, who drowned Feb. 29, 2004 in Guatemala while on a travel tour as administrator of Canadian Mennonite University’s Outtatown program. Diane’s husband Irvin Kroeker learned of the need in Uganda through connections as editor of the Anglican Rupert’s Land News; he and their grown daughters raised $20,000 for the building and also attended the Nov. 28 dedication in Kalagala.

—ChristianCurrent

The IVEP group enjoys a day at Lynn Canyon in B.C.

The world comes to Abbotsford: The MCC International Visitor Exchange Program (IVEP) held its annual mid-year conference in B.C. in February, ending with an international worship service at Bakerview MB Church on Feb. 12. Fifty-four young adults, representing 22 countries and 4 continents, have already spent 6 months in North America, living with host families and working in various jobs.

—MCC BC News

Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) is growing and re-organizing. Among several new staff positions being developed is a director position based in Canada. The annual MDS meeting, held in Lancaster County, Pa. in February, reported on the immense needs of the U.S. Gulf Coast region for the next 3 to 5 years. MDS is making good contacts and has dispatched 325 Canadian volunteers to date. More volunteers are needed for spring and summer. Call 1-866-261-1274.

—MDS

Prayer of Jabez author Bruce Wilkinson made a dramatic move in 2002 when he relocated from his home in Georgia to Swaziland, Africa. Just as startling has been his abrupt and early retirement from his Dream for Africa project. One source said setbacks in the African venture, in which Wilkinson hoped to build a complex for 10,000 HIV/AIDS orphans, had taken “a serious toll” on the author. Critics say he launched Dream For Africa over-confidently and with naivete.

—Christianity Today

North Fraser Community Church, Lake Errock, B.C. is rejoicing in eight baptisms recently. “Our little church is growing. P.T.L.,” writes pastor Alec Niemi. “Please continue to pray for our church and the impact it can have in the surrounding community. Average attendance is now 55.”

The life and death of a young “extreme snowboarder” and “devout Christian” from Abbotsford, Danny Epp (1983–2006), impacted the lives of many through a memorial service at Northview Community Church Jan. 15. His story was also told in Maclean’s magazine’s “The End” section Feb. 6. Epp had been like the sheep that left the fold for a time, the article said, but he was characterized by “unquenchable joy” and remained “really close to God.” His body was found Jan. 10 on Cypress Mountain after he snowboarded down an out-of-bounds run.

—Maclean’s, BC Christian News

The World Council of Churches (WCC), which met in Porto Alegre, Brazil, mid-February, expected to give considerable attention to Christians outside the WCC – especially Pentecostals and evangelical churches – during its 10 day assembly. These movements are growing while many WCC churches are in decline. Interfaith relations and tensions quickly took centre stage, however, as WCC leaders sought to respond to Muslim outrage over cartoons of Muhammad and the implications of the Hamas victory in Palestine.

—news reports