People & events

Mennonite Your Way (MYW): The new 30th anniversary edition of the popular hospitality directory, listing more than 1,500 homes in 51 countries, is now ready to order (at Mennonite Your Way or 847-949-6170). MYW, founded in 1976 by Leon and Nancy Stauffer, connects those wishing to be hosts (on a “donation basis”) and travellers seeking fellowship. An MYW motto is “let love and generosity abound.”

—release

Christian Press, the printing press owned and operated by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches, was made an honorary member of the alumni association of the Winnipeg General Hospital and Health Science Centre School of Nursing May 26, in recognition of 34 years of “dedicated and exemplary service” in the production of the association’s annual journal and other print materials.

Assembly dates set: July 13–15, 2009 are the dates selected for Assembly 15 of the Mennonite World Conference to be held in Asuncion, Paraguay. The hosts selected their shorter July school vacation slot instead of the longer vacation time in January and February because the latter months are generally very hot. July is Paraguay’s winter. A 25-member National Coordinating Council, with Alfred Neufeld as chair, is in place and a national coordinator will be named shortly. The hosting group consists of representatives from 8 Mennonite conferences (indigenous, German-speaking, Spanish-speaking) in Paraguay.

—MWC release

Tens of thousands of girls and women have been brutally raped in the 15 years of war in Congo, news sources say. Healing Streams, a Waterloo, Ont. non-profit organization, has responded to the invitation of pastors in Beni to provide training in the emotional, psychological, and spiritual care of war-traumatized women. The team, travelling to Congo in August, consists of trauma counsellor and educator Dawn Penner, pastor Ross Penner, and community development workers, Trevor and Jan Adams.

—release

Menno Simons College, a college of Canadian Mennonite University affiliated with the University of Winnipeg, graduated 54 students this spring. Speaker Louise Simbandumwe, who was born in Burundi and experienced life as a refugee before coming to Canada, encouraged graduates of the International Development and Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies to be sensitive “to the pain and disappointment that we inevitably encounter,” yet be open to the “joy, humour, and delight also inherent in this work.”

—CMU release

“Fritter-fired”: A Volkswagen Jetta, powered by leftover cooking oil and driven by Ken Martens Friesen and Steve Friesen, neighbours from Fresno, Cal., crossed the U.S. in a Memorial Day weekend trip that cost about $50 but raised thousands of dollars for Mennonite Central Committee as well as awareness about alternatives to gasoline. The pair used 72 gallons of cooking oil, including 40 gallons from the fritter booth of the West Coast Mennonite Relief Sale and Auction.

—MCC News