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Four years of war in Sudan’s Darfur region have killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven about 2.5 million from their homes. Languishing in camps with next to nothing, more than 80,000 survivors have received a token of compassion in the form of blankets donated by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Many of the blankets are simple comforters knotted by hand in Canada and the United States. “I am suffering, God is generous,” said Fatima Yusef, a mother of eight children. “Thank you for spending the time to make this blanket.”
—Tim Shenk for MCC
Nine people from Yarrow (B.C.) MB Church went to visit and encourage MBMSI’s Delhi, India team July 30–Aug. 19. They were involved in several ministries including kids club, women’s activities, park ministry, and praying for the community. The team also visited the Punjab region to get a broader understanding of mission and God’s heart for India. Pictured are (back, l–r) Kari Bergmann, Ashley Bergmann, Christa Walters, and Rhonda Willms; (middle) Rachel Wall, Jessica Fehr, and Amanda Janzen; (front) pastor Eldon Fehr and Roger Willms.
On June 22, a cyclone hit the Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, India, where several MB churches are located. Heavy rains and flooding resulted in huge losses and government assistance has been inadequate. J.L. David, executive director of the India’s MB Development Organisation said, “We need your fervent prayers . . . to bring this people [back] to normal life.”
An eight-member koinonia delegation, including two MBs, Pascal Kulungu and Pakisa Tshimika, representing global Anabaptist-related churches visited Zimbabwe Aug. 16–29. The team went to learn, listen, encourage, and stand beside Mennonite World Conference member churches there. The trip was prompted by MWC general secretary Larry Miller’s closing remarks at the 2003 global assembly in Bulawayo, “We will not forget you.”
—MWC release
Children were ranked next to last in a list of nine keys to a successful marriage – behind sharing household chores – according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. Only 41 percent of those polled said children are important to a successful marriage, which is down 24 percent since 1990. Cary Funk, a Pew Research spokesperson, reported that more than 6 in 10 said marriage was for personal happiness and fulfillment.
—EP News
“We’ve set up camp in the outback of the spiritual commons,” write Geez editors Will Braun and Aiden Enns. The Winnipeg-based publication won magazine of the year for both Manitoba and western Canada, and best new magazine at the annual Western Magazine Awards June 22, and is described as “a bustling spot for the over-churched, out-churched, un-churched and maybe even the un-churchable.”
The English Standard Version (ESV), a new Bible translation released without much fanfare in 2001, has been gaining popularity in the international Christian marketplace. J.I. Packer, general editor and chair of the 12-member oversight committee, says the translation’s audience is “serious evangelicals who want a translation they can trust to be transparent to the original.” More than 4 million copies of the ESV have already been distributed.
—canadianchristianity.com
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is providing aid to people displaced by flooding in Nepal and planning a further response to flooding in Nepal, Bangladesh, and India. Seasonal floods are currently affecting millions of people in these South Asian countries, destroying homes, spreading waterborne diseases, and claiming hundreds of lives. MCC is welcoming financial contributions to provide assistance to people affected by this disaster.
—MCC release
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada has established the Centre for Research and Canadian Evangelicalism (CRCE) in order to enhance the effectiveness of ministry and shed light on the character and role of Evangelicalism in Canada. The centre will publish its research findings in an online publication called Church and Faith Trends.
—EFC
Twenty-three evangelical South Korean aid workers were kidnapped by Taliban forces July 19 while travelling by bus from Kabul to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Two members of the group were killed by the hostage-takers and the other volunteers were said to be in poor health. The Taliban has made demands for the release of prisoners and has threatened to kill more of the hostages if their demands aren’t met.
—Compass Direct, EFC
Rome is coming under scrutiny again. On June 7, Pope Benedict XVI approved a document reasserting the doctrine that the Roman Catholic Church remains the one true Church, with the Orthodox Churches deemed “defective” and Protestant churches mere “ecclesial communities” without the means of salvation. In an attempt to reconcile Catholics, he also moved to revive the Latin Mass, which includes a Good Friday prayer for the conversion of the Jews.
—ChristianWeek
Fresh I.E., a Christian hip hop artist with Family Life Network’s Avante Records in Winnipeg, completed a summer tour of native reserves in 5 provinces and reported that more than 500 people made a commitment to Christ. “In some communities when I asked them to raise their hands to make a commitment, I looked up and the chiefs were accepting the Lord,” he said.
—FLN release
A film focusing on the Low German-speaking Old Colony Mennonites of northern Mexico tied for the prestigious Jury Award at the 60th Cannes Film Festival in France in May. Stellet Licht – Low German for “Silent Light” – by Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas also featured a well-known cast member of Mennonite descent, acclaimed Canadian novelist Miriam Toews.
—Mennonite Weekly Review
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