Short stuff

Anabaptists around the world are invited to celebrate World Fellowship Sunday on January 27. This year’s theme is “Worship and serve the Lord your God,” encouraging believers to see the deep relationship between worship and service. Materials are available at mwc-cmm.org.

—MWC release

Columbia Bible College, Abbotsford, B.C., inaugurated Ron Penner as president during its AGM Oct. 25. The school is looking forward to a fruitful year with a record enrolment of 535 students.

—CBC release

Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, Fresno, Cal., celebrated 30 years of the marriage, family, and child counselling program and 15 years of the on-site counselling program in Oct. at the Psyche and Spirit Conference. More than 100 people attended the 2-day event. Larry Nikkel, president of Tabor College, was honoured for his work and was named 2007 Mental Health and Integration Honoree.

—MBBS release

In 2006, the average Canadian household spent $57,800, but saved only $1,000 according to a report by the Vanier Institute of the Family. The family’s average debt load climbed to $76,000. “The tendency to save less and borrow more was due to need rather than greed,” said the report, citing rising costs for necessities such as health care premiums and property tax, compared to relatively flat incomes.

—Transition, Spring 2007

A 16-page Muslim–Christian interfaith letter was signed by 138 Muslim figures worldwide. “A Common Word Between Us and You” quotes extensively from the Bible and the Qur’an to show that love of one God and love of neighbour are common central commandments. Miroslav Volf, director of the Yale Centre for Faith and Culture, said the document has “enormous interfaith significance,” comparable to the Roman Catholic Church’s overtures toward non-Christian religions at Vatican II. The letter can be found at acommonword.com.

—ChristianCentury

Christians throughout India can finally adopt children. Ending a long era of absence of adoption rights for non-Hindus, the Indian government cleared the way in November for all religious communities in all states to adopt legally. It’s estimated that only 5,000 children a year are adopted in the country, though there are more than 56 million orphaned and destitute children.

—Compass Direct News

YAMEN! (Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network) is a joint Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) exchange program between Anabaptist young people in the southern hemisphere. The venture is described as “the missing piece” in a group of programs for young adults, aged 18–30, committed to service and building church-to-church relationships.

—MWC release

Low German Christian songs are reaching thousands of Bolivian Mennonite children with the help of pre-tuned, solar-powered radios. The outreach, sponsored by Family Life Network, distributes radios in areas where modern technology is frowned upon, yet many people are starved for Christian teaching. “These young peoples’ interest in technology may represent a danger for them,” said project coordinator Dan Klaue, but also “presents opportunity.”

—FLN release

“We made a mistake.” This recent confession by Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church, the epicentre of the “seeker” movement for three decades, shocked the evangelical world. “We should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders,’ . . . to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own,” said Hybels.

—EP News

The Asia Mennonite Conference (AMC) is moving towards a merger with Mennonite World Conference (MWC) after a meeting Oct. 10–14. According to the proposal, the AMC will be known as the Asia Caucus within the structure of MWC and comply with the MWC constitution.

—MWC release

A Canadian parliamentary committee said no to advance polling on Sunday and dropped Bill C-16, which would have increased the number of advance polling days by two – both on a Sunday. “Opening the polls on Sunday would likely hinder the actual intent to increase voter turnout,” said Douglas Cryer of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, since it’s “an established day of religious observance for millions.”

—EFC release

China will open the world’s largest Bible production factory next year with a capacity to print 1 million Bibles a month. Amity Printing plans to open its new plant in Nanjing to meet a heavy demand for Bibles, which some say is tied to China’s recent economic boom and growing number of “underground” churches, despite the country’s officially atheist status. Amity Printing has produced more than 50 million Bibles since 1986.

—Christian Today

MCC Alberta hosted its annual World AIDS Day fundraiser Nov. 10. Speakers shared how AIDS is a growing problem in indigenous communities in Canada, but that the people simply cannot deal with the epidemic due to economic and political marginalization, poor access to healthcare, weak local economies, and lack of self-sufficiency. We’re painfully aware of the AIDS crisis in Africa, but what of the crisis within our borders? Pictured are (l–r) event coordinator Nina Kesel, guest speaker Ovide Mercredi, and event coordinator Kim Thiessen.

—John Beriault for MCC Alberta

Twenty volunteers from Winkler (Man.) MB Church spent a weekend in North Dakota, not cross border shopping, but helping residents “button up” their houses for winter. Many homes in Northwood, N.D. were damaged by a tornado that ripped through the area in August, so volunteers targeted exterior repairs on buildings vulnerable to harsh weather. “We’re smiling now because we have windows for the winter,” said resident Zerlene Woodward, describing how the Canadians lifted everyone’s spirits.

—Bruce Hildebrand for MDS

Pictured are (l–r), Jan Schmidt, Dave Pankratz, Geoff Dueck-Thiessen, Erica Block, and Vic Bartel. “I’m very happy so many River Easters took the plunge!”

“I’m not sure if you heard, but River East MB Church, Winnipeg, replaced three toilets with dual flush water saving toilets. I was in charge of purchasing, and negotiated a bulk discount with the retailer. In the end, 28 toilets were purchased in October by River Easters or others who are connected to the church in some way. Three of these were installed in the church. Based on each toilet going to a four-person family, some estimates suggest a cumulative water savings of 1.8 million litres per year.”

—email from Geoff Dueck-Thiessen