Letters to the editor

Mennonite Brethren Herald welcomes your letters on issues relevant to the Mennonite Brethren Church, especially in response to material published in the Herald. Please keep your letters courteous, brief and about one subject only. We will edit letters for length and clarity. We will not publish letters sent anonymously, although we may withhold names from publication at the request of the letter writer and at our discretion. Publication is also subject to space limitations. Because the Letters column is a free forum for discussion, it should be understood that letters represent the position of the letter writer, not necessarily the position of the Herald or the Mennonite Brethren Church. Send letters to: Letters, MB Herald 1310 Taylor Ave. Winnipeg, Man.  R3M 3Z6 or send via e-mail. (Please ensure that your postal address is included in your e-mail correspondence.)

Prison ministry volunteers welcome

Re “Freedom for the captives” (People and Events, October). I’m writing in view of the need for more Addison Klassens, thanks to Tim Collins’ inspiring tribute. In the eight federal corrections institutions in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley of B.C., there are more than 200 inmates, male and female, waiting, hoping, and some praying for a friend to visit them. Bernie Martens and Cora Goodyear, coordinators of M2/W2 (a Christian nonprofit agency that addresses the crime prevention and safety needs of B.C.), would be pleased to fill these inmate requests.

Volunteers are not only welcomed by inmates but also by corrections personnel. The latter will tell you that, among other things, the rate of recidivism is appreciably decreased with the contribution of such friendships, the tone and discipline inside the prison walls is enhanced, and there are fewer lockdowns. This is the nature of “salt” when we obey Matthew 25:31–46.

George Epp,
Chilliwack, B.C.

Pray for Catholics’ salvation

Re “Pope greets Mennonites: a first in church history” (News, December). I find it strange that Nancy Heisey, president of Mennonite World Conference presented an image to Pope Benedict XVI in a gesture to further understanding between Mennonites and the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). As Christians we forgive, but we don’t need to “kiss up” to those who continue to seek our destruction. For more than a thousand years, the RCC has tortured and executed followers of Jesus.

Will there be no Catholics in heaven? I certainly expect to see some there. I also expect to find some Pharisees there. Perhaps Nicodemus and others who were genuinely searching did go to heaven. I don’t think pleading ignorance will be a defense before our Lord, but I know that many Catholics are living the gospel.

As followers of Jesus, we can learn from the lifestyle of many Catholics but never from the official teaching of the RCC on salvation. Love the Catholics, treat them with respect, and pray for their salvation by the grace of our Lord Jesus!

Isaak Eitzen,
St. Catharines, Ont.

In need of the gospel

Re “Pope greets Mennonites: a first in church history” and “What I learned from my 7-year Mennonite–Catholic dialogue” (December). I’m concerned about these articles. It’s true we have many points in common with Catholics, but we have some too with Islam, Judaism, Jehovah’s Witness, and the Mormons.

Why shouldn’t we all get together and be “peacemakers,” like the group appointed by the Vatican and the Mennonite World Conference suggest? The answer is simple: any organization that doesn’t preach the gospel needs to hear it. I know some Roman Catholics hold the correct view that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. But I believe these people come to salvation in spite of what Rome teaches, not because of what Rome teaches. Christians should concentrate on evangelizing these people, instead of trying to “find what we all agree on.”

Francois Grenier,
Vancouver, B.C.

Lack of genuine dialogue

Re “Young leaders meet Board of Faith and Life” (People and Events, December). The article quotes me as saying that the Board of Faith and Life’s questions to the young leaders were “disingenuine,” which is not a word. The word I used was “disingenuous,” which means they weren’t candid or sincere questions, aimed at something other than genuine dialogue. BFL vice-chair Menno Martens’ dismissal of my engagement with the board as “youthful exuberance” nicely proves my point.

Joe Wiebe,
Hamilton, Ont.

Another perspective on study conference

Re: “Sorry is a good place to start” (Editorial, December). As one who attended the Culture, Gospel and Church study conference in October and indeed had much to do with its planning, I bring a different perspective than the editor of what happened there.

First, Kalmar infers that presenters didn’t publish their papers in advance. Yet a number of George Hunsberger’s essays were available online many weeks before the event. She is correct in that the event didn’t have formal responses to the plenary speakers. Such responses can be thoughtful and provide balance. A formal response, however, guarantees neither balance nor theological perspective.

Secondly, Kalmar laments that we didn’t get around tables with open Bibles, didn’t hear “a spectrum of opinion,” and didn’t have opportunity for dialogue and debate. On the contrary, all of those things did happen.

Thirdly, Kalmar believes the event didn’t measure up to its billing; that there were left undone a myriad of practical and helpful engagements on the topic of culture. I would agree that a two-day study conference can’t adequately address everyone’s interests on the topic of culture. Culture is a mammoth, multidimensional, polyvalent reality not easily domesticated into deductive formulae for everyone to carry home in their tote bag of convenience. What the editor left unsaid was that at least two separate circles of scholars, educators, and pastors found in the event an excellent catalyst to write, network, carry on other conversations, and plan future events.

The fourth criticism relates to the presentations of George Hunsberger. I believe, as does the editor, that there are many within our own constituency that could have done an admirable job. As we mature and progress as a people of God, it is my hope that we can regularly call forth such excellence from within our own ranks. But we also want to pay respect to what people outside our denomination contribute.

As a board, it’s our intention to do a thorough evaluation of the event, paying special attention to the feedback we have received. My plea is that we continue to work diligently in an effort to build one another up, always careful to respect and preserve the dignity of those with whom we disagree.

Ken Peters, Chair, Board of Faith and Life,
Vancouver, B.C.

Reviving an old idea

Re “Buyer Beware” and “The wealthy in the land” (Features, January). As stated in Wally Kroeker’s article, the idea of wealth creation and redistribution through reinvestment isn’t a modern one. In Proverbs 31:16 the wise woman considers a field and buys it, and from her profits she plants a vineyard, which would have provided food and spin-off jobs for others. Ecclesiastes 5–6 talks about wealth, riches, and the pitfalls of consumption. Jesus distilled it into one sentence in Luke 3:11: share with the needy. God’s plan seems to be that wealth should be distributed in such a way that everybody has enough. Godly employers and businesspeople who follow Christian principles in their dealings definitely have an opportunity to multiply God’s blessings to others.

Nancy Warkentin,
Yarrow, B.C.