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Jehovah's Witnesses
have decided to stop predicting the demise of planet Earth, after more than a century of wrong
predictions. JWs now say the world isn't coming to an end right away after all. For decades, JWs
have made various teachings about when the world would end, all based on a teaching that Christ
would establish His kingdom on earth "before the generation who saw the events of 1914 passes
away". The doctrine has been an impetus for JWs' fervent door-to-door visitation program. "We
do not need to know the exact timing of events," leaders say of the break with tradition. "Rather,
our focus must be on being watchful, cultivating strong faith and keeping busy in Jehovah's
service."--
Evangelical Press News Service
Over 40,000 clergy
from across North America met in Atlanta, GA Feb. 13-15 in a huge rally sponsored by Promise
Keepers. The event was planned to encourage church leaders, and equip them to start and lead
men's ministries in their churches. This event was in addition to the regular Promise Keepers
rallies, which are geared to laymen; 725,000 men attended the 13 regular rallies in 1995.--
EPNS
A Canadian-born missionary to Cuba
who was arrested, imprisoned and then deported from the country a year ago, has launched an
appeal to the Christians of the world to help fight the closure of a Cuban theological seminary.
David Faust, head of Cuban outreach for ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times),
reported that the Buenas Nuevas Seminary of Las Villas, Cuba was confiscated Dec. 16 by
authorities. Faust said that the government had allowed the seminary to operate for two years
before it began to interfere. Reports of government-sanctioned religious persecution in Cuba have
increased in the past year.--
EPNS
The Russian Orthodox Church
says that those in training for the priesthood do not have enough education to effectively guide
the laity, much less the intelligentsia. Although many young priests have some college education,
most entered seminary with only a high school diploma. There is also a concern over a decline in
education standards in the seminaries. Meanwhile, the Church's centuries-old buildings are in
danger of being condemned and destroyed unless $6 billion US can be found to cover restoration
costs. The Russian government recently cancelled a decision to assign funds to restoration
projects. The government has also refused to grant tax breaks to the churches, despite similar tax
deductions being approved for schools and hospitals.--
News Network International
Three people have been arrested
in connection with the July 25, 1993 bombing of the multiracial St. James Church in Cape Town's
predominantly white suburb of Kenilworth. Five gunmen burst into the church killing 11 people
and wounding 50. Arrested are two former anti-apartheid guerrillas now serving in South Africa's
integrated national army, Sichumiso Simpiwe Nonxlaba, 30, and Thobela Mlambisa, 25, and
prison inmate Basie Mzukisi Mkhumbuzi, 19.--
News Network International
Latin America Anabaptist Seminary
in Guatemala City, Guatemala is an inter-Mennonite seminary in which Mennonite Brethren are
involved. It is raising $240,000 for new offices and classrooms; $120,000 of that is hoped to be
raised by September, 1996. Volunteer teams from Central and North America will help in the
construction.--
SEEDS
Concord College
in Winnipeg held its first professional development day for teachers Oct. 20, with more than 50
people attending. Speaker Ellen Weber, who teaches at York University and the University of
Toronto, suggested that there are "seven ways of knowing" and each student learns best
according to his or her area of giftedness. However, most curriculum use either a verbal/linguistic
or an analytical/mathematical approach, ignoring the other ways of learning: musical, spatial,
intrapersonal, interpersonal and kinesthetic (movement). Weber made a connection between the
seven ways of knowing and the Christian theology of gifts.--
Concord College
Urbana 96
, the large triennial missions conference sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, is being
held Dec. 27-31, 1996 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For the first time,
people can "pre-register" for the convention at InterVarsity's home site on the Internet
(http://www.gospelcom.net/iv/).--
Urbana 96
Concord College
and Canadian Mennonite Bible College chamber choirs joined to sing The Beatitudes
under the direction of Concord professor William Baerg at the Centennial Concert Hall in
Winnipeg Jan. 26 during Winnipeg's New Music Festival. The piece was written by Estonian
composer Arvo P<138>rt, who was the New Music Festival's distinguished artist-in-residence.--
CMBC
The 1994 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse
, reveals marijuana use among 12 to 17 year-olds in the US nearly doubled from 1992 to 1994.
The number of teenagers who believe they risk harm by using marijuana has decreased. Four-fifths
(10 million) of current illicit drug users use marijuana, and the highest rate of such drug use is
now among persons 16 to 21 years old. They tend to be unemployed and lack a high school
diploma.--
Family Research Council
Men and women
who at some point went through a divorce, even if they remarry, have a 40% greater risk of
premature death than those who are steadily married, according to a study published in the
American Journal of Public Health. Those who do not remarry fare even worse. Men who
remain divorced or separated are 120% more likely to face earlier death; among women, the risk
jumps 80%.--
Family Research Council
Thirty-one percent of all births
in the US are to unmarried women, according to a report issued by the National Center for
Health Statistics. 68.7% of all black births and 23.6% of white births are out of wedlock.--
Family Research Council
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
has welcomed a ruling by the Alberta Court of Appeal that it is the task of legislatures to decide
whether or not sexual orientation should be included in human rights legislation. The court
overturned a lower court ruling that Delwin Vriend's rights had been violated even though
Alberta's Individual Rights Protection Act does not list sexual orientation as a prohibited ground
of discrimination. Vriend was dismissed as an instructor at The King's University College in
Edmonton for refusing to abide by the Christian college's moral standards against homosexual
activity.--
EFC
Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute
held a week-long series of special chapels beginning Jan. 16. Adam Wiggins, pastor of Eastview
Community Church in Winnipeg, spoke on "It's all about trust", "Loving God", "Loving Others"
and "Loving Ourselves". MBCI's grade 12 students travelled to Manitoba's interlake region for
the annual grad retreat. Students planned worship times, and speaker Ronald J. Dyck from
Edmonton spoke to the students about relationships.--
MBCI
Heritage Canada
has produced a one-minute clip (English and French) highlighting the Canadian International
Development Association and featuring the invention of the "rower pump". The clip played on TV
stations and in Cineplex Odeon movie theatres from Jan. 5 to Feb. 29. The dramatization shows
scientists trying to invent a simple and adaptable pump to be used around the world. They consult
with "the Mennonites" and come up with the design they want. The final image is that of a
Mennonite worker helping community members overseas work their pump.--
MCC Canada
More than 3 teenagers in 4
in the US report receiving consistent abstinence messages from educators.--YOUTHVIEWS
(QUOTED IN YOUTHWORKER UPDATE)
When an 18-year-old pleaded guilty to a drug offense, 72-year-old presiding judge, Frank Eppes, asked the boy's grandmother, "Grandma, don't you think he needs a whipping?" She agreed, and the judge led the grandmother and grandson to his chamber and supplied the belt. Eppes's action is being reviewed by the court's judicial-standards board.--SEATTLE TIMES (QUOTED IN YOUTHWORKER UPDATE)
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