Return to the M.B. Herald Vol. 35, No. 8
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Of 212 studies
, 3 out of 4 indicate a positive effect of religion on health. Only 7% concluded that religion is bad
for health.--
Associated Press
The Dutch Lutheran Church synod
in November officially sanctioned homosexual relationships, saying "there are no theological
arguments against blessing two people who are strongly committed to one another.--
Christianity Today
The Summer Institute of Linguistics
has accelerated the closing of its linguistics centre in Lomalinda, Colombia, due to increased
threats of abduction and bombings. SIL missionary Ray Rising was kidnapped outside the rural
compound in March, 1994, and remains a hostage. About 140 people are relocating to other parts
of Colombia because of the closing.--
CT
A police SWAT team
raided a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla camp north of Quito, Ecuador, on
Christmas Eve, freeing 51-year-old missionary Don Cox. He had been abducted two weeks earlier
from a parking lot on the suburban Quito Nazarene seminary campus. No ransom was paid, and
Cox was unharmed in the raid, which left two guerrillas dead.--
CT
Lewis Nobles
, former Mississippi College president, pleaded guilty Jan. 17 to two counts of mail fraud, two
counts of income tax evasion and one count of money laundering. Nobles resigned from his
$125,000-a-year job in 1993 after serving 25 years as president of the Baptist college. He had
been accused of embezzling $3 million in donated funds and spending $389,000 on prostitutes.
Prosecutors dropped 15 charges in exchange for the guilty pleas. Nobles, 70, also agreed to give
the school in Clinton, MS, four parcels of land and stock in four brokeraged accounts with an
estimated value of $400,000. Last year, Nobles fled a court hearing and swallowed cyanide as FBI
agents arrested him. He had emergency surgery to repair damage to his esophagus and stomach,
then suffered a stroke. Sentencing will be Apr. 15. He faces a maximum of 40 years in prison.--
CT
Children of immigrant parents
perform significantly better academically and aspire to college at a greater rate than those with
parents born in the US, according to a University of Chicago study. Immigrant mothers and
fathers generally "harbour optimism about the advantages of playing by the rules and the benefits
that will occur through education. They have a greater tendency to relieve their children of
household chores to give them more study time, they encourage their older siblings to tutor
younger children, and they restrict television viewing."--
Imprimis (quoted in Youthworker Update)
French fries
account for 25% of the vegetable intake of children in the US. For kids between 2 and 18, instead
of the five recommended servings of fruit and vegetables a day, 30% eat less than one serving of
vegetables, and 50% eat less than one serving of fruit.--
Time (quoted in Youthworker Update)
Of the estimated 18.5 million HIV positive adults
worldwide, 51% are men, 39% are women and 10% are children. Transmission of the HIV virus
is 75% through sexual contact, 10% through blood transfusion, 10% from mother to child and
5% through dirty needles and other ways. In Canada, 11,529 people have contracted AIDS, and
about 58,000 are HIV positive.--
Voices (quoted by Evangelical Fellowship of Canada)
3 of 4 Russians
say their country needs "order" more than it needs "democracy".--
Harper's (quoted in Current Thoughts & Trends)
Students of Centra International de Missiologi,
a missions training centre in Zaire which began in 1992, must successfully plant a church in order
to graduate. Over 30 students are currently enrolled in the institute.--
Youth Mission International
Youth Mission International
is planning a summer mission assignment in Kinshasa, Zaire, involving 4 North Americans and 4
Zairians in a joint leadership training initiative. YMI is also planning a one-year team assignment
in Zaire to begin this fall. The latter will focus on training youth ministry practitioners, who will
then participate in the Zairian Esengo Choir's international ministry trip next winter.--
Youth Mission International
Puerto Rican Mennonite Disaster Service volunteers
brought special skills to the recent MDS project on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Julio Vincenty,
MDS unit leader, says that patience and understanding of the local culture is his group's greatest
contribution. To work with government in the Virgin Islands one must have patience, Vincenty
explains. "The government officials want money (to expedite the process). But I can just sit in
their offices and wait. I have all day."--
MDS
3,780 refugee kits
were personally distributed by Mennonite Central Committee volunteers to refugees in Bosnia
and Serbia in December.--
Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba
co-sponsored a forum on peace in the Middle East Feb. 28 at the University of Winnipeg. It
included panelists Jim Carr, editorial writer for the Winnipeg Free Press, and Harold
Dueck, who spent several years in the Middle East with MCC. The other sponsors were Canadian
Friends of the Hebrew University, The Canadian Arab Association of Manitoba and the University
of Winnipeg.--
MCC
Almost 115,000 Australians
attended crusade rallies led by Franklin Graham as part of "Festival '96", despite torrential
downpours during most of the rallies. Graham spoke at three-day festivals in Sydney and
Brisbane, and one-night festivals in Cairns and Townsville. Over 2,000 people made decisions for
Christ in Sydney, Cairns and Townsville.--
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
85% of Americans believe Christians have a positive effect on society, according to a poll done by George Barna. Those polled were asked what kind of influence the following groups had on society: Positive Negative Both Don't Know Christians 85% 4% 4% 6% Jews 58% 5% 4% 23% Mormons 43% 27% 5% 26% Buddhists 29% 33% 2% 35% Muslims 28% 32% 4% 35% Scientologists 21% 39% 3% 38% Atheists 14% 61% 4% 22%
Pen & Sword
The first Hispanic Anabaptist Consultation of North America
will be held May 2-4 in Miami, FL with the theme, "Anabaptist Unity and Renewal". Hispanic
Mennonite leaders hope to find ways to overcome denominational differences in order to work
together in unity. The conference is sponsored by the Peace and Justice Ministries of Mennonite
Central Committee US.
MCC
Mennonite Central Committee
will contribute $120,000 toward the purchase of 1,000 metric tons of rice, valued at $600,000.
The rice will be purchased in Hong Kong for distribution in North Korea, where an estimated
130,000 people are on the brink of starvation. The effort is being coordinated by the
Winnipeg-based Canadian Foodgrains Bank, which gathers and ships donated Canadian grain to
food-deficit countries on behalf of its 12 member sponsors. The food emergency in North Korea
is the result of severe flooding last summer, which exacerbated an already deteriorating food
supply.--
MCC
Abbotsford, B.C.
has been chosen as the site for the next World Evangelical Fellowship general assembly, which is
held every 6 years. The event is scheduled for May 6-15, 1997. Abbotsford was chosen over
London, Bangkok, Toronto and Vancouver because of its high degree of church participation and
its window on the Pacific Rim.--
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
"Haven of refuge"
, a retreat weekend for families who cope with long-term mental illness, is being held May 10-12
in Sturgis, MI. It is sponsored by Mennonite Mutual Aid and the Christian Reformed Church.--
Haven of Refuge
The Mennonite Central Committee US board
approved a 1996 budget of $4.48 million at its Feb. 15 annual meeting in Calgary, Alta. The
Board discussed the ways that MCC asks for money and whether it needs to change.
MCC US--
The US-based National Association of Evangelicals
publicly released "an evangelical manifesto" at its annual convention March 3-5 in Minneapolis. It
calls all evangelicals to prayer, repentance and reform, unity and cooperation. The NAE also
officially adopted a "statement of conscience" on worldwide religious persecution. It advises the
rescinding of US foreign aid to countries that do not stop religious persecution. Convention
delegates also adopted an official policy condemning any collaboration between missionaries and
intelligence agencies. The action was prompted by recent testimony of CIA Director John Deutch
before the US Senate Select Intelligence Committee. Deutch revealed an apparent loophole in
CIA rules that allows the US spy agency to solicit clergy and missionaries for covert work
overseas.--
National Association of Evangelicals
A scam artist
defrauded Nutana Park Mennonite Church in Saskatoon in February by posing as a widowed
mother with 6 children, including 5-year-old triplets. She asked for help from the church's refugee
assistance program, claiming that her husband and 2 older children had been killed in a trailer fire
in North Dakota, and that she was destitute because they had had no fire insurance. While
Saskatchewan's social services provided housing, the church gave the woman money and
household goods, including furniture and clothing. When a church representative visited her
shortly after she settled in, he discovered there were no children. Meanwhile, the woman had sold
the household goods to an auction mart for $500. After being arrested, she skipped her court
appearance. Since then, police have learned that she has over 30 aliases, and has been working the
western provinces and North Dakota.--
Mennonite Reporter
Swift Current Bible Institute
has lost financial support from its two supporting conferences, the Conference of Mennonites in
Saskatchewan and the Conference of Mennonites in Alberta. The small, financially troubled
school (current enrollment 21) had hoped the Conferences would support its revitalization plan.
That plan included selling its present campus for $1 to a newly formed corporation which would
run a reconfigured form of the school, the Marpeck School of Discipleship. The Conferences
would have retained responsibility for all current liabilities, including a $125,000 accumulated
operating deficit, and would have continued to provide grants to the school, on a declining scale,
through the corporation. Both conferences said "no" to the proposal by a two-thirds majority. The
SCBI board is expected to decide to close the school at a joint delegate session in late May.--
Mennonite Reporter
Concord College
in Winnipeg is offering spring courses this year in English, psychology, sociology, business and
accounting. It also offers "Exploring Christian Spirituality", which is a survey of a variety of
traditions including Catholic, Anabaptist and Charismatic Christianity; and a class called
"Religion, Film and Popular Culture", which will study how films like The Mission,
Star Wars and Blackrobe reflect and shape worldview, especially as it pertains to
religion.--
Concord College
Of 212 studies,
3 out of 4 indicate a positive effect of religion on health. Only 7% concluded that religion is bad
for health.--
Associated Press
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