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Peace, Just Live It
, a Mennonite guide to peacemaking is now available in French: La Paix . . . et Si On La Vait?. The new version was unveiled in February at the MB Church in St-Eustache, Que. It is available from Institut biblique Laval, 1775 boul. Edouard-Laurin, Ville Saint-Laurent, Que. H4L 2B9 (514) 331-0878.--
MCC
A Time magazine study
of how various aspects of American life have changed since the 1970s revealed that: Average weekly earnings (in 1982 US dollars) have dropped from $298 to $257; earnings of women per $1,000 earnings of men have increased from $594 in 1970 to $715 in the 1990s; median family income (in 1994 dollars) has increased from $35,407 to $38,782; abortions per 1,000 births have risen from 239 to 379; women's share of B.A.s rose from 43% to 53%; women's share of doctorates rose from 13% to 40%; the percentage of a young couple's annual income needed to buy a new home rose from 205% in the 1970s to 393% in the 1990s, and the percentage needed to buy a new car rose from 38% to 50%; divorces per 1,000 marriages rose from 328 to 509; and the number of women in their early 30s not married rose from 6.2% to 19.3%.--
Time
Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews for Jesus,
is stepping aside as executive director 23 years after founding the Christian evangelistic outreach to Jews. Rosen, 64, said, "I am convinced that we need a younger, more energetic approach." Rosen will remain on staff with the organization, and will speak, write, advise, travel and serve as needed.--
EPNS
A US Court of Appeals has ruled
that money donated to Crystal Evangelical Free Church by Bruce and Nancy Young, who later filed for bankruptcy, belongs to the church and may not be recovered by creditors. The decision overturned a lower court decision which ruled that the contributions constituted a "fraudulent transfer" under bankruptcy law. Stephen Gould, pastor of the church, emphasized that the court battle was over principle, not money. In fact, the church spent over $250,000 US to defend its right to keep the $13,450 contributed by the Youngs.--
EPNS
A construction worker who was injured
while helping to build the new headquarters of Focus on the Family, in Colorado Springs, CO, took hostages at the ministry May 2. Kerry Steven Dore, who had a handgun and claimed to have explosives strapped to his chest, held four people hostage for almost two hours. After releasing them, he stayed in the building four more hours before giving himself up. He had a 9mm handgun and a flare gun, but no explosives. Dore felt he had not been adequately compensated by the Colorado Worker's Compensation Board, though he had received over $300,000 in medical and compensatory benefits. Focus on the Family founder James Dobson said that the incident was not directed at him or the ministry, but was just a cry for help.--
EPNS
Three high school boys
kidnapped, drugged, raped, tortured and murdered a 15-year-old girl in what prosecutors believe was a satanic rite. Elyse Pahler's body was found in March at what prosecutors describe as an altar to Satan in a eucalyptus grove near San Luis Obispo, CA. Authorities say the three teens, who had earlier "formed a musical band to glorify Satan" wanted to conduct a virgin sacrifice to earn "a ticket to hell". Family members described the victim as active in her church and gifted in the arts.--
EPNS
Ontario Theological Seminary
in Willowdale, Ont. and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada are cooperating to create the Canadian Pentecostal Seminary. Starting in fall, Pentecostal students will combine course work at OTS with a couple of courses per semester at Agincourt Pentecostal Church dealing with the distinctives of Pentecostalism. OTS will confer degrees and retain authority of CPS's course content and faculty appointments. The move formalizes an existing link.--
Faith Today
The number of sex offenders
in Canadian federal prisons has increased 64% in the last five years, rising from 2,768 in 1990 to 4,545 in 1995, according to statistics from Correctional Services of Canada. In 1990, sex offenders comprised 22% of a prison population of about 12,500; by 1995, they constituted 31% of 14,500. It is unclear whether the rise reflects an increase in sex crime or simply an increase in convictions as victims become more willing to report it.--
Western Report
Brandon, Man.
hosted healing and evangelistic services led by Billy Smith, a Fort Worth, TX-based evangelist this spring. Hundreds of people attending the services testified to physical and emotional healing experiences, including a young girl who had been blind from birth beginning to receive sight, and a woman who received significant healing from Crohn's disease, a digestive ailment. About 450 people came to the Lord during the 5-week series of meetings, according to Jeff Shiplett, pastor of the host Pentecostal church, Calvary Temple. Aware of public skepticism, the church videotaped meetings and asked each person healed to fill out report sheets and provide doctor's statements where necessary.--
ChristianWeek
Michael Green
, well-known author and evangelist has revealed that he and his wife Rosemary had a troubled relationship in the 1970s, once resulting in a trip to the dentist for him and a black eye for her. The violence stemmed from Rosemary's anger over childhood pain (including the death of her father) and over Michael's absences due to church work; she would begin the altercations, and Michael would respond. The struggles were gradually resolved through personal spiritual renewal for both, counselling and assistance from friends and church leaders. About the time the troubles reached their peak and began to be dealt with, Michael became pastor in St. Aldate's, Oxford, where he led a renewal movement over the next 12 years; he then taught at Regent College in Vancouver 1987-92; most recently, he has led evangelism teams for the Church of England. Rosemary has since developed a significant counselling ministry and written a book, God's Catalyst.--
Anglican Journal
It is unlikely that the "religious right"
will become a powerful force in Canada as it has in the US, thinks Evangelical Fellowship of Canada president Brian Stiller. Writing in the May/June, 1996 issue of Faith Today, he suggests that one of the reasons for this is that "There are proportionately more Mennonites in Canada than the US, and . . . they have had a moderating influence on political involvement by Canadian Christians." Mennonites "tend to keep a distance from politics" and do not identify with "far-right issues".--
Faith Today
North American Hispanic Anabaptists
met for a first-ever joint meeting of six groups: Brethren in Christ, General Conference Mennonites, Mennonite Brethren, Mennonite Church, Mennonite Convention of Puerto Rico and the Amor Viviente churches. 110 leaders attended the event held in Miami, Fla. May 2-4. Delegates approved the creation of an association of Hispanic Anabaptists of North America. The association, which will have an executive committee made up of two representatives from each denomination, will work together on such things as Sunday school curriculum, theology and missions. The 35 women in attendance brought the issue of women's role in the church and home to the meeting, desiring recognition and validation for their work in the church.--
Mennonite Central Committee
The Chinese government
has restricted foreigners from working in Chinese orphanages. The closing came in response to recent Western criticism and will prevent the placement of a Mennonite Central Committee-sponsored occupational therapist at an orphanage in Sichuan Province. It is also now much more difficult for foreigners living in China to visit orphanages. The orphanages gained notoriety when the BBC aired a documentary on the poor conditions in the orphanages and Human Rights Watch released a 400-page report which accused orphanage officials of intentionally allowing certain children to die.--
MCC
Over 10,000 people
made first-time commitments to Christ during evangelist Luis Palau's "Say Yes, Chicago" campaign. From April 1 to May 27, Palau's team of evangelists proclaimed the gospel to 129,000 people at 75 events throughout greater Chicago. Palau also presented 27 one-hour television programs on four Chicago stations. Many of these live call-in programs were also carried on TV and radio across the US. The crusade included about 55 "affinity group" events, such as parenting seminars, youth rallies, Hispanic and Asian rallies, women's luncheons and men's breakfasts.--
Evangelical Press News Service
Canadian Foodgrains Bank
is channeling food from five groups including Mennonite Central Committee to Cuba. It will be distributed among seniors in hospitals and to children. The distribution is being arranged in cooperation with the Council of Churches in Cuba. Though malnutrition is not evident, Cubans have less to eat due to the US embargo against Cuba.--
MCC
Mennonite Central Committee
is providing assistance to South Lebanese farmers after their farms were shelled by neighbouring Israel in April. Greenhouses and machinery were destroyed and valuable planting time was lost as a result of the attacks.--
MCC
Harvest Crusades
, a Riverside, Calif.-based organization, held a "Harvest Day" at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. May 9, drawing over 10,000 additional visitors to the park. The event featured evangelistic crusades, Christian concerts in the evening and a late-night gospel message from Tom Sawyer Island, where 400 people accepted Christ. Bryan St. Peters, spokesperson for the organization, acknowledged the potential irony of holding a crusade at Disneyland, which has also hosted a park day for homosexuals and whose parent organization, Disney, produces questionable films. But, he said, "We saw Harvest Day as an opportunity to bring some of God's kingdom into the Magic Kingdom."--
EPNS
A homeless man
who insisted that God commanded him to live on the lawn of First Congregational Church in Akron, Ohio has been sentenced to 60 days in prison after refusing to leave. The congregation originally welcomed 53-year-old Jim Dunn, who has lived in a tent with his dog since April, 1995. However, the recent arrival of rats led to a congregational vote in favour of asking him to leave. Dunn had no job and didn't shower. He refused to go to a nearby shelter and rejected a new sleeping bag to replace his filthy one because he believed it was not God's will for him to have it.--
EPNS
Canadians who engage in sex with child prostitutes
while travelling abroad could face criminal prosecution at home under amendments to the Criminal Code tabled in the House of Commons in April. The amendments would extend the current penalty of up to five years in jail for customers of prostitutes under 18 in Canada, to include those caught in other countries. Child sex-tourism attracts thousands of foreigners to Thailand and other countries every year.--
MCC
Adherents of the United Church of Canada
have an average age of 57. Low youthful attendance coupled with the passing of older members has shrunk tithes, putting pressure on the Church budget. The 1997 budget of the UCC is about $44 million, down $4 million from 1996, and $8 million from 1995. The church is increasingly relying on older members who list the denomination as a beneficiary in their wills.--
Western Report
Many US states have higher welfare support
levels than any Canadian province, according to a study by the Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based conservative think-tank. The province with the highest welfare support, Ontario ($20,899 annually) trails 10 US states and the District of Columbia. Hawaii welfare recipients receive the most at $32,593.--
Western Report
Mennonite Central Committee
is ending its involvement in a housing project in Belo Jardim, Brazil, where 320 homes were built with MCC's help over the last 17 years. The project, called Our Lady of Health, began in 1978 when Roman Catholic priest Reginaldo Mazzon acquired funding from Italy to purchase several acres of land on a hillside on the edge of Belo Jardim. MCC involvement began in 1979 when MCC workers helped administer the project and provided the foundation stones for the new homes. MCC is phasing out its involvement as homes are built on the last available lots.--
MCC
The Concord College men's basketball team
finished in first place in their league, the Manitoba Christian College Athletic Association.--
Concord College
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