Return to the M.B.Herald Vol. 36, No. 13 Home Page
For the past four years I have been the director of Pen-Parents of Canada, an international bereaved parents network that matches families by circumstance for correspondence. We have a database of about 250 families that exchange letters. Most of our families have experienced pregnancy and infant loss, but some have lost children up to about 6 years of age. We have a small but growing group of grandparents that also exchange letters.
We publish a quarterly newsletter that is distributed free of charge (although we welcome donations). Pen-Parents of Canada is a registered charity. As well, we supply hospitals across the country with bereavement materials.
I am a dedicated Christian and a twice bereaved parent. Pen-Parents of Canada does not have a religious affiliation, but it is impossible to leave your Christianity at the door. Many of our members are Christians too.
Patty Lou Bryant,
Pen-Parents of Canada,
PO Box 52548, RPO Coquitlam Centre,
Coquitlam, B.C. V3B 7J4
About a year ago, our eldest son Brad was recovering from a bone marrow transplant. One evening at the dinner table, I spoke of the very difficult miscarriage I had experienced 22 years earlier. Both our sons looked at me and said, "We didn't know about that." I shared with them the trauma of that experience, far away in Lesotho, and how praying friends had upheld us without knowing of the life and death battle I was experiencing.
When I paused, Brad mused, "So, I have a little brother or sister in heaven already." We agreed, knowing our little one's soul had gone ahead of us.
On Aug. 30, on his 23rd birthday, Brad went to join his sibling. It comforts us to know that, even while he is experiencing at least a foretaste of heaven, his brother or sister is sharing it with him, and they'll both be waiting for us.
Ruth Thiessen,
Abbotsford, B.C.
My belief is that a decision to end the bi-national conventions has much more significant reasons than those Moderator Ed Boschman indicated in his Executive Council report (April 16). I believe it represents a tiredness among church leaders that many experience but few are willing to acknowledge. Such tiredness is not unexpected, because we live in trying times and the work of the church can become very heavy indeed. But such tiredness also grows out of a lack of vision. My impression is that our difficulty in grasping a clear and compelling vision is rooted in Mennonite Brethren history.
Mennonite Brethren came into being as a result of a convergence of influences--historic Anabaptism, 19th-century evangelicalism, Pietism and Baptist, Lutheran, Moravian Brethren sources. These led to a remarkable awakening and brought into being a church that has made a very significant contribution to world missions, to worldwide Mennonitism and to North American--particularly Canadian--evangelicalism.
For a century or more, that convergence of streams has lived in healthy tension. We've had leaders who could integrate these diverse impulses in ways that resulted in spiritual renewal, tremendous energy and much good.
That doesn't appear to be the case any longer. We have groups among us who see nothing good in our Anabaptist roots, and others who have nothing good to say about evangelicalism. We have some who will support only MCC, and others who will never do so. We have some who will work together with a spirit of mutual accountability, and others who have no idea what that means. We have those who have recognized the importance of common educational institutions and common missions and evangelism efforts, and others who won't support anything outside their local church. The attitudes that undergird these differing responses reflect the wells from which we've drunk.
When leaders lead us with little interest in generating appreciation for the major streams which have birthed our denomination, it shouldn't surprise us that we eventually reach the place where we no longer see a reason for coming together.
It may seem reasonable to say we will continue to meet nationally or regionally, but at these levels there are also people who say they cannot see the reason for continuing to meet. The issues involved are no different. At some point, congregations may not want to meet with anyone except their own members.
Harold Jantz,
Winnipeg, Man. (E)
As a non-delegate, the only contact I had with Thomas Nyilinkindi was a moving event during the closing ceremony, when Jun Vencer, international director of WEF, washed Thomas's feet and hugged him.
Some people from Bakerview MB Church, which gave financial aid to the Rwandan delegates, were invited to the home of the moderator to hear Jean Pierre Kamanzi the evening after the Assembly. For two hours, the African gave us an overview of the historical, political and socio-economic conditions in his country, the history of the church, the horrors of the war and his personal story.
One-third of the nine million Rwandans have been murdered since the war began in 1990. A large percentage of the remaining population are widows. Although more than 100 of Jean Pierre's relatives were slaughtered, he, his wife, his six children, his mother and his mother-in-law were miraculously spared. They were not, however, spared torture. Six times Jean Paul, whose undernourished body bears many scars, was at the point of being killed. The Kamazis live in the mother-in-law's house outside the capital city, Kigali. Thirty orphans form a part of the household. It is not an easy task to find food for so many people. Although 90% of Rwandans are farmers, there are not enough men left to do the farming. Food is available in neighbouring African nations, but there is no money to buy it. When evangelical Christians stand in line, they are beaten off with sticks by the Roman Catholic organizations that are distributing the food. Similarly, the Muslim distribution agencies will give food to evangelicals only if these promise to convert to Islam.
Although the worst part of the war seems to be over, people are still dying in the cities, in the countryside and in prisons. Dead bodies are everywhere.
Kamanzi studied theology in Tanzania for six years. In 1990, he returned to his homeland and began an evangelical church. Only 1% of Rwandans were evangelicals at that time. Now their number is growing "like a mushroom", and it is estimated that 25-30% of the population is evangelical.
Jean Pierre's congregation has no church building. The people meet in a field. There are no Bibles. It is hoped that Canadian Gideons will be able to send some to the Rwandan church soon. There are no Bible schools or other Bible training centres. The need to find and train evangelical pastors is desperate. Buth Hutus and Tutsis have taken part in the killings. Besides nurturing his Pentecostal church, Kamanzi has taken on the difficult ministry of bringing healing, peace and reconciliation to Rwanda. He is training evangelicals to think of themselves as neither Hutus nor Tutsis but as reconcilers. Jean Pierre describes Rwanda as being in the middle of a revival.
The worldwide Christian church needs to pray for the believers in Rwanda. Jean Pierre Kamanzi asked for special prayer at the end of July when he expects to meet with the Rwandan president and his parliament. Before he left, he wanted to know specifically the needs of Christians in Canada so that he can pray for us in a focussed manner.
Before the meeting broke up, the Rwandan WEF delegate knelt in the middle of the room. We laid our hands on him and prayed for Jean Pierre Kamanzi and his country.
This was as meaningful an encounter as the WEF General Assembly had been for me. The "persecuted church" has taken on a face. I can pray more intelligently.
Sally Schroeder Isaak,
Abbotsford, B.C.
The present 6-49 is legalized gambling. Yet, there are other modes of financial risk-taking that Christians, including Mennonite Brethren, participate in. I am thinking of business ventures. They have been well thought out, but unforeseen events result in partial or total loss. It is legal, but should we be doing it?
Rudy Hiebert, (E)
Abbotsford, B.C.
Jon Unger Brandt, (E)
Rosthern, Sask.
Return to the M.B.Herald Vol. 36, No. 13 Home Page