Letters to the Editor
Miscarriage
I am surprised by the ink given to miscarriages (May 16). I lost three
babies before 3-4 months. Since I had always desired a large family, this
was difficult, but, knowing that those babies went straight to heaven and it
was God who allowed this to happen for a reason unknown to me, I had to come
to grips with "not my will but Thine be done".
That "a miscarriage is almost more traumatic than the death of a baby later
on" seems incomprehensible to me. Our next baby was born (on the mission
field) at seven-and-a-half months, weighed less than four pounds and had to
be taken to another hospital. I held my tiny daughter, she was perfectly
formed, and our joy knew no bounds. I did not see her for a number of days,
and, since we did not own a car and there was no bus service, my husband
daily walked the milk to the hospital. She kept losing weight, and we
discovered that they were giving my milk to other babies. When we asked why,
they said that the other babies had better chances to live and our baby had
only a short time to live anyway.
That's when we decided to take her home. The doctor said that it was at our
own risk. I stood over her bed with an eyedropper for hours at a time
waiting for her to open her mouth to accept nourishment.
Then she seemed to stop breathing. My husband was not at home. The next few
hours, I knelt and prayed over her little form and cried to God to please
let me keep her. I finally got to the place where I could honestly surrender
and say, "Lord, if you want to take her home, then this will be my first
soul from Italy in heaven. Not my will but Thine be done." I got up from my
knees and checked her again. Shortly after that, she began to eat, and she
also started to gain weight.
In my experience, there was no comparison in the sorrow between a
miscarriage and a baby's death. I believe that for a Christian every sorrow
can be healed but only in submission to God's will. He does not need to
answer our "why" questions.
Later on in life, when I had a lot of health problems, I often wondered how
I would have managed a larger family. I thank God that He knows our future
and what will be best for us. Psalm 37:4 always gave me peace. I had to work
at delighting myself in God and trusting Him. If our desire is to live for
His glory and to serve Him in whatever position He has outlined for us, then
our desire will be to accept His will and also to thank Him for allowing
hard times, during which we learn to know more about His mercy, compassion
and marvellous love.
Mary Unrau, (E)
Saskatoon, Sask.
Infertility
I was surprised to see infertility addressed in the May 2 issue. My husband
and I spent many years trying to conceive, and worked through much of our
grief by ourselves. Thanks so much for helping us all face this painful
reality, and for printing articles that can help us help others. I've talked
to a number of people in our church who said they had never known how to
walk alongside someone experiencing infertility and found this issue very
helpful.
Irma Barkman,
Saskatoon, Sask.
Depression
Thank you for addressing depression (June 13). The issue was presented in a
very tactful and realistic way. Depression has affected our family
personally, and we know how painful it can be. Peter Falk hit it right on
the button: "Why is it that Christians shoot their wounded, especially those
with a mental illness?" Thank you for attempting to unveil the stigmas
associated with mental illnesses.
I will be passing some of your articles along to friends who struggle still.
Rose Goertz,
London, Ont.
Pastoral evaluations
Re the May 30 issue on ministry evaluations: Since most of the articles were
written by pastors or former pastors, they give valuable insights on their
perspective of the evaluation process. Michael Dick refers to the new
"Ministry Assessment Instrument" and suggests that a special committee be
appointed by the church to process the evaluation.
Having participated in quite a few evaluations, I would like to raise two
issues. First, whatever we call the committee that conducts the evaluation,
they should be people who have acted as ombudsman between the pastor and the
congregation and who have met regularly with the pastor for support,
accountability and conflict resolution. Emmett V. Johnson, in Work of the
Pastoral Relations Committee, makes a strong case for this special committee
to function not only during the evaluation process, but also throughout the
year. Through such a committee, the people of the church have a forum for
sharing their concerns regarding pastoral ministry, and the pastor has an
20arena in which issues can be dealt with fairly and promptly. For most
churches, this concept will take some time for adjustment and implementation
. In the churches with multiple staff, it might be advisable to assign one
pastoral relations person per pastor; this would make meeting regularly
easier and develop a better working relationship. However, at least twice a
year, the whole pastoral relations committee should meet with all the
pastors. A good support system offers two things: blankets and sandpaper.
Protection and affirmation need to be balanced with accountability and
problem-solving. This committee is responsible to the church through the
council or elder board.
Second, in an evaluation, if the overall results affirm the pastor in his
ministry, he willingly accepts it as the church's approval of his ministry.
If, on the other hand, certain areas of weakness are highlighted by the
evaluation process, the pastor often appears to shift his focus away from
the process to the bearers of bad news. This is a natural reaction and
should be recognized by the evaluation committee.
Regardless of who the evaluation committee consists of, the process must be
fair and in keeping with the job description. It should highlight pastoral
strengths and identify areas of weakness. If the response is constructive,
this instrument would not have to be used as a tool for termination.
Peter J. Funk,
Aldergrove, B.C.
Esengo home safely
We are at the end of the mandate give to us by the church of Jesus. Now it
is our responsibility to express a deep gratitute to those who have
contributed spiritually, financially and materially to the success of this
program. During the course of our journey, we have experienced God's grace
and protection because of your prayers. We sensed the impact of your prayers
during the political crisis in our country.
Here is the outline of our tour:
| Location | Length | Scheduled Concerts | Non-scheduled Concerts | Total Concerts |
|---|
| India | 21 days | 19 | 8 | 27 |
| Japan | 8 days | 8 | - | 8 |
| N. America | 126 days | 100 | 32 | 132 |
| Total | 155 days | 127 | 40 | 167 |
Not included are concerts in Zaire and Kenya. No concerts were held in
Europe because of visa trouble.
Our thanks go to:
MBM/S and YMI for sponsoring our tour;
our drivers for their sacrifice and voluntary work: Emile Kegi (Congo),
David Kenanal (India),
Leonard Vogt (US and Canada), Roy Dick (California), John Esau (US and
Canada), Kogi Manage (Japan);
MCC Akron for hosting us while we were preparing to go back home;
all churches in India, Japan, the US and Canada for their hospitality and
true love in Christ (and specifically for the provision of food, lodging,
transportation, leisure and many other things);
the church of Fairview, Okla. for allowing us to use their bus for four
months;
those we could not mention by name in this letter, but who have been a
blessing to us.
To Jesus be the glory for eternity.
On behalf of Esengo,
Malu Malu, Choir Director
Wrong impression
This letter comes in response to the May 30 news article "College federation
postponed".
I am pleased that you carry news about the emerging federation of Mennonite
colleges. Those of us close to the conversations have a high level of
confidence that a federation of Concord College, Canadian Mennonite Bible
College and Menno Simons College will, in fact, come to pass by the grace of
God and the shared vision and committed work of a growing circle of
believers.
May I offer a corrective to a possible misperception emerging from your
title "College federation postponed"? Your readers should know that the
target date for federation has from the beginning been 1999, and that date
has not changed. Federation has not been postponed. What has been postponed
is a decision within the over-all time line; i.e., CMBC decided that a one-
year delay in their request to the Conference of Mennonites for final
approval of federation was necessary to allow sufficient time to inform and
consult their constituency. They and the other partners in the federation
conversation expect that this decision will not alter the end date of the
process nor adversely affect conversations with the government of Manitoba.
I hope this clarification helps.
I invite all my fellow MBs who share a vision for quality Christian
education to help us surround the federation process with prayer so that
God's good purposes can be achieved.
Dan Block,
Concord College
Information on COs
During World War II, a number of us conscientious objectors in Canada were
put into jail. As far as I know, we were all sent to Headingley Jail in
Manitoba. It would be good to be in contact with each other, and therefore I
am requesting the following information from former CO prisoners: your name
and mailing address; the length of your sentence; the year(s) you were in
jail; and the name of the jail. I would make a list available upon request.
Henry Born,
2840 Upland Crescent,
Abbotsford, B.C. V2T 2E0
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