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Cuba's Communist Party decreed Dec. 5 that Christmas be permanently reinstated as a public holiday. The holiday was abolished in 1969 by President Fidel Castro in order to produce a record sugar harvest that season; it was not reinstated for 28 years. However, the Communist Party granted the 11 million islanders a day off work Dec. 25, 1997 in anticipation of Pope John Paul's visit to Cuba at the start of 1998.--COMPASS DIRECT
Atlanta (Ga.) Mennonite Fellowship is the fourth dually affiliated congregation to lose full membership status in a Mennonite Church area conference over the issue of homosexuality. Delegates of the MC's Southeast Conference voted Dec. 5, reducing AMF to "non-member participant status". This means AMF does not have conference voting privileges and cannot have members in Conference leadership positions. AMF joins Ames (Iowa) Mennonite Fellowship, Germantown (Pa.) Mennonite Church and Rainbow Mennonite Church, Kansas City, Kan. in being removed from full membership in the MC for accepting practising homosexuals as members. Each church retains its membership with the General Conference Mennonite Church. Carolyn Schrock-Shenk of Mennonite Conciliation Services, Akron, Pa., and Dave Brubaker of Conflict Management Services, Casa Grande, Ariz. worked with the church and the Southeast Conference through this issue, including drafting the consensus agreement in October that AMF would not remain a member but would not be expelled from the Conference either. AMF first announced its position on homosexuality in 1996.--GENERAL CONFERENCE MENNONITE CHURCH, MENNONITE WEEKLY REVIEW, THE MENNONITE
The Evangelical Mennonite Church is considering dropping the word "Mennonite" from its name. Many pastors and church planters feel the term "Mennonite" confuses the unchurched and impedes church growth. Church planters want a name that is more generic, such as "community". Other congregations want to preserve anabaptist identity and theology. The denomination is now studying the issue. The earliest a vote could be held would be at the annual convention in 2000. A two-thirds majority vote is needed to change the name. The EMC began as the Egly Amish in 1865. In 1908, it became the Conference of the Defenseless Mennonite Church of North America. It adopted its current name in 1949. The denomination has 30 congregations in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Kansas. None of the pastors has trained at a Mennonite seminary.--MENNONITE WEEKLY REVIEW
Ladino is the old dialect of the Sephardic Jews in Spain. Also known as Judeo-Espanyol, Ladino was brought to Turkey, Greece, the Netherlands, Spanish America and North America after Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492. Today newspapers, magazines, journals and a collection of songs are in Ladino, preserving Sephardic culture. The Ladino Bible Project, based at Instituto Hebreo Espanyol in Ephrata, Pa., is in the process of retyping and translating the entire Bible into Ladino. While an older translation exists, this edition will take into consideration the current Ladino dialect spoken in different parts of the Sephardic Jewish world. Over one million copies of The Gospel of Matthew are expected to be ready for distribution in 1999.--LADINO BIBLE PROJECT
Imprisoned Christians in Maldives were freed by mid-November because of public pressure that threatened tourism, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide. About 50 Christians were jailed in June without warning and were forced to perform Muslim worship rituals. In August, many were released to house arrest. Maldives has a population of 260,000, which the government considers to be 100% Muslim. The Maldivian constitution forbids people to change their religion. Throughout the public campaign calling for the release of the prisoners, Maldivian government leaders denied anyone was in jail for religious beliefs.--COMPASS DIRECT
Since June 1998, about 1000 Bibles have been stolen from churches and educational institutions in Kenya. The culprits forged documents and wrote false letters in order to "borrow" the Bibles. Local press reports that claimed 10 million Bibles had been stolen and destroyed were grossly exaggerated, and claims that Bibles were burned in a satanic ritual could not be verified. It is not clear if a single individual or a group is behind the theft. Small numbers of no more than 39 Bibles were borrowed or taken at a time. While the thefts were stopped after Christian groups launched a successful media campaign, the police and the government are taking the incident seriously.--COMPASS DIRECT
An estimated 25-30 thousand Colombians suffer violent deaths each year. As a result of escalating warfare, a growing number of Christians, including pastors, are fleeing their homes in rural areas and moving to the cities. The war is fought between the government, guerrillas and paramilitary groups, all asking for complete allegiance. When Christians give their ultimate allegiance to God, they are branded as traitors by all groups. Further, a growing number of satanic sects in Colombia complicate the situation. In November, a mass grave was discovered in Pereira, about 180 miles west of Bogot</#135>. The grave contained 13 children, ages 8-13, some showing signs of torture. All but one were boys. This brought the total number of bodies discovered in the region to 26. Investigators said the murders seemed to point to some sort of ritual.--COMPASS DIRECT
A succession of attacks by ultra-orthodox Jewish mobs has prompted local church leaders to call for better government protection of Israel's Christian community. On Nov. 28, a mob of about 1000 ultra-orthodox Jews besieged a Messianic Jewish synagogue holding 40 believers. The mob had heard a rumour that Jewish children were going to be baptized that day. The siege lasted about three hours as the mob who pelted the believers with stones, spit at them and damaged many cars. The siege ended at the urging of local rabbis. On Nov. 11, another ultra-orthodox mob attacked the home of three Swiss Christian women because it was believed they were missionizing. On Nov. 29, an American couple were attacked by ultra-orthodox youths, who suspected the couple of missionary work. Although Messianic Jews consider themselves a branch of Judaism, their belief that Jesus is the Messiah is rejected by Jewish orthodoxy. There are about 3,000 Messianic Jews living in Israel.--COMPASS DIRECT
After The London Sunday Telegraph ran a headline on Oct. 25 that read "Egyptian police crucify and rape Christians", the Egyptian government bought full-page newspaper ads signed by 20 Egyptian Copts denying "false claims of persecution against Copts in Egypt". During a murder investigation, Christians were tied in crucifixion positions, but none were actually crucified; women and girls were stripped and threatened, but none were raped.--COMPASS DIRECT
A strong advocate of religious freedom in Russia, Galina Starovoita, died instantly when an assassin shot her just outside her St. Petersburg apartment Nov. 20. She was 52. She was a deputy in Russia's lower house of Parliament, the Duma. Serving on the committee on religion, she opposed the restrictive religion law passed in Russia more than a year ago. She recently said she would intensify efforts to help defend the rights of religious minorities in Russia. The assassination occurred one week before local elections. She was working to strengthen a democratic political coalition in St. Petersburg, called the Northern Capital movement that planned to attack crime and corruption and unseat the Communist governor in the elections. Starovoita is the sixth Duma deputy murdered since 1993.--COMPASS DIRECT
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