People and Events

To mark the 30th anniversary of the legalization of abortion in Canada, the Right to Life Society of Abbotsford, B.C. is targeting young women age 18-34 in a province-wide TV ad campaign set for May 24-June 4. Since the running of a similar ad campaign in Michigan, there has been a drop of 40% in the number of abortions over several years. From Jan. 27 to March 26, the Right to Life Society also set up the "Cemetery of the Innocent" in Abbotsford, in which 2051 tiny white crosses were placed in an open field. The crosses represent the 2051 babies killed by abortion each week in Canada. On May 14, 1969, the Parliament of Canada passed legislation legalizing abortion in Canada. Since then, over 2 million babies have been aborted.--VOICE FOR LIFE

The leader of the Grozny Baptist Church in Chechnya has reportedly been beheaded. Aleksandr Kulakov, 65, was last seen on March 12 when he boarded a bus. About two weeks later, a church member saw his severed head on display at a local market. Heads are sometimes displayed in Chechnya to instill fear. Kulakov became the pastor of Grozny Baptist Church after pastor Alexey Sitnikov was kidnapped Oct. 9; there has been no word of Sitnokov, and he is feared dead. The Russian Baptist Union has advised its members to leave Chechnya, and the Grozny church has dwindled to about 100 members, mostly orphans and elderly women. The Russian Orthodox Church and the Seventh Day Adventist Church also have a small presence in the region. Russian Orthodox priest Father Issihy was kidnapped at about the same time as Sitnokov and later freed, but has not spoken of his experiences. Two more Orthodox priests were kidnapped in late March. Kidnapping for ransom is a growing industry in Chechnya.--COMPASS DIRECT, EVANGELICAL PRESS NEWS SERVICE

A motion to dialogue for a year with South Calgary Inter-Mennonite Church was passed at the Feb. 26-28 sessions of the Conference of Mennonites in Alberta. The CMA leadership realized that a decision to dialogue could threaten integration with the Northwest Conference of Mennonites, which the same weekend was considering a resolution asking the Calgary church to repent or leave. Both conference executives came to their sessions with a new compromise for a two-year dialogue during which the Calgary church would be "under discipline and call to repentance". In the end, CMA delegates narrowly defeated the new compromise resolution, and passed, by a narrow margin, the original motion to begin a year of dialogue. Northwest delegates also rejected the compromise, but voted to table their original resolution to exclude the Calgary church from membership. Also during the February sessions, the two conferences voted to merge. The two conferences are now waiting until summer to see if their North American parent denominations (the General Conference Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Church) decide to fully merge and how the North American bodies decide to handle congregations which accept practising homosexuals as members. The South Calgary Church belongs to three denominations, but departed from doctrine of all three in 1997 when it decided to accept practising homosexuals as members. While the two Mennonite conferences have not decided what to do with South Calgary, the Alberta Mennonite Brethren Conference convention voted March 19-29 to expel the church (see MBH, News, Apr. 16).--CANADIAN MENNONITE

Christian Benefit Shops in the Niagara region of Ontario celebrated their 25th anniversary Mar. 22. Over 300 people gathered to hear a brief history of the shops, singing from the Niagara Community Male Chorus and a word from Dave Worth, executive director of Mennonite Central Committee Ontario. Over the years, these Christian Benefit Shops have contributed $2.6 million to MCC.--CAROL PENNER

Chariot Victor Publishing of Colorado Springs, Colo., in cooperation with Health Canada and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, is recalling 44,000 Big Idea's VeggieTales: Dave and the Giant Pickle playsets (1094 playsets were sold in Canada). Six of the figurines have plastic plugs that can come out, posing a choking risk for young children. To date, no injuries have been reported. The playsets, based on the Dave and the Giant Pickle video, contain 10 figurines, including asparagus, peas, a grape, a pickle, two sheep and tents. The playsets were sold in a mostly blue box showing scenes from the video. The product number is SPCN 9834501358. For more information, call Beacon Distributing at 800-263-2664 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST Monday to Friday. Veggie Tales are a very popular cartoon series retelling Bible stories.--US CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

The government of Cuba has granted a request by Cuban evangelical leaders to allow a six-week series of church events to be held in late spring 1999. The events are to be held in city plazas, stadiums, theatres and churches all over Cuba. The Communist Party's national daily, Granma, stated that churches in May will study biblical texts on love, peace and unity. In June, evangelicals will hold public outdoor celebrations in Havana and Baracoa. The government, however, hasn't specified what it will permit the churches to do. A crate of Bibles will be allowed into Cuba for the events. However, in February, a shipment of Bibles from the US was burned by Cuban authorities.--COMPASS DIRECT

An unprecedented dialogue on peace was held Jan. 7 between Colombian president Andres Pastrana and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the largest rebel army in the country. After almost 50 years of civil war, the Colombian conflict currently involves three main guerrilla groups, state military forces, and pro-government paramilitary squads. Ricardo Esquivia, director of JustaPaz, the peace and justice office of the Colombia Mennonite Church, attended the talks as an observer.--GENERAL CONFERENCE MENNONITE CHURCH NEWS