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Breakthrough--The Gospel of John is the name of a booklet co-produced by the Canadian Bible Society, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada and The Navigators of Canada. Representatives of these three Christian ministries met June 15 at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont. Under an agreement, the Canadian Bible Society will publish 50,000 copies of the CD-shaped booklet to be distributed by university and high school students involved with Inter-Varsity and The Navigators. --BREAKTHROUGH
Toxins in the air, soil and water are new concerns in Yugoslavia now that NATO bombing has ended. In late March, Mennonite Central Committee partners in Belgrade feared that the bombs could hit a large chemical refinery in Pancevo, causing toxic chemicals to spew out. That happened several times, and now women in the area have been advised not to bear children for several years.--MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Since 1945, the US has bombed various countries: China (1945-6; 1950-53), Korea (1950-53), Guatemala (1954; 1960; 1967-69), Indonesia (1958), Cuba (1959-60), Congo (1964), Peru (1965), Laos (1964-73), Vietnam (1961-73), Cambodia (1969-70), Grenada (1983), Libya (1986), El Salvador (1980s), Nicaragua (1980s), Panama (1989), Iraq (1991-99) Sudan (1998), Afghanistan (1998) and Yugoslavia (1999).--WAYNE NORTHEY
Leaders of the G-7 nations made a decision at their June 18 meeting in Cologne, Germany, to provide additional debt relief for poor nations. The Cologne Debt Initiative came about after growing pressure from the Jubilee 2000 movement, a campaign made up of religious groups from around the world, including Mennonite Central Committee. Jubilee 2000, modelled after the biblical theme of the Year of Jubilee, calls for the cancellation of all unpaid debt held by the 50 poorest nations. The Cologne Debt Initiative increases the total amount of debt relief from $12 billion to $50 billion, increases the number of poor countries eligible for debt relief from 26 to 33, reduces the amount of debt-service payments after three years instead of six and requires savings from debt relief to be used for poverty reduction programs. Nevertheless, MCC says that the G-7 initiative is inadequate because it doesn't include all poor countries, provides only part of the funding needed to remove debt, and still requires debtor countries to comply with Structural Adjustment Programs of the International Monetary Fund. SAPs place stringent conditions on debtor countries that force them to pay the interest on their loans (debt service) at the expense of educational, social, health and environmental programs. Many of the world's poorest nations owe large amounts of money to affluent governments like the US, or to the World Bank or the IMF. Many countries have such a huge debt service on loans that they cannot use funds to combat poverty. For example, Mozambique's debt service is $73 million US a year. In a meeting with church representatives, US Treasury officials admitted that debt is a form of control by rich countries over poor ones.--MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE, CATALYST
The nursing department of Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C., is offering a two-course series in Parish Nursing. Parish Nursing is a ministry that uses professional nurses to bring holistic health care to members of a local church and its community. Nursing 305, "Introduction to Nursing in a Parish Context", will be offered Sept. 17-18 and Oct. 15-16. This course is designed to present an overview of the basic concepts underlying the role of a nurse working in a church setting. Nursing 306, "Function of Parish Nurses", to be scheduled in March 2000, focuses on the five roles of the parish nurse: health educator, personal health counsellor, volunteer coordinator, community liaison and integrator of faith and health.--TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY
Winnipeg police estimate that 45,000-50,000 people participated in the May 29 March for Jesus. The parade, the largest of the 145 marches that were held across Canada on that day, lasted an hour. According to early reports, 8,000 marched in Toronto, 4,000 in Montreal and 2,200 in Halifax.--CHRISTIANWEEK
The mayor of Swift Current, Sask. wants the province to enact a law to protect Good Samaritans from "frivolous" lawsuits. Paul Elder was referring to a suit filed against his community by Mennonite Mutual Fire Insurance, which alleges the Swift Current fire department failed to properly extinguish a fire a year ago at Camp Elim, a camp run by the Conference of Mennonites in Saskatchewan. A building caught fire, and Swift Current firefighters left their own jurisdiction to come to the assistance of the local volunteer fire brigade. The fire appeared to have been extinguished, but it roared up again after the Swift Current crew had left.--CANADIAN MENNONITE, CHRISTIANWEEK, NATIONAL POST
In March 1998, the list of candidates for pastoral positions in the General Conference Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Church had 64 names--a number which had remained pretty constant, according to Anne Stuckey, a member of the Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries. However, 12 months later, amid thorny integration-related issues, only 37 names remained. Stuckey, who administers the GC and MC pastor placement process, said many candidates are staying with their current congregations because of the uncertainty of what will happen once the two denominations merge.--THE MENNONITE
Of 806 adults surveyed in the US, 52% believe Jesus will return to earth during the next 1,000 years, according to a poll conducted by Newsweek. That belief is held by 71% of evangelicals, 48% of Protestants, 47% of Catholics and 20% of non-Christians. The study also found that while 88% of people identifying themselves as Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead, only 32% of non-Christians agree.--EVANGELICAL PRESS NEWS RELEASE
The Los Angeles Times reported that in recent surveys far more Americans rated religion as important than did people in other countries. In the US, 54% of respondents said religion was important in their lives; in the Netherlands, 25%, in the United Kingdom, 19%; in France, 14%; and in Germany, 14%.--CHARISMA NEWS SERVICE
Six out of 10 adults in the US pray before making major financial decisions, according to a telephone survey of 1,047 adults by the Yankelovich Partners. People who attend church every week are more likely to pray before making big financial decisions and are only slightly more likely to lend money to someone in need. Weekly churchgoers save money more regularly than those who don't by only a slim margin.--SHARON GOTKIN, UPI
Greg Bailey and Christopher Wilmot leaf through a copy of the Micmac New Testament. Bailey is national director of the Canadian Bible Society; Wilmot is the grandson of Marion Wilmot, co-translator of the Micmac Bible. On June 14, members of the Micmac community gathered at Listuguj in Quebec's Gaspé peninsula to celebrate the launch of the New Testament in the Mi'gmewei (Micmac) language. The translation, which took 28 years to complete, was the work of the Micmac people, the Canadian Bible Society and Wycliffe Bible Translators. Community elders and members of the translation team read in Micmac from the New Testament and offered dedicatory prayers. About 11,000 Micmac live in the Maritimes and Quebec. Of those, 6,000 still speak Mi'gmewie, which is part of the Algonquian family of languages. Translations are currently being worked on for other First Nation languages, including Eastern Cree, Western Cree, Inuktitut and Dogrib.--CANADIAN BIBLE SOCIETY
The Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health, Winnipeg, is the new $172-million, state-of-the-art home of the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, the branch of Health Canada responsible for the identification, control and prevention of disease. Communicable diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide. In 1995, 17 million people, including 9 million children, were killed by infectious diseases. It is estimated that up to one-half of the world's population is at risk of contracting emerging infectious diseases. The World Health Organization has estimated that over 1.5 million of a total of 10 million cases of cancer a year could be avoided if the infections associated with them could be prevented.--HEALTH CANADA, WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
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