The Messenger December 2, 1998

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EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CONFERENCE VOLUME|36 ■ NUMBER 21 DECEMBER 2, 1998

Messenger The Wonder of Atonement CHRIST WAS BORN TO DIE — This oft-said, grand statement sometimes suffers crudi­ ties at our stammering lips and pens. Yet while Christ’s death was cruel and the in­ tentions of some people were crude, God was neither a cruel nor a crude player in this unfolding of grace. For centuries Christian believers have viewed the birth of Christ in a manger and His later crucifixion as a display of God’s suffering love. Such a display has caused many of us to change our view of God. He is not a far-off dictator; He is our Father who hurts with us. He loves us, came to be with us in Christ, calls us back and redeems us. To ponder Christmas in light of Easter is to see the wondrous humiliation and tri­ umph of God. The all-powerful One was born a weak infant. The Creator suffers horrible indignities at the hands of his crea­ tion. As is said, there was no room for Christ in the inn or the world — only cruci­ fied on a Cross. Yet on Easter Morning, Christ’s triumph is revealed. Because of that triumph, the Cross is a display of suffering love which has moved many hearts toward repentance and dis­ cipleship. The revelation of God in Christ turns the Cross magnetic. Jesus said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). The apostle Paul wrote, “But God demonstrates his own love toward us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Ro­ mans 5:8). Suffering love is rooted in eter­ nity. It is the wounded lamb who conquers (Revelation 5:6). As much as it emphasizes the revelation of love, the New Testament equally says there is more involved: the death of Christ was used not simply to move our hearts but to cleanse them. The Cross removed the barrier of sin; it provided at-one-ment with God (Gal. 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:21). Is this a crude thought? It can be crudely put: Is God bloodthirsty? Does He act like a boy sticking a pin through a butterfly to watch it flutter as it dies suffering? Does Jesus calm an abusive angry Father de­ manding his litre of blood? If Scripture taught such a crude view, how understandPAGE2

EDITOR Terry M. Smith

able a strong reaction against it might be — but it does not. The atonement is not crude in the way it EDITORIAL is carried out. God did not randomly pluck ASSISTANT Martha Kroeker someone off the street. God came into the THE MESSENGER is the world, displaying love in a unique, ultimate publication of the Evangelical depth — and was rejected. People of their Mennonite Conference. It is to the general public. own free will pinned God in Christ to the available Its purpose is to inform, instruct Cross. Yet God’s love persisted. Within His and inspire: inform concerning and activities in the sovereignty, the rejection of Christ by hu­ events denomination; instruct in god­ mankind was turned by God into the su­ liness and victorious living; inspire to earnestly contend for preme divine act of reconciliation. faith. It was His supreme and ultimate act of theLetters, articles, photos and grace, at-one-ment. What a strange, poems are welcomed. Unpub­ wonderous Judge He is to redeem human­ lished material is not returned except by request. The views kind by bearing their condemnation on and opinions expressed by the Himself. Though many people have more writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the posi­ understanding of other world religions tion of the Conference. than I do, I know of no such a wonder THE MESSENGER is pub­ lished twice a month (once a elsewhere! month in July and August) by the The Cross reveals the ultimate price paid Board of Church Ministries of and endured for our redemption — the in­ the Evangelical Mennonite Con­ 440 Main Street, carnate life violently taken away, Christ’s ference, Steinbach, Manitoba. blood shed. Can there be a greater degree Subscriptions: $12.00 per of identification with us? Can there be a year (Manitoba residents add 7% PST, total: $12.84). Sub­ higher price paid to remove the barrier of scriptions are voluntary and op­ sin? As Anglican scholar J.I. Packer has tional to people within or outside the EMC. Members and ad­ said, humankind did not appease God; of herents pay through their God provided the propitiation (1 John church. THE MESSENGER is a 4:10). Far from taking His pound of flesh. member of Meetinghouse and He gave it! Canadian Church Press. In 1902, James Denney, a Free Church Second-class postage paid at Manitoba. theologian in Scotland, wrote, “The words Steinbach, Registration Number: 0591 of the revival hymn ‘Jesus paid it all. All to Mailing information: All Him I owe,’ have the root of the matter in correspondence, including undelivered copies, change of them; and, however inadequate they may address and new subscriptions, be to the interpretation of Christ’s work should be addressed to: The Messenger and of Christian experience as a whole, RO. Box 1268 they are infinitely truer than the most bal­ Steinbach, Manitoba ROA 2A0 anced, considerate or subtle statement which denies them” (The Death of Christ, Phone: 204-326-6401 Keats reprint, p. 286). Fax: 204-326-1613 E-mail: emconf@mts.net “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23). Let us do it sensitively and boldly — conscious of how, like people long ago. Cover: It is not always easy there are those to whom the teaching of to pray. See page 3. atonement is foolishness or a stumbling block. May we study, pray, and preach so MESSENGER SCHEDULE: that the offense of atonement turns into No. 1 - January 13 the wonder of atonement for some who (copy due January 4) hear this Advent season. No. 2 - January 27 Terry M. Smith (copy due January 15)

THE MESSENGER

‘MAGIC LURKS AROUND PRAYER’

Always to pray and never lose heart Dr. Victor A. Shepherd

IKE ALL THE CHILDREN at the Sunday school picnic, the eight-year-old boy had enjoyed the hot dogs and cake and ice cream. Then they began a game of tag. The little fellow vomited, choked on his vomit, and died on the spot. Several weeks later 1 visited his mother in hospital. She was ill and needed surgery. She told me that ever since the incident, whenever she tried to pray, all she could do was weep. We discussed together the verse from the mind and heeul of St. Paul: “...the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). If our distress finds us able to do nothing but weep, the Spirit yet takes whatever we cry out, however inarticulate, and renders it an effectual petition before God. God honours our tears, as well as our groan or scream. And then the woman and 1 prayed. Jesus insists that we ought always to pray — and never lose heart (Luke 18:1). It is difficult enough to pray. But not to lose heart? “Losing heart” would be less likely if prayer were chiefly vague reflection on the geniality and easy-going goodness of God. But prayer isn’t this. Petition characterizes prayer. Yes, there is confession, adoration and thanksgiving. Nevertheless, prayer is essentially petition. It must be, since we eire beggars before God and always will be. (In our Lord’s parable of the two men who go to the temple to pray, one boasts as he says, “1 thank thee...,” while the other can only ask. He knows he is a beggar.) Once we cire past the salutation of the Lord’s Prayer the rest of our “pattern prayer” is all petition. We are asking God for forgiveness, for daily necessities, for protection against crushing trial. And right here we can scarcely avoid losing heart. For we know that Jesus makes the most astounding promises to petition: “If two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” “Whatever you ask in prayer you will receive, if you have faith.” “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it — and you will.” Just because these promises are so astounding, the shattering disappointment we see or experience is unspeakably heartbreaking. Nor can we get God off the hook by reminding each other that Jesus adds a condition to our petitioning: we must pray in his name. That is, our prayers must accord with his character and purpose. Of course our petitions must accord with the mind and

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will of the God whose face shines in the face of Jesus Christ. But the distraught parent is doing this when he pleads for his dying child. And so is the wife who hcimmers on the door of heaven for the release of her chemically addicted husband. Unanswered prayer may be an intellectucd puzzle when we are reclining in our armchair. But when someone deeir to us is in mind-bending trouble or torment, it is something else. Then what are we going to do? Shall we capitulate to skeptics and agnostics who scoff at prayer as magic? We should admit that magic lurks around prayer. Magic is the attempt of manipulating whatever power there might be, the attempt at exploiting it for our ends. We confuse prayer with magic whenever we invoke God’s blessing on whatever is not of God’s kingdom. A veteran of the First World War who has no use for the Gospel reminds me that in 1914 Anglican bishops were praying over new artillery pieces, while across the sea in Germany, Lutheran bishops were doing the same thing. Each was pleading with the Almighty to meike his gun shoot straighter than the other fellow’s gun. “Now,” says this old man with a malicious glint in his eye, “what was the Almighty supposed to do?” We confuse prayer with magic whenever we pray but are unwilling to be used of God in God’s answering of our prayer. We teach our children to petition God for the oppressed and dispossessed of the world. But if we have cdready made up our mind that we are never, simply never, going to change anything of the goods we buy or the institutions we support or the political leaders we look to.

Dr. Victor A. Shepherd has served as pastor of the Streetsville (Ontario) United Church for more than two decades. He also occupies the Chair of Wesleyan Studies at the evangelical Tyndale Seminary (Willowdale, Ontario). Shepherd recently told the editor that he is active in “all" reform movements within The United Church of Canada. PAGES

calls us by name. We respond. We cry out, or speak, or even weep. We pray. 'Prayer is non-magical And the encounter of person with God is deepened and enriched yet again. when we are overwhelmed “It’s still too slick,” someone objects. by rhe mercy and patience “What about the faithful people who have pleaded with God only to have of Cod and cannot help nothing come of it, apparently?” It is better to remain silent here than to say pleading for the something trite. Nevertheless, if we expansion of Cod's rule. have known anguish before God comparable to the questioner’s, then perhaps we can dare to speak, albeit (Photo by Editor) haltingly. We must go on asking even though God already knows what we and then we are schooling our children in magic. others need, for our very asking acknowledges God’s We confuse prayer with magic whenever prayer lordship and confirms our loyalty. We must go on asking becomes a substitute for work. The mature Christian because not to ask is not to believe and not to trust. We knows that we are to pray as though it all depends on God must go on asking because our asking is one aspect of and work as though it all depends on us. Mature Christians everything God gathers up and weaves together to fulfill see no illogicality here. In fact, those who pray the most his plan and purpose in ways hidden to us. for the coming of God’s kingdom, I have found, are those When Jesus was stumbling around in Gethsemane, he who do the most to hasten its arrival. pleaded, “Father, let this cup pass from me.” The cup did Prayer is non-magical when we move beyond trying to not pass. His request was not granted, at least not in the control whatever powers there might be for our self­ manner he wished, at the time he wished. But he was magnification or our success, and instead intercede for resurrected; his sacrifice on behalf of the world was whatever pertains to the growth of God’s kingdom. Prayer sealed; his prayer was, in fact, taken up into the purposes is non-magical when we are overwhelmed by the mercy of God, as God honoured and used his obedience. and patience of God and cannot help pleading for the In my conversations with those who have wrestled with expansion of God’s rule. God — as did Abraham and Job and Jacob — I have found We must remember that the people who were most that those who ask do see answers. They have not seen eager to uphold prayer — Israel — were also most eager all of their pleading met. What they have seen, however, to repudiate magic. Israelite law scorned magic. So did encourages them to tmst God for what they have not. The the prophets. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are angry that mercy and wisdom, which God has disclosed to them, the people run after magic, heartbroken that the people support them in dark days when God’s silence seems confuse magic with obedient faith in the God of Israel. unendurable. Jeremiah comes upon some men who think that We must admit that even when we have shared our repeatedly mumbling their magical incantation — “This is understanding and experience of God with each other, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord” — will we are left with unanswered questions and breaking spare them the distress which has come upon their city hearts. Our seventeenth-century Puritan ancestors knew and their land (Jeremiah 7:4). this. They used to say, “Sometimes God puts his children “Only if you tmly amend your ways,” corrects Jeremiah, to bed in the dark.” We cannot deny it. “only if you truly execute justice and do not oppress the Yet it is God who has put us to bed. Then mind and stranger or shed innocent blood — that is, only if you heart will be answered and quieted on that morning when repent, turn around, will you be spared.” we awake to sleep no more. For darkness will yield to light The truth is, prayer is the heart and soul, the very life­ forever, and we shall see our Lord face to face. And while blood, of faith. Where prayer disappears, faith disappears. our wounds, like his, will attest our pain-torn humanity, Jesus never argued for prayer. For him it was as essential, his glorious presence will still our murmuring and stay obvious and natural as the air he breathed. He knew that our petulance. faith is born of an encounter between God and us. For indeed, “We shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more...for the lamb in the midst of the throne will be A^ommunication is necessary for any authentic our shepherd, and he will guide us to springs of living // ^encounter of person with person. God speaks water; and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes” ( to us, and the nameless, undefinable ache in (Revelation 7:16-17). \V the heart of humankind becomes a word, the I intend to keep on praying. And, by God’s grace, to \i:==s^word of our response. pray without losing heart. In the wonderful children’s stories of C. S. Lewis we come upon animals and boys and girls who are frozen (The article was first published by The United Church Observer stone-like, statue-like, because they are under a spell. As in February, 1986. It is reprinted by permission of the author and they are touched, kissed or spoken to, the spell is broken. The Observer.) When the Spirit moves upon us and caresses us, the spell of our stone-hard heart is broken. We become alive. God PAGE 4

THE MESSENGER

Is Prayer a Lost Art? Chris Puhach I HAVE AN embarrassing confession to make: I have a friend who prays. It gets worse. Not only does he pray on Sundays but during the week as well. You may be wondering why 1 would confess that 1 have a friend who prays, as though praying were some sin, such as deceit or stealing. After all, as a Christian, 1 believe that prayer is necessary and prescribed by the Bible. So why do I feel the need to confess? Unfortunately, my guilt arises from the lack of Christians who feel the same way. Don’t get me wrong Now don’t get me wrong. Most Christians believe in prayer. The Bible is full of passages describing the benefits of prayer, commands to pray and examples of godly men and women praying. It would be heresy to deny that prayer is part of the Christian life. However, I am afraid that many are ignoring the warning in James 1:22 to “not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.” Instead, he urges us to “Do what it says.” Too often 1 have attended prayer meetings, prayer walks and prayer services that are scattered with empty seats. On the other hand, rarely have I attended times of fellowship (with food as the main attraction) where the church was not full. Does this indicate our attitude towards prayer? Is it physical nourishment rather than spiritual nourishment that we need? These are questions that need to be answered if we are to be true to God’s Word. 1 get excited when I hear about God’s work in the lives of others. However, I must confess that I get more than a little envious when 1 hear about His work in countries such as South Korea. 1 often wonder. Why are their

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Chris Puhach is a member of the Braeside EMC in Winnipeg and a first-year Masters of Diuinity student at Providence Theological Seminary. He enjoys the sayings, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:16) and "Seven days without prayer makes one weak” (Allan Bartlett).

DECEMBER 2, 1998

churches growing so fast? Why are they so content with their situation? Why do they seem so excited? The answer, 1 realize, is their commitment to prayer. They spend hours each day in prayer. We also hear directly and indirectly about the importance of prayer in The Messenger each month and in our churches each week. We say amen and hallelujah to the answered prayers. We long for the same blessings; yet, when we truly examine our lives, we notice the lack of prayer. This should concern us eind lead us to a renewed emphasis on prayer. A lack of time? Why has prayer become a lost art? There are likely many reasons but perhaps the most influential is our lack of time. We have busy lives. We hear the proof in various forms: If only I didn’t have to sleep, if only the days were longer, if only 1 had more time, let me check my schedule, and the examples could go on and on. Although busyness is a convenient excuse, it is not a good one. The Christians of South Korea are just as busy. The Max Lucados of this world are just as busy. Yet they not only find time to pray but they pray for many hours. How do they do it? The answer lies in prayer. But how can that be — the key to praying is more prayer? Indeed, it is. In all our busyness, we take little time to pray. Before we know it, the day has ended, eind it feels as if we have accomplished nothing. We wonder why. The Psalmist has the answer, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain” (Psalm 127:1). In our attempt to get everything done we have forgotten to turn to the One who can help. If we seek God’s direction on how to spend our time, we will become the most efficient workers in the world. As a result, we will have even more time to pray. Of course, efficiency will not always mean getting the most done in the least time. Sometimes God will expect us to devote a lot of time to one task. For North Americans this slow pace can seem unbearable. However, any activity without the guidance of God will be fruitless.

We need to pray Brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to pray. God does not expect eloquent prayers from us; the Lord’s Prayer is an example of how simple it can be. For those who have fervent prayer lives I urge you to encourage others in their prayer lives. Help them discover the wonders of prayer. By praying at “abnormal” times (perhaps, over the phone) and in “abnormal” places (such as, in a restaurant), we can be models of what praying continucdly means(l Thessalonians 5:17). Perhaps Billy Graham said it best, “Prayer is the rope that pulls God and man together. But it doesn’t pull God down to us, it pulls us to Him.” PAGES

S^ettefts WHY THE INCONSISTENCIES? This is regarding Arden Thiessen’s let­ ter in the August 12 issue of The Messen­ ger: the freedom of women to use their gifts in the church. I shot out of my chair in amazed delight at his letter. 1 urge him, and the Confer­ ence Council, to bring the study out into the open, and very soon. He hopes that “the study will take a canonical approach to the Scriptures” and that “our traditions and prejudices would not keep us from seeing God’s will.” These are tremen­ dously important principles to keep in mind in doing the study. 1 write belatedly to thank Arden for the letter, and also because the response so far indicates that many of us do not un­ derstand the principles he hopes will un­ derlie the study. We rightly claim that the Bible is our authority. However, we are not very good at recognizing what kinds of things shape our interpretation of the Bible. Some ex­ amples of this might be: We hear our favourite and familiar Bible passages and ignore the unfamiliar; we depend on the familiar wording of sermons we have heard all our lives; we cannot distinguish between our interpretation and the cul­ ture in which we live; we are ignorant of the cultures and societies in previous generations which shaped our way of un­ derstanding. We need to be very concerned about missing what the Spirit has to say to the churches, but we do not need to be afraid of challenging each other’s read­ ings or of bringing a variety of positions and kinds of background knowledge to our shared exploration of what the Bible says to us. In this light, it would be very helpful to look at the diversity of practice regard­ ing the roles of women and men in the church as described in the Bible. Mary Bueckert made this point in a recent Messenger. As well, 1 have been encour­ aged by the discovery of a long catalogue of women throughout the church’s his­ tory who found ways to teach and proph­ ecy in spite of the formal prohibitions of the church, and 1 think others of us would be similarly encouraged. For example, the church has allowed women to write and has circulated their writings. In the fourteenth century, Julian of Norwich, a respected pious English woman, wrote: “So just because I’m a woman should 1 for that reason not tell you the goodness of God, since 1 saw [in Christ’s revelation to me] that it is God’s will that it be known?” The EMC practices a similar ironic dou­ ble standard. An obvious current examPAGES

pie of this is Betty Koop’s Fine “Women in Faith” column in The Messenger. She is not “keeping silent in the church”; she is teaching men. The study needs to keep such diversity and frequent incon­ sistency in mind, so that we are clear about what, in fact, we really believe the Bible to be saying. Arden Thiessen says he hopes the study will “look at the more basic issue of how much freedom women have in the church to use their gifts.” 1 hope that the study goes beyond this to an open ac­ knowledgement of the persistent hypo­ critical inconsistency in our missions practice. Why are women encouraged and com­ missioned to do work in other cultures which we are forbidden to do at home? Why, for the last generation or two, has the EMC encouraged women to teach, administer, counsel and preach in lan­ guages other than English, and in loca­ tions other than Canada, while in Canada the same work is allocated to men and is called ordination? 1 pointed out an instance of such an inconsistency to a 75-year-old saint the other day. A reputed evangelical organi­ zation, which the EMC generously sup­ ports with personnel and finances, re­ ported some wonderfully successful teaching and evangelism by a group of celibate women in West Africa. The 75year-old saint said something like this, “Yes, but maybe these women aren’t preaching down from behind pulpits in million-dollar churches.” Frances Fast Blumenort, Man.

ANOTHER APPROACH 1 am writing to express my apprecia­ tion for the fine article on biblical inter­ pretation written by Kenton Penner in the previous I November 18] Messenger. 1 appreciate the position taken by the article. However, 1 have noticed, in my teaching experience, that some people find such an approach to be quite com­ plicated and somewhat threatening. And so 1 propose a slightly different an­ gle to the issue, not as a correction of Kenton’s essay but as an additional con­ tribution to our dialogue on the subject. My approach begins with the same con­ cern, may come to the same conclusions, but follows a route that some may find a little easier to accept. (1 think I’m prob­ ably indebted to one of my former teach­ ers, Dr. Gordon Fee, for clarifying this is­ sue for me.)

Letters to the Editor

Letters for publication, commenting on issues raised in The Messenger, are welcomed. Their tone should be charitable, dealing with subjects rather than individuals. To be published they must include the writer's signature, address and phone number. Names and general location will appear, except for extraordinary circumstances, on letters published. The magazine reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and charity. It can refuse publication when the material does not conform to the editorial policy approved by the Board of Church Ministries (November, 1997).

that we believe is an interpretation of what God has revealed. 2. Everything has to be interpreted with respect to the cultural setting in which it was written. 1 mean everything, with no exception. Nothing in the Scrip­ tures was written in English, nothing was written in the twentieth century, noth­ ing was written to Canadians. Whether we deal with truths we might call relative or with truths we might call absolute, our First interpretational task is to discern what the writer was trying to communicate to his readers. No trans­ lating of the Scriptures and no interpret­ ing of the Scriptures can be done cor­ rectly without careful attention to the language, the culture, and the circum­ stances of the writer and of his original readers.

3. Everything must then be applied to the contemporary questions of faith and conduct for which we need God’s guid­ ance. In some cases a Scriptural com­ mand may have only a very tenuous bear­ ing on our present scene, e.g., 2 Timothy 4:13, “Bring the cloak that 1 left....” In some cases we may see an impor­ tant principle but, because of our differ­ ent cultural environment, apply it quite differently than Timothy did, e.g., 1 Tim. 5:13, “Take a little wine....” In others cases the principle may say to us, and mean to us, exactly what it did to Timothy, e.g., 1 Tim. 2:5, “There is one God, and one me­ diator....” With such an approach, 1 believe, the Scriptures may continue to bring God’s Word to us in a living, vital, relevant, di­ rection-giving way. Arden Thiessen Steinbach, Man.

l.We must recognize that everything THE MESSENGER

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MCC SEEKS 20,000 KITS In light of Hurricane Mitch, MCC now wants double the relief kits, is sending four workers to Central America to assist workers there, and has initially ear­ marked $1.5 million Canadian for relief and rehabiliation efforts. The workers, Jon Nofziger (St. Adolphe, Manitoba), Luke Schrock-Horst (Pitts­ burgh, Pa.), Jacob Schiere (Netherlands), and Jim Hershberger (Linville, Va.), have served in such countries as Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Bolivia. Hundreds of Hurricane Relief Kits are arriving in MCC warehouses daily. MCC is now asking for double the originally re­ quested number.

LIFESTYLE ‘DESTROYED’ “Our whole way of life has been changed, in fact, destroyed,” said Tommy Monias of Cross Lake, 600 km north of Winnipeg, speaking of the effects and failed implementation of the Northern Flood Agreement (NFA), a hydro-electric development agreement. The NFA, negotiated in 1977 by the fed­ eral and Manitoba governments, Manitoba Hydro and five Cree bands of northern Manitoba, was supposed to “eradicate mass poverty and mass unemployment” and compensate fourfold for each acre affected by the project, it is said. Monias, NFA implementation manager for Cross Lake, said proper implementa­ tion has not occurred. The federal govern­ ment’s Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, released in 1996, states, the NFA’s “history has been marked by little or no action in implementation of NFA obliga­ tions and a long, drawn-out (and continu­ ing) process of arbitration to force govern­ ments to implement their obligations.” Four of five Cree bands that signed the NFA have since entered “implementa­ tion” agreements which extinguish their basic rights under the NFA, according to Will Braun, an MCC volunteer working with the people of Cross Lake. “It is understandable, though unfortu­ nate, that after the destruction of their land and the frustration of a prolonged and largely fruitless struggle for NFA im­ plementations, communities felt a need to settle for what they could get,” says Braun. Cross Lake still seeks the NFA to be im­ plemented and is looking to MCC, which participated in a public hearing into north­ ern hydro-electric development in 1975, to support its search for justice. “We have been asked to participate in the struggle to ensure that hydro devel­ opment results in some benefit, not only harm, to those most directly affected,” DECEMBER 2. 1998

said Larry Kehler, interim executive di­ rector of MCC Manitoba. It is claimed that several reserve mem­ bers have died or been injured due to increased navigational hazards like debris in the water and unreliable ice, and that loss of the traditional economic base has led to high unemployment, an erosion of culture, and social disruption. NEWSLETTER FOR SURVIVORS A new newsletter, put out by MCC On­ tario, aims to provide a safe place where Mennonite and Brethren in Christ abuse survivors can share information, stories and resources. “I think the newsletter is important be­ cause it lets survivors know that the church cares,” says Beth (not her real name), who talked about her experiences as a survivor in the church in the first issue. The newsletter — Friend to Friend — is edited by Carol Penner, who works with family violence issues at MCC Ontario, and Liz Hay Kaethler, a survivor of sexual abuse, who suggested the need for such a forum. Penner says survivors — of either sexual or physical abuse as children or adults — often feel isolated in the church. Books on survival aren’t usually written from a Christian perspective. The newsletter’s message is that heal­ ing is hard, it takes a long time, but it’s possible. Published four times a year, each issue includes letters, a personal story of a sur­ vivor, and other resources. The first issue dealt with the church and the second cov­ ered the idea of comfort. The October issue centred on the body — how survi­ vors live in their body, come to love their bodies and find healing in their bodies. The newsletter can be contacted through Carol Penner, Box 861, Vineland, ON LOR 2C0, or e-mail: cpenner@npiec. on. ca.

DEBT CANCELLATION CALLED FOR MCC Manitoba has joined with religious organizations around the world who call for debts to be cancelled for the world’s poorest nations. Organizers hope millions of people will sign petitions calling for the debt cancel­ lation in time for the beginning of the new millennium. The petitions will be pre­ sented to the G-8 Summit (of eight in­ dustrial nations) in Germany in 1999. “The whole point is to celebrate the year 2000 by relieving people of debt,” said Karen Schlichting, jubilee coordinator for MCC Manitoba. The Jubilee 2000 campaign in Manitoba began October 20. The campaign recalls

the biblical tradition of jubilee which of­ fered a new beginning to the indebted. The Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Ini­ tiative has pinpointed forty-five countries with high levels of poverty and debt serv­ icing and low spending on health and education that would be eligible for debt cancellation. It is calling for an international body, un­ der the auspices of the United Nations, to be a forum for creditors and borrowers to work out eligibility and ensure money saved from debt payments be used pri­ marily for social development. “The debt relief has to be complemented by other development projects,” Schlichting said. The Jubilee Initiative argues that private banks, with their huge profits in recent years, could easily absorb the loan write­ offs, and that international financial insti­ tutions such as the World Bank and Inter­ national Monetary Fund have vast re­ serves to draw from in writing off multi­ lateral debt.

SHARIR WINS SCHOLARSHIP Iris Sharir of Windsor is this year’s re­ cipient of the Canadian JapaneseMennonite Scholarship. Sharir is currently a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Windsor and will use the $1000 award to study mental health issues among ado­ lescents who have immigrated to Canada from Asia. The scholarship, which is jointly spon­ sored by MCC and the national Associa­ tion of Japanese-Canadians, is intended to assist research which will reduce the potential for abuse of minority groups in Canada, such as was suffered by the Japa­ nese-Canadians during the war.

COORDINATOR APPOINTED MCC Canada has appointed Rick Zerbe Cornelsen as part-time coordinator of its Aboriginal Neighbours program. As Aboriginal Neighbours (or Native Concerns) coordinator, Rick Zerbe Cornelsen hopes to see all the MCC pro­ vincial offices work together effectively in the area of aboriginal issues. He said it’s important that Mennonites continue to hear the voices of aboriginal people. Rick and wife, Dori, attend Hope Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, Mani­ toba, and have two children. They were MCC volunteers in Labrador from 198587, where they lived in an Inuit commu­ nity. They have worked with native is­ sues in B.C., some of the time with MCC B.C. MEDA IN DALLAS RAISES $108,000 They came to learn more about busiPAGE?

ness, life and faith in the northern Texas city, but the thoughts and prayers of the 343 people at the MEDA convention were with the victims of Hurricane Mitch. They gave $108,000 at an auction, half of which will go to assist hurricane victims in Nica­ ragua and half to MEDA programs around the world.

TESTIMONY NEEDED IN ‘WORLD WITHOUT PITY’ Today the world is a place where people who make decisions about the economy of many countries aren’t connected to the people in the countries, resulting in a “world without pity,” says Art DeFehr, president and CEO of Palliser Furniture in Winnipeg, Manitoba at a MEDA Conven­ tion. He contrasted this with the experience at his company. “I go to church with my

employees, shop at the same stores they do. What would happen if Palliser would announce an across-the-board cut in our staff of 20 percent just to raise our share price? A visit to the grocery store would become distinctly unpleasant when we have to look into the eyes of those af­ fected by our arbitrary decision,” he said. He said that the company is trying to cre­ ate this same sense of accountability in Mexico, where it opened two factories this year. It rejected the border zone between the U.S. and Mexico, is offering wages closer to what better employers in Mexico are offering, and added that many Palliser managers are taking Spanish lessons. “Our goal is to become part of the Mexi­ can fabric,” he said. “There are many things that we cannot change about Mexico, but we can make choices.” Although DeFehr seemed optimistic

Elizabeth del Carmen Vado Sandoval, Bayardo Antonio Blandon Mejia and Lester Olfert have been travelling throughout the EMC to build more understanding between the church in Canada and Nicaragua.

about Palliser’s direction in Mexico, he concluded on a pessimistic note about the global economy in general. “During my student days in the 1960s 1 believed there was an inevitability to progress and toward a more fair and col­ our blind world,” he said. “Regrettably 1 no longer believe that. 1 do believe that we are responsible for our own actions and in the realm that we can control we can op­ erate according to reasonable standards. “In the larger picture, however, unless we address the structural questions at the level where decisions are made and where power exists, our efforts will be futile. “We can be a presence and a testimony and at times clean up the mess created by others...! look in vain for thoughtful and informed voices to present alternatives to the economic currents that are divorcing morality and the marketplace,” he said.

The representatives of the Fraternity of Evangelical Mennonite Churches in Nicaragua met with the EMC Board of Missions.

o

IMAGINE travelling for four weeks within five provinces, nine church regions, mak­ ing presentations in twenty-six churches. Add being separated from family. In a strange culture, moving from southern warmth into the northern freezer, with the task of representing a church and country facing serious economic hardship. Then Hurricane Mitch hits your homeland, and you worry about family, friends, church family and others. Elizabeth del Carmen Vado Sandoval, 29, and Bayardo Antonio Blandon Mejia, 42, are delegates from the Fraternidad de Iglesias Evangelicas Menonitas de Nicara­ gua (Fraternity of Evangelical Mennonite

PAGES

Churches in Nicaragua, FIEMN), a denomi­ nation which grew out of EMC mission work. They have been in Canada from October 29 to November 24.

Invited to share, learn Elizabeth and Bayardo were invited by the EMC Board of Missions to build frater­ nal relationships, to share what God is do­ ing — their church’s growth, difficulties and challenges. They seek to thank the EMC for help with past projects, to share of good results, and to gain help in future projects, they said. It may be in God’s plan for them to be here in the aftermath of the hurricane to share the struggles that

Nicaragua is going through, they say. It was the mission board’s desire that the FIEMN learn about the EMC, explained Lester Olfert, EMC foreign secretary, their translator during the interview — and main host and translator during their month in Canada. This is Elizabeth’s first trip to Canada. Bayardo has been to Canada twice before, attending Mennonite World Conference in 1990 and representing the FIEMN for a month in 1993. A third delegate, Jose Dolores Salgado Enriquez, a rural pastor, was unable to come when his visa was denied. The EMC’s first workers arrived in late THE MESSENGER

*

December 1966. With the exception of five years, Lester Olfert served in Nicara­ gua from 1970 to 1987. Our most recent workers left in 1991. The FIEMN has thir­ teen churches and eight preaching points. While the church in Nicaragua is autono­ mous, the EMC works with it in various projects and ministries. Elizabeth lives in Los Cruces, a town in a rural mountainous region, 55 km from Managua, the nation’s capital. Married to Yali, they have a six-year-old son. Her par­ ents are the pastoral couple of the Los Cruces church, a Mennonite congregation. She is the full-time director of the Satur­ day Bible Institute (SBl), a non-resident school where on Saturday students dis­ cuss the lessons they have studied during the week. SBl began in 1993 and will have graduated a total of 55 students by the end of this school year. Elizabeth is active within the local Los Cruces church, teaches the adult Sunday school class, and is a parttime seminary student. Bayardo lives in a suburb in Managua. He has degrees in administration and theo­ logy. Formerly an administrative assistant in a factory, he is full-time president of the National Council, equivalent to our Gen­ eral Board. He is in the office two days a week, travels to various churches, and serves as coordinator of the pastoral com­ mittee in his local church. He is one of the teachers at the Saturday Bible Institute. He is married to Ana Maria, and they have three daughters, 11,6, and 5 years old. Grateful for interest They are glad for interest in Nicaragua, both before and after the hurricane. When they left Nicaragua, unemployment was 70 per cent, with illiteracy growing daily. Many children are unable to complete grade one because their families are mal­ nourished. Now forty percent of the popu­ lation has been displaced by the hurricane. It was “very difficult” before; now there are many deaths, hunger, sickness, emo­ tional and mental trauma, malnourishment, with some places completely wiped out, Bayardo said. He turned to the Bible, and read from Habakkuk 3:2,16-18, reminding us that Habakkuk called on God to revive His works in the middle of these times and that the sovereign Lord was his strength. Great needs The church leader Sciid it was a time to join hands, through prayer and material things. The work in Nicaragua is also your work, he says; there is an urgent need for solidarity, materially and spiritually. The EMC has sent some money, and the FIEMN is distributing food packages dis­ tributed out of these funds. The Fraternity has joined with other Anabaptist churches in forming a committee in coordination with MCC, to respond to emergency needs, said Bayardo. DECEMBER 2, 1998

The work in Nicaragua is your work, says Bayardo Blandon, president of the FIEMN’s National Council. (Photos by the Editor)

The country has gone through struggles previously: the severe earthquake suf­ fered in 1972 and civil war. It made progress with its infrastructure, but the hurricane’s damage has been a setback. The delegates’ impressions of the church in Canada are carefully worded. They ap­ preciate the companionship and accept­ ance by people and see both the interest in their projects and a willingness to share materially. They are impressed that the children here want to help children in Nica­ ragua. Bayardo said they realize this is a differ­ ent culture with the material comforts not the same as in Nicaragua, yet they have felt a oneness in Christ. As they share needs in Nicaragua, they have seen people’s tears. This has been emotionally moving for them; they have cried in their hearts when they have seen this, he said.

Workers needed? Should the EMC still have missionaries in Nicaragua? Bayardo said, “At times we have felt that.” They have sometimes felt very much alone, with great difficulties. With­ out a missionary present, the Fraternity is limited to written and phone contact from far away. They would appreciate a mis­ sionary’s counsel and working with them. They are grateful for Lester Olfert’s caring, for they can talk with him about anything. Roles in ministry When asked about the role of women in ministry, Elizabeth indicated that by assist­ ing in supporting workshops and pastoral workshops, the EMC has raised the status of women in the church and the commu­ nity. Women can do “eighty percent” of ministry there. Women pastors teach, evangelize, preach, and officiate at com-

munion; they do not baptize or marry. When they officiate at child dedications, a man is usually present, she said. Some rural churches are quite literal and believe a woman must be silent; women are limited to singing special numbers or reading Scripture. She says there is a need to be contextual and according to the Word of God on the matter of women’s partici­ pation in the church. Others have done a more “profound” study of Scripture and found that women and men can work to­ gether in ministry, she said. If we accept that women can help men in the secular area, and see in the begin­ ning man and woman were together the administrators of creation, this working together can also happen in the church, she said. When asked what counsel she would give to the EMC in this matter, she sug­ gested that people could come to the Sat­ urday Bible Institute! She would encour­ age us to look for God’s direction and do a thorough study of God’s Word in keeping with our times. For Bayardo, the question is very con­ textual in Nicaragua. Many men have left the country, with women left alone. The Fraternity has women in pastoral ministry, but they are few. There is a need to look at whether women have gifts for ministry, because not all are called to pastoral min­ istry, as are not all men. All women can have a ministry, but not all women are suited for leadership ministry, he said. When asked for church strengths in Nica­ ragua we can learn from, Bayardo sug­ gested church growth and evangelism. In turn, he has noticed how the church here is punctual and plans ahead; this is a weak­ ness in their work in Nicaragua. Terry M. Smith PAGE 9

PAPUA NEW GUINEA THE TUNGAG BIBLE IS CLOSER TO REALITY On October 15 readers of Papua New Guinea’s daily newspaper. Post Courier, were informed that “the wish of the New Hanover people...to read the Holy Bible in their own Tungag language took a step closer to reality this week.... The family company of Kavieng MR..yesterday donated K5000 towards the cost of printing the Bible.” Accompanying the article is a photograph showing the presentation of a cheque to “a member of the New Hanover Council of Unity in Port Moresby, which [the article adds] has been raising funds towards the Bible printing.” This “council of unity” is a group of interested Tungag people who live and work in Papua New Guinea’s capital city. Separated from the people on their home island by a distance of hundreds of kilometres, they remain in touch with what is going on back home. During the last few years they have become increasingly aware of how important this publication is to their people. The fund-raising efforts referred to in the newspaper were initiated by them as a result of their desire to get involved. One fund-raiser was a walk-a-thon held in the city by a group of Tungags, who, besides seeking pledges from other donors, themselves pledged money. Other fund-raising ventures in the last year come to mind. This past spring the Blumenort EMC raised a large sum of money through a barbecue meal after a Sunday morning service. Many of the congregation gladly took part, thereby showing their support and interest in what is happening in the lives of their sisters and

brothers on New Hanover, fellow believ­ ers whom they have gotten to know vi­ cariously via their support of us. Another group of people, the Tungag translation committee based in Umbukul village. New Hanover, organized a major walk-a-thon, which took a whole week, There were about thirty walkers, and they covered 200 kilometres. Many churches in other language community areas were visited along the way, and they raised a large sum of money through the gifts of these fellow New Irelanders. At the same time, they were able to spread the news that scriptures in the vernacular are becoming a reality in New Ireland. We want to share these things with you because we know that even by your read­ ing this you are participating in the work that is going on in the Tungag community, not to mention your times of prayer on our behalf and your contributions to the missions budget. Your participation has borne fruit along the way, as well as now in the completion of this major portion of the Bible in Tungag. The book at this stage is on its way to be printed. The Bible Society of Papua New Guinea is publishing the book, and the printing will take place either in Korea or Hong Kong. The funds that have been raised will go towards offsetting the costs that the Bible Society will have in publishing the book. A celebration service to launch the New Testament, scheduled for July 11,1998, will take place in Umbukul village, located at the western tip of New Hanover Island, The preparations for the feast are already under way; accommodations need to be planned and built and extra gardens need

Marianne and Lesley Fast (Blumenort) are serving in Bible translation in Papua New Guinea. They have four children, Anicka, Karin, Peter and Ingrid.

to be planted. The book is just a book — paper and ink and binding. The words and message it contains come from the source of eternal life. As we consider the people of the Tungag language community, we can re­ joice that they will now have the opportu­ nity, like we have had, to drink more deeply at the fountain of life, Jesus Christ our Lord. We can certainly also rejoice that we have had the privilege of participating with them so that “readjingj the Holy Bible in their own Tungag language [has taken! a step closer to reality.” Lesley and Marianne Fast

A BUSY SUMMER Sioux Valley, Man.: We at the Reserve Fellowship Chapel greet Messenger readers with Romans 1:12: “...that you and 1 may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” Our summer has been full of various activities, and we’d like to share some of them with you. Our church continues to need and appreciate your prayers and support, and we invite you to visit us. Helen Martens

Denise Russel of Toronto and Shannon Oakes of Simcoe, Ontario (upper right-hand corner) were counsellors at Hilbre Bible Camp. They shared their testimonies at our church in August. They are seen here with part of the congregation.

PAGE 10

THE MESSENGER

We took children from Sioux Valley to Hilbre Bible Camp again this summer. Happy cooks at camp were Olive Hart, Helen Martens, Laura Beaulieu (all of Sioux Valley) and Rosella Giesbrecht of Herbert, Sask.

I

After cancelling twice because of bad weather and double-booking, Sioux Valley finally had its church picnic at Oak Lake Beach. Five people showed: Trenelle McKay, Jake Martens, Olive Hart, Laura Beaulieu and the photographer, Helen Martens.

**1

•©J I

rj ^Ne greatly appreciated Larry and Christa Janz’s ministry. His message on living close to the Lord and keeping away from the world was clearly Illustrated. We remember him as the man who said, “Be a cat, not a pig!” (A cat walks carefully and shakes off the mud, while a pig wallows in the mud.) We remind ourselves of Larry’s message occasionally; it had a great impact on all of us.

IjrII

5

We have been blessed with a number of visiting groups who ministered to us. One of these was a musical group. Crossbearers, with staff members Dave and Dorlene Petkau, from Key-Way-Tin Bible School In Lac la Biche, Alberta.

A parent/child dedication service took place at the Chapel: Helen Martens, Kim McKay with Shaden Price, Murphy and Carol with Carrisa Faith, Jake Martens.

DECEMBER 2, 1998

Sr

Vacation Bible School was well attended, with sixty-five children enrolled. The theme was “Circle of Friends Ranch — Friends with Jesus.” It was an exciting week. The children are lined up (In the background) for ice cream cones on the last day. Trail bosses Jake and Helen Martens and Hazel Bell are In the centre, with ranch hands Olive Hart and Tannis Antoine beside them.

Caroline and Earl Unger are the new pastor couple at the Stony Brook church. PAGE 11

CHURCH CAMP Steinbach, Man. (Stony Brook): Singing and sharing were some of the awesome times we had. Trees in beautiful colour. Appetites were satisfied by the wonder­ ful meals prepared by Heather McNair and Donnalda Friesen. Rejoicing in the fact that God answered our prayers for a pastor. Earl and Caroline Unger have been led to us. Laughter filled the dining hall till all hours Saturday night as we played games and visited. A little less sleep didn’t seem to harm us. Kids played well together and loved blow­ ing bubbles. Ed Johnson encouraged us to evange­ lize.

LIBROS EN ESPANOL The Spanish Ministries of the Braeside EMC, 1011 Munroe Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, is asking for do­ nations of Christian books in Span­ ish. If you have materials to donate, please send them to Braeside or con­ tact 204-668-9389.

The Stony Brook church appreciated the ministry of Wilma and Ed Johnson at their church camp in September.

Heidi Friesen

Region 6 is holding a marriage enrich­ ment seminar on February 12-13 at Mor­ ris Fellowship Chapel. The theme is Keep­ ing Oneness Aline in Your Marriage. Steve and Jackie Masterson are assisting in this. There will be three sessions. Registra­ tion is at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The semi­ nar’s final event is “a celebration of vows to one another” at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. To register, or for more information, con­ tact John Klassen at 204-746-8360. Cost: $85/couple before February 1 (post­ marked), $100 after February 1.

■ —duDDsO

jp’andttdPO’*

John Koop Conference Pastor

Shelly Rempel helping her children, Laurel and Joshua, blow bubbles.

Some big kids, like Bev Plett, enjoyed blowing bubbles too.

The congregation of Stony Brook Church enjoyed church camp — and reporter Heidi Friesen tells us where it was held.

PAGE 12

WE NEED A SLOGAN! THE EMC General Board is seeking a Conference slogan. Describe the EMC in something concise, catchy, easily re­ membered. It should provide vision and direction in keeping with our present position statement: The purpose of the Conference is to glorify God by building His Kingdom. This will be done by 1 .proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ at home and abroad. 2. ministering to the spiritual and physi­ cal needs of people. 3. establishing and nurturing local con­ gregations of believers. 4. building and maintaining commu­ nity among member churches. 5. coordinating the concerns and re­ sources of the member churches for the various ministries within the King­ dom of God. 6. forming affiliations with other groups within the Body of Christ in or­ der to carry out the worldwide man­ date of the church. Please submit your suggestion by mail (fax, e-mail, or snail), not by phone, to me at the Conference Office. Thank you. THE MESSENGER

COMING EVENTS

1998-99

New

Modular Education • Short Term - 3 or 6 weeks • Six entry points during the year Full 3-credlt Courses In each Module

...

Jan 5 - Feb 9

Feb 16-Mar 4

Mar 8-Apr 15

Introduction to the Old Testament Pastoral Epistles Theology I Christianity and the Imagination Introduction to Psychology II Marriage and Family Introduction to Youth Ministries

Romans Introduction to Church Ministries Introduction to Mission

Life & Teachings of Jesus Theology II Interpersonal Processes Cultural Anthropology Principles of Counselling II Pastoral Ministries

Evening Courses • Viewpoints (Book Discussions) Jan. 9. Feb. 13, March 13, Apr. 10 9:30 a m. -12:00 noon Instnjctor Corey Herlevsen Cost; $139 (Includes books and bnjnch)

* Ministering to Junior High Youth Feb. 5. 7:00-10:00 p.m. Feb. 6, 9:00 a m. - 3:00 p.m. Instructor Tim Ryan Cost: $120 Credit, $60 Audit

■ The Use of Tests In Counselling March 8, 9. 10, 11; 7:00- 10:00 p.m. Instructor Or. Harvey Plett Cost: $120 Credit. $60 Audit

■ Song of Solomon March 8, 9, 10, 11; 7:00 -10:00 p.m. Instructor. John Neufeld Cost: $120 Credit. $60 audit

Steinbach Bible College

For more information: 204-326-6451, Fax 204-326-6908 E-Mail: PR@SBCollege.mb.ca Box 1420, Steinbach, MB, ROA 2A0

December 10 Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary School-Agassiz Christmas Concert Bethel Mennonite Church Winnipeg, Manitoba December 17 Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary School-Bedson Christmas Concert Immanuel Pentecostal Church Winnipeg, Manitoba January 10,1999 EMC Missions Day of Prayer Your Church? Phone: 204-326-6401 January 22-24,1999 ENRICH Parenting Seminar Stony Brook Fellowship Steinbach, Manitoba Phone: 204-346-0576

January 24,1999 Worid Fellowship Sunday of Mennonites/Brethren in Christ January 29-31 Youth Encounter‘99 Providence College Otterbume, Manitoba Phone: 1-800-666PROV February 12-13 Building Marriages of Integrity Region 6 Marriage Enrichment Morris Fellowship Chapel Morris, Manitoba Phone: 204-746-8360

a EMC congregation with potential, including a growing Sunday school, requires a pastor. Part-time salary and housing available cur­ rently: position could become full-time. Other employment is aveiilable, depending on train­ ing and experience. Contact: Search Commit­ tee, Northern Fellowship Chapel (EMC), Box 35, Creighton, SK SOP OAO. Call board mem­ ber Deb Odegaard at 306-688-2996 or Confer­ ence Pastor John Koop at 204-326-6401. Steinbach Bible College, Inc., an evangelical­ anabaptist college cuid high school serving a Mennonite constituency seeks a business manager. Responsibilities: member of senior adminis­ tration; management of fiscal operations, physical plant and equipment; supervision of support staff. Qualifications: ca, cma, cga or equivalent training experience; team player in agreement with statement of faith and lifestyle position of the institution. Position will remain open until filled. Send resume to President Stan Plett, Box 1420, Steinbach, MB ROA 2A0. Phone: 204326-6451. Fax: 204-326-6908. E-mail: spletKgiSBCollege.mb.ca.

Treesbank Community Church is looking for a vibrant leader to pastor the congregation and lead in a variety of church ministries in the

DECEMBER 2, 1998

community. If you are outgoing, like to inter­ act with the church and community, please send a resume and cover letter to Pastor Search Committee, Treesbank Community Church (EMC), Box 172, Wawanesa, MB ROK 2G0, or phone Leonard Plett at 204-824-2475.

Mennonite Central Committee Canada seeks applications for the position of executive di­ rector, its chief executive officer. All appli­ cants must exhibit a commitment to a per­ sonal Christian faith and discipleship, active membership in a Mennonite or Brethren in Christ church, euid nonviolent peacemaking. Please direct enquiries to Search Commit­ tee members: John Wiens (604-434-5358), Pauline Hogan (905-688-0361), Willie Stoesz (204-377-4724), Ed Barkman (204-254-7734), Lori Brandt Unger (204-284-7881). Direct ap­ plications to John Wiens, Executive Director Search Committee, c/o Mennonite Central Committee Canada, 134 Plaza Drive, Winni­ peg, Manitoba R3T 5K9. Fax: 204-269-9875. Review of applications will begin on January 31, 1999, and will continue until a suitable candidate is selected.

Yonge Street Mission requires a drop-in pro­ gram coordinator. Evergreen is a drop-in cen­ tre that provides basic services to street youth in downtown Toronto, including food, refer­ rals, health care and employment training. This

position will develop and maintain program­ ming designed to engage street-involved youth to access resources, basic services and refer­ rals, Evergreen seeks to assist street-involved youth to move away from street culture. Responsibilities: facilitating the effective op­ eration of the drop-in program; recmifing, as­ sessing, training, motivating and supervising a volunteer staff of 35; providing crisis interven­ tion and counselling to homeless youth; super­ vising a paid staff of 6-7; facilitating group dis­ cussions and activities. Education and experience; Essential experi­ ence in providing individucti support to youth who are living in poverty, dealing with mental health issues, socially isolated or homeless. Strong informal counselling skills, crisis inter­ vention experience, and group facilitation skills. Excellent supervision and organizational skills, able to take initiative and set priorities. Some evening and weekend work is required. A degree in social work, or a related field, five years of working with margiucdized youth in a drop-in setting, two years of supervisory experience, and proven ability to recmit and train volunteers. Start date: fall/winter 1998. Please send resume and cover letter to: David Adcock, As­ sociate Executive Director, Yonge Street Mis­ sion, 270 Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario MSA 2G4. Phone: 416-929-9614. Fax: 416-9297204. PAGE 13

QAyeddings AZAR - BARKMAN: Bechara, son of Jamil and Labibe Azar of Beirut, Lebanon, and Joan, daughter of Ed and Katie Barkman of Landmark, Man., were married on December 13, 1997, in Dair el Ar’afay, with Salim Ghazal of Beirut officiating. The couple lives in Winnipeg, Man. PETERS - PETERS: Derek, son of John and Tina Peters of Winnipeg, Man., and Heather, daughter of John and Helena Peters of Winnipeg (formerly of Niverville, Man.), were married in Niverville on September 12, 1998. They are living in Winnipeg. MacBEATH - MEUNIER: Murray, son of Len and Pat MacBeath of Winnipeg, Man., and Jennifer, daughter of Charlie and Bev Meunier of Winnipeg, were married on August 1, 1998. The wedding took place at the Church of the Nazarene in Winnipeg, with Mel Siggelkow officiating. The couple is making their home in Winnipeg. FRIESEN - KOOP: Donavan, son of Al and Laura Friesen of Winnipeg, Man., and Kendra, daughter of Sid and Dora Koop of Landmark, Man., were married at the Prairie Rose EMC on June 27, 1998, with Al Friesen officiating. The couple is residing at Camp Arnes, Man. SCHMIDT - BELEN: Anton, son of Dave and Judy Schmidt of Asuncion, Paraguay, and Faith, daughter of Menno and Leoni Belen of Asuncion, were married on August 1, 1998, with both fathers officiating. The couple resides in Asuncion. PENNER - BRANDT: Coralie, daughter of Lome and Annie Penner, and Frank, son of Alvin and Adina Brandt, were married on July 11, 1998. The wedding took place at the Ridgewood EMC, with Barry Plett officiating. The couple is residing in Steinbach, Man.

JESSIE REIMER 1921-1998 Our mother and grandmother, Jessie Reimer, passed away peacefully on Friday, August 14, 1998, at the Bethania Mennonite Personal Care Home in Winni­ peg. Mother was born on December 21, 1921, at the home of her parents, Peter F. and Katherine Loewen, in the Prairie Rose

PAGE 14

^Uitbs PETERS - REIMER: Maria, daughter of Johan and Katharina Peters, and Normen, son of Johan and Aganetha Reimer, were married at the Ridgewood EMC, on August 15, 1998, with Ralph Unger officiating. The couple lives in Altona, Man. SWYNAR - REIMER: Tara, daughter of Dave and Gayle Swynar, and Derek, son of Milton and Janice Reimer, were married on August 22, 1998. The wedding took place at the Ridgewood EMC, with Leonard Barkman officiating. PLETT - NEUFELD: Roxanne, daughter of Ken and Connie Plett, was married on August 29, 1998, to Trevor Neufeld. The wedding took place at the Ridgewood EMC, with Don Thiessen officiating. The couple is making their home in Moose Jaw, Sask. REMPEL - VOGT: Theressa, daughter of Dave and Margaret Rempel, and Greg , son of Cheryl Vogt, were married at the Ridgewood EMC on November 6, 1998, with Ralph Unger officiating. The couple lives in Steinbach, Man. BANMAN - FEHR: Gordie, son of Jake and Verna Banman of La Crete, Alta., and Becki, daughter of Bill and Tina Fehr of La Crete, were married in La Crete on October 3, 1998, with Glen Koop officiating. The couple is living in La Crete. EMC Missions Day of Prayer January 10, 1999 This is a reminder that the EMC Missions Day of Prayer will be held on January 10. Prayer requests will sent to churches prior to that date. You are encouraged to be involved. Lester Olfert Foreign Secretary

(Landmark) area, where they pioneered. Here she grew up and received her edu­ cation. Many times she told us that she had to learn to read and speak English so that she in turn could teach English to her father. Her favourite pastime was riding her “cowboy-trained” horse that obeyed her directions without a bridle or saddle. In her youth she worked as a farmhand and maid for relatives and others. Mother was baptized upon the confes­ sion of her faith on July 9, 1939, and was a member of the Prairie Rose EMC. She was married to Klass P. Reimer on November 30, 1941, and they shared fiftysix years together. They lived with Dad’s parents at first. Later they lived in various locations in the Landmark area and also several winters in lumber camps. Here Mom cooked for as many as thirteen men, with three small children at her feet. She was an avid cook, tended a large garden, did lots of canning, and used to raise some chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks. She did a lot of sewing for her

FAST - to John and Mary Fast of Leamington, Ont., a son, Riley, on April 17, 1998. WOLFE - to Frank and Anna Wolfe of Cottom, Ont., a daughter, Amy Christian, on May 5, 1998. HARDER - to Isaac and Nancy Harder of Aylmer, Ont., a son, Matthew James, on October 8, 1998. GIESBRECHT - to Hans and Mary Giesbrecht of Aylmer, Ont., a daughter, Clarissa Susanne, on October 6, 1998. ENNS - to Willi and Annie Enns of Langton, Ont., a son, Marcus William, on October 2, 1998. BARTEL - to Chester and Ruth Bartel of Morris, Man., a daughter, Gina Desirae, on October 20, 1998. SIEMENS - to Wes and Sherri Siemens of Morris, Man., a son, Graham Mackenzie Cole, on October 9, 1998. BRANDT-MURENZl - to Evasio and Alissa Brandt-Murenzi, a daughter, Sophie Therese, on October 8, 1998. WOLFE - to Albert and Allyson Wolfe of La Broquerie, Man., a son, James Albert, on June 12, 1998. REMPEL - to Lucille Rempel of Steinbach, Man., a daughter, Kari Leanne, on August 4, 1998. HHILDBRAND - to Ed and Norma Hildebrand of Steinbach, Man., a daughter, Brandessa Janeen, on September 11, 1998. PLETT - to Fabian and Kim Plett, a daughter, Jordan Alexsandria Dawn, on October 28, 1998. WALDNER - to Joshua and Delores Waldner of Mitchell, Man., a son, Jaden Cole, on October 31, 1998.

household needs, even taking some sew­ ing courses. One of her hobbies was knit­ ting heavy sweaters. She served as a 4-H leader for some years and participated in the ladies group. Mom truly enjoyed the activities of Club 21, which consists of a group of ladies in the surrounding area who were born in 1921. Her life was challenged with ill health over the years. In January 1988, Mom’s health deteriorated to the point where she needed kidney dialysis, which she contin­ ued until her death. Many times she was weary of this procedure. In the last weeks Mom’s condition wors­ ened due to low blood pressure and a weak heart. The doctor informed her that they could not continue the dialysis. Mom’s reply was, “If God wants me. He can have me.” It was only l'/2 days later that she passed away, having reached the age of seventy-six years. We as a family would like to express our gratitude to all of you who so faithfully cared for and gave support with transpor­ tation, visiting and in other ways.

THE MESSENGER

Our mother was predeceased by her par­ ents, Peter F. and Katherine Loewen; one daughter, Marilynn, in 1991; and one grand­ daughter, Jacquie Koop, in 1984. She leaves to mourn her passing, her hus­ band, Klass; three sons, Ernie and Mary Anne (Niverville) and their children, Lloyd and Corinne, Conrad and fiancee Carla; Edmer and Betty (Lorette) and their chil-

'I

JOHN L. LOEWEN 1914-1998 Consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The Spirit helps us in weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s 01/7/(Romans 8:18,26b,27). God has seen fit to call home to heaven, our father, John L. Loewen, on Wednesday, August 26, 1998, after he had a bout of pneumonia in his room at the Morris Lodge. Dad was born on February 25, 1914, near Rosenort, Manitoba. He grew up on a farm with a family of ten children. He learned to work hard on his father’s farm. Dad was baptized at the age of twenty-two and lived a sincere, dedi­ cated Christian life. Church attendance was very important to him. He at­ tended all functions regularly and punc­ tually. Dad’s gift was giving financially, which he did faithfully and regularly; he supported many different organiza­ tions. Dad had a heart for the less fortunate and children and adults with special needs. He had his own way of making them feel special. Dad would gather his family for family devotions, even though he found it difficult to read and pray aloud. He was always concerned about his family’s spiritual welfare.

DECEMBER 2, 1998

dren, Nathan and Tammy, Deena and Chris, Linsay; Patrick and Joanne (Foxwarren) and their children, Matthew, Justin and Nicole; one daughter, Sheila and Merle Koop (Kleefeld) and their children. Holly, Joshua, Jethro and Tyler. Also surviving are three brothers: Ben, Jim and Danny; seven sisters: Betty Reimer, Nettie Goertzen, Mary Giesbrecht, Esther

Loewen, Helen Penner, Doris Loewen and Katherine Reimer; nine sisters-in-law, ten brothers-in-law, and many nieces and neph­ ews. The funeral service was held Monday, August 17, at the Prairie Rose EMC. Her Family

Dad married Mom on October 2,1937. Our family celebrated their fifty-fifth wedding anniversary in the fall of 1992. As newlyweds, they moved way out west to their farm at Pleasant Valley, where they lived during their busy farm­ ing years, raising seven children. Dad was always concerned that money and earthly possessions would never cause him to take his eyes off God. Mom and Dad retired into a home just south of the farm. Their marriage was a happy one, with a lot of love and laughter! Dad was a quiet, godly man — sensi­ tive of others’ feelings and careful not to hurt others. He was a hard worker, and when a job needed to be done, he did it right and well. In his later years he sold many things he’d made in his carpentry shop, the proceeds of which he always gave to MCC. Punctuality was very important to Dad, and in later years in the Lodge he would point to his watch when it was time for us to take his wheelchair to the dining room table. He loved music, and was thrilled and emotional whenever his children would sing in church and at other func­ tions. He enjoyed fishing, playing pool and horseshoe. He loved children, es­ pecially the babies. He would carry ba­ bies for hours from room to room. He spent much time with us children, whether it was going on trips, playing games with us, or simply reading to us. Dad was a healthy man most of his life. He did have to go through a series of radiation treatments for cancer, and when his check-ups kept on being okay, he wondered if the doctors had just imagined his cancer. Dad always believed that if you imagine you’re not sick, then you’ll be okay. When Mom passed away on January 2, 1993, Dad’s life changed drastically, and things were never the same. In July 1994, Dad had the first of two strokes. He was in the hospital for a year and then moved into his final home here on earth, the Morris Lodge. Dad never complained about his lot in life but rather accepted whatever life dealt him. “Why fight something you can’t change?” The Morris staff said they

enjoyed taking care of Dad. He didn’t complain and was always ready for a laugh when the nurses joked around with him. His health deteriorated during the last week and a half, partly due to him not eating properly. In the last two days, pneumonia set in. Even though he was struggling physically, his eyes commu­ nicated recognition and knowledge of what was going on around him the whole time. Then on Wednesday, he went to his heavenly home, where there is no more pain. We are thankful that Dad is in heaven now, where all his earthly struggles will be no more. He leaves behind Ken and Esther Loewen, Joyce and Jake Cornelsen, Betty Ann and Elmer Friesen, Doris and Lome Kornelsen, Helen and Dennis Friesen, Pete and Florence Loewen, and Rudy and Grace Loewen, all of the Rosenort/ Morris area. Dad was predeceased by Mom, Lena Eidse Loewen; one great-grandchild at birth; Grandma and Grandpa, Mr. and Mrs. Peter J. Loewen; his stepmother, Aganetha Barkman Loewen; two brothers, Peter and Abe; and one sis­ ter, Elizabeth. Dad is survived by three brothers, Jake, Isaac and Comie; and three sisters, Mary (Mrs. Henry R. Friesen), Annie (wife of the late John Remple), and Lena (Mrs. Henry F. Loewen). He is survived by twenty-three grand­ children, of whom sixteen are married, and twenty great-grandchildren, and all the Loewen and Eidse brothers- and sisters-in-law. We thank the Morris Lodge staff for the loving care they gave Dad during his stay at the Lodge. The passing away of our dad brings us a certain amount of pain, knowing that the separation means that we will never see him again here on earth. However, at the same time we are re­ joicing in the fact that Dad has gone to be with the Lord. We are looking for­ ward to the day when we will be reu­ nited with our parents in that wonder­ ful place called heaven. The Loewen Family

PAGE 15

Steinbach Bible College Box 1420 Steinbach, MB ROA 2A0

u^istmas 1003 2Bear Friend,

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Thus begins the Charles Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities. That opening line reminds me of Christmas in today’s world. For most of us, Christmas represents “the best of times”. What a nostalgic association of sentiments: family, friends, the Hallelujah Chorus, banquets, Christ’s birth. The list goes on. fVhat a blessing is memory! For an increasing number of people the Christmas season is “the worst of times.” Suicide rates sky rocket. Lives crushed by loneliness. Loneliness rooted in memories of better days. Remorse, regrets and pain. For them Christmas is a pain amplifier.

Bill represents this increasing number living in the “worst of times.” He lived in the ghetto of East Vancouver. It was the Christmas season. He tried to deaden the pain of memory with cheap alcohol. It loosened the tongue and a torrent of pain came gushing out. He’d had a good business in Winnipeg, a wife and wonderful daughter. She’d be in grade 11 or 12 by now, he wistfully suggested. A familiar story of alcohol and abuse followed by skid row. Bill’s story is one of thousands. Broken homes, dysfunctional families, the pain of divorce, children dividing time between mom and dad who are not on speaking terms, loneliness, suicides, grinding poverty, remorse, and reminders of better times. fVhat a curse is memory! The story of Christmas is the story of bridging the “best” and the “worst”. God become flesh. Jesus volunteering to wander the streets of East Hastings (Vancouver), to feel the pain of hopelessness in order to bring hope to the hopeless. Jesus left the “best of all worlds” in order to bridge the gap. That’s the story of Christmas. That’s the meaning of the incarnation.

We, who live in the “best of times” are asked to live incamational lives. We at SBC are called upon to do more than expound upon the theological significance of the incarnation. We are committed to do more than emphasize the importance of creeds, to do more than prepare men and women to live comfortable lives in Christian communities. We are called upon to live incamational lives by extend­ ing hope to the hopeless. The church is called the body of Christ. What an incamational title to live up to! That is the applica­ tion of the Christmas story.

Stan Plett, SBC President

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WHAT’S NEW at SBC & SCHS Christmas 1998 New College Classroom It’s the end of an era. No more first year college classes in the dining room! No more culinary aromas or kitchen staff gossip wafting through the dining room, competing for the students’ attention. No more tables being set while classes are still in ses­ sion. We have a large, attractive, new college classroom. Thanks to all who helped make this possible.

"1 bring you good news ofgreat joy for everyone! The Savior...has been born ...”

Luke 2:10,11

New Directions Will SBC and SCHS become two independent schools? How will they be owned and governed? Those are questions the SBC/SCHS board is facing. The latest proposal suggests that the schools become independent in matters of finance, program and governance. However, the two schools will continue to share facilities and continue to partner on a variety of shared services. All capital projects and most shared services ’J'ill be und-er the responsibility of an umbrella corporation which will own the property and facilities and lease them to the two schools.

»

Other concerns are being addressed. The mission of the college is under review. Are there new program opportunities? Is the college meeting the needs of the constituency? Of the present and potential students? How can we improve what we do and how we do it? If you have suggestions, let us know. We will keep you informed of further developments!

Library Automation It’s the end of another era. No more flipping through the card catalogue, scribbling mysterious number and letter codes on scraps of paper and searching the stacks, frequently in vain, for desired books. Was the book in fact on the shelf or had it been checked out? The card catalogue, unlike the intelligent computer, was clueless. If and when a desired book was located, cards were fished out of a book pocket, library assistants went through a rather cumbersome process of “signing out” books. No more! We have entered the electronic age thanks to a generous bequest by the late librarian, Myrna Friesen and the expertise and commitment of the present librarian and staff. Locating books, checking out, keeping records, etc., all is done electronically. Staff can even access the library from their own offices. Another dream come true!

SBC Has Gone Modular We have a new course delivery system. Courses are completed within three or six week periods referred to as a modules. There are now six rather than two entry points in the college year. Faculty and students by and large appreciate the new system, with the possible exception of a group of die hard procrastinators. No longer can they wait for the last few weeks to get serious with assignments. By that time it’s too late. The module is over! The modular system adds flexibility. The third year students took a recent three week module for Mission training in Mexico with EMC missions. It also makes it easier for part time students to take an occasional course or courses.

SCHS Chamber Choir Is Going International I\

!

Exciting developments have taken place in SCHS, not the least of which is the excellent music program. The SCHS chamber choir under the direction of music director, Elroy Friesen, is planning to tour England and Scotland in the Spring of ’99.

As these few developments illustrate, among other things, quality high school and college education is costly. Please consider forwarding a generous gift to SBC/SCHS.

Steinbach Bible College Box 1420 • Steinbach, MB • ROA 2A0

204-326-6451 • 1-800-230-8478

www.sbcollege.mb.ca/SBC • pr@sbcollege.mb.ca

‘NOT TALKING OFTEN’

SOME LEADERS in the Mennonite community fear that Mennonites’ commitment to the church’s peace theology is fading. As one of the three “peace churches” of modern times — the other two being the Society of Friends (Quakers) and the Ger­ man Baptists (Church of the Brethren since 1908) — the Mennonite church has long followed Jesus’ call to be nonvio­ lent — to love your enemy. The church’s rejection of violence as an appropriate solution to disputes has led to a commitment by many Mennonites to pacifism. It is also foundational for dozens of organizations across Canada that currently offer victim-offender mediation and help resolve disputes within communities. Is this historical Mennonite “distinctive” eroding as Mennonites integrate into Canadian culture and into the larger Christian family? Concern about Mennonite peace theology was a theme emerging from a two-day peace consultation held at the MCC offices in mid-September. It was attended by eighteen peace workers from five provinces. The group plans to meet annu­ ally. “1 felt the Mennonite Brethren had given this relatively little attention in recent years. 1 don’t see a great deal of effort being made to giving a peace message in our congregations,” says Harold Jantz, Mennonite Brethren representative to the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada board. Representatives from some other Mennonite church confer­ ences tell a similar story. “I think we’re not talking about it very often,” says Henry Dueck, past executive secretary and con­ ference minister of the Evangelical Mennonite Mission Confer­ ence (EMMC). MCC Canada’s peace ministries coordinator Tom Snowdon, who helped organize the MCC meeting, defines peace as the state of God’s shalom or wholeness. He breaks it down to peace with God, peace with oneself, peace with others and peace with the environment. Jantz said the Mennonite Brethren conference has been con­ cerned sometimes that emphasizing a peace position might be an impediment to evangelism. It’s thought that Mennonite distinctives such as pacifism might turn people off who would otherwise be open to the gospel. Dueck said evangelical Mennonites can be deeply concerned with planting churches — sometimes to the exclusion of other things. “We forget that what we also need to teach these new Christians is about a peaceable walk.” Dueck said EMMC church members are often influenced by the larger Christian community that doesn’t emphasize peace terminology. A large number of young people attend non-

Mennonite Bible colleges where such theology isn’t a strong focus. Menno Kroeker, an Evangelical Mennonite Conference (EMC) pastor in Rosenort, Manitoba, notices some influence from American evangelicalism in his conference. Church members read Christian books from the U.S. and listen to American radio programs, and are sometimes influenced by ideas that wrap Christianity with defending the American way of life, he said. Jack Suderman, who works with peace and justice issues for the Conference of Mennonites in Canada (CMC), doesn’t think it’s so much a matter of “lost” peace theology — at least not in CMC circles. “1 don’t think there ever was a golden era,” he said, adding he believes the peace interest is at least as strong as it was in former years. He said most peace agenda in the CMC, however, has been institutionalized. Church-run care homes look after the eld­ erly. MCC takes care of the refugee process. Sunday school curriculum reflects the peace position, and so on. “In that sense 1 don’t think there has been a lessening of it but a shifting of it,” Suderman said. Jennifer Mains, a congregational peace worker at Sterling Avenue Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ontario, however, believes that to older church members, peace theology was an integral part of their lives. She thinks that has been lost in a younger generation living comfortable lifestyles. “1 think we base our security on economic security rather than faith,” she said. “And that’s not what the gospel says.” Living comfortable lives contributes to injustice and oppres­ sion elsewhere. “The gospel message is not an easy message. It’s a counter-culture message.” Jantz also sees the peace message as integral to the gospel. “I think right at the heart of the gospel is reconciliation with our­ selves,” he explained. “It’s also the basis for reconciliation with others,” he contin­ ued. “1 think we perhaps have thought of the peace position in too narrow terms.” Dueck said when peace theology is seen simply as refraining from military service, it loses relevance in non-war times. “Be­ cause we’re not facing that, it doesn’t become a very high priority.” He prefers to call it a “peaceable walk” rather than “nonresistance.” Kroeker also suggests nonresistance is a negative term that doesn’t attract people. He suggested challenging people to take the positive step of becoming peacemakers rather than being seen as people who just withdraw from conflict. “1 think the Bible really calls us to a peace position,” he said. MCCC

Do you have a story for The Personal Touch? Il must be a true account (although names may be changed, if necessary) illustrating the Christian life or character. Send your 700-word story and a photograph of yourself or suggestion for a story to the address below.

PAGE 16

THE MESSENGER Evangelical Mennonite Conference Box 1268, 440 Main Street Steinbach, MB ROA 2A0 Subsidy Reminder: Hciue you giuen consent through your church?