I enjoy the Christmas season. I like decorating our home both inside and out, playing Christmas music, planning for and purchasing gifts for family and friends, going to or hosting Christmas parties, attending programs, baking and eating special holiday cookies and candies and in general doing the many things we do as a family and extended family that make Christmas Christmas. I generally don't mind the early Christmas displays in stores and malls. I enjoy the anticipation that the decorations and seasonal reminders kindle in my heart.
My prayer this month is that I will find Christmas as I enjoy all of these favorite holiday activities. According to my computer's dictionary, one definition of the word "find" is "to notice or experience something personally." And that's what I pray will happen to you and me this month-that we will personally experience God incarnate.
My hope is that the articles in this month's feature section will help us find Christmas. A common theme in these essays and articles is that Christmas is about God bringing salvation to broken people. Brokenness isn't something we often associate with Christmas-but we should. A conversation with a school counselor the other day reminded me that regardless of our age we all need a Savior. December, the counselor said, is often a very stressful time for kids. At her school, this month marks the end of the quarter and that means tests are given and projects are due. That alone creates stress. But for some kids, their anxiety in December is enhanced because the holiday break will be painful due to family tensions or difficulties. This conversation was a gende reminder that not everyone shares my joyful anticipation of the Christmas season. It was also a reminder that even when we don't feel much holiday cheer, this Christmas each of us can personally experience the life-giving touch of our God.
This month the news section includes a report on the recent Central District Conference convention and highlights Buhler (Kan.) MB Church and its 125th anniversary celebration last month. We also report on a recent retreat and consultation for Mennonite Brethren missionaries and national leaders in Asia that represents a first for our mission agency. Other articles highlight a Mennonite Brethren politician and recent events in Vietnam. This issue also includes our annual index listing by department the content of the 2004 issues.
May you find Christ this Christmas and worship him as your Savior and Lord.-CF
COMING
• JAN. 25, 2005 World Fellowship Sunday sponsored by Mennonite World Conference
• JAN. 25-27, 2005 Southern District Conference Youth Pastor Intensive, Wichita, Kan.
• JAN. 31-FEB. 2, 2005 Central District Conference pastor's retreat, Hill City, S.D.
• FEB 7-8, 2005 New Pastor's Orientation, Shell Beach, Calif
• MAY 14,2005 Leadership Summit, Denver, Colo
• JULY 29-31,2005 Southern District Conference convention, Denver, Colo.
When he left home that morning, Jose had not anticipated that his young wife would go into labor while they rode a Chicago subway train BY CHR ISTINE R WIEBE
Darkness
Walk i ng in the dark this Christmas thanks to an overload of holiday responsibilit ies and expectations? Feeling low on grace, joy and generosity? That's OK BY RICH PREHEIM Needing
Christmas reminds us that our humanity is the reason for the season BY KEN NETH L. GIBBLE
War no more
A you ng World War I medic recalls Christmas Eve on the European front. BY JACOB J. FUNK
Why must the joyous Christmas story be ruined by the news of Herod's murderous actions in Bethlehem? BY JOHN
A relief worker in Africa reflects on Advent and the role of suffering. BY LAUREL BORISENKO
MANDATE: The Christian Leader (lSSN 0009-5149) is published monthly by the U S Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. The Christian Leader seeks to inform Mennonite Brethren members and churches of the events, activities, decisions and issues of the ir denomination, and to instruct, inspire and in itiate dialogue so members will aspire to be faithful disciples of Christ as understood in the evangelicaVAnabaptist theological trad ition
EDITORIAL POUCY: The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the position of the Christian Leader, the U S. Conference Leadership Board or the Mennonite Brethren Church Scripture references are from New International Version unless otherwise noted. The editors invite free-lance article submissions. A SASE must accompany articles
• Dumping the
Minds
by Marv in He in 17
• Why does God allow people incapable in body, mind to linger
• Former Lowe's clerk builds for eternity
by Rose Buschman
fe rence Call by Chuck Buller and Don Morris
• Anticipating the mira cle of
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Where is he? by Elmer
CHRISTMAS
By Christine R. Wiebe
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It had been a long trip from southwest Chicago to the Department of Public Aid on the north side. Jose and Mari a had received notice that their green cards had bee n revoked. They made the lengthy journey early Friday afternoon by crowded bus and EI to find out why and if the decision could be changed. Maria was pregnant, and they would need even more money once the baby came.
The man at the door let them in only after much arguing. Then they stood in a long line until finally it was their tum to see the woman at the window. They were in the wrong line. "Go over there," the woman muttered impatiently. "Next." So
they stood, waiting, for another two hours. Maria felt strange pains climbing up her belly and wondered if she should tell Jose. But then it was their tum again. This time a man said roughly, "Can't you read? All the people in your class are losing their green cards," he said. ''You have to reapply in another category. Come back Monday. We're closing now."
Jose and Maria left in silence, wishing they were back in Mexico where their family could help. It would be dark soon. Jose wondered why he'd been so foolish as to marry Maria. Her pregnancy several months before
their wedding date so angered her father that he had thrown her out of the house. There had once been dreams and visions, but they made little sense now. Why
back in Mexico where Maria's mother, a midwife, would know what to do.
At last they saw the hospital, a large stone structure had he arranged a hasty, private wedding? Now it seemed he had only felt sorry for her. Yet he loved her.
you all right, Maria?" he asked.
She walked slowly, her heavy body a burden.
"Can you walk this far?"
''Yes, " she said, "if we walk slower." Her breath came faster, and when the pains came she could not cover her gasps.
"Maria, you're not all right."
"No, but I will be, once I can sit down on the El."
Once they were settled on the El, the pains only worsened.
"Jose, I think the baby's coming," Maria said softly. This was her first baby and she was not sure of the signs.
"Then we must get to a hos-
pital fast." This was all new to jose also. He knew there was a hospital along the Elline, but not exactly where. He watched carefully as the lighted apartment windows rushed past. He saw silhouettes of families
rising like a temple out of the dilapidated apartment buildings. As they walked across the parking lot, Maria leaning heavily on jose's arm, she had to stop twice until the pains subsided
Inside the emergency room, the nurse was kind as she checked Maria before explaining the hospital policy. "I am sorry but you cannot stay here because you have no money or insurance card. If you were going to deliver in 10 minutes you could stay, but since you will not deliver for another few hours, 1 must send you to Cook County. They will accept you there. Do you know how to get there?"
"Yes," jose replied. He knew where the hospital for poor people was He had heard stories about patients left for hours unattended
and doctors yelling at patients. He could not take Maria there
"Come on, Maria. Let's go."
For the second time that day they left a large stone building empty-handed and in silence . eating, talking or sitting in front of the blue glow of the Tv. Again he wished they were
"There's only one thing to do," Maria murmured. "We must try to get to Ana's house."
"Yes, maybe Ana could help us," agreed Jose . Ana was a friend and had
children of her own. A little more hopeful, they directed their steps back to the EI and paid the face with their last money.
After 20 minutes of waiting, they climbed aboard an over-full car of passengers heading home from work and clung with them to the overhead straps . The train rushed quickly past Fullerton and down into the subway where they would change to the Douglas-Milwaukee line
''We'll be at Ana's soon, yes?"
"Very soon "
But once on the Douglas train, they sat in the dark subway for almost an hour. Another train had broken down in front of them. The passengers could not help but notice Maria's state as she moaned softly from time to time
''You gonna have that baby soon," boomed the voice of a large bl k I ac woman. In a gent er tone she said, "Get off with me at the
women drew close One older woman , with seven children of her own, gave Maria an assuring hug saying, ''You gonna be all right , honey." The others sent her glances that told her she was in good hands.
In a little room off the pulpit area on a dilapidated couch with a well-worn blanket tossed over it, Maria at last lowered her heavy body with a sigh and gave herself over to the care of these strangers.
And there her baby was born. One woman offered a beautiful fringed shawl to wrap him in. Maria desisted, saying, "It's too beautiful."
"No, you keep it." said the giver "This is a special child, born in a church."
"Hey, how about a little music now," said the woman who had brought Maria and Jose from the El. "Let's celebrate." next stop. I'm going to choir practice but I know someone who can help who'll be there."
Mercifully the train lurched forward just then, and soon they were at Racine, a section in which Jose had been warned never to loiter
"Come on , " urged the woman, beckoning to the pair.
They had no choice . With the woman on one side of Maria and Jose on the other, they found their way in the near darkness to a tiny church a few blocks away. Grafitti covered the outside walls. A few windows had been knocked out and boarded up. Across the street, curtains billowed out of empty windows and a wino slumped against some trash barrels nursing his brownpaper bagged bottle.
But inside the church, it was warm and bright. A crowd of people milled about laughing Someone plunked a tune on an old upright piano.
"Hey, Leticia," said the woman, calling to a middleaged woman across the room "This lady 's gonna have a baby any minute. Can you help her?"
"I's the Lord ' s handmaiden," the woman replied and hurried over. Her dark eyes checked Maria over. She asked a few questions. "We don't have time to get you to my house. We'll have to make do here."
When the other choir members saw Maria and understood her situation, they waited to practice. A few
The pianist sprang to the piano bench. The chords tumbled and rippled out of the old instrument. Soprano, alto, tenor, bass-all took up the hallelujahs one by one, and then all joined together, clapping and swaying. Jose and Maria smiled at each other. It wasn't a mariachi band , but the music reminded them of a Mexican fiesta.
Outside, a wino and a street lady, attracted to the music , stuck their heads inside the door. "Cmon, c'mon," beckoned a choir member. baby was born here tonight."
"Can I see the baby?" asked the man eagerly, still clutching his bottle . "I never seen a baby in my whole life " He staggered forward
"Sure, " said Jose and led him to Maria and the child. The bag lady, a cart piled high with her belongings , looked back furtively at them as she stumbled down the aisle
Once in front of the tiny being, they stared in awe while the chorus of hallelujahs rose around them, increasing in volume
Christine R. Wiebe worked in a small clinic for underprivileged families in the Hispanic area of Chicago for a summer before spending another three years in Mennonite Central Committee voluntary service. She died in 2000 at the age of 46 after a long illness while working on her masters offine arts
'Darkness amid the Chris
Christmas shows us §o cVs wi{{inBness to em6race the human co ndition-arC of it.
In response to the Christmas season's overwhelming and pervasive messages of joy and hope, allow me to add one cynical voice crying in the wilderness: I bring you good tidings of great joy Bah, humbug.
It's the most wonderful time of the year ... Oh, go stuff a Christmas stocking . 'Tis the season to be jolly Is it baseball season already?
If the spirit of this time of year-as conveyed in word, song and advertising-is solely one of festiveness and light, please fast-forward to the routine and darkness of January and February. The holidays are stressful and frustrating enough without the added pressure of trying to muster up expected levels of Christmas cheer At least after New Year ' s we Grinches and Scrooges can ge t down to the day-to-day realities of life without having to endure any more choruses of "We wish you a Merry Christmas." But despite prevailing pressures to the contrary, there is fortunately plenty of room for Grinch, Scrooge and all sorts of other holiday wet blankets. While Chris tmas is a time of great joy, we all do not have to feel joyous. In fact, whatever warm fuzzies the spirit of the season may be, it is also appropriate to feel cold, tired, depressed, exasperated, sorrowful or generally cranky. Those feelings reflect what it means to be mortal, to struggle and scratch and claw and endeavor to persevere against powers and principalities of all sorts. God recognizes that, although such is not God's wish for us. That is why Emmanuel first came to Israel, a weary and burdened people. The oirth of God in human form, writes Wendy M. Wright, ''was a radical act of solidarity with the height and breadth of the human condition. "
Yet we gloss over that in our rush to trim trees , deck halls and buy presents. Happiness and merriment are, after all, supposed to be the standards of the season. Not that we neceSSarily ignore the frailties of the human condition. We may step up our charitable giving, serve in soup kitchens, and collect items for storm victims-all of which are well and good. But for all our best intentions and doing the right things, we still may echo the words of
that famous commentator of our common plight, Brown: "I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel.
This is the paradox of the season: As are called to give ourselves to others. But doesn't make Christmas. Its foundation is al-accepting the gift ofjesus Christ, therell. dc edging our fallen and broken condition. And our condition, we can-and do-deeply fIel broken.
Emmanuel came because we are DWIIlaJ[l: i::apllve needing freedom, blind and needing Sight, oppressed and needing release. If we weren't, we would have no need for him or for Christmas. As Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." We are all sick, suffering from a multitude of maladies. Some people are healthier than others, which is cause for rejoicing and thanksgiving. But not all of us experience the same degree of good spiritual health.
Life can become profoundly difficult at this time of the year. Responsibilities and expectations can increase at a point when time and energy seem to plummet. All the while, we are supposed to be vessels of overflowing grace , joy and generosity. It can be a painful combination , one that preys on and exacerbates our spiritual and emotional weaknesses. We can still be people walking in d arkness, despite the glare of Christmas lights all around us.
So in the face of conventional definitions of the Christmas spirit, it is appropriate to feel not only warm o r fuzzy. That acknowledges our humanity and the reasons for th e Mes siah 's arrival. Just as he came to Israel some two millenn ia ag o, those for whom Christmas painfully exposes ou r fallen and broken condition can take comfort knowing that Emmanuel comes to us again December 25 .
Rich Preheim is a freelance writer living in Elkhart, Ind Re wrote this article as an editorial when he was a staff member of The Mennonite, the magazine of Mennonite Church USA . It was published Dec. 22, 1998 and is reprinted with permission .
Needing Christmas
The simple story of Christmas reminds us what it means to be fully human.
Do y u n ed C ristmas?
thi yo do. I th ink you need Christmas in order to see, understand and apprec ·ate hat i means to be fully human O rne r C .stmas has nothing to do with the trivialized version of the seaSOA as--everything to do with a simple story that goes back two millenniums. Christianity makes the astounding claim that God comes to us in the person of Jesus. He comes breathing, eating, talking and touching. God meets us face-to-face, person-to-person. The theological word for it is incarnation. The best word for it is love
The essence of the Christmas story is a baby, a flesh and blood child. This child is born like every other child, with the mother gasping for breath as she painfully pushes the infant into the world, its messy arrival accompanied by squalls loud enough to hurt your ears and melt your heart.
When you stop to think about it, in spite of what the Hebrew prophets said, there is no way anyone would have guessed God would come to earth this way. Micah foretold that Bethlehem, a litde village, would be the birthplace of Israel's king. Anyone who might have peered into the stable that night and seen the child lying in the cattle's feed trough would not have guessed in a million years that this was the Savior of the world There was nothing very grand about the birth of Mary's son.
If there is nothing very grand about his birth, there is something intensely human about it. And that is the important thing For in this birth the ineffable God, the one whose being spans galaxies of galaxies that we have not yet begun to measure, this mighty God willingly and graciously enters into intimate relationship with humanity.
Christmas is about relationships-God reaching out to us and us reaching out to each other. To enter into a relationship with another is to make oneself vulnerable. God took that risk. The child in Bethlehem grew up to walk the path of obedience all the way to a criminal's death.
In the centuries old carol, "The First Good Joy That Mary Had," the mother of the Christ child names her Christmas joys one
by one, until abruptly there comes a joy that sounds strange to our ears:
The next good joy that Mary had
It was the joy of six.
To see her own son Jesus Christ
Upon the crucifix
And when those words catch us up short, as they are intended to, we suddenly see why so few people ever find in Christmas anything more than an occasion for perfunctory gift giving and a few more or less enjoyable parties. To let Christmas truly touch us we must enter fully into the joy and the pain of the human condition, a condition into which God entered fully and freely.
At Christmas we see and feel the subtle interplay between the divine and human as at no other time And despite the holiday advertising blitz and determined efforts to tum Christmas into triviality, there is something about it that makes even the most hardened cynics among us pause for a moment.
It may be a glimpse of a candle burning in a window
or the nighttime echoes of "Joy to the World" played by a brass ensemble or even someone's firm handclasp and direct gaze accompanied by the worn greeting, "Merry Christmas." And the message is there . God comes into such a world as this. He comes to stand with us, laugh with us and suffer with us whether the pain is a hunger for food to fill empty bellies or hope to fill empty hearts.
The traditional carol says, "Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown." We know what crown it is--a crown of thorns-and we know humanity still wears it. And we know the one who, all because of love, when crucified bore it on his head for us and with us.
This is the truth of the Christian faith and it is the truth of Christmas-love. It is as unsentimental, as strong and as human a message of redemption and hope that the world has ever known
And it is why I still need Christmas. So do you and so does this weary, weary world.
Kenneth Gibble is a freelance writer living in Greencastle, Penn., and a frequent contributor to the Leader.
By Jacob J • Funk
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good will toward that first Christmas Eve, 1914, my country, at war with Germany. Our unit Imtbeerrstatic)nt:d at Dubno on the European front when our officers received the command to move our train to a spur line until further orders arrived
For a short while time stood still that Christmas Eve. As we waited for the tnc,rnino I pondered to myself: Where was I? What was I doing here?
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A VOtJNG SOUUElllUJSHED ou'r IN'n, THE SNO'", NIC;H'I' AND BROIJGHT BACK 1\ I'INE SHOVED 1'1' IN'ro AN 01J» BOOT 1'0 tUKE IT S'I'AND UI'llIGH'I'. 'fE InOKED A'I' THE SAD Ll'nLE
ANI) AGAIN 'rFAllS I?UnfED.
I was in Red Cross train No. 195 SZ. An old freight train had been hastily converted into a makeshift hospital on wheels. The twelve neatly made beds in each boxcar were still unoccupied, for we hadn't reached our destination-the war zone-as yet.
I was a volunteer medic, inexperienced and with little training . I knew however that when our train filled with wounded soldiers, I would be expected to do my part in nursing and comforting the men on the return trip to the hospitals in Kiev.
As we waited in our hospital train on the siding, tense yet eager to move on, we watched the military trains rush by us to the front. Train after train, car after car, loaded with bright young men, sped by us. Though they had everything to live for, they were being transported to the front to be slaughtered like cattle.
Some of these soldiers stared out the train windows at the passing scenery. A few waved to us, and we waved back. The movement was almost mechanical. Few men talked or cheered. Even in our train, the atmosphere was burdened by the silence among us as we listened to the dull roar of the cannons in the distance.
Suddenly a passing train threw a bag of mail to us. Immediately our train became alive with noisy excitement as men from all cars gathered around the canvas bag. Letters. Parcels from home. We laughed. We cried. It was Christmas Eve. The mail reminded us of this fact once again.
As the letters and packages were opened, memories of warmth and love of family circles overwhelmed the men. How great the longing to be at home to celebrate Christmas with loved ones!
A young soldier rushed out into the snowy night and broUght back a scraggly little pine tree. He shoved it into an old boot to make it stand upright. We looked at the sad little unadorned Christmas tree and again the tears flowed.
We ached to sing the old familiar carols, but we had been forbidden to use the German language, our mother tongue, because it was the language of the enemy. However, from a comer, the soft tones of a mouth organ playing Stille Nacht ("Silent Night") quieted our hearts. For a short while there was "peace on earth."
Our peace was rudely shattered by a loud command to get ready to move. The Christmas tree was thrown out the door, the letters replaced in their envelopes and the mouth organ silenced . The train rolled from its place on the siding to the main track and toward the front.
I was apprehensive. What would we find there? How many wounded? How many dead? How many sweethearts, wives, and parents would never hear nor see their loved ones again?
When we reached the smoking, ravaged town of Brodi on the Austrian border, scenes of horror faced us on all sides. Few buildings had been left standing. People cowered for protection in cellars or craters created by bombs. An ancient cemetery had spewed up decaying coffins. Nearby we saw massive fresh graves carefully covered with pine tree branches. Buried underneath were the bodies of thousands of our brave young men.
But we had no time for fear and wondering. Our work had begun. An endless stream of soldiers with haunted faces and ugly, gaping wounds waited their tum to be loaded onto our train. We worked steadily until every bed, every chair and every comer of the train was full. Then the train started the return journey to the hospitals in Kiev. In our car the peace and quiet of a few hours ago now turned into screams and moans. The train stopped briefly at a little hamlet. Terrified faces peered into the open doors of the former freight cars. One old woman, face wrinkled and weary beneath her shawl, tugged at my sleeve. "Soldier, have you come from the front?" I nodded.
Her hand grasped my arm more securely. "Did you see my son?" I looked down at the anxious eyes imploring me to say yes. How many times had she asked this question? She showed me a picture of a young boy in a uniform several sizes too large looking innocently into the camera. How many more times would she ask it? Would she ever receive the answer she wanted to hear?
I lifted her hand gently from my arm as I sadly shook my head. I turned to answer the call of a sick soldier. I could not face her.
Christmas Day, 1914. For her, for the sick man and for me, there was no peace.
"They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more," wrote the prophet Isaiah.
When will people learn? The answer is blowing in the wind.
Jacob Funk, born in 1896 and died in 1986, spent three and one-halfyears as a medic in the Russian Red Cross during World War I Funk's daughter Katie Funk Wiebe forwarded her father'S story to us. Katie Funk Wiebe is an author, teacher, speaker and former Leader columnist living in Wichita, Kan.
en Herod saw that he had been tricked by the n, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all t e chiI ren in and around Bethlehem who were two 01 or under, according to the time that he had the wise men" (Matt. 2:16).
Why must the joy of Christmas be ruined by this terrible, murderous, tragic tale? It was such a magical, idyllic scene: an angel's announcement of the birth of the Messiah as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy; an angel choir singing about peace on earth, matched by joy in the highest heaven; the innocent wondering of simple shepherds who hurry to Bethlehem. The shepherds find the warm and cozy stable with a beautiful baby in a manger, surrounded by doting parents and vigilant animals let in on this cosmic event.
Enter Herod, an unstable, insecure, conniving, evil and corrupted king. Herod the Great, King of the Jews Herod, the demonized monarch who murdered any potential rival-even his own sons. It is not surprising that this tyrant, who could kill his own flesh and blood, would think litde of wiping out the toddlers of Bethlehem
We know about the suffering his kind brings In Egypt, Rachel could be heard far and wide, crying for her children. She would not be consoled because her sons were no more In Egypt, the children ofIsrael cried out under the heavy bondage of Pharaoh. In Ramah, where Jeremiah parted with the Judeans as they were carried off into Babylonian exile, Rachel cried for her children. And now again in Bethlehem, Rachel's inconsolable crying could be heard as far off as Ramah Rachel, the wife of Jacob, Rachel the matriarch, the mother figure of the tribes of Israel. Who can cry like a mother? Who can cry like a mother who has lost her children? How is such a mother consoled?
Matthew 2 : 13-23 seems to gather up the sorrow of all time-from the suffering and the loss of sons in Egypt to the agony of the exile and the murder of innocent children in Bethlehem. What do we do with such agony? What do we do with it on the Sunday after Christmas or
By John E . Sharp
Why must the joyous Christmas story be ruined by the news of Herod's murderous actions in Bethlehem?
when commemorating the Feast of the Holy Innocents (Dec. 28)?
We do what Matthew does. He tells the story of the survival of hope. Herod does not have the last word In spite of his evil intentions, hope survives . Hope-accompanied by redemption, joy and peace-has the last word. These signs of a redeemed sorrow are all embodied in the child who escapes to Egypt, a place of suffering and redemption. In God ' s economy the place of suffering can become the place of redemption. Out of the ashes comes the phoenix that flies and soars. Out of the stump comes a new living tree. From death comes life and from despair comes hope.
In Egypt, Moses, one tiny child,
Herod does not have the last word. In spite of his evil inten.. tions, hope sur.. vives. Hopeaccompanied by redemption, joy and peace-has the last word.
was hidden from Pharaoh's sword Then God used Moses to carry out the greatest coup in Israel's history. God led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the Red Sea with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That's redemption.
Matthew echoes this history in this text. All these acts of redemption are reflected in the angel-inspired flight to Egypt, the place where another Joseph, the son of Jacob, played such a major role. Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus-the tiny, weak and vulnerable ray of hope-slip out from under the tyrant's murderous power These three political refugees find safety in Egypt. Hope has survived. Hope in this case is identified with Jesus, who will fulfill the deepest longings of all the people on earth.
Meanwhile Herod has died According to Josephus, the Jewish historian , it was a terrible death I well remember the picture painted by the Bible storybook my mother read to me. I don't remember if there was actually an illustration or whether the word picture of Herod 's body eaten by worms was so vivid that I saw it in my mind.
Why must Christmas be interrupted with this terrible story of blood in Bethlehem? Because that's part of the good news God in Christ came into the middle of this world, with all its blood and sorrow. Matthew puts it in perspective: Jesus the baby survives Herod the Great. Matthew also gives us a foretaste of good news to come Thirty-some years and 20 chapters later, Jesus, the suffering servant on the cross, survives the Roman Empire. Forty years and 25 books later, in the Revelation of John, the defenseless Lamb of God defeats the evil dragon. His is incredible, revolutionary news.
That's why we celebrate. That's why we sing "Joy to the World." We know something the world does not know or understand We know that the polities of Jesus are not the politics of this world's kingdoms and this world 's wars, not George W Bush's war on terrorism or Osama bin Laden ' s war on America. The kingdom of Jesus will survive them all .
Why must Christmas be interrupted with the terrible story of blood in Bethlehem? It gives us perspective.
It tells us there is hope It shows us where to look for hope: not in palaces or courts of power but in unlikely places-in stables and on crosses, among babies and refugees and on gallows and among prisoners.
In the preface to his book Night, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel describes a terrible scene. All the Jewish prisoners in Auschwitz, victims of Hitler's genocide, are forced to watch an execution, the execution of three prisoners sentenced to be hanged on a gallows on false charges. When the trapdoor drops, two of them die instantly. But the third, a younger man, struggles and kicks for what seems an eternity.
During the long minutes between the time the trapdoor drops and the young man dies, Wiesel hears a voice behind him. The voice asks a troublesome question, the question everyone asks in such tragic times, "Where is God now?" Is God to be found in the actions of the powerful? Is God represented in the actions of Adolph Hitler, the Herod of the 1940s? A voice within Wiesel expressed a revolutionary thought: God is hang-
Waiting for the Word incarnate
In the face of real suffering we can
Advent is waiting. We people of faith go through this annual cycle of waiting , remembering and anticipating. We share , with childlike anticipation, great joy as we hear the story unfold, knowing the outcome but loving the unfolding jus t the same.
We anticipate God 's blessing, just as ancient Israel did, though we know that there will be blood and pain and s uffering woven into the mix. Having lit our Advent candles, we pause now to wait for the birth: night pregnant with waiting, darkness pregnant with hope, a Word waiting to be spoken
This year I have been sheltered from the busyness and commercialism of North American Christmas. In my little house in Burkina Faso, it is dark and quiet with the mos t extraordinary aura of peace. No lights , n o decorations, no music and no
see the truth of Christmas.
snow. I am not with the angel choirs. I am not with Santa in the malls. I am not even with Handel's "Messi-
fish head and bones and strip it clean like barracudas. This is in contrast to the copiah. " I am left with the In a lovely redemptive ous wealth gained by violence and corruption one is exposed to in the cities. written word , the Incarnate Word and the ponderings of my heart.
But I have not been sheltered from others'suffering. Burkina Faso is a terribly poor country. In villages I see babies with big malnourished bellies and
reversal, it is Egyptthe country from which the Israelites fled as slaves-that provides a safe haven for the holy family.
story into "a pretty and sensible picture , like something on a Christmas card ." There is nothing "pretty" about having your first baby in a barn or fleeing terrified into the night to start your life as a refugee
And so as I prepare my heart this year, I find that I skip the birth story and go directly to the murdered babies: Rachel and the mothers in Bethlehem who unasked sacrificed their sons for the Savior. Author Annie Dillard scorns the way we try to make the Christmas glazed-over eyes, their mothers with the same glaze of hopelessness after desperation doesn't work. When we finish a meal of fish and rice at a roadside stand, three street children descend on the remaining
CHRISTMAS
ing on the gallows with the struggling, dying young man. God has not abandoned the young man; God is very much present in his hour of suffering.
A voice was heard in Ramah and Auschwitz, Weeping and loud mourning, A German Rachel crying for her children; And she could not be consoled,
Because they are no more.
Why must Christmas be interrupted by the terrible story of blood in Bethlehem? Because that is where Jesus lived-in a land and culture of violence. Matthew's message to us is that God in Jesus is not a stranger to pain and suffering. He was born into it. He lived with it. He died with it. He is with us in our pain and suffering. Our pain and suffering are not likely to be as dramatic as the man on the gallows or the families of the victims of the 911 attacks. But we do share shattered dreams, lost opportunities, unmet goals, broken relationships, unresolved conflicts, financial reversals, pre-mature physicallimitations, unexplained illness and you may add to the list.
Why must Christmas be interrupted by the terrible story of blood in Bethlehem? Because that is where we live-in Bethlehem'S streets and alleys. And there we find signs of hope in a stable, in a manger, among the lowly, the weak and the vulnerable. We find hope on the faces of elderly women and men who have learned not to be deceived by the fleeting power of Herod. They know that after the dark night of the crucifixion comes the glorious day of resurrection. They know that despite the evidence, the vulnerable baby in the manger will survive Herod to become the ruling Lord of the universe .
We are invited to recognize the disarming power and the unlikely lordship ofJesus-in our politics and in our hearts
John A. Sharp is director of the Mennonite Church USA Archives located in Goshen, Ind., and North Newton, Kan. This article first appeared in The Mennonite, the magazine of Mennonite Church USA, and is adapted from a sermon at Waterford Mennonite Church of Goshen on the Sunday follOWing Christmas Day, 2001.
by Laurel
Borisenko
or hearing the screams of mothers who have had their baby sons ripped out of their arms to be murdered. It is as if our doorways have become marked with a big "S" for Santa, and the angel of the whole truth passes us by.
But the truth is that Emmanuel, who came to ransom captive Israel , must first be given asylum from Israel. The Word incarnate came as a refugee into this world he spoke into being. And in a lovely redemptive reversal , it is Egypt-the country from which the Israelites fled as slaves-that provides a safe haven for the holy family.
In West Africa this Christmas, I find the Word incarnate in the eyes of urban refugee children. Their families can be found in obscure comers aU over Ouagadougou , Burkina Faso's capital city, having fled from the terrors in Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone , Central African Republic and more recently Darfur, Sudan. As I visit one home I see three children lying on a plastic mat on the cold concrete floor-maybe not so different from a feed bin in a barn.
Even in the face of this real and daily suffering I see such strength of spirit. I see warmth and generosity. I see smiles that shine like the rays of a star. I see Jesus . My African friends teach me about waiting . Our Advent reward is the baby born into the poor refugee family-much more like their families than like mine-and the brief and brilliant glimmer of hope , like the rays of a star consecrating the threshold of a barn .
"What came into existence was Life, and the Life was the Light to live by. The Life-light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness could not put it out" Oohn 1:4-5 The Message) .
Laurel Borisenko, from Edmonton, Alta., is part of the Mennonite Central Committee West Africa leadership team and is based in Burkina Faso. She is a member of Lendrum MB Church of Edmonton.
BY PHILIP WIEBE
Dumping the holiday assumptions
What should we put aside when we celebrate Christmas
SOME PEOPLE LOVE CHRISTMAS, others can take it or leave it. I lean toward the latter category, though it hasn't always been that way. As I child I looked forward to Chrisunas as much as anyone. That being the case, some have suggested I need to recapture that youthful holiday spirit.
OK-I'm willing to go back to my childhood attitude of greed and selfabsorption.
I'm kidding, sort of But let's admit that children tend to see Chrisunas as a wonderful time of year to accumulate gifts and money. Such over-commercialism is what began to tum me off to the season as I got older.
But I do like some aspects of Christmas, so it's not a total loss. Getting together with family and friends is great, and the holiday lights provide color and brightness in the grayness of winter. And I'm quite fond of the food. Give me feasts of ham and turkey and stuffing and apple pie, and I'm not going to complain too much.
Still, along with commercialism, there is also a problem you might call "assumptionism." Around Christmas there are a number of prevalent suppositions that aren't necessarily true or healthy.
First is the assumption that everyone loves Christmas. This is not the case . The National Mental Health Association acknowledges that holiday depression and stress afilict many people . For them "it is a time of self-evaluation, loneliness, reflection on past failures and anxiety about an uncertain future." Among the causes of "holiday blues" are "stress, fatigue, unrealistic expectations, over-commercialization, financial constraints and the inability to be with one's family and friends "
All of us know people who do not find Christmas a happy time. Perhaps they
have experienced divorce, the death of a spouse! economic upheaval or some other event that pushes them outside the festive atmosphere of the season. We shouldn't assume that holiday joy is universal.
A second assumption of the holidays is that you have to exchange presents. You can hardly avoid it even if you wanted to. I don't have anything against gift giving, a Christmas Eve tradition we enjoy at our house. It's easy, though, to get weighed down under the heavy consumerism and cultural cues of the season, and worship the gifts more than the Giver.
It has long puzzled me that Christians point their practice of exchanging Christmas presents back to the Magi who sought Jesus out after his birth to honor him with expensive gifts. Note, however, that these were expressions of extravagant worship directed to the Messiah alone. Today Christmas gift giving seems mostly to be an extravagant expression of our wallets.
A third assumption holds that Christmas is a time of family togetherness. This may be true for some people, but others would beg to differ. Many find the holidays to be a season of increased family conflicts "Families who get together just one or two days a year around the holidays and try to make up for the other 364 days are likely to experience relationship stress," says Dr. John Garrison, director of the stress management program at Lahey Clinic. "The drama of a lifetime of conflicts is often played out over the course of a three-hour meal and a holiday visit."
Whether from observation or personal experience, we realize that not all families find Christmas to be a season of relational warmth and light.
A fourth assumption of the season is that Christmas is a thoroughly Christian holiday. "Christ" is in the name, after all
However the truth is that many symbols of the season come from pre-Christian and secular sources. Further, Christmas was not declared a "Christian" holiday until the 3OOs, and even then there was a mixing in of ancient Roman traditions. During the Reformation, emerging Protestant churches discouraged Christmas celebrations, feeling the festivities were mostly a reflection of pagan roots.
Christmas as we know it today didn't develop until the 1800s to 1900s when trees, cards, carols and decorating became popular, fueled by cultural trends and commercialism.
The point of all this is not to condemn the practices of the season because they can be fun if kept in proper perspective. But perspective is the key. We shouldn't assume everyone looks forward to the holidays. We need to be aware that some family members o/ld friends struggle at Chrisunas. We need to be sensitive to those who have heightened feelings of loss or relational brokenness We should not expect people in economic difficulty to pitch in for expensive group presents or big gift parties.
Last year we went to a Christmas party where guests were encouraged to bring a cheap gift each if they could and also extra gag gifts if possible for those who might just pop in or couldn't throw money into every Chrisunas obligation that came along . This was all made clear to people beforehand so some felt pleasure in providing extra presents and others felt guiltless for coming empty-handed. A fun time was had by all.
I think this reflects the kind of graceful, inclusive holiday spirit Jesus would appreciate. If it's his birthday we're celebrating we should probably try approaching the season with his pleasure, rather than cultural expectations, in mind
BY MARVIN HEIN
Questions about faith & life
Why does God allow people incapable in body, mind to linger
QWhy does God allow people to continue to live when they sit or lie in a nursing home drooling and completely oblivious to what's going on in the world? (Oklahoma)
AMy niece asked me this question after she and her alert 94-year-old mother, my sister-in-law, and my wife visited a retirement center where one of our family members , almost totally uncommunicative, resides. I know the feeling! I have a 10S-year-old mother who is without pain, moves around and eats all meals in the dining hall, but doesn't know who I am when I visit her. She has lived in the same room for 34 years, and we have often seen repeated examples of what puzzled the inquirer
Being a pastor for 3S years and spending almost SO years visiting people that were in such pathetic conditions have not taught me the answer to the question. I've thought much about this recently. I have talked with those who have served as caregivers to such persons. Without pretending to be any kind of expert, let me make a few stabs at answers.
One persoQ said, "According to James and Job, life just happens-the good and the bad." The question of why God allows a vibrant, young and productive person to be robbed of life is equally frustrating. But life does happen. It rains on the just and unjust. Some things God just allows to happen. Why? Perhaps to remind us that we do not have all the answers and to teach us that he, not we,
Can others' dependent conditions help teach us elements of maturity?
is in charge. Perhaps to remind us that "our times are in his hands" (Ps. 31 :IS) With medical advances we tend to think that all problems can be solved God may well be telling us that no amount of intelligence makes us God.
Perhaps God allows people to become so incapable in body and mind to remind those of us who have our health and our senses to be grateful to God for the blessing of a more or less whole mind and body He no doubt wants to teach us patience, acceptance, peace and all the other attributes that lead us to wholeness Can others' dependent conditions help teach us those elements of maturity? I'm aware that it hardly seems fair. But while the comatose or demented elderly persons may be beyond learning, their conditions can contribute to our learning Interestingly enough, very often we are the ones in pain not the patient.
While not all disabilities are the result of the misuse of the body, should we not be prepared to learn to take care of our bodies while we can still make choices? Healthy eating, proper exercise, avoidance of harmful habits, a spirit of forgiveness and control of anger-are
Have a question about a Bible passage, doctrine, conference policy, or other spiritual issue? E-mail Marvin at mheinl @fresno edu or send your question to "Inquiring Minds," c/o Marvin Hein, 3036 East Magill Avenue, Fresno, CA 93710.
these not lessons to learn from those no longer able to make decisions? There are choices we can make daily that contribute to a lifestyle that makes the end of life more pleasant.
I'm persuaded there is another lesson to learn. God loves us even when we are no longer able to be productive. Our culture teaches us that we are valued for our work-our contributions to society. That is a patent lie! God's love is not restricted to those who can produce He loves the infirmed as much as he loves the most productive. This is something we retirees need to learn.
When we view the deterioration of our loved ones, we probably need to learn that infirmity, disability, pain and even death are all a part of life . We'd like to cover these up . We go to all extremes to avoid them. We encourage the sustenance of life with tubes and paraphernalia that seem to me too often to be saying that death is a terrible thing Yes, I know that most often life is to be preferred over death. But our trust in God and a heaven to come might well weigh more heavily in our decisions at critical times of life.
Several months ago at my mother'S birthday party-which she didn't enjoy and maybe didn't even know was for her-I read some lines I had written. In the 17th and 18th stanzas of this "doggerel" I wrote:
The day will come when we won't count
As years stack up and time will mount.
We'll live for aye and serve the King. That then will be our everything . We're glad you're with us here again . Who knows? Someday-llO?
Well, maybe not, but until then
We'll love you Mom no matter when.
BY ROSE BUSCHMAN
Former Lowe's clerk builds for eternity
What kind of eternal dwelling are our earthly actions building?
WHEN SPEAKING ABOUT TREASURE
in heaven, Rick Warren, in his book The Purpose Driven Life, says, "You can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead." I want you to meet someone who is doing just that. He is in his mid40s, the father of three children, divorced and also a grandfather. He lives in a one-room efficiency "apartment" in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas just a few miles from the Mexican border. His apartment doesn't have hot water so if he wants a hot shower he goes to a nearby truck stop and pays $5 for the privilege. He has a window air conditioner to help with the summer heat and a room heater in winter when it gets cold He goes online at a local library to get his email and uses a cell phone to stay in touch with his family and supporters. Johnny Cox is a missionary who builds houses for the poor. He has a love for his Lord and does his work with a servant's heart. However, it wasn't always like that.
Several years ago Cox was working in the plumbing department at a Lowe 's home improvement store in the Dallas area. His main purpose in life was to earn enough money so he could party with his friends. Someone from his church, which he attended when it was convenient, invited him to go on a mission trip to Mexico There he saw the tremendous poverty evident among the people living in the colonias (shantytowns) of Reynosa, a city just across the border from McAllen, Tex Cox couldn't forget what he had seen. So he talked to his pastor about his desire to help these people . Together they drove down and surveyed the need. With his small country church's support, Cox quit his job and moved down to south Texas . There he began working in a new colonia on the outskirts of Reynosa. At first he built some simple 12
by 16 foot houses for people who couldn ' t do it for themselves. Soon the people asked him to build a church for them on a plot of land the mayor of the colonia had set aside for this purpose
I first met Cox in October of 2003 when I was down in South Texas on a mission trip. I went with him and a team from a Spanish-speaking church in Pharr, Tex , to attend a Wednesday night service in this colonia. At that time the "church" was a 20 by 20 foot cement slab with a tarp over it fastened to five poles, one on each corner and another in the middle . There were about a dozen chairs designated for the ill or elderly. The rest of us stood during the service. As I watched the Spanish service proceed I remember thinking, "Lord, why am I here? What do you want from me? Do you want me to get involved here?" On the long drive back to my home the Lord gave me an answer
And so for Christmas last year, my sister and I, together with our spouses and her three sons, made the trip down to Reynosa. We built the first part of this church, a 15 by 15 foot cement block storage room, which currently houses the TYNCR equipment, a sound system, bUilding tools, ladders and other items.
In February a group of stone masons from Michigan came down and spent three weeks building the walls for the church sanctuary and several additional rooms. Later during the spring the tin roof was put on. Since that time an additional room for children's activities has been added A local pastor is now in charge of services that are held every Wednesday and Sunday nights. The church is becoming the focal point of the colonia
.
Cox , the former clerk at Lowe ' s, has become a church planter- not because of his training or experience- but be cause of his willingness to be obedient
to God's call . "I want to keep doing this the rest of my life," he told me recently.
Jill Briscoe in her book Here Am I, Lord. . .. Send Someone Else tells the story of a wealthy man who "labored with many tasks here on earth and produced beautiful palaces in which he lived sumptuously, though selfishly, all his life. This man accepted Christ on his deathbed. He had a gardener whose life did not 'consist in the abundance of his possessions' (Luke 12 : 15) The gardener had come to know God, he had been personally set free, and his treasure was in heaven
Both died and went into eternity. The gardener was given a beautiful mansion in heaven . It had a marvelous view of the Sea of Glass, in full view of the throne
The rich man was offered a hut-clean and white, but just a hut! Seeing his face fall , the apostle Peter explained, 'I'm sorry, sir, but we did the best we could with the materials you sent up!'"
When I think of the materials Johnny is sending up to heaven, I can only imagine what his eternal house will look like Then I have to ask myself, "What kind of an eternal dwelling am I building?"
Warren is convinced that if 10 percent of the Christians in the U.S. today would take their Christian mandate seriously and make it the first priority in their lives, the world would know it. Warren reminds us that Jesus' Great Commission (Matt. 28: 19-20) is not optional. "If you are part of God's family, your mission is mandatory," writes Warren. "To ignore it would be disobedience "
Paul, in his instructions to Timothy, writes that we are to "go after God to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous " Furthermore, he promises us that if we do that, we will "build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life " (1 Tim 6 :1719, The Message).
That's the bottom line!
B Y & DON MORRIS, MISSION USA DIRECTOR DIRECTOR
CHUCK BULLER EXECUTIVE
Anticipating the miracle of evangelism
Meaningful ministry requires a dedica tion of res ou rces
DO YOU RECALL THOSE MOMENTS
as a child when you were on pins and needles as you waited for something exciting to happen? Maybe it was anticipating the day you knew you would get a gift. Perhaps you remember waking up every 30 minutes the night before Christmas morning because you knew you would get a wonderful toy or that particular electronic gadget you wanted. It was exciting to think about the possibilities.
We feel some of that same anticipation and excitement as we think about the new work of Mission USA. It's exciting to think about the possibilities lying before us as a U.S. Conference. There is a new vision quickly rising among us as we think about planting more new churches together and watching existing churches be revitalized for ministry.
In particular, there is excitement as we think what might happen if we would start a contemporary ministry among young Koreans in Los Angeles There is excitement as we think about new work in North Carolina among existing churches . There continues to be excitement when we think about previous church plants in Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Thlsa where wonderful ministry is happening daily in each of those settings. And there is excitement about a potential and effective Ethiopian outreach in Las Vegas. Las Vegas? Yes, Las Vegas . There is also excitement as we dream about new churches being started. Could there be a new church started in each of the districts this coming year? Now that would be exciting, don't you agree?
We're not sure how God does it , but he consistently takes our tough times and b reathes in new life He renews and provides new vision We strongly believe
God is renewing his desire to use our U S Conference and in particular Mission USA to win more people to Jesus as we work together as his people.
As we think back on Mission USA's previous ministry and Ed Boschman's dynamic leadership, we are grateful. We're thankful for those who began this passionate vision for reaching out. Scores of lives have been changed through those previous efforts. Thanks, Ed, and to all that had a part in reaching people in the early years of Mission USA You will receive a great reward in heaven for all you accomplished.
Now the Lord calls us to get going once again with excitement, to get back on track and to begin gaining steam . With renewed vision comes a need for renewed dedication We are calling not only for the dedication of the staff but for all of us who call ourselves U.S Mennonite Brethren
As we think about reaching people in the name of Jesus Christ through Mission USA, it will require lots of prayer. We believe dedicated fasting and prayer is absolutely crucial for ministry success Please pray for Mission USA! Pray for the people
who will be reached through our unified efforts. Folks, it's also a fact that meaningful ministrywill require
funding Plain and Simple, if we desire to passionately reach people, financial resources are needed . Some of you have the means to give large amounts toward these renewed efforts of Mission USA. Some can give only a small amount-but it is all useful for the kingdom. We humbly ask that we all reconsider what we might be able to give toward reaching the unchurched around us . We want to express a deeply felt "thank you" in advance for your financial and prayer support of Mission USA in the coming year Without that support, we'll just be sitting around twiddling our thumbs. With your support, miniStry will continue to get really, really exciting!
We will soon be sending a letter to all of you In that letter will be a brochure about some of the exciting things happening with Mission USA, as well as a return envelope to make it easy for you to send in your renewed support. Please take time to read the brochure when it arrives and prayerfully consider how you might partner finanCially with Mission USA Together, we can do great things!
"1 don't know when I've had more fun. The past several weeks as I have begun my appointment as the new director of Mission USA have been truly enjoyable. Is it okay to have fun in church work? I sure hope so. It's amazing fun to dream and to allow my mind to pidure people coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord through the work we do together as a conference. New Christians! New churches! What could be more exciting than that? I can't think of anything else that gets my blood pumping more than thinking about lost people being saved." -Don Morris
CDC convention shows God at work in difficult situations
cong regation accepted. given on activities
The Central District Conference held its annual convention Oct. 28-31 in Harvey, N.D. Given the issues that dominated the business sessions--church closures, a church fire and a church conflict-one might have expected conference leaders to sound discouraged . Inste ad, leaders enthusiastically reported how God has
blessed local churches and the conference in difficult situations
• Following a period of internal conflict, Millard Bible Church of Omaha, Neb ., is thankful for the help of the denomination in resolving what Faith and Life Committee chair Richard Nickel called a "complicated matter." Nickel told delegates the Faith and Life Committee listened to the
parties involved in the conflict, prayed for God's direction and sought advice from CDC district minister Roger Engbrecht, Loyal Funk with the U.S. Conference and a lawyer specializing in conflict resolution. These conversations led the committee to the difficult conclusion in early 2004 that the Millard church needed to secure new pastoral leadership
Rod Anderson, most recently pastor of Rolling Hills Church in neighboring Papillion, Neb., is serving as interim pastor for two years. The congregation has been busy "building for the future," said Anderson They made some building improvements, approved a new constitution and held a service at which 31 people signed the "new" MBC charter. Anderson reported that the youth program is growing and an expanded Sunday worship service has grown from 40 to 68 people.
Church Planting and Renewal Committee chair Tom Cartney reported that because the Millard congregation is not currently able to financially support Anderson, CPRC funds will subsidize the congregation for the next year
• Delegates were told that the spirit of Lakota Gospel Church of Porcupine, S.D., has been rekindled following the arson fire in June that destroyed this Mennonite Brethren church building located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Although a snowstorm kept Lakota pastor Howard Whiteface from attending the convention and expressing his congregation's appreciation in person, others tqld how appreciative Porcupine believers are for the support of the CDC.
CDC churches contributed over $5,000 to the rebuilding fund and those monies were combined with contributions from Mutual Aid eXchange, a mutual aid organization offering property and casualty insurance products to the Anabaptist community Work teams with Hands of
Faith Ministries, a local ministry to Native American men, a team of MAX volunteers and local Lakota men constructed the new facility, scheduled for completion this month.
Curtis Hoyt, Hands of Faith executive director, used a PowerPoint presentation to show photos of the rebuilding process. He also shared with delegates the challenges of working with Native American families.
• While the CDC regretfully closed two churches during the past year, in both cases lives were impacted by the Gospel and ongoing CDC ministries will be strengthened
Lakeview MB Church of Chicago was established in 1915 as a city mission by Krimmer Mennonite Brethren, who merged with MBs in 1960, and has stood at its present location on Lincoln Avenue for almost 90 years In 1963 the mission was organized as a church and was most recently led by Fergus and JoAnne Furlong Furlong, who was involved in the decision to close the church, led the small congregation in a February 2004 closing service and was retained by the CDC through 2004 to manage on-site matters related to the sale of the building
Trustee Committee chair Phil Hamburger said he expected the sale of the Chicago property to be finalized the first week in November. The trustees hope to net $700,000 on the sale of the building which sits on a 25 feet by 80 feet lot. Hamburger reported that some of the profits will be transferred to the district's liqUid asset account with the remainder going to the CDC's church planting Lengthening the Legacy Endowment, bringing the endowment significantly closer to its $1 million goal.
CDC leaders commended Furlong for his willingness to see Lakeview through to the completed sale, reported that for the past year the CDC budget contributed to the ministry of two missionaries supported by the Lakeview congregation and led delegates in prayer for the successful sale of the building.
While Lakeview represents a longstanding ministry, New Life Fellowship in Elkhorn, Neb , was established in 2001 as a daughter congregation to nearby Rolling Hills and closed this past year. Cartney
reported that most New Life attendees are now attending other MB churches in the Omaha metro area While the Elkhorn plant was closed because of "serious problems in the life of the planter and the church," the committee supports the continued ministry of church planter Paul Rowenhurst who recently joined the staff of Millard Bible Church as part-time youth pastor.
The ongoing challenge of ministry in communities experiencing a population decline was a recurring theme during weekend business and worship sessions
The CDC includes 24 churches in five states-Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota-with an average membership of 98. While just over half of these two dozen congregations
minister in cities ranging in size from 12,000 to 390,000, the other 11 churches are located in towns with a population of under 3,000. In the past 18 months, onethird of these CDC churches have expe rienced a change in pastoral leadership, said Engbrecht.
Engbrecht informed delegates of the recent decision by Carson MB Church of Delft, Minn., to close its doors sometimes in 2005. Engbrecht commended Carson for its "rich heritage" of mission support and recognized it as the oldest church in the district.
What should the CDC do given the I challenges of small town ministry, asked I Engbrecht. He called on congregations to be proactive in outreach and evangelism
and to make a strong commitment to plant I churches . 1Wo events during the weekend highlighted the importance of outreach and church planting
Testimonies at the Friday evening home missions banquet focused on outreach and local church vitality. Pastor Tom Cartney told how Helene Wedel of Bethel MB Church, Yale, S.D., has designed a practicum that trains high school students for summer ministry in the church. Janet VanDolah of Harvey told how her friendship with a Harvey church member brought her to Christ. A PowerPoint presentation highlighted a ministry to teenagers spearheaded by two members of the Bethesda Church in Huron, S D. John Langer of Gettysburg, S.D., shared how events in his life have prompted him to share his faith with others. Brian Classen, new lead pastor at Rolling Hills, told how
CDC women's group open to new ministry
The Central District Conference women's organization concluded ministry in its present form at an Oct. 30 luncheon hosted by the Harvey (ND) MB Church. "I believe God wants us to do something different, something new," current chair Elvira Nickel told the women. "We need to go
about this differently. "
For 45 years, the CDC Women's Missionary Service, later renamed Women's Ministry Service, has supported missionaries and denominational ministries with prayer and financial support. Since it was founded in 1959 , the CDC WMS has forwarded $365,500
in budgeted giving to foreign missions, church planting and home missions projects and MB education institutions. Supporting missionaries has been a prominent WMS focus. In its early years, the WMS 's involvement with missionaries included "upholding them with prayer, letters and supplying personal outfits that would serve them up to five years before such supplies became sufficient overseas," writes June Wiebe in a brief WMS history.
The organization also published a quarterly newsletter and its executive committee planned an annual luncheon during the district convention The highlight of the luncheon was often the missionary speaker. The luncheon also included a devotional, singing, a brief business session and an offering.
Nickel explained that while women's organizations at the local church level are
very strong, a recent survey of CDC churches revealed that the district women 's organization was meeting the needs of only one segment of local women's groups. Nickel said the committee's decision was that "local churches do not need the executive committee to accomplish or impact their goals. " So this summer the WMS executive committee voted to disband and to encourage those with a new vision for a district women 's organization to step forward, said Nickel.
The current executive committee is recommending that local women's groups continue to financially support MBMS International, CDC church planting projects, Tabor College and MB Biblical Seminary. They suggest that women from churches hosting future CDC convention continue to host a luncheon and speaker.-CF
vitality in the congregation. At the end of the evening delegates were invited to contribute to a scholarship fund for three church leaders from one congregation to attend a renewal conference.
Church planting was highlighted Saturday morning when delegates enthusiastically affirmed an Executive Committee decision to accept Grace Slavic Church of Minneapolis as a CDC member congregation. Three lay leaders, including Paul Nesvetaylov, who spoke to the delegation in English, represented Grace . Nesvetaylov said that most congregations serving the '!\vin Cities' 20,000 Russians were established to serve immigrant Christians. Grace Church , however, was planted five years ago to reach nonbelievers and Christian youth looking for something other than a traditional Slavic worship service. Worship services are shorter than most traditional Russian services, use PowerPoint presentations, include contemporary English songs and are conducted in English and Slavic Grace uses home-based discussion groups to attract nonbelievers. As a result of its outreach efforts, 70 percent of the membership are people with no prior church background.
Speaker Ron Klassen's encouraging messages were a convention highlight. CDC leaders, recognizing the role size plays in its ministry as a district and among its churches, asked Klassen, executive director of Rural Home Missionary Association of Morton, Ill., to "give deference" in his messages to small town ministry.
"We want with this convention to help ourselves move to a new vitality," said CDC chairWtlfred Fadenrecht in his opening remarks. The health of the district's rural, established churches is key to the numerical and spiritual growth of the CDC and its future , said Fadenrecht. "Our ministry in small towns and rural churches is the starting point for Central District urban churches, " he said.
In his three messages, Klassen was alternately a cheerleader championing the value of "small things," a consultant offering specific suggestions for how to enhance ministry in small churches and a preacher and scholar citing biblical examples of God's work through small groups of followers. Klassen reminded his audience that God blesses regardless of size "Is the working of God's spirit the size of the church?" asked Klassen in his first message. His answer was no and his subsequent messages built on that truth.
In business sessions delegates approved a proposed budget of $215,000, elected committee members , recognized Myron Vetter and Annette Dyck for their years of service to the CDC, and heard reports from district committees and MB and inter-Mennonite agencies. The weekend also included a memorial and communion service and a Saturday evening program presented by Tabor College The CDC will meet Nov. 3-6, 2005 at Salem MB Church of Freeman , S D -Connie Faber
A subsidiary of Mennonite Aid Plan of the Pacific Coast serving the states of California. Oregon & Washington.
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tcBear one another's burdens.
Buhler church celebrates 125 years of ministry
Sunday service tells church's story in "chapters"
''Every church has a story of God 's grace, faithfulness and goodness," said Brent Warkentin, lead pastor at Buhler (Kan ) MB Church, as he welcomed the congregation to the Sunday mo rning worship service last month commemorating the church's 125th anniversary. Buhler ' s story that morning was told in five cha p ters, each representing a 25-year period Past and present church leaders and various music styles and groups highlighted each time period.
The story of this congregation, situated in a rural, small town setting, reaches around the world th anks to an emphasis on missions Acknowledging limited potential for growth in the surrounding areas, Nick Rempel, lo ngtime fo rmer senior pastor and now as sociate pastor, says,
I "We have intentionally asked, 'What is mtr mission?' We've said we need to be a sending church and so we've made a lot of I noise about being a sending church, celebrating it and we have additional offerings I we call mission giving challenges."
Last year, for example the congregaI tion gave $361,000 to local expenses and $305,000 to MBMSI and other mission projects . That represents a budget in which 54 percent was spent on local ministries and 46 percent on mission outside I the church, a rather unusal ratio for many churches.
I The Buhler story also highlights a congration strong in unity Although there was I a time in its early history that BMBC struggled with strong differences and even I formed two congregations for a time, I restoration took place. Unity is a treasure the congregation and leadership work to
maintain, says Rempel
Rempel attributes the sense of unity to the fact that decisions and follow-up actions move slowly to "allow people to come along." A recent example is the building of the Family Life Center eight years ago Responses to the idea varied at the beginning of the project. After a careful and slow process, the center was completed without borrowed money-in fact there was a surplus of $30.000--and with the full support of some who were initially most opposed
The congregation's ability to process decisions together can be attributed to "the stability of lay leadership, " says Rempel. "Leadership works at gentle processing, doesn't push, listens to people 's concerns and creates an atmosphere of openness "
The present 25-year chapter in Buhler's history is unique in its pastoral staff
arrangement. In 1994, Warkentin, who was associate pastor at the time, assumed the lead pastor position and Rempel, who was the lead pastor, became an associate. Rempel says that kind of change is possible when there is strong harmony, trust and openness among staff members.
An encouraging and very affirming congregation also makes long-term pastorates and such changes a possibility, says Rempel.
Rempel, whose tenure at BMBC is 34 years, spans the two last chapters in Buhler's history. During that time he has observed many changes, including changes in worship style and an increase of young people staying or returning to the Buhler area.
In what Rempel describes as "a deliberate attempt to guard generational unity in the congregation and to maintain a sense of one body," two duplicate, blended worship services are held each Sunday.
In recent years, older adults are no longer the majority in the congregation. Presently the largest segment is between age 13 and early 20s. The membership is also less agricultural, includes more professionals and those who commute from surrounding areas.
When asked why a church would reflect on the past when present ministry is strong, Rempel says, "Not to reflect is to miss our dy.namics. It's important to recognize the dy.namics of a congregation that has been here a long time We need to look at the past realistically, see what the warts were and see if we can avoid them."
Buhler MB Church began in August 1879 when a group of Russian immigrants organized a church they named Ebenezer, meaning "thus far the Lord has helped us." The first sod building, constructed at a cost of $600, could seat up to 400 people on wooden pews. Five years after it was organized, membership was 150. Longterm pastorates are not new to Buhler. Elder Schellenberg, the first minister, served for 27 years and Heinrich Adrian, who followed, served for 21 years.
I
During the early 1900s, the Ebenezer church was comprised of three groupsone in the country and two in the town of Buhler-that met together once a month. In 1908, the group in Buhler built a church in the location of the present faciliBom
ty. In 1921, the three congregations merged and in 1923 a new building was constructed to accommodate the larger congregation. The current building was completed in 1966 and a Family Life Center was added in 1996.
The 125th anniversary celebration Nov. 13-14 included a Saturday night jaspa, a light lunch, and music from various eras, including a song sung in German by the children's choir. Peggy Goertzen, director of the Tabor College Center of MB Studies, spoke on 500 years of MB history.
Buhler's present lead and associate pastors led the Sunday morning review of God's faithfulness in each of the five Buhler chapters. Seven of the eight former associate staff members were present and participated in the weekend services. Foresinging, a style used to lead music, and a German prayer illustrated the
church's first 25 years. The second chapter, from 1906 to 1927, was represented by a German choir and reflections from Irvin and Esther Schroeder who have been part of the congregation since that time. The change in church language from German to English and the hiring of P. R. Lange, the first MB pastor in the U.S. to receive a salary, were highlights of chapter three. Chapter four, 1941 to 1970, was described as a time of change and instability in the world, but a time of God's faithfulness in the church.
Warkentin addressed the present chapter by talking about measuring the success of a church's story. He suggested three measurements: a heart for family unity, a heart for the Word and a heart for I the world. In closing he said, "Our story isn't done. God is still writing it."-by Nadine Friesen
" It's the Sys t em! "
Kansas MB re-elected to Congress for 5th term
Moran's faith affects how he does hi$ job
Like many in Congress, Jerry Moran bases his votes on the promptings of his religious faith And as the only Mennonite in the House of Representatives , the Republican from Hays, Kan.-elected to a fifth term Nov. 2-finds he often faces difficult choices.
Moran, 50, is a member of North Oak Community Church, a Mennonite Brethren congregation in Hays.
Moran represents Kansas' 1st Congressional District-a massive block of 69 counties that encompasses three-quarters of the state starting at the western border with Colorado Because the district, population 672,000, includes no large cities and plenty of open prairies in a Republican stronghold , Moran might seem poised to legislate in quiet obSCUrity for as long as he likes.
"I've told people in Washington, 'If you've heard of a community, it's not mine, ,,, Moran said recently.
Since being elected to the House in 1996, after eight years in the Kansas state Senate, Moran has faced Democratic opposition only once, in 1998 And in the 2002 and 2004 votes, only a tenacious libertarian from Wright-Jack Warner, a rancher with the flowing mane of Wild Bill Hickok-has challenged Moran's tenure. This year, Moran again prevailed with 91 percent of the vote.
Though many of Moran's positions would be consistent with traditional Anabaptist stances-supporting agriculture, fiscal responsibility and health-care access, for instance-others, such as those on war, are not.
"I'm not a pacifist," Moran said Nov. 1, as he prepared to host a public meeting on health-care benefits for veterans, another of his forefront issues
As times change and some Mennonite
congregations become more like mainstream evangelical churches, "there's a diversity of opinion" in MB circles, Moran said While Moran said he favors use of military strength only as a last resort, "I respect people with strong convictions ... who believe we should never use force."
This subtle moderation is reflected in Moran's record Though he voted to support the war in Iraq, Moran also has spoken out against the Bush administration's policy of asserting the right to make preemptive strikes on other countries .
And though he openly acknowledges his church affiliation, Moran believes the Mennonite label sometimes can be a "stumbling block" for voters who associate the tradition with horse-drawn quietism. ' Because of thiS, "I've tried to describe myself more as a Christian instead of as a Mennonite," Moran said .
Though he joined the MB church as an adult, Moran's spiritual roots still lie in a peace-church tradition. Raised in rural western Kansas as a Quaker, Moran began attending a Methodist church when his family moved into town and found no Friends meeting nearby.
Moran remained with the Methodist church through college and until he was married. Then, when Moran and his wife, Robba, moved to Hays, they started attending North Oak. "I didn't realize it was a Mennonite church until later," Moran said
Moran said he enjoys genuine support from his congregation, where a group of members has prayed for him each week since he was elected.
"One's faith, regardless of denomination, plays a role in the decision-making process," Moran said on the eve of winning his fifth term. "My beliefs definitely playa Significant role in how I do my job ."-by Robert Rhodes, reprinted with permission from Mennonite Weekly Review
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Asia gathering marks shift in strategy
Tgathering connected by emphasis on prayer
he recent Thailand Retreat and Consultation, referred to by organizers as TRAC 2004, was a landmark for Mennonite Brethren mission work in Asia Hosted by MBMS International October 24 - 31, it was the first regional retreat and consultation to work toward a common vision and plan for mission in Asia. For the first time in its history MBMSI brought together all the MB groups serving in one region: 80 missionaries and their children, national church leaders from India, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand, key staff members from North America, and MBMSI board members and various guests. For many it was the first time they had met each other in person.
The consultation was over a year in the making. The MBMSI board decided at its 2003 fall board meeting to replace the annual North America-based missionary retreat with regional consultations held on
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the mission field. Asia was chosen as the first region to test this new idea.
TRAC 2004, held in Pattaya Park, Thailand, included specific sections for the retreat and the consultation, with various sightseeing, prayer and ministry opportunities available throughout the week. The first three and one-half days were set aside for an all-Asia MBMSI missionary retreat. Jim Holm, president of MB Biblical Seminary in Fresno, Calif, led the group in looking at spiritual formation in their lives
Holm's sessions helped to prepare the group for the second half of the week that was reserved for consultation. Led by Tim Sprunger, Global Disciples coordinator and longtime missionary to Asia, this section focused on where God is at work in the region. The group, now with national leaders present, was challenged to consider ministry opportunities in the continent where 60 percent of the world's population
7ravefwitha Purpose
lives and where there are huge spiritual and physical needs, as well as many unreached people groups. Sprunger opened the group's eyes to see that God is indeed at work in a mighty way. Many more Asians are Christians today that at any other time in known history.
Because of the challenges involved in mission work in Asia, the missionaries acknowledged their need for partnership with national leaders. For national leaders from India, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand it was an opportunity to share about what God is doing in their conferences and in their countries.
"We got firsthand reports of what God is doing in all these countries. It was huge," says Ron Penner, MBMSI director for personnel services. "It was humbling yet encouraging to realize that the missionaries' role is limited and that much of what they began has been carried out by national leaders."
During the week several opportunities surfaced as the group considered what ministries MBMSI already has in Asia and what the national churches desire to do in partnership with the organization. Several "gateways of opportunity" for spreading the Gospel were identified through a special time of prayer. The gateways identified include ministry to the tribal and urban peoples of Thailand, ministry to Northern India through the emerging partnership between the India MB Conference and MBMSI to send a team to New Delhi, ministry to central Asia through the work of missionaries Robert and Marlene Baerg, and the ministry in Japan, Indonesia and Philippines through MBMSI missionaries and conference partners. By the end of the week the group concluded that prayer is needed not just to find a strategy for Asia, but that prayer is the strategy for Asia
In the future, similar retreat and consultation meetings will cycle each year in the other continents, returning to Asia in four years after TRAC-like events are held in Africa, Europe and Latin America.
MBMSI is the global mission agency of the Mennonite Brethren churches of Canada and the United States. -by Megan E. Richard for MBMSI
Vietnamese court sentences church workers
Persecution continues, may intensify thanks to new law
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court handed down sentences to six Vietnamese Mennonite church workers Nov. 12. The most severe sentence-three years' imprisonment-was given to Nguyen Hong Quang, vice-president and general secretary of the Vietnam Mennonite Church, for obstructing officials carrying out their duties. Evangelist Pham Ngoc Thach was given a two-year sentence. If the court recognizes time already served, Nguyen Thanh Nhan and Nguyen Huu Nghia, sentenced to nine months, could be released in early December. Nguyen Van Phuong and Le Thi Hong Lien, the only woman in the group, were sentenced to 12 months. The court had permitted some legal defense.
About 200 Christians, including persecuted ethnic minorities, reportedly came to show their support for Quang. None
were allowed into the courtroom, though some were permitted to enter the courtyard area that was guarded by an estimated 300 well-armed police A few family members were allowed inside the courtroom. International diplomats and foreign reporters were not allowed to observe the proceedings.
Meanwhile Mennonites who are part of the ethnic minority in the Central Highlands have been under constant and heavy pressure. One church building and pastor's home have been destroyed and pastors, leaders and recent converts have been threatened, tied, tortured and beaten in an attempt to get them to recant their faith and to discontinue their association with the Mennonite church.
Larry Miller, executive secretary of the Mennonite World Conference, and other officials from the international Mennonite community have contacted Vietnamese
government officials in Switzerland, Canada, the U.S. and Vietnam on behalf of the prisoners and Mennonite churches. Last month Miller made another trip to Vietnam to meet with Mennonite church members and government authorities.
In a related event, the new Ordinance on Religion, much maligned by religious groups, went into effect Nov. 15. The ordinance specifies that religious activities can only be carried out within church properties. Since house churches like the Mennonite groups do not own church properties, leaders fear a strict implementation of the ordinance will further restrict their activities
Though Vietnam's constitution guarantees freedom to follow a religion or to follow no religion, the ruling party has clearly stated their intention to control or manage religious groups and their activities.-MWC
World Fellowship Sunday observed next month
ON JANUARY 21, 1525, Conrad Grebel baptized George Blaurock and the Anabaptist movement began. World Fellowship Sunday is celebrated each year on the fourth Sunday in January. It is an annual opportunity for Mennonites and Brethren in Christ to reflect on the history and the future of the Anabaptist move-
ment worldwide
Each year resource materials for World Fellowship Sunday are prepared by a continental region of Mennonite World Conference. Resources for Jan. 25, 2005 were prepared by European Mennonites and include a bulletin insert or cover, a proposed order of service, music for suggested songs
and a sermon by Fernando Enns of Germany. Material for World Fellowship is posted on the MWC home page (www.mwc-crnm.org).
"The number of presentday European Anabaptists is diminishing," says the Fellowship Sunday bulletin. "People around us and our own children do not feel the call of God
and think they can live without God. We feel like a grandmother with many children in North and Latin America and with many grandchildren in Africa, Latin America and Asia, but where are our children in Europe? We need the prayers of our African, Asian and North and Latin American brothers and sisters."-MWC
ORE NEWS
MCC ships aid
A Mennonite Central Committee shipment of clothes, school kits, sewing kits, medicine boxes, relief kits and canned turkey Is on Its way to rural parts of eastern Nicaragua for people living In camps after their homes were destroyed by summer flooding. Heavy rains and mudslides In late June and early July destroyed homes and crops and killed more than 25 people, accordIng to U.N. estimates. MCC's aid will be distributed to 2,750 people by two Nicaraguan partners. Also In this shipment are 28 hospital beds donated by retirement homes to be given to a Baptist hospital In Managua.-MCC
Peters appointed by Choice " Books
Alfred "Fritz" Peters, former Mennonite Brethren missionary to Thailand, was appointed executive director of Choice Books of the West Coast, effective October 1. Choice Books Is a Mennonite/Anabaptist book evangelism minIstry that displays and sells book In general marketplaces. Peters, a graduate of MB Biblical Seminary, served as regional director In Bolivia for Food for the Hungry and as Thailand team leader under MBMS International. The CB office and warehouse are located on the campus of the Rosedale Bible Church.CS
Holiday tunes support MCC
Mennonite Central Committee has received more than $189,000 to support HIV/AIDS work In Africa and Asia raised through the sale of two holiday compact discs, "The Ught Shines: Songs and Carols for the Christmas Season," and "To Such as These: Songs and lullabies for Children of the World."
Nearly 18,000 copies of the two CDs, recorded by Kim Thiessen and Darryl Neustaedter Barg, have been sold. The CDs can be ordered from mcc.org.MCC
Anabaptists connect two presidents
NEARLY 60 YEARS AGO, AFTER World War II, hundreds of Mennonite refugees left Germany for Paraguay. In October 2004, German President Horst Koehler thanked President Oscar Nicanor Duarte of Paraguay that his country accepted these homeless people Present-day German Mennonites thanked the Paraguayan president for resisting American pressure to join the war in Iraq.
The exchange took place at the Charlottenburg castle in Berlin during an official visit to Germany by the Paraguayan president and his wife Maria Gloria who is a member of Iglesia Rakes Hermanos Menonitas, a Mennonite Brethren church in Asuncion.
Among the 180 guests at the dinner, hosted by the German president and his wife Eva Luise, were Werner Funck, chairman of the German Mennonite Conference, and his wife Other German guests had connections with Paraguay through industry, politiCS, sports and representatives of organizations that support social
institutions in Paraguay Paraguayan Mennonites among the delegation included a presidential adviser, bUSinessman, Minister of Industry and Trade and their wives.
Both presidents noted the contribution the German immigrants have made to Paraguay.
The presidential wives, on becoming aware of the presence of German Mennonites, talked with them The Funcks spoke of projects the German Mennonites are supporting in Paraguay and Maria Gloria told of her opportunities to support social agencies like the psychiatric clinic in Asuncion. The Funcks served as volunteers at this clinic 22 years ago.
Funcks, introduced to the presidents by the first ladies, presented each president with a book concerning The Funcks also spoke with the other Paraguayan Mennonites who requested prayer for them and for their country, which is in a time of difficult reconstruction.-MWC
MCC aids Central America
MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
is sending $360 ,000 in aid for relief and development in northwest Haiti in response to the devastating flooding caused by tropical storm Jeanne in midSeptember. Flooding killed an estimated 2,800 people and left 200,000 homeless in and around Gonaives, one of Haiti's principal cities. Ongoing violence and lawlessness in Gonaives has hindered relief work.
MCC will provide about $79,000 of canned turkey and beef and about $68 ,000 of relief supplies for survivors of the flooding MCC plans to fund agricultural rehabilitation through partner organizations to replace lost farming tools and seeds
To lessen future flooding, MCC is
preparing a three-year environmental education and reforestation project. MCC Haiti co-representative Edwin Dening explains that reforestation is crucial to preventing flooding on the scale of what occurred in Gonaives.
MCC will also contribute $40,000 for a Haitian partner organization's work to replace legal documents lost in the flooding that are required for attending school or accessing a bank account. MCC also plans to train 150 pastors and church leaders in trauma counseling to help survivors cope with loss and with the ongoing violence. Relief kits are also being shipped in anticipation of future needs.
MCC is also providing funds for home reconstruction in Grenada and for relief in Jamaica.-MCC
CHURCH
Membership
Reedley, Calif.-Henry G. Thomas was welcomed to membership by transfer Oct. 17.
Bakersfield, Calif. (Heritage Bible}Brian and Kim Knox, Brad and Michelle Sanders, Esteban and Barbara Solano and Tony Leal were baptized at the Solano home at a celebration party. Don Anderson was baptized in the Pacific Ocean at a family camping trip.
Enid, Okla.-John Anderson and Skye Weber were baptized and received into membership Oct. 24. Tracy Anderson, Michael and Amy Hartling, Jonnie Karber and Byron and Lucy Neufeld were also welcomed to membership.
Celebrations
Bakersfield, Calif. (Laurelglen Bible}-LBC and their daughter/sister church, The Bridge, joined for a celebration Nov 21 in which LBC officially gave land ownership to the Bridge congregation.
Fellowship
Seattle, Wash. (Harvest Christian Center International) and Fairview, Ore. (Slavic Evangelical Church}Regional gatherings of Slavic leaders were hosted Sept 10-11 by MB Foundation and Loan Fund.
Com, Okla.-Grandparents and senior adults were honored Sept. 12 on Grandparents Day. Music was dedicated to grandparents and statements written by people in the congregation were read affirming something about the older person or sharing a memory.
Mountain Lake, Minn. (Community Bible}-Adult and young men of the church had an all-you-can-eat fish fry Sept. 13.
Dinuba, Calif.-A fourth annual Country Faire was sponsored by women's ministries Oct. 12. Events included assembling MCC school kits, a silent auction, blue ribbon bake sale and a favorite things time with Annett Aiken, Dinuba's new pastor's wife.
Edmond, Okla. (Memorial Road)"Woven Together," a women's ministry brunch, was held Oct. 23. A :levotional from Proverbs 31 and a :lemonstration of a variety of tex:ile crafts were part of the event
Money was collected to purchase gifts for missionary wives.
Yale, S.D. (Bethel)- Women of the church treated the congregation to an evening of music Oct 24. Participants played "Name that Tune" with songs sung throughout the congregation's 100 years of history. Every age group in the church was represented with a musical number and a meal was served on dishes used many years ago. The congregation hosted 15 international students, mostly from China and Africa, attending South Dakota State University for a weekend Oct. 23-24. The students joined the congregation Saturday evening for a meal and activities at a local farm and then attended services Sunday morning.
Olathe, Kan. (Community Bible)The youth held a tailgate fund-raiser Oct 24 for their summer mission trip Participants enjoyed grilled hotdogs and hamburgers as they cheered on the Kansas City Chiefs.
Buhler, Kan.-Polo shirts bearing the church logo and customized by color to support a favorite sports team are being worn by members to show support for the church, their teams and to provide a conversation piece at games Garden City, Kan. (Garden Valley}-An Oct. 31 service, "For All Saints," focused on the lives of family and friends who have died.
Wichita, Kan. (First)A Lego family fun night and outreach event was held Nov 12 Participants were invited to bring their building toys and to '''Iego' your evening, 'block' out your schedule and let the 'building' begin "
NEWS FROM OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
dinner Nov.14 prepared by their sister church Companerismo Cristiano after the morning service Pacific District Conference associate district minister Jose Elizondo, along with others from the Hispanic district, told of ministry among Hispanics
M i nistry
Huron, S.D. (Bethesda)-Through Operation Bethesda Cares, care packages were sent in November to those serving in the military overseas and in the U S The women's group is distributing gift baskets to people from or connected to Bethesda that are ill or experiencing difficulty Almost 100 baskets have been distributed since the ministry began in August 2003.
Hillsboro, Kan.-A benefit breakfast for the city fire department was
held on 9/11 to express the congregation's appreciation for the department's efforts when the church burned in March. Monies raised will help to purchase fire fighting equipment.
Visalia, Calif. (Neighborhood)"Night on the Street" was a youth event Oct 22-23 planned with the Visalia Rescue Mission. Teams of three youth and one adult chaperone did scavenger-hunt type activities designed to help them understand homelessness. Each person had $3 for all food and drink for 16 hours.
Olathe, Kan. (Community Bible}-The church facility served as a Nov. 2 voting location. Members offered literature and refreshments to those who came to vote.
Bakersfield, Calif. (Heritage Bible)A 14-member mission team spent
Out of the Storm Crossings of Promise Series
Janice L. Dick
Red skies of battle rage through the Mennonite colonies as Red and White factions continue to requisition, recruit and advance their pOSitions. Ongoing strife and accompanying drought result in severe famine and disease, and the worst enemy of all-fear.
Johann Suderman works with Benjamin Janz to secure permission for Mennonite emigration, but they are
faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles at every tum. Meanwhile, Katarina attempts to sustain her family and friends amid chaos and uncertainty, and Paul Gregorovich Tekanin
Shafter, Calif.-The congregation enjoyed a Mexican tries to survive in anonymity. The Mennonites of South Russia face a fierce struggle for faith and survival as their dreams are dashed one by one. Paper, 380 pages, $14.99
Nov. 15-20 at Villa Maranatha Camp in Uruguay helping sister churches expand camp facilities. Heritage members raised money for supplies, helped to build walls, led rallies for children and youth and met with five MB churches in a joint Sunday service Ferndale, Wash. (Good News Fellowship)-The congregation hosted the 17th annual Ten Thousand Villages crafts sale Nov 5-6. They set up, sold and shipped sale items and provided bake sale foods. The congregation hosted the Pacific District Conference northwest regional gathering Nov. 13
N urture
Dinuba, calif. -Iraqi Borhan Djamal shared his story Oct. 17 of becoming a Christian after fleeing the persecution of Saddam Hussein He is currently involved with reaching Kurdish people in Iraq with the gospel.
Clovis. Calif. (College Community)A panel discussion ofthe 16 measures on California's statewide November ballot was held Oct. 24. Other Mennonite churches in the area were invited to the event that has been well attended in prior years.
"Spiritual Geography through the Arts" is an adult education series offered Nov 14-Dec.12. Participants can choose classes that enable them to experience and express their spiritual journey through art focused on Scripture stories in which God's character is revealed in a variety of settings including garden, sea, desert, road and mountain. Classes include music and composition for original and existing texts, creating poetry and prose, watercolor and collage. Photography is offered for high school youth. Worship services during the five Sundays of Epiphany will emphasize the same landscapes and encourage people to discover the ways they encounter God.
Littleton, Colo. (Belleview Acres)The goal of "Family Time," a pilot program for 3rd and 4th graders, is to empower parents to nurture and train their children using object lessons that demonstrate biblical teachings. Parents receive a kit including resource materials and are asked to return weekly accountability forms Children have slap bracelets as reminders to complete lessons. Families who complete 10 lessons will be recognized
Enid, Okla.- Pastor Garvey Schmidt offered a three-hour class for children and youth about baptism and the beliefs of the church to help them determine if they were ready to be baptized and join the church
Workers
Hillsboro, Kan. (Parkview)-Steve and Penni Schroeder have accepted a call as senior pastoral couple. They have served at Community Bible Church in Bellingham, Wash., and will begin serving at Parkview in January.
Hillsboro, Kan.-The congregation called Jon Pritchard as pastor of children and family ministries. Jon, his wife Juana and family have served with MBMS International in Mexico
Wichita, Kan. (First)-Larry Martens, recently retired senior pastor of North Fresno (Calif.) MB Church, will serve as interim pastor beginning in January through the end of April. The congregation recently celebrated Neil Bontrager's 10 years of youth ministry.
New Hope, Minn.-Steve Brooks has accepted a call to serve as pastor.
Grant, Nebr. (New Life Fellowship)-Vince Carrig has been called as pastor. Reedley, Calif.-Bill Allison will begin serving as minister of music and worship in January.
Worship
Harvey N.D.-Loyal and Nancy Funk were special guests and speaker at the Harvest Mission Festival Oct. 3. Funk, recently retired director of Integrated Ministries, was pastor at Harvey from 1953 to 1956.
Corn, Okla.-Mike Yutzy of MBMS International spoke on Mission Sunday, Oct. 10. He presented a MBMSI multimedia presentation in the evening.
Rapid City, S.D. (Bible Fellowship)Missions Sunday Oct. 24 included music and testimonies from international students The "nations of praise" worship team was made up of people from seven countries. Other music was presented in additional languages Kevin Fannin, Rapid City director of international students, spoke.
Huron, S.D. (Bethesda)-" Beyond our World," the Nov 12-14 missions conference, included a Friday evening meal, Saturday men's breakfast, ladies soup luncheon and an evening session each with a missionary speaker. Missionaries also addressed Sunday school classes for children, youth and adults. Worship and baptism followed with a catered meal at noon Adult and teen services were held in the evening Henderson, Neb.- Former MBMS International missionaries Jon and Juana Pritchard and family spoke at the Harvest Missions Festival,
Nov. 21
Enid, Okla.- Special guests for Mission Encounter Sunday Nov. 14 were Don M orris, director of Mission USA, and the Tabor College t ro m bone choir.
Deaths
BARTEL CHRISTINE ANN, San Jose, Calif., was born Aug. 13, 1953, to David and Evelyn Bartel in Dinuba, Calif , and died June 16, 2004, at the age of 50. She is survived by two daughters, Jennifer Penner of Ukiah, Calif., and Jacquelyn Penner of San Jose; her parents of San Jose; one brother, Chuck Bartel of Kingsburg, Calif.; sisters-in-law, Pam Bartel and Colleen Latta of Kingsburg; significant other, Herb Quilitzsch of San Jose, and former husband Daryl Penner of San Jose.
DOERKSEN, HULDA ANN, Reedley, Calif , was born May 17, 1916, to Henry and Elizabeth Boldt Peters near Dinuba, Calif., and died Oct 27, 2004, at the age of 88. On May 2, 1944, she was married to Ben Doerksen, who survives. She is also survived by daughter-inlaw Debbie and husband Randy Speckels of Alaska; one son, Dan and wife Wanda of Reedley; one daughter, Nadine and husband Jim Barnes of Visalia, Calif ; adopted family members Toru Machida of Kentucky and Dean and wife Kathy Gray of Reedley; siblings, Margaret and Gus Penner, Elizabeth Thiesen, Esther and John Berg, Jonie and Sarah Peters, Alvin and Annie Peters and Jennie and Jonas Hofer, 17 grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
FAST, LLOYD A., Salem, Ore., a member of Kingwood Bible Church of Salem, was
born May 24, 1922, to John and Anna Fast in Salem and died May 26, 2004, at the age of 82.
FRANCE, ELSIE SUDERMAN, Edmond, Okla., was born March 2, 1921, to Henry and Katherine
Toews Suderman north of Enid, Okla., and died Aug 8, 2004, at the age of 83. She was married to Joe B. France,
who predeceased her. She is survived by
four daughters, Peggy, Jana, Kathy and Mona; one son, Joe; one brother, Joe Suderman of Hillsboro, Kan., and Pharr, Tex.; one sister Luella Case of EI Sobrante, Calif., eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
ISAAC, MARGARET ELIZABETH KLIEWER, Reedley, Calif., member of Reedley MB Church, was born Feb. 22, 1913, to Henry and Margaret Kliewer in Corn, Okla., and died Oct. 22, 2004, at the age of 91. She was married to Henry Isaac, who predeceased her. She is survived by one son, Edward and wife Eileen of Coarsegold, Calif.; one daughter, Gwendolyn and husband Gary Penner of Grand Junction, Colo., four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
PULLMAN, LYDIA VIOLA HOFER, Freeman, S.D., member of Salem MB Church, was born Jan 28, 1920, to Peter G. and Maria Kleinsasser Hofer, Sr southwest of Bridgewater, S.D , and died Oct. 17,2004, at the age of 84. On Oct. 14, 1945, she was married to Walter J. Pullman, who predeceased her. She is survived by two daughters, Mary Lou and husband Wayne Hofmann and Mavis and husband Jerry Regynski, all of Mitchell, S.D ; one son, Dwight and wife June of Emery, S.D.; one brother, Menno and wife Marcella Hofer; four sisters-in-law, Mary Hofer, Ella Hofer, Ann and brother-in-Iaw Robert Lee and Marie Unruh, five grandchildren, two step grandchildren and one great grandson
The following is an alphabetical index of the major articles and events recorded in the Christian Leader in 2004. The notations following each entry indicate the volume number, issue number and page numbers.
Body Life
100 years old & still "growing the family, " (Bethel MB), 67:10:20
A place for peace, 67:5:29
AIMM transforms itself for 21st century, 67:2:29
Anderson: Ours is the best of times, 67:9:22
Asia gathering marks shift in strategy, 67;12:28
Brazil ghetto fire raises urban ministry questions, 67:11 :30
Buhler church celebrates 125 years, 67:12:24
Canadian MBs adopt new governance structure, 67:10:24
Canadian MBs welcome Sudan refugees, 67:7:27
Carson MB Church homecoming celebrates 129 years, 67:8:23
CDC convention shows God at work in difficult times, 67:12:20
CDC women's group open to new ministry, 67:12:20
Conference banner saves life, 67:1 :29
Conference organized in Ukraine, 67 :7:24
Conjoined sisters separated, one dies, 67 : 11 :29
Delegates to vote on new U.S. Conference structure, 67:4:26
Denominational executive director is a man of many hats, 67:1:24
Denver church dishes up eggs, bacon and neighborly love, 67:2:22
Displaced families given seeds, tools, 67:6:30
First district minister dies, 67:7:30
Friesen to lead MBMS International, 67:5:28
Funk's passion not retiring, 67:7:22
"God gives life" (conjoined twins), 67:7 :20
Haitians fleeing crisis look to U S. for help, 67:5:30
