• Summer convention will have something for all PAGE 26
• Christians and Muslims find peace PAGE 29
MB BIBLICAL SEMINARY'S INTOUCH INSIDE
FIRST WORDS ••• from the editor
THIS YEAR, EASTER SEEMS to be coming right on the heels of Christmas. Maybe it's because I recently had a birthday that puts me just shy of 40. Time seems to be going at the speed of light these days. Whatever the reason, it seems like I just celebrated Jesus' birth, and now I am contemplating his death and resurrection.
I find this a good thing.It lends a kind of continuity to contemplating Jesus' life which I am experiencing in my own life. Life is short, a brief moment in time. Jesus walked on Earth as a man for such a short amount of time, yet his life, death and resurrection changed the world forever. This challenges me to contemplate how my life is being lived. Am I living a life that will leave the world and people changed? Am I living the new life Jesus offers?
This issue contains articles that talk about how our lives can be changed by Jesus. Katie Funk Wiebe contemplates how we can approach Easter and the meaning of an empty cross in our lives. Danette Baltzer Roland challenges us to make space for Jesus' new life. And Gary Schuler gives us a story that illustrates how Jesus is alive and well today, changing and healing lives.
This issue also begins a new series in People Profiles. We will be talking to Mennonite Brethren leaders throughout the United States, and we begin with Loyal Funk, U.S. Conference interim executive minister.
This Easter, I pray that we make time to contemplate the new life Jesus offers. Blessings. -GA
MARCH 11-13-Pastor's Orientation, Aurora, Neb.
MARCH 15-16-U.S. Conference All-Boards Meeting, Fresno, Calif.
_JULY 25-27-U.S. Conference and General Conference conventions in Abbotsford, B.C., Canada
NOVEMBER 1-3-Central District Conference convention, Grace Bible Church, Gettysburg, S.D.
This
DWIGHT GASHCHO
Do we take and nurture the new
BY DANETIE BALTZER ROLAND
A. SCHULER
BOARD OF COMMUNICATIONS: Kathy Heinrichs Wiest, chair; Peggy Goertzen, Harold loewen, Phil Neufeld, Dalton Reimer.
The Christian Leader (ISSN OOO9-S149) is published monthly by the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, 315 S. lincoln, Hillsboro, KS 67063. The Christian Leader seeks to inform Mennonite Brethren members and churches of the events, activities, decisions and issues of their denomination, and to instruct, inspire and initiate dialogue so members will aspire to be faithful disciples of Christ as understood in the evangelicaVAnabaptist theological tradition. However, the views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the position of the Christian Leader, the Board of Communications or the Mennonite Brethren Church.
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Surveying the
AM IN FAVOR OF LENT. Not in the sense of my iltlhood friends who selected their Lenten sacrice carefully to keep pre-Easter days only a few egrees below their normal comfort level. Nor in the e of inviting the commercial world to suffocate with more cotton-wool chicks and stuff us with =-,.;.;,,;;,;;;;; more chocolate bunnies.
I'm for Lent if it means moving more slowly through the period before the celebration of our Lord's death and resurrection. I'm for Lent if it slows down the tendency to hop, skip and jump through a period in the church calendar at least as significant as Christmas.
In a scene in Solzhenitsyn's novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Dentsovitch, a prisoner in a forced labor camp in Siberia is sentenced to 10 days in the cells for having worn more than regulation clothing to work on the frigid tundra. As he is led off to his cruel punishment, a fellow prisoner comforts him by saying, "As least you will have time to think."
I vote for Lent as a time to reflect on the meaning of the cross in the Christian life. "When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died," we sing at Easter. During Lent, I can survey the cross more slowly, and reflect on the reason the hymn writer called it wondrous.
A LENTEN REFLECTION
BY KATIE FUNK WIEBE
What other objects do I call wondrous? One winter, I chanced upon some wondrous clusters of tiny, frostfashioned feathers attached to a metal grill. Some superglue kept those miniature works of art suspended for hours, yet they were so fragile a rough breath easily destroyed them. Yes, they were wondrous.
But Christ's heavy, splintery cross was not like these delicate creations of nature. It was ugly, a thing to tum from. I recall that as a child I flipped the pages of our family Bible storybook quickly when I came to the Easter story. I didn't want to be pained by the pictures of Christ's suffering. I was always glad when the season was over and Mother read us more interesting stories. In that small memory lies, for me, a clue to our need to get done with Easter as quickly as possible. We want to get past Christ's suffering, for we cannot see it as wondrous.
Now, as I contemplate the cross, I realize the wonder is not in its appearance but in the superglue of love that took Christ to the cross and held him there.
On his part, it was strong. On our part, it is fragile. One hard puff of difficult circumstances may shatter the mystery and wonder of the cross if we do not understand it.
To survey the cross is to know its meaning for us. Writer Langston Hughes tells the story of a black man
Blood sacrifice
IT WAS LATE ONE aftemoon when we got the call at the Voluntary 5ervIce Unit on 202 Superior Avenue In Jackson, Miss. A coworker from St. DomInic's Hospital was facing surgery and needed several pints of blood. My blood type matched hers and my donation was badly needed to replenish the hospital's blood bank. WIthout hesltation I agreed and quickly made my way through the aftemoon's rush hour traffic to the hospital.
Upon my arTlval, I was ushered Into a room smelling of antiseptic and filled with plastic tubing and large needles. After filling out and
signing the necessary paperwork, I was Instructed to lie down on a stretcher and extend my left arm. An effl.
clent technician located an approprtate vein and after swabbing the area with an alcohol pad she promptly
by Dwight Gashcho
Inserted a needle attached to what appeared to be a vacuum hose. I looked the other way and tried to relax. After hearing her comment about a nice blood flow I decided to take a quick look. There, through clear tubing and Into a plastic bag, ebbed the most precious liquid my body contained. It was my first voluntary sacrifice of blood.
Blood Is an amazing c0mmodity. The aV8l'8Ce person contains about five quarts of It and It Is crucial to life Itself. None of us can survive without the red fluid beca It carries oxygen and food to every part of our body. It car-
An empty cross is only significant when it becomes the starting point for the continuing journey of our faith.
during the Depression. One winter night, he is out of work, cold and hungry. He applies first to a white preacher for help but is turned out. The rescue mission to which he is sent is full. As he passes the church, he notices the cross hanging high above him: "a round lacy window with a stone crucifix in the middle and Christ on the crucifix in stone." Like Samson, he tears down the church pillars, crashing the entire stone front of the church into the snow-rafters, cross and Christ. He has set Christ free. As Christ and the man walk down the road toward Kansas City, Christ says, "You did a good job. They have kept me nailed on the cross for nearly 2,000 years."
At first, I resisted the story. A Christ permanendy fastened to the cross, even in image form, does not belong in our Mennonite tradition. Our crosses are empty to show he lives in our hearts. Even the empty crosses we hang anywhere are symbolic ones-and we discourage exhibiting too many of them. A little gold cross dangling from a chain or an
rIes waste products away from various body organs and It fights disease germs that constantly enter our bodies. Many of our organs work to keep the blood functioning. Our heart pumps blood throughout our body and our lungs sUpply It with oxygen. Our kidneys keep It pure and free of polson. Other organs, such as the liver and Intestines, supply our blood with food and keep It In healthy working order.
Because blood Is so critical to our very existence, It can be tested to diagnose a variety of Illnesses or dlseases. Blood tests determine the number and proportion of various kinds of blood cells as well as coagulation factors, antibodies, chemicals and hormones present In our blood. Studies of the blood can be used to detect damage to our glands or organs.
There Is something else unique about blood. It can be shared. While blood types must be carefully matched, It
doesn't matter what color my skin Is or what part of the world I'm from. My blood can be transfused Into another human being to treat anemia, low platelet counts, bleeding and shock. My blood can save someone's life.
I was affected by a story I read recently of a family that was Involved In a serious traf. ftc accident. Mike, the youngest of two brothers InVolved, was badly Injured and needed a blood transfu. slon. Mike's big brother, Danny, who was only eight y old, had the same blood type as his you., brother. The father of the two boys sat down with DaMy and carefully explained to him why this blood trans» &Ion was needed and how wonderful It would be for his little brother.
After some silence, Danny responded by saying, "Yes, Daddy, I'D give my blood to Mike so he can get well."
At the hospital, a pint of blood was drawn from
ear or used as a bookmark is OK.
Now, as I survey the empty cross during Lent, I begin to understand. Crosses may be empty because we have allowed the resurrected Christ to enter our lives-or because no Christ ever hung on them for us personally. An empty cross is only significant when it becomes the starting point for the continuing journey of our faith.
At the cross, the world clearly showed what it does with someone who tries to set people free: It crucifies him. On the cross, Christ made common cause with God the Father against sin. At the cross, we make common cause with the power of his redemptive love .•
This article is reprinted with permission from the March 4, 1999, issue of Mennonite Weekly Review. Katie Funk Wiebe lives in Wichita, Kan., and is a professor emeritus of English at Tabor College, a four-year MB liberal arts college in Hillsboro, Kan.
Danny's veins. Only after the needle was removed did Danny tum to his father with tears roiling down his cheeks and ask, "Daddy, when do I die?"
The father suddenly realIzed with a shock that Danny had misunderstood his expl. nation of giving blood. Danny thought he was giving all of his blood to save the life of his brother! He thought that he would die after the transfusion was over. Yet he stili had agreed to help his little brother.
There Is one more important thing about blood. It was shed by God's only Son to save my life and to give me etemalilfe. Because I was born a sinner, there needed to be an atonement or a sacrifice made for my sins. The Old Testament offers a vMd portrayal of how It used to work. Before an Israelite could approach God, It was necessary for the person to go to a priest with an animal and acknowledge the guilt of sin.
The priest would then kill the animal and bum It on an altar as a sacrifice. The shed blood of the animal then became a sacrifice or atonement for the sins of the IndMdual.
The death and resurrection of Christ two thousand years ago replaced the Old Testament system of sacrlftee. When Christ died and shed his blood on the cross, he made amends for my sins and yours. They are covered, forgiven and gone. The blood he gave so unselfishly for each of us made It possible for us to approach God and have an eternal relationship with him. All we have to do Is accept that atonernent for our sins. It Is the most amazIng blood sacrifice of all.
Reprinted by permission from Brotherhood Beacon, a monthly publication of the Conservative Mennonite Conference, of which Dwight Gashcho is the Teen Talk editor.
A LENTEN REFLECTION
Life, death and love
One of [the Pharisees], an expert in the law, tested Jesus with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the L.aw?n
Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments n (Matt. 22:3440) ....
Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body [of Jesus], he wrapped it In the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him (Mark 15:46, 16:1).
THE ANNOUNCEMENT coming over the loudspeaker startled me awake. It was 1:50 a.m. and my mind wasn't yet functioning In Spanish. I tried to Ignore It and go back to sleep, but then a siren played over the loudspeaker and our dog started barking. I heard what I thought was the cry of "Buenos Dlas," signaling someone was at our door. It was Baltazar, a friend from the community, asking to borrow our Coleman lantem to take to a funeral wake. I got up and dressed quickly to take the lantem out to him. Then he asked me the question that changed my evening: "But aren't you coming?"
We made our way to a part of the community where most residents arefrom the
K'ekchl' Indigenous group. The house we entered was dark, except for the cooking fire In the comer and a few candles. In the common room a few men had gathered, and In the center of the room was a wooden bed with the body, wrapped neatly In a blanket.
Through talking with 0thers, I pieced together what had happened. The woman who died, Domlnga sep, had been traveling back to the community after a visit with family In Coban. Elderly and diabetic, she was retumlng because her daughter, Isabel, was worried about her health. A friend drove Isabel to Coban to pick up her mother. About two hours Into their journey back, Domlnga died. Isabel and her friend continued on, arriving back to La Esmeralda In the early hours of that momlng. The wake for Domlnga was announced over the loudspeaker, and neighbors were beginning to arrive.
The catechist's wife, Ana, came over to ask my friend Gladis for a favor. "The body hasn't been washed yet and her daughters don't want to do It. Could you help rne?"
Before I knew It, I found myself offering to help.
I watched as Domlnga's two grown daughters strung a sheet to enclose an area where we could wash the body In privacy, trying to preserve the last of Domlnga's dignity. A group of women hoisted the small body from the wooden bed and placed her on another bench behind the makeshift curtain. Marta carefully removed her clothes while Gladis prepared the water and soap.
Not sure what to do, I stood there teellng like an
outsider. My first movement to help was to remove the Band-Aids from Domlnga's anna, the reminders of where blood had been drawn earlier. I knew the Band-Aids would be In the way of the washing. I gemly pulled them off. trying hard not to actually touch her body. The Indignity of death swept over me. Here were people this woman barely knew cleaning her. I felt as If I was ImposIng on a sacred rite.
The stoic nature of Gladis and Marta's actions brought me back to myself. They were determined to preserve the dignity and beauty that DomInga deserved. They gently washed her and cared for her as If she were alive. I helped move the body when necessary and found I was no longer scared by the coldness of death, but rather somehow drawn Into this communal act of love. What had been repulsive became beautiful.
After they were done washing, I took the towel to pat Domingo dry. Then I working on her hair. I lifted her heavy head and brushed out her thin long hair, securing It Into a low ponytail.
Her daughter brought out two clean hulplles, decorative Indigenous blouses: an undershirt of green cotton and an outer shirt of white lace. Marta and I struggled to bend DomInga's arms to dress her In the hulplles. Gladis worked at puttI", on a pair of cotton shorts that served as underwear and then Domlnga's K'ekchl' corte, an elaborately dyed and woven skirt.
There was a st:range ty In all of this. Never before had I been 80 close to death.
by Jenn Esbenshade
I found myself staring Intently Into Domlnga's face, admiring how serene she looked. The entire time I was near, I kept waiting for her to open her eyes, to hold her head up for me as I combed her hair, or to bend her arm as I put on her hulpll, but she didn't move.
Death had never seemed so Interconnected to life before. The way all the women had come together to prepare Domlnga for her final rest brought me close
to tears. I wondered Just who would be willing to do this for a dead neighbor? But that question probably never surfaced among these women. Their desire to support each other erased any hesitations about wanting to help. And through It all, I had been treated Just like any other woman In the nlty. I felt connected and a part of a greater whole that had strangely manifested Itself most strongly at the moment of death.
Jenn Esbenshade and her husband, Wade, are Menn(}nite Central Committee workers In La Esmeralda, Guatemala. MCC is a world relief and development organization supported by Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches. Released through MCC News Service.
BY DANETTE BALTZER ROLAND
Use me
Several weeks ago I prayed as I waited for my son to get some testing done at a psychiatrist's office. I sat writing out my thoughts, confession and longing to serve. In the midst of my prayer, I heard someone in the office say, "Excuse me." I concentrated on my prayer, not looking up.
"Excuse me." The words repeated. Use me, I wrote on the pad on my lap.
"Excuse me." This time, it was louder and more insistent. Finally shaken from my concentration I looked up.
"Could I borrow 75 cents?" She was a young mother of three who was also waiting for her son while he met with a psychiatrist.
"Sure," I answered quickly, digging through my purse for my little change bag. Where was it?
"You see, we became homeless two days ago she said.
I couldn't find the change purse, and I was beginning to look foolish as I dragged out an ibuprofen bottle, Daytimer and checkbook. I mumbled something about not being able to find my change purse and said, "Hold on."
Then a still voice inside my head clearly said, Give her the bill you have.
She didn't ask for that, I argued. What will she use it for? Drugs? Alcohol?
Give her the bill, the voice said again.
Seconds passed as I questioned my sanity. Finally I obeyed. I folded up the bill, handed it to the little girl and asked her to give it to her mother.
My doubts lingered as to what she might do with the money, but I knew I needed to obey the voice. I wrote a note to the young woman dUring the hour we waited. It was not my own goodness but God's, I wrote. He loves you. I wrote down some phone numbers of organizations that I hoped could help her. That was the last time I saw her.
After we said goodbye, I sat in wonderment. I heard the still voice again: You can serve me in many ways ifyou willUsten and watch.
Joy filled me. God was teaching me through that homeless woman. Even as I wondered what she would do with the money, I realized it didn't matter. That money was not going to change her life whether she used it for food or drugs. Only God could do that. My part was to listen and serve him in whatever way he called me to.
The new life inside
That experience reminds me of something I read recently in a devotional put together for the Christmas Advent season. In To Be Virgin, Loretta Ross-
Gotta writes, "God asks us to give away everything of ourselves. The gift of greatest efficacy and power that we can offer God and creation is not our skills, gifts, abilities, and possessions. The wise men had their gold, frankincense, and myrrh, Paul and Peter had their preaching. Mary offered only space, love, belief. What is it that delivers Christ into the world? In the end, when all other human gifts have met their limitation, it is the recollected one, the bold virgin with a heart to love God who makes a sanctuary of her life, who delivers Christ who then delivers us."
The image of Mary giving that space to her Christchild touches me deeply. I remember the joy of realizing that I was going to have a baby and the way I began to make room for a baby in our home. I prepared a baby bed and a room. I bought clothes and diapers. My heart was already involved with and deeply loved this child that was barely the size of a molecule.
Do I feel the same way about Christ living in me? Do I anticipate the changes that Christ will affect in me with the same anticipation?
Jesus came to earth in the most humble form possible. He was a nobody by society's definition of who the somebodies are. He lived and died so that we could have a personal relationship with him.
When Jesus talked to Nicodemus he spoke of the mysterious change that occurs when a person is "born-again." Jesus gave a radical message. "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" Oohn 3:3). He didn't say, "Brother you just don't believe in the right thing. You need to rethink your views on eternal life. It is important to really believe that there is life after death." He didn't say, "You need to do the right things, pray more, eat the right thing or worship with the right people." He said "Believe in me, be born again and I will give you life!" He was saying, "Make space for me in your heart."
In John, he tells the Samaritan woman "whoever drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty" Oohn 4:14). He could have said, "Your people need to rethink what they believe. You are worshipping the wrong way. You don't understand God at alt." Instead his offer was to take what he had and make it part of her. Drink it!
How do we approach our neighbor or coworker who doesn't know Jesus? Do we attack what they believe or offer them new life in Christ? Do we have trouble leading them to new life in Christ because we have forgotten the new life inside us?
We practice communion, but do we fully realize that the symbols that Christ gave us to remember
How do we approach our neighbor or coworker who doesn't know Jesus? Do we have trouble leading them to new life in Christ because we havefo.... gotten the new life inside us?
Jesus didn't die on the cross so that we could lead simpler lives with less stress. He didn't die so that we could be nicer people or better citizens. He death provides life for us. He wants to make us new.
him are life giving? He could have told the disciples to just look at the bread that was broken and the wine in the cup. But instead he said to "take and eat" and "take and drink." We take the life and blood of Christ and make it part of our own bodies so that it might sustain us. In the early days of the church, Paul talks of the Lord's Supper being an actual meal (1 Cor. 11:17-35), not a crumb barely tasted. The meal gave them a real sense that the body of Christ filled them, giving them life. I wonder what might happen if we experienced communion as a supper, if the bread we eat symbolically would be something for which we were actually hungry. Do we hunger for Christ and what he did for us the way we hunger for our next meal? Do we antici· pate his life in us the way we anticipate a child com· ing into the world? Do we take and nurture the life Christ offers, or do we go right back to living as though there is no new life in us?
Giving space to real life
Christ made it possible to change our very being. We might have a terribly tragic story of loss. We might have a history of drug addiction or sexual sin. But Christ changes all that. He doesn't just forgive us-he wipes us clean and heals our brokenness. We might have trouble seeing the new us, but Paul says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17).
Another way to say this is that Christ "rewrote our stories." It is difficult and nearly impossible to change who we are. To put it simply and unscientifically, we are mostly a compilation of our parents, our personality, the events that took place in our youth and how we perceive them. Ask any smoker how easy it is to quit, not only because of the physical addiction but also the habit of having something in their hand and the oral stimulation it provides. Or try cutting back on your favorite foods for a while. Before long you find yourself craving those things that you know you should not eat. We try to change but we find ourselves falling into old habi.ts and old ways of thinking about things.
But Christ offers us the impossible-new stories. He offers us a new life. Jesus didn't die on the cross so we that could lead simpler lives with less stress. He didn't die so that we could be nicer people or better citizens. His death provides life for us. He wants to make us new.
It is up to us what we will do with that new life. As Mary's life was changed by giving space to the Christ-child, we too have the chance to change our lives forever. We can be rewritten.
Mary was a humble soul who recognized that all
she was doing was allowing God to use her body. With no evidence of pregnancy, she could have said, "I'll believe it when I see it." Instead, she told the angel "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38). In faith, she takes the angel's words, accepts them and then makes room in her heart for the baby. She receives God's Spirit and trusts that a new life is being formed. And through her, salvation is born.
We come to Jesus with a similar act of faith. We come having recognized our need for him, our need for forgiveness. We receive his Spirit in us, and we receive his salvation.
As days pass, however, we lose our sense of urgency. We accept the presence as we would a heart transplant. We are terribly glad it is there. We exercise and change our diet to maintain it. But we don't have to grow a heart or nurture it. We merely maintain our life.
But Jesus is present in us. We receive him into us as Mary once received the news of the baby she would bear. We need to live with the same sense of expectancy and awareness of how his presence will change our lives. We need to prepare the way for Christ in us.
Then in faith, we expect that Presence to forever change us. We wait expectantly. And we do change. A new life story is created, and in the fullness of time we see Christ living through us in a way that we are now only dimly aware is possible.
This is not a once done proposition. lf we approached the birth of our children the way we approach our faith, they would never make it to adulthood. As our children have to be nurtured and fed, the spirit living in us must be nurtured and fed. We grow. God uses our life experiences, the sorrow and the difficulties to remake us. When we lose a job and security, our culture and our heart may tell us that we have failed. But God has a new story for us. He provides. We may receive a grocery certificate when there is no food in the house. We may receive a tax: refund unexpectedly. God moves and, in the moving, we learn that our security does not depend on our economy or the stock market. Unfortunately, there is no formula, just as there is no formula to raising children. God the most holy of parents, knows our need and he meets us there.
It seems impossibly simple to believe that, if we just make a space in our lives and our hearts, the rest will fall into place. And yet, the challenge lies before us to live ea'ch moment as we would if we were giving birth to a completely new life in Christ. We will remember the longing to talk to God and hear his words that we had in the first days of our salvation. We will find our hearts longing for the
things of God. And we will approach his throne, humbled that our hearts are not always preparing the way for Christ in our lives. "Prepare the way for the Lord, Make straight paths for him" (lsa. 40:3). When we make the space, he will make us new crea· tures.
Making room
In our driven, success-oriented world, serving Christ means to do something: be a preacher, clean the church building, teach Sunday school-the list goes on. Mighty giants in Christ are measured by the great feats they do for the Lord. If our pastor is bringing in new people, we consider him to be a great man of God. If the prayer warrior of our con· gregation has prayed for healing and we see results, he is the spiritual giant among us. When we think of the great people of the Bible, we think of those who did the mightiest works: Moses, David, Peter and Paul. Yet the most powerful act of God was revealed
WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT
Salvation
initiative
We believe that God Is at work to accomplish deliverance and healing, redemption and restoration In a world dominated by sin. From the beginning, God's purpose has been to create for himself a people, to dwell among them and to bless them. Creation and all of humanity are without hope of salvation except through God's love and God's love Is fully demonstrated In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
...........
Throughout history, God has acted mightily to deliver
in a woman who is somewhat overlooked. Mary made room for God in her life, and it was changed in a most radical way.
I am not discounting the need to serve and live out our lives as disciples of Jesus-this is a very important part of our faith. But if we haven't made room for Jesus, ifwe aren't preparing the way for him to work in our lives daily, we are no more than what Paul would call a "resounding gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Cor. 13:1).
Jesus wants space in our lives and faith that what he is offering is more meaningful than what we do. Then, all the other worthy things we do for Christ will find their meaning. Then we will recognize the truth that God does not need us to serve him: instead, we need to serve him.•
Danette Baltzer Roland lives in Denver, Colo., and is a member of Garden Park MB Church in Denver.
MENNONITE BRETHREN CONFESSION OF FAITH
people from bondage and draw them Into a covenant relationship. Through the prophets God prepared the way of salvation until finally God reconciled the world to himself by the atoning blood of Jesus. As people place their trust In Christ, they are saved by grace throu faith, not of their own doing, but as a gift of God. God f0rgives them, delivers them from sin's bondage, makes them new creatures In Christ, empowers them by the Holy SpIrit and seals them for eternal life. When sin and death are finally abolished and the redeemed are gathered In the new heaven and the new earth,
God will have completed the plan of salvation.
H
Thou Jesus entered a world ruled by sin, he chose not to submit to Its allure and broke Its domination. ThrouJh his obedient life, his death on the cross and his glorious resurrection, Christ trlumphed over satan and the powers of sin and death, opening the way for all .,.. pie to follow. Convicted by
Those whom SDdls_vl,.
have been set
fromsln and called to n.w..... of life.
the Holy SpIrit, people tin from sin, entrust their lives to God, confess ChrIst as Lord and join the family of God. All who receive Christ are bom , and have peace with God,ancI called to love one another_ live at peace with their ........ bore Thole whom God Is savI no longer live for themIeIvee for they have been set from sin and called to ..... ness of life.
d out the question before his ugh the front door. "All my ark. Please?"
ut his briefcase on an end e nine-year old's hair. His smile on't think so, Jamie. I have to work n weekend."
"Aw, Dad, you're no fun." Hurt inJamie's eyes and voice, seldom hidden these days, came to life with fury. "I wish Mom were still alive. She'd take me'"
Harold made a futile grab at his son, as if to comfort him, butJamie turned and ran up the stairs to his room, slamming the door. Words were no good any longer. And the ones his father found to say were hollow.
Ever since a year ago in early April. Ever since Jamie's mother had died in that horrible car wreck. He sat at his computer desk, cradling his head in his hands, remembering the day she was tom from them. She went to the store alone. Jamie was home, anxiously waiting for her to come with the eggs to color and decorate for Easter. The drunk driver's car hit her head-on.
Easter. A special time of year signaling new birth and hope. But for Jamie and his dad, it had brought death for the one who had filled their lives with love, laughter and happiness. They were still wounded, unable to find comfort in each other or anyone else. Even God seemed distant, beyond reach, uncaring. Jamie no longer bothered to say his bedtime prayers.
It was Monday, six days before Easter. Without a doubt, Jamie thought, tbis is tbe darkest week of tbeyear.
On Tuesday evening, Jamie was in his room when his father came home. The boy didn't bother to go down and greet him, nor did he glance up from his book when Harold looked in to say hello.
"Have a good day at school, son?" There was forced cheerfulness in the words.
"I guess." Jamie turned a page quickly. He saw his father's feet shift in the doorway.
"That's good. Well, supper will be in half an hour." His father turned away and then turned back. "Er, Jamie, did you put an egg in our mailbox?"
"What?" Jamie looked up at his father. "What egg?"
"A purple plastic egg. Come downstairs, I'll show you."
Jamie followed his father into the living room where the egg lay beside the newspaper. Gingerly, the boy picked it up and shook it. A faint, whispery sound came from inside.
"Can I open it, Dad?"
Harold nodded and shrugged. "I don't see why not."
With a sharp twist, Jamie popped the two halves apart. A small, crumpled purple cloth ftuttered to the ftoor. He bent to pick it up, then examined it carefully. It was an ordinary piece of cloth with no markings of any kind.
His father snorted in disgust. "Must be a prank. Here, let me throw it away. Some people and their foolishness. "
"No, I want to keep it." Jamie put the cloth back in the egg and closed it. "It's a mystery, and I like mysteries."
Jamie nearly forgot about the egg the next day, until he found another one in the mailbox. That evening, as his dad came up the front steps, Jamie pounced on him from the forsythias. "Guess what, Dad, another egg!" He held out a red, plastic egg in his hand.
"Just what we need," his father said with a remarkable lack of enthusiasm. "More plastic eggs from some lunatic. What's inside this one?"
Jamie shook it, letting his father hear the small rat· tle. "Don't know. I was waiting for you to get home."
This egg was more difficult to open and the boy had to twist it with all hismight. Finally, it broke open to reveal a sharp thorn wedged inside.
Harold grabbed the egg halves and said, "That's enough. This has gone too far. We're really dealing with some weirdo here. A piece of cloth is one thing but thorns are another-you can get a pretty nasty wound from a thorn. I know."
"Aw, come on, Dad," Jamie protested. "It's just a locust thorn. They're all over the trees down by the creek."
The boy gently took the egg halves from his father. Before his dad could say another word, Jamie closed up the egg and took it to his room. He placed it beside the other egg. "The mystery deepens," he muttered. "I'll solve this little puzzle."
And as he lay in bed that night his thoughts centered on the eggs and what they could mean. What was their message, and who was sending it? What was the connection between a purple cloth and a thorn? He couldn't come up with any answers, but tomorrow he vowed to do some real detecting. And, he hoped, to find another egg.
After school on Thursday, Jamie biked home as fast as he could. He slid to a halt beside the mailbox, pulled down the lid and peered inside. An orange egg was clearly visible way at the back. With a whoop he pulled it out, stuffed it in his backpack and biked into the garage.
This time he didn't wait for his father, but hastily twisted it open. The egg had been heavier than the others and now he knew why-inside was an iron nail. He carried it to his room, placed it beside the other
The usual egg was there, but this time it was green. It was heavy and opened to reveal a smooth, black rock. Jamie understood right away its significance-the stone at the opening of Jesus' tom.b. He flipped the stone over in his palm. and felt dejected. What was the use anyway?
His dad had a stone for a heart.
items and then got out a pencil and sheet of paper.
He sat at his desk, tapping his pencil against the desk. What did he know? He wrote the word "facts," and drew a line under it. On the next few lines he wrote:
(1) Eggs are placed in our mat/box after the mat/comes.
(2) Eggs are different colors.
(3) Eggs contain strange things.
Jamie scratched his head. He knew so little. He stared at the paper for a moment, and then slowly wrote down another item:
(4) Dad thinks some nut is doing this.
Then he made a separate heading that he labeled "theories." Under this he wrote:
(1) Someone is sending us some kind of message.
(2) One of my friends at school is pulling a prank
(3) The Easter Bunny has gone crazy.
Jamie stopped writing and lay down his pencil. He couldn't think of any more theories to list.
Carefully, he placed the purple cloth, thorn and nail on his desk. He stared at them, hoping to spot a clue, any clue that would help him solve the riddle of theIr presence in the Connelly mailbox.
He reached out to finger the cloth and found his thoughts wandering away from the mystery and to his mother. He remembered the superhero outfit she sewed for him when he was four years old. How he squealed with delight when she flew him around the living room. He touched the thorn. It was on his first day of school that an older child had poked him in the arm with a pencil, causing him to bleed all over his new shIrt. His mother had dried his tears
and cleaned the shirt. The nail brought happy memories. Mom and he had made a wooden boat to sail in the creek after the spring rains.
Jamie got up from the desk and lay on his bed. He was quietly sobbing now. How he missed her. Especially this time of year. Easter was always her favorite. She loved coloring and hiding Easter eggs, reading to him from his picture Bible about Jesus' death and resurrection and going to the sunrise service at church.
Suddenly, Jamie sat upright. Drying his tears with his sleeve, he scrambled over to his bookshelf and grabbed the picture Bible. HUrriedly, he searched for the story of Jesus' crucifixion and death.
There it was! A picture of Jesus wearing a purple robe, standing before Pontius Pilate. On his head was a crown of thorns. Jamie turned the page. He saw soldiers nailing Jesus to the cross.
Stunned, he closed his Bible. That had to be the message of the eggs-someone was reminding him and his father of the events of Jesus' last week on earth.
But who? They didn't even go to church anymore. His dad said he couldn't see any reason to believe in a God that allowed such pain in theIr lives.
Jamie opened the Bible again and read the whole story, starting with the Last Supper. When he had finished, he put the Bible back on the bookshelf. He decided not to say anything to his father. He'd wait for another egg, just to be sure.
On Friday, there was no school, so he made plans to spy on whomever was placing the eggs in
the mailbox. He hid behind the hedge where he had a view of the sidewalk on both sides of the box. The minutes dragged by slowly, but no one approached.
At noon, his father stopped by with a pizza. Jamie tried to get him to eat it outside on the porch, but his father insisted that the kitchen was bener. After lunch, when his father had gone, Jamie ran to the mailbox. Inside was a blue egg.
"Rats," Jamie said loudly. "I missed him."
He pried open the egg and grimaced. A pungent odor came from an odd-looking brown object nestled in the shell. He wrinkled his nose and closed the egg tight again.
Whatever did this mean? He felt his theory start to shatter as he walked slowly to the house. Then it hit him-it was some kind of spice, of course. They had wrapped Jesus' body with spices before placing him in the tomb.
When his father got home that night, Jamie showed him all four eggs and their contents. As he explained his theory, Harold stared thoughtfully. He laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"You may be right, son. It makes sense. But who could be doing this?"
Jamie shrugged. "I don't know." He hesitated, and then looked up at his father. "I looked up the story in my Bible. You know, the one Mom gave me. Jesus must have gone through so much pain."
He felt his father's hand stiffen. "Don't we all, son. Let's not talk about it."
"But, Dad," Jamie fought back his desperation. "We need to. We need to talk about Mom and about Easter and everything. We can't just forget."
In a seemingly slow motion, his father turned away and left the room. If he heard Jamie's cry of anguish, he didn't show it.
Saturday was a hard day for Jamie. His father went to work early without saying a word. After cleaning his room and doing his homework, Jamie turned on the 1V and watched cartoons. During a commercial, he glanced out the window at the mailbox. He got up and went outside.
The usual egg was there, but this time it was green. It was heavy and opened to reveal a smooth, black rock. Jamie understood right away its significance-the stone at the opening of Jesus' tomb. He tlipped the stone over in his palm and felt dejected. What was the use anyway? His dad had a stone for a heart. He went back inside and laid the rock on the newspaper by his father's easy chair.
At five o'clock, Jamie heard his dad's footsteps on the porch, so he retreated to his room. Once, over his Discman, he thought he caught the sound of knocking, but he ignored it and it was never repeated.
Supper was endured in silence. Jamie ate very Uttie, and then asked to be excused. The response was vague so the boy stole away quickly. He didn't like the haggard look on his dad's face or the dark circles under his eyes. Neither one had mentioned the rock. Sunday morning dawned bright and clear. Jamie looked out his window. Silvery dew made diamonds in the grass. Mr. Watkins across the street was retrieving his Sunday paper.
Jamie frowned. There would be no egg today because there was no mail. Or would there?
He dashed downstairs towards the front door. He glanced into the kitchen-and stopped. His father sat at the table, tears rolling down his face. He held a yellow, plastic egg in his hands.
"What's the matter?" Jamie asked. He looked down at the egg. "What's in it?"
His father slowly opened the egg again. "Nothing. It's empty."
"What? What do you mean 'empty'?" The boy came around the table to where his father sat. "It can't be empty. We need the clue."
"Don't you see, son?" his father's voice shook with emotion. "It's empty because the tomb is empty. Jesus rose from the dead. He's alive!"
And then he hugged Jamie so tightly the boy felt the room swirl.
"I'm so sorry, son. I missed your mother so much that I lost faith in everything-in God, in you, in myself, even in love." The man smiled through his tears. "But there is hope. Jesus is alive. Because he conquered death and pain and sorrow, we can, too-by his strength."
"Oh, Dad," Jamie hugged his father again, his head on his father's shoulder "Mom would have wanted us to remember the happy times with her." He reached for his father's hand, still cradling the yellow egg. "You know what else Mom would have wanted?"
"What, son?"
"She would have wanted us to go to church on Easter Sunday."
Harold laughed, and for the first time in a year his son heard joy in that sound. "I beUeve you're right, Jamie."
Jamie and his father attended church that day, and every Sunday they could thereafter. They never knew for certain who placed the eggs in their mailbox. Jamie thought it must have been an angel, whereas his father voted for the pastor's wife.
And who knows. Maybe they both were right.•
Gary A Schuler is a freelance Christian writer who lives in Marlon, Kan. He and his family are members at Hillsboro (Kan.) MB Church.
Rethinking memorial services
When reading the Inquiring Minds page of the December 200l Christian Leader, I felt it would be helpful to present a different view to Marvin Hein's discussion about the evaluation of funeral practices in Mennonite Brethren churches.
I was not brought up in an MB church. Before I turned 20, my mother, brother, grandmother, aunt, uncle, a 13year-old classmate and several friends' loved ones died. I attended all of the funeral services as well as wakes for these family members and friends. For those who have not experienced a wake, it is a prefuneral service allowing family and friends a chance to personally and verbally express their sympathy to the family as well as pay last respects to the deceased.
The Christian Leader welcomes brief letters on topics relevant to the Mennonite Brethren Church. All letters must be signed and will be edited for clarity and length. Send letters to Christian Leader, 101 N. Capitol Parkway, Montgomery, Alabama 36107 (e-mail: editor@usmb.org).
When I was 24, I began attending an MB church. I experienced my first "memorial service" three years later, when a close friend, Dan, died suddenly. There was no wake. At the memorial service-which had no casket-there was an open forum for eulogies. Anyone attending could talk about Dan and their experiences with him. I learned many things about my friend that day. I saw the ways that Dan's life had touched others for Christ that I had never known about. One of the people who spoke, from a local rehabilitation center, had heard Dan speak about his relationship with Jesus. Because of Dan's testimony and continued ministry at the center, this man is now a brother in Christ. What a blessing it was to hear about God's work in and through Dan's life. But the absence of a wake or casket disturbed me. I felt I never got a chance to say good-bye to Dan. He was there one day and gone the next. I felt a lack of closure about his death that persisted for months.
Several years later another friend died. Again, after the memorial service, I
felt a lack of closure. Since then, I've attended many memorial services as well as a few wakes and funerals. Reflecting on my feelings about this whole issue, I'd like to make several observations about the differences I see in dealing with death that I've encountered.
Grieving publically seems to make people uncomfortable at memorial services, whereas the wakes and funerals are usually places that allow for public displays of grief. The memorial services I have attended have been very upbeat and encouraging but have not addressed in any depth the issue of the grief of those bereaved. I feel the grieving process of the community and the grief of the individual family members is cut short because of this.
I was left to come to terms with my friends' deaths in a very isolated fAshion. The eulogy gave me some forum to connect with the community of faith at this time. I feel Mr. Hein's encouragement to cut eulogies short or have no eulogy at all is shortsighted. The eulogy is not given to praise the dead; rather, the eulogy is a way for those who are grieving to express
A Letter to the American
On the OccasIon of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, 2002
After the sept. Hlncident, several people in the Fresno, Calif., area began asking how they as Christians could respond, says Mary Anne Isaak, associate pastor of College Community Church in Clovis. A number of Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren leaders and church members began meeting every two weeks at the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies, located on the campus of Fresno Pacific University, an MB university.
"We came up with the idea of writing a public letter to the American people, " says Isaak. "Precedent for this kind of statement was set on Christmas Eve 1990
when Mennonites and Mennonite Brethren published an open letter to President Bush and Saddam Hussein In the Fresno Bee.
"We went through many drafts until we decided on the current version of the letter. Each time, we discussed implications of our words."
The letter was published as a full page in the front section of the Fresno Bee. It was paid for by asking for a $10 donation per signature, with a number of pe0ple giving generous donations over and above the request, says Isaak.
Over 250 people-many of them Mennonite and Men-
nonite Brethren pastors and church members in the Fresno and Reedley area of Central California-signed the letter with their names published underneath.
After its publication, the group submitted the letter to the Leader for reprinting. •
DURING OUR CURRENT season of national crisis we have seen the very best of the AmerIcan spirit. We c0ntinue to pray for heal We pray for hope. We PnIY for Justice and peace.
OUr PleSldent
rightfully catted us to remember refugees and 0thers left cold and huntP'Y • a result of the events In
Afghenl8tan. And the Amerlcan people have responded. n.e acts visited upon our country on sept. 11 were b8rbIIrIc and evil. As C...... tIana, we, the 1IIIder8Igned, deplore all acts of violence and the utter d......pect shown for human life. How we respond to criminal acts 88Y8 much about the depth of our vat and the oh8nIctar 01 our nation. When we respond to unrestratned evtl and dIea8ter with a 1eS111ent spirit dedicated to moumlng with those who grieve, tt those who eu«er, and seekI JU8tIce for thoee who conuntt crIme8, we are reepondIng with the beet of the AmerIcan epIrit. But
publicly their sense of loss as well as their thanksgiving for having been given the opponunity to share in the gift of faith and life given by God to the deceased and to their friends and family through them. It is a way to gain closure.
The practice of the separate burial and memorial services that Mr. Hein endorses is a practice that again distances the faith community from the deceased, the grieving process and the grieving family memo bers who need the support of the community of faith while trying to cope with their loss. Why should the joy at births, weddings, baptisms and other occasions in the faith journey be communal events, but the grief of death be a private event?
Mr. Hein's comment that the reasons for the "parade" past the decaying body is because the family wants to see who is present makes it seem like the bereaved family has a checklist going that will let them know who cared and who didn't. In my experience, this practice of viewing the dead is done to give those grieving one last chance to say good-bye and to have some closure to a life now ended.
Death should not be celebrated, but I think Mr. Hein is missing the point of a funeral and a memorial service by separating death from our lives so sharply. Removing the dead from the memorial service seems like a way to sanitize the experience of the unpleasantness. Funeral and memorial services should be
when our desire to seek justice Is fueled by revenge and a self-rIghteous sense of cause, we risk becoming more like those whose actions we abhor.
We believe In the Importance of collective self.xamInatlon. Many people In the world do not experience our nation as we see ourselves. When we practice democratIc values and espouse human rights In our own country, but support oppressive regimes because doing so suits our national Interest, they question our consistency. When we support economic boycotts and other strategies that negatiVely Impact common people, they are upset. When we shun Intematlonal conventions and conferences, we are resented. Indeed, a member
WIIAT READEHS '- ;\)
designed as a comfort to those who are grieving. They are a way to come to some small sense of closure after a very harsh life experience. Yes, the Christian has a very real hope in the resurrection, and that hope does lessen the sting of death, but the death of a loved one is a great loss that requires mourning. Without that mourning, I feel we cheapen the gift that life which is now ended here on earth was to us.
Christine Eldridge Sanjose, Calif.
Good peace issue
I commend the Christian Leader for its excellent and courageous issue on peacemaking and peace-living Oanuary 2002). It comes at a time when our government-cheered on by the media-daily proclaims that the only way to deal with our enemies is to hunt them down and kill them. Churches have done their part to make killing by us morally acceptable since the killings by "them" on 9-11. We ask God to bless America. How can He bless actions that are the opposite of what Jesus taught about overcoming
of the U.S. Commission on National Security concluded that "We got a terrific sense of the resentment building against the United States as a bully" (Columbia JournalIsm Review, November/ December 2001).
While some may distort their own religious beliefs to evil ends, we appeal to all people of faith to call our leaders to the highest Ideals of their faith: love, peace and goodwill. We are mindful that Jesus asks his followers to love even their enemies.
In this spirit:
• we encourage our leaders to pursue Justice through Intematlonallaw and courts and to give priority to facilitatIng the delivery of food and supplies to those In greatest need In Afghanistan.
• we support the lifting of
evil and how to treat our enemies? I deeply appreciate the commentaries by LynnJost and John Warkentin. It's been a long time since I've heard any MB leader give not only a lucid explanation, but a defense of the Anabaptist peace position, a founding principle of the denomination.
Maroin Kroeker Ada,Olcta.
Couldn't put it down
I just finished reading the January 2002 issue of the Christian Leader and could hardly put it down. Two sections were of special interest to me: the interviews with Lynn Jost and John Warkentin on war, peace and justice; and Witness, the insert by MBMS International (the global mission agency of North American MB churches).
My father was a conscientious objector in World War I and went through some difficult times at the Ft. Riley Army Base in Kansas. In World War n I also took the same position, following the teachings of]esus. I served in several Civilian Service Camps and a state hospital doing "work of national importance." This had been earlier arranged by
the economic embargo against Iraq and renewed efforts to build peace between the Palestinian pe0ple and Israel.
• we Implore that the current war effort not be expanded to other nations.
• we desire that the energy, Intelligence and commitment currently funneled Into the war effort be focused on restorative Justice, nonviolent methods of resolving conflict, cross-cultural understanding and negotiation.
As the new year dawns, we Invite all:
• to join In praying for the families of those who died on sept. 11 and the families of those who have died In Afghanistan.
• to pray for our president and leaders of the world to find peaceful means to deal
with terrorism and vIeIence.
• to support the etrorta of our government and hum8n1tarlan agencies to bring aid to the Afghan refuCeee.
• to practice Io¥e of try wille reJeetInC the tempt&tIon to elevate our own try above all others.
• to reject expressions of hate and to extend love towards those different from themselves.
We Invtte all Arnerto-. to bring an end to terrorism, ..and violence of alldnds and to pray and WOIk for peece.
Coordinated by the MPeacemaking Mennonites· group meeting at the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies and forwarded to President George W. Bush and to al/ members of Congress from California
MCC as well as Mennonite, Friends and Brethren church leaders. Our peace position was not popular, of course, and we at times &ced derision and harassment, but we appreciated our government providing this alternative for us.
Witness, containing firsthand stories of missions around the world, is most interesting and challenging. It is amazing and inspiring to see how God is using believers with a variety of gifts to minister to needy people aD around the world. Some countries are closed to the gospel but thank God for the many open doors and for the ones who are serving there.
Harold Gaede Fresno, Calif.
SUpporting common causes
Having listened to the State of the Union address I ask, What kind of support do we give our president who has shown such strong moral leadership?
Are we bent on criticism when he uses the military to free people and fight evil? We are engaged in a real struggle against the forces of Evil. When has a president ever stood for bith values and pressed for doing some of the very social and benevolent things Mennonites are doing and have done for years?
Knowing that government bureaucracy can't hold a candle to the stewardship of bith-based organizations such as we have, shouldn't we thank God every day for such opportunities and leadership and show our true colors in working hard at supporting and working with these common and joint endeavors? Just let the American Civil Liberties Union and immoral leadership take control and then see how our hands would be tied.
The president spoke of two years of service in endeavors such as the Peace Corps, USA Freedom Corps, America Corps and Senior Corps, using the expertise of our retired forces, as we've done for years, to serve our fellowman, our nation and the cause of right.
The Scriptures strongly admonish us to pray for our leaders and for those in authority. Let's support the common causes we are privileged to experience in our present day of presidential leadership and those he has chosen to his team of advisors.
Harold E. Franz Wichita, Kans.
ChrIstian hypocrisy in America
I read the January 2002 Christian Leader with great interest. This issue
attracts me because it mainly discusses the contemporary crisis of American Christianity regarding war and peace. It also differentiates Mennonite tradition as a peace church from the mainstream American Christian communities.
When I was baptized in Japan a decade ago, I was proud of being a Christian publicly because Christians in Japan do not have political or economical advantages as in the West, and Christians in China are not free. I selected a life of a political refugee in the U.S. rather than a nuclear physicist in China or a sociology professor in Japan. I've never regretted that.
However, after living six years in the U.S., I am confused and begin to feel shameful to think myself a Christian. The Sept. 11 incident has deepened my suspicion of American Christianity.
From June 4, 1989 (l'iananmen Square incident), to Sept. 11,2001, I have observed a huge backward process in human history. We people in the socalled Socialist countries stood up against our regimes, but we were oppressed (as in China) or betrayed (as in the Soviet block). The West holds one of the key factors for the &ilure of human progress: people in the West, especially in the U.S., did not reform, improve or oppose their systems. Capitalist powers won the Cold War and they pushed the world to a new period of global war. Especially after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the only superpower abandoned any kinds of foreign policies but imperialist expansion. The American public was fed the false information that the world had become an American world politicaUy, economically and culturally. Accordingly, Christian right figures, such as Billy Graham and Fred Schwarz, banded together with state powers and began to intluence mainstream Western Christianity.
The Sept. 11 incident is a consequence of foreign policy based on imperialism. Americans are seldom reminded of the following facts: the U.S. helped make a Zionist Israel that has occupied Palestine for more than a half-century; U.S. forces divided China and Korea for more than a half-century; U.S. troops occupied Japan for more than a half-century; the U.S. has continued bombing Iraq for a decade; the U.S. invaded Nicaragua, Panama; the Central Intelligence Agency murdered civilians of Colombia,Argentina and other Latin American countries; the U.S. bombed Yugoslavia (and China's Embassy there); and the U.S. also bombed Sudan.
It is natural that many oppressed peo-
pies or groups declare war against the U.S. government and the people who supported this government. If the U.S. government is reaDy serving the American people, if the many American university professors and "think tanks" have an independent mind, they would have better served the American public with information to prevent an attack like the Sept. 11 incident.
The Sept. 11 attack is an extreme military action beyond human expectation, but their demands from the U.S. are aD understandable: to stop arming Israel to oppress the Palestinian people, to remove the sanction against Iraq, to withdraw its 5,000 troops from Saudi Arabia, and so on.
How would the Americans react if they experienced one percent of these people's sufferings? (America lost about 0.001 percent of its population in Sept. 11 incident.) Most of the victims of Sept. 11 were innocent people. They did not directly engage in the American policies that oppress and kill millions of innocent people aD over the world. They were victims of two enemies: the attackers and the U.S. government.
America and most of the world are engaging in an unjust war. The American public can benefit nothing from the socalled "antiterrorist" war, which is destroying relevant or irrelevant enemies and innocent people without evidence.
It is difficult to point out the hypocrisy in American Christianity to those who support the current war. I've observed that even many Mennonite communities lack political independence from or enough knowledge of the U.S. foreign policy. Some are seriously confused about the difference between peace and a "just war." I don't deny that in human beings' history there were just wars, such as European and Asian people's resistance against Nazi Germany and the Japanese invasion, but the current American war has nothing to do with justice. If America reaDy wants peace, it can obtain peace immediately by stopping wars against other countries, withdrawing aD its troops back to the homeland, destroying aD nuclear weapons (Russia and China will happily follow) and eventuaDy
True American Christians should speak out and take action to show and state to the world our true Christian bith of peace.
jingZhao Sanjose, Calif.
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The devotional (real) life
Unplanned opportunities for faith education are everyuJhere
AS ONE WHO'S HUNG AROUND
churches and Christians all my life, I've always heard about the importance of "doing devotions." This has usually been discussed in terms of taking time for daily Bible study, prayer and spiritual reflection. Of course this is a great course of action. One I follow myself. Sometimes. Well, I guess I've been fairly faithful with daily (or almost daily) devotions for a good part of my believing life. But there have been significant stretches during which my devotional endeavors haven't exactly gone like clockwork. The last couple of months, for instance. We've just slogged through the busy season at our state publishing office, full of 12 hour days cranking out weighty, wordy volumes and web pages.
I admit it. When I get that busy, one thing that tends to get bumped off the schedule is daily devotions. Some of the more spiritually minded among us-famous authors and speakers and such-have said that when they really get busy, they spend even more time doing devotions. A hectic pace demands more spiritual grounding and strength, they claim. Excellent thought. But personally I've never quite been able to pull that off. Guess that's why they're the famous authors and speakers, and I'm not. But seriously, during this latest derailing off the track of regular study and reflection, I've wondered how daily devotions became the measuring stick for healthy spirituality in the first place. Because as fur as I can tell, Jesus never cracked open an issue of Our Daily Bread even once.
OK, maybe the venerable devotional guide hadn't quite started publication yet. But still, Jesus' devotional
habits, as recorded in Scripture, didn't exactly follow the "same-time, sameplace" routine.
Look at Mark 1:35. After an intensive day and night of ministry, Jesus got a little sleep, then early in the morning "left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." This apparently wasn't the norm. It kind of stressed out Peter and the rest of the disciples. They went on a vigorous search, and upon finding Jesus expressed exasperation: "Everyone is looking for you!"
That seemed to set the precedent for Jesus' public life. He'd involve himself in hectic, demanding periods of ministry, followed by hours or days of complete withdrawal. It sounds a bit different than the devotions-on-therun scenario to which many of us have gotten accustomed.
Still, that's no knock against daily devotions. For several years I was editor of our own inter-Mennonite devotional guide, Rejoice! I thought that was (and is) a great magazine, rich with excellent Scripture readings and faith meditations. Not that I'm partial or anything.
But daily devotions aren't the only way to maintain a spiritual life. For awhile I've been intrigued with a different, or perhaps complimentary, approach; something I've come to think of as the devotional "real" life. Simply put, the devotional real life is about seeking spiritual insights in many aspects of one's day, not just during a small slice of prescheduled time. Now, I realize one can go too fur with such an idea. "Since I walk from my desk to the water cooler regularly," I might say, "I get plenty of exercise." Which obviously isn't true. To stay in shape I need more activity than that. In the same way, I could say "I seek spiri-
tuality in all things" without ever opening my Bible or spending serious time in prayer. And that wouldn't work.
So I've practiced daily (or somewhat daily) devotions over the years, with varying degrees of consistency. But I've also grown in the devotional real life, which for me seems to play out in a couple of ways.
First, God always speaks to me through his creation. For many of us, noticing the Creator's work is getting harder and harder to do because we live in such an insulated, human-made world. And human objects are what we too often end up praising, accumulating and putting our trust in. The Bible, by the way, calls that idolatry.
It's no coincidence that when]esus is recorded as getting away to pray, it was always to a nature spot. When I venture to the coast or mountains or even for a few minutes along the woodedstreamsme path outsmemy office building, my eyes are invariably lifted from my own work to God's. That's what I call real world devotions.
Second, I tend to listen for "sermons" in all kinds of places, and I'm not talking about churches. The other evening, for instance, my wife and I watched a very nonreligious movie that turned into something of a religious experience for us. Based on a true story, it was about perseverance on the highest level, about beating astonishing odds to accomplish a desired and honorable goal. The movie moved us and got us talking about our own perseverance (or lack thereof) and desire to be more faithful and committed to achieving important goals in our lives.
In the devotional real life, such unplanned opportunities for faith education are everywhere. If one is really open to discovering them .•
BY MARVIN HEIN
Questions about faith and life
Forgiving those who don't ask and could God use the u.s. like he used Israel
QIs It possible to forgive even when forgiveness has not been requested by the offender? (North Carolina)
AIn an article in a recent issue of Mennonite WeekryReview, this question was posed when a small group of believers huddled to pray for Afghanistan's starving children-and for bin Laden and the Taliban. They agreed to pray for their persecutors, but could they forgive them? Repeated calls for sparing civilians in the war on terrorism go out. Seek justice instead of retaliation. But what about forgiveness? Several approaches seem possible. I have a theologically-trained friend who maintains it is not possible really to forgive until that forgiveness is requested. He says forgiveness is two-dimensional-it needs a repenter and a forgiver. A refusal to ask forgiveness blocks the process. And what if the offender is dead? My friend has a fascinating answer: he once asked someone to be a proxy for his dead father so he could rehearse the offenses and then extend forgiveness.
There is another view that says the offended can jump too quickly to forgiveness. There needs to be time to grieve. People need to learn to live with the pain of having been offended. Forgiving too quickly may well "short-circuit issues of accountability and repentance that are key ingredients in the issue of reconciliation," says Duke Divinity School's L. Gregory Jones. But I can't wait for the 19 Trade Center and Pentagon terrorists to ask forgiveness. They are dead. Shall I wait for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of al-Qaida followers to ask for forgiveness? It may never happen. Is forgiveness mandatory for the
believer even if the wrongdoer is unrepentant? I'm inclined to say "yes." Or at least it is preferable. 1 can sometimes do little for the person who has offended me. But granting forgiveness to unrepentant sinners can do marvelous things for me. 1 often wince when I hear someone say: "I will never, never forgive the person who murdered my son." Not because 1 condone the crime, nor am insensitive to the grief of a loved one, but 1 know that the offended, unforgiving person sentences himself or herself to a miserable life. To live unforgiving is too heavy a weight to bear. What did Jesus mean when he taught us to pray: "forgive us our sins as we forgive others?"
I think of the young Vietnamese woman who, as a child, was terribly burned when American airmen bombed her village church. Many years later she appeared in a Washington, D. C. veteran's meeting and extended unsolicited forgiveness to the man who dropped those bombs. The grace of forgiveness made her a winner-and happy!
QIs It not possible that, like God used Israel to punish pagan evildoers, he may use our nation's military might to hate evil and violently punish evil men? (Kansas)
AThe background for this question comes from Old Testament accounts where God directed Israel to destroy ungodly men, women and even livestock. The rationale is supported by the fact that Jesus called religious leaders some pretty nasty names and used violence in the temple. If justice and punishment, along with grace and love, are part of God's nature, could he not use our nation as his tool?
Have a question about a Bible passage, doctrine, conference policy, or other spiritual issue? E-mail Marvin at mbetn1 @fresno. edu or send your question to ''Inquiring Minds, n c/o Marvin Hein, 4812 E. Butler, Fresno, CA 93727.
God did, indeed, punish evildoers through theocratic Israel. He was their king (president).
The United States, however, is far from a theocratic nation. We may well be the one nation in the world in which most of us would rather live, but 1 tremble to think we can equate ourselves with an Israel governed by God himself. We are not a holy nation.
Romans 13 says that government does not bear the sword for nothing, but remember, too, that the previous chapter calls us not to seek revenge, but to leave justice to the wrath of God, and to overcome evil with good. What to do with bin Laden is not an easy question, but believers must live in the tension of following Christ and being faithful citizens. The difficulty in the Romans 13 passage, for me at least, is heightened by the fact that Paul is speaking of domestic government, as I understand it. It isn't clear to me if that entitles one nation to become an international watchdog of righteousness and justice.
At a recent MB Biblical Seminary chapel, Valerie Rempel used the DavidINaballAbigail story in 1 Samuel 25 as her text. Among other things, she pointed out that only Abigail, not David, the man after God's own heart, was willing to leave justice to God. David desired to vindicate himself and destroy Nabal and his crew. Abigail made a feast for this potential killer and his team.
Perhaps even the aT can teach us about violence. Did not God send youthful Moses to the desert woodshed for 40 years after he had killed the Egyptian so that the future leader of Israel could learn that violence only begets violence?
BY ROSE BUSCHMAN
Preparing for Easter ment0ries for Easter
MSJD MIL BE UPON us and, as I think about it, I ask, "How wiD I prepare for it?"
Several years ago after hearing some of my students talk about what they wen: ifving up for Lent, I decided to try it myself. I wanted to know if doing 80 would make a difference for me. It certainly did. Giving something up that w:is a pan of my life was a daily reminder to me of what season it was and why I was doing it.
As I sat and contemplated what I should do this year, memories of past Easters flooded my mind. I have some very spedaI Easter memories.
• My ftrst memory takes me back to my childhood. In our community Good Friday Was a very solemn day. No one went to work and even around the house we only did what was absolutely necasary. As a fiuniIy we joined others in a church semce that reflected the somber of a day two thousand years ago. 1be remainder of the day was spent at home in quiet contemplation. We wen: in mourning. 1ben Sunday we would have a aervk:e of praise and celebration. (Ow=r the years I have found it di8k:ult to work on Good Friday when my job required it.)
• Another memory takes me back to Moroc::co where we attended the EnaUsh Profestant Fellowship during the three years we llved there. This had a tradition of saving the trunk of the Christmas tree for Easter, cuttinl it into two pieces and then tying them fOFther into the shape of a croM. For Plibn Sunday it was bare as it stood at the front of the sanctuary and then for the Maundy Thursday service a drde of thorns hung on it. For Easter Sunday it was covered with chicken wire and we all placed fresh cut flowers into the wire. The beautiful flower-covered croM was a powerful object lesson
as we celebrated Christ's resurrection from the dead.
• The next one comes from a similar series of events in my home church several years ago. That year our Christmas tree was brought into the church for the Maundy Thursday evening service, the limbs were sawed off and the trunk fashioned into a cross right in front of us. Then for the Easter Sunday service we had the children cover the chicken-wired cross with flowers. For me it was a very special way of making the message of Easter come alive.
• One Easter we were visiting in another state. The church we attended that Sunday had all but given up on the traditional hymns of the church. While Easter was mentioned during the sermon, none of the songs we sang as a congregation had any mention of Easter in them. I realized that day that for me Easter still means singing "Low in the Grave He Lay," "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" and other great hymns that celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord.
• Last year I was in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea, as part of a team that provided a VBS day camp program for the missionary children while their parents held their biennial conference. My poignant memory is of the Palm Sunday service I was privileged to attend. At the beginning of the service a man, dressed in a hooded white robe, entered the worship center riding on a horse. (They don't have donkeys in PNG.) When he got to the front of the sanctuary he dismounted and sat down on a chair placed at the front of the platform near the pulpit while his horse was led from the building. He sat facing away from the audience and soon I forgot about him.
The service was very upbeat. The children's choir came in waving palm
branches and singing "Hosanna." The women's flag team, with their drills set to inspiring music, added to the festivi· ties. The missionary preacher certainly gave us something to think about as he spoke about the events of long ago. At the end of the service we were all asked to sit down after the last hymn was sung so that "we can all see the final event of the service." As more than 200 worshipers sat quietly we heard the heavy clomp, clomp of boots as two security guards walked in. Because of a heightened security alert on the mission compound these men from a private security firm could be seen dUring the day patrolling the grounds with billy clubs in their hands and guard dogs on leashes after dark. Now they were in the service.
The men walked up the center aisle to the front of the sanctuary where they "arrested" the white-robed man who had been sitting quietly through· out the service. They grabbed him and led him out of the building. I sat stunned. Tears came to my eyes. As I looked around I saw others dabbing their eyes with stunned looks on their faces. For a while we just sat there. Eventually all qUietly walked out. I remember thinking, "That is what Jesus did for me and that was only the beginning of his road to the cross." I am still deeply moved, even today, when I think of that scene.
This year I expect to be in England, Lord willing, visiting my friend Gill over the Easter weekend. I am looking forward to seeing how her church will celebrate this high point in the Christian calendar. In the meantime, I want to prepare myself through reading selected books, Bible study and times of reflection and prayer. I may even "give up something for Lent" as a daily reminder of what my Savior did for me.•
Funkloyalto call from God
Ministry includes local church pastor and various u.s. Conference roles
BY CONNIE FABER
Folks did not take Loyal Funk very seriously when he declared at age seven that he was called to be a minister. But God did and he has blessed Funk's lifelong desire to be faithful to that call.
For more than half a century, Funk has served the U.S. Mennonite Brethren church and he is thankful for the full support of his wife Nancy in his various ministry venues. He has been the pastor of six congregations in three of the five district conferences and has served
those conferences as moderator. Funk has had a part in founding four retirement homes and has managed several of them. He has also served one Canadian MB congregation and moderated the British Columbia Conference.
In the late 19808, Funk accepted the call to serve the U.S. Conference as director of evangelism, and was charged with helping the denomination grow by reaching new immigrant people groups and planting new churches. Funk was also the U.S. Conference minister for more than 10 years. He continues to
work with immigrant people groups, now as the director of Integrated Ministries, and last summer he agreed to serve as the interim U.S. Conference executive minister.
"I like the local church," says Funk in reflecting on the highlights of his ministry. "I like the fellowship, the camaraderie. I've always been committed to Anabaptist evangelical values and I believe strongly in the priesthood of every believer with specific calls to some to do given ministries. I've seen young people called to ministry. That's been very satisfying. I've seen our conference move from an ethnic group to where vision is broad enough to incorporate other ethnic people groups. That's a highlight in my heart and life."
Regardless of his specific responsibilities, 72-year-old Funk has heeded God's call before all else.
"I grew up in a rural community, Wolf Point, Mont., on a cattle ranch," says Funk. "Annually an evangelist would be called to have an old fashioned revival meeting. And I came to know Christ at one of those.
"In my spirit, I felt the call of the Lord to be in miniStry, which of course other people laughed at. But it was very clear to me-was all through my growing-up years," says Funk.
"When I was in seventh grade we moved to Kansas, to Hillsboro, attended the Hillsboro MB Church and everything got solidified there. But the call to ministry that I experienced was never unclear. I didn't feel I had a choice about what I wanted to do. I either chose to be obedient or I wouldn't have been pleasing to the Lord."
As a young man, Funk was determined to act on that call.
"By 17," says Funk, "I was working with Youth for Christ while I was a student at Tabor. I was ordained when I was barely 20 in the Baptist convention because at that time Mennonite Brethren wouldn't make provision for young preachers."
Funk's decision to be ordained as a Baptist minister was not well-liked by denominational leaders who felt that MB ordination at the age of 30 would give Funk "enough time" to serve the church. But God's call outweighed the cautions of men and Funk affiliated him· self with the Baptists for five years. During that time he served two Baptist con-
gregations in Central Kansas while completing his degree at Tabor College, the MB college located in Hillsboro, Kan.
Funk attended California Baptist Theological Seminary and served as pastor of a Los Angeles MB church. Upon completing his seminary training, Funk spent the next 33 years serving six MB congregations in North Dakota, Oklahoma, California, Oregon and British Columbia.
Funk and his wife currently live in Arroyo Grande, Calif., although they are members of Heritage Bible of Bakersfield, Calif. They have been married for 52 years and have three children and two grandchildren.
Reflecting on his ministry to date, Funk's comments tum repeatedly to the call all Christians have to serve Christ, especially in the pastoral ministry.
"I rejoice when I hear young men going into the ministry," says Funk. "We need many recruits to active pastorates and church planting."
While Funk agrees that God still calls people into fulltime ministry, he longs for them to experience that divine sense of God's call that he did and for churches to again play the role his home congregations did in relaying that call.
"I find [that sense of God's call] very seldom with people under 50," says Funk. "I think it depends on the teaching of pastors and churches. As a young boy, I'd hear them talk about how God called Jeremiah and Isaiah and so on Our shortage of pastors has to do very clearly with the fact that we do not teach that the Lord wants to separate and call people to specific leadership in ministry like pastors and evangelists.
"I do not look askance at people who today choose ministry on different bases," says Funk. "They talk about inclinations, vocational tests, aptitude tests. I'm not critical of that, but if that would have been the case with me I would have been in business, not in the ministry, because I have an entrepreneurial spirit I'm sure I could have succeeded in any business endeavor, but the call of the Lord was on me and I didn't feel I had a choice. And 1 haven't regretted it."
One segment of the U.S. Conference that is flush with young leaders, says Funk, is transcultural congregations.
"If you go to Slavic, Korean, Ethiopian people that 1 work with, they teach
and preach what 1 heard as a boy. And they have more than enough ministers to go around," he says.
"Who knows, maybe our American churches will be staffed by these immi· grants in the next generation," says Funk noting that English language fluency and seminary training are issues facing immi· grant preachers. "I do think it's a possibility, especially in our city churches."
Funk's sense of call is focused on doing God's work rather than on receiving personal acclaim. "I have a key verse that I've quoted as a minister maybe hundreds of times," says Funk. "It's the word of]ohn the Baptizer when he says, 'He must increase, I must decrease.' That's sort-of a motto with me. It doesn't matter who gets the credit as long as the job gets done. That's the important thing."
God not only called him into church work, says Funk, but he has also been faithful in guiding Funk from one con· gregation to the next and from the pastorate into full-time conference work.
For the past 15 years, Funk has been involved in helping the U.S. Conference achieve the growth goals it set for itself in 1988, which was to grow by 40 percent and to add 30 new churches by 2000.
The U.S. Conference Board ofEvanI gelism hired Funk to work with all the districts in reaching the growth goals but to "pay special attention to immigrant groups," says Funk. In the mid 19905 when the Board of Evangelism was dissolved to form Mission USA, the new board "chose to work only with American indigenous people so I put my main emphasis on [immigrant groups]," says Funk.
"I didn't have a clue at the outset what the Lord wanted to do," says Funk. "But you know, the doors opened with the Slavics, the Koreans (and) later the Ethiopians. 1 worked a lot with the Hispanics in those early years. Church after church was formed or came into the conference because of the work. It's been far beyond the expectation. "
Since 1988, the U.S. Conference has grown to 180 congregations and a , membership of 26,219 members in 2001. The growth has come in large part from the addition of 45 transcultural congregations.
"I don't claim that [success] because of my ingenuity or work. It was the
blessing of the Lord and the cooperation of a lot of people. Our people have been a good people in supporting this," he says crediting Evangelism Partners, MBMS International and the districts for their financial support.
Now as the U.S. Conference executive minister, Funk has shifted his attention to the goals of the Board of Church Ministries, the leadership board of the U.S. Conference.
Topping the list is bringing "a collegiality and true brotherhood between the existing five districts and recognizing the various giftedness that exists in our conference," says Funk. "My aim is to see that we really leave not only the impression but the reality that we are one in the body of Christ."
Funk also hopes to encourage congregations and pastors to be loyal to the denomination and its ministries. "Recognize your family as being the Mennonite Brethren umbrella," says Funk.
The denomination can also cultivate denominational loyalty by increasing its conference staff so that it can "touch the grass roots," says Funk. ''That's one of the reasons why appropriate staffing is very appropriate at the conference level."
Funk is doing his part in staying in touch with local congregations, spending five of six Sundays in a different MB church. Although Funk doesn't plan to keep up his current work schedule forever, he will continue his service to God "as long as there is ministry and health is good."
Ministers aren't the only ones called to a lifetime of service, says Funk. In Anabaptist theology, every believer is a minister. "God has a lot of wonderful children in our churches," says Funk. "I believe very strongly in the priesthood of every believer. And in some of the most common places and among the least spoken heroes, you have the strongest men and women of faith. They are in every local church. To me that's gratifying.
"In the end, it isn't going to be what people think of us. It's going to be what the Lord thinks of us," says Funk.
And what will the Lord think of Loyal Funk? "I just want him to say, 'Welcome home, '" says Funk. "I don't believe the Lord measurers like we do at all. He knows our hearts and so when I see him, when he says welcome, that will be very good." •
Something for all
North American celebration plans continue to develop
BY CONNIE FABER
Dthe ministry of North American Mennonite Brethren.
etails continue to be solve the General Conference. The 2002 finalized for Celebration binational sessions will funnalize the dis2002, a historic gather- solution of the General Conference as ing to be held July 25-27 the ministries are transferred to the two designed to
Celebration 2002 is a twopronged celebration hosted by three MB congregations in Abbotsford, B.C. During the day Thursday through Saturday, the U.S. and Canadian conferences will simultaneously hold their national conference conventions. Bakerview MB Church will host
"This summer offers us as Mennonite Brethren in the United States a unique opportunity to assemble, celebrate and commit to do kingdom work together. It i important that we gather an celebrate the fruit of that kingdom work. II
-24th Convention brochure
the U.S. Conference and Northview Community Church will host the Canadian Conference.
The evening sessions, hosted by Central Heights MB Church, will celebrate the 140-year history of the binational General Conference as well as the present and future work of MB ministries in North America. In 1999, General Conference convention delegates voted to dis-
Registration fonns fur Celebration 2002 have been mailed to all congregations in the U.S. Conference. Delegates registered for the national conventions are automatically registered for the General Conference convention.
Youth join together for fellowship, ministry
Junior high and senior high students from the U.S. and Canada attending Celebration 2002 will have
Includes joint sessions with can adian Conference .£;, '. 2002 the" a for <;ele'bratiQn '.' Gene.ral confe(ence. •
a variety of opportunities to see God at work as they develop new friendships with other participants, minister to the people of greater Vancouver and enjoy
God's creation.
The youth track is being organized by Andrew Stanley, Youth Mission International program director, and will be
led by a YMI team. YMI is the discipleship and cross-cultural outreach agency of the u.s. and Canadian MB churches. Thursday the students will practice
SCRIPT-WRITERS CONTEMPLATE NORTH AMERICAN CONFERENCE'S FINAL GATHERING
Ge celebrations' scripts are from the heart
MTHERE IS A PASSION behind this event," says Bred Thl......, one of three scriptwriters who are workon programs for the final gathering of the General Conference.
Th was referring to the Intensity and zeal of the convention planning committee, but that same level of commitment shows through In Thl , Dora Dueck and Connie Epp, the three writers who have each drafted a script for one of the three evening celebnltlons.
What could be a dane review of the conference's past, present and future Is 1nfu8ed with Ing by the writers, each of whom has a passion for his or her subject.
Mit's really herd to get 100 years of our history Into 20 mlnut max," says Dueck, who just completed her master'. degree with a study In Mennonite history and has written the first evening's script. "It's like flying over a forest while pointing out the birds In the trees."
Rather than offering a bIrd'...ye view, Dueck has chosen to show the scope of the history by looking at the detall-t..tlmonl.. of faith Interwoven with the music of the times and pr0jections of photos of pe0ple, events and Institutions that are milestones of the conference's history.
"This Isn't an 'official' history, but rather a living
history," she says, noting that the stortes and music .. desI8ned to evoke a of community among the people who attend. "It's meant to draw us In end make us feel this Is our past. Whether or not we have relatlv that hall from Fresno or Winnipeg, this Is our past and our people God was there and he Is here."
Apauion for the pre. sent, the subjectofthe second evening's proaram, comes to scriptwriter Connie Eppln her personal pilgrimage. "I'm becomllll more aware of the gift of the now," she says, "not just going through the motions of today just to get to my next vacation.
"The falling awayofa structure can be something to celebrate because we have a bope-legacy. The structure Is gone but the legacy Is not going to end. "
brought to mind for her the presence of the Spirit and the awareness that God Is present with his people where they are today• Epp's vision for celebrat· Ing the conference's pre. nt Includes a variety of expressions. "The people will have been In Ions all day," she not , "they don't need another meeting where there are 20 talking heads." Her proaram Includes a symbolic pr0cession and drama to p0rtray God's pres. ference today.
monl as a focal point of the program knowing that their passion for God will Inspire hope about the future of the MB church.
One area of passion he .... among young people Is a commitment to being g1obal Christians. "We have many youth who are gaining significant relationships through contact outside of North AmerIca. [Those rei. tJonshIps are] Informing their understanding of faith In a slgnltlcant way," he says.
"We need to realize that each present moment Is a gift from God," she says. "We tend to look at the past as the 'good old days' or see the present as just putting In time till the exciting things happen In the future. Instead, we need to see that the pre. sent Is our Intersection with God."
The convention theme, "like a fIre •••bumlng In my bones" from Jeremiah 20:9,
The third evening's topic, the future, was a challe. for scriptwriter thiessen. He not that the -scrlptwrlter future Is not Brad 1JI1essen easy to talk about: "You can't talk about It with any true knowledge of It. You can go with 'motherhood [and apple pie]' statements about the Importance of working together. But I didn't find much meaning In that. And sermonizing about what we should do I felt was Inadequate."
At the same time, thiessen finds himself hopeful about the future, based on what he In the young people of today. He chose to use their testl-
He also not.. a groWing commitment to the nonlte Brethren's tlst roots represented by a holistic gospel. "The younger generation Isn't looking for segmented Christianity," he explains. "They tell us, 'give It to me all In one package.' It harkens back to our past when our mission strategy Included hospitals and schools along with the churches."
The are some of the hopeful messages Thl n has Incorporated Into his t tlmony-filled plan, an assurance that the work of the Mennonite Brethren will go on In spite of the change In how It organizes Itself.
"The failing away of a structure can be something to celebrate because we have a hope-a legacy," he said. "The structure Is gone, but the legacy Is not going to end." -by Kathy Heinrichs Wiest for the General Conference
Random Acts of Kindness, enjoy a barbecue and play miniature golf. Friday an all-day hike and canoe trip is being planned to Pitt Lake and Widgeon Creek and Falls. The participants, grade seven through 12, will spend Saturday in downtown Vancouver in an Urban Adventure. The cost, in U.S. dollars, for the junior and senior high track is $45.
Childcare will be provided for infants through pre-kindergarten children. Children entering kindergarten through sixth grade will have daytime activities at Bakerview MB Church, the site of the U.S. Conference convention. Children and youth register for their track on their parent's registration form.
Delegates urged to make hotel reservations promptly
Mennonite Brethren are not the only visitors coming to Abbotsford July 2527. The city will also welcome water sports competitors and fans for a major sporting event.
With so many visitors needing lodging, U.S. Conference delegates are encouraged to make their hotel reservations as soon as possible. A block of 100 rooms has been reserved at the Best Western Regency Inn and Conference Centre, located within walking distance of Bakerview MB Church. Rooms will remain available until all 100 have been spoken for, says U.S. Conference staff member Donna Sullivan. Information supplied to churches earlier thisyear had included a hotel registration deadline, which is no longer in effect. Rooms were still available as of Feb. 1, said Sullivan.
Celebration 2002 participants who are not able to secure a room at the Regency Inn and who are looking for information about other area hotels are welcome to contact Sullivan at the U.S. Conference office by phoning (620) 947-3914 or e-mailing usconf@ southwind.net.
Let MMA Capital Ministry equip your church for its ca ital cam ai n
(( # ill
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- Ephesians 4:12
Does your congregation need help raising the necessary funds for a new building, addition, land acquisition, or debt reduction? MMA Capital Ministry helps congregations organize themselves to reach their goals and carry out the ministry to which God has called them.
To find out more, contact Chuck Buller, M.Div., at (559) 738-8829 or (559) 7998964.
MMA capital Ministry
Stewardship Solutions -r;
Correction on seminar fee
The registration fee for the July 25 leadership development seminar, "living on Purpose," is $18, not $15 as reported in the January 2002 issue of the Leader. The seminar, scheduled from 9 a.m. until noon, will be led by Christian futurists Tom and Christine Sine.
The seminar is cosponsored by Stewardship Ministries and MB Foundation,
U.S. Conference of MB Churches Convention Site: Bakerview Mennonite Brethren Church 2285 Clearbrook Rd. Abbotsford. British Columbia. Canada 604-859-4611
Accommodations:
A block of rooms has been reserved at: Best Western Regency Inn and Conference Centre 32110 Marshall Road. Abbotsford 604·853·3111
Room Rate: [approx. $70 (U.S. funds) for 1-4 people]
E CHRiSTIAN LEADER
For Reservations: call 1·800·771·3077 and indicate "Merlllonite !!rethren Convention"
the stewardship ministries of the Canadian Conference and the U.S. Conference respectively. It precedes the national conference conventions that begin the afternoon of]uly 25. Participants can preregister for the seminar using the national convention registration form. Each registrant will receive a complimentary copy of the Sines' newest book Living on Purpose .•
Pre-Convention seminar Opportunity • LIVING ON PURPOSE
featuring Tom &. Christine Sine Thursday, July 25, 9:00 am • 12:00 pm, at the Central Heights Church, 1661 McCallum Rd., Abbotsford (same location as evening sessions). This seminar is co-sponsored by Mennonite Brethren Foundation and Stewardship Ministries of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Bretflren Churches. Cost for the seminar is $18 per individual, $24 per couple, which indudes lunch. Each reltistrant or couDle will receive a free CODY of their latest book
Christians, Muslims find peace
Christians
in Philippines and MCCers
in Iran spend ,. Christmas with Muslim neighbors, friends
Sirn::e Sept. 11, we in the U.S. have become more aware of the ramifications of hatred between people of different faiths, particularly between Christians and Muslims. So it is with joy that we report stories like the two here - one from the Philippines and the other from Iran. Events like these can encourage us to continue participating in, prayingfor and financially supporting peacemaking efforts both in the U.S. and around the world. - the editors
Overcoming a violent past. Filipino Christians and Muslims celebrate holidays together
On a mid-December evening, Christian leaders in Kauswagan, Philippines, gathered outside the town's main mosque. As Muslim worshipers left the building, the Christians greeted them with warm embraces and blessings, then joined them in celebrating Eid alFitr, the feast marking the end of the month-long Ramadan fast.
Days later, 30 Muslim leaders likewise blessed Christians leaving an early morning Christmas Mass.
Conflict between Christians and Muslims in Kauswagan has escalated over the past 30 years, mirroring broader interreligious conflict on the island. Until the late 19505, the island's population was predominantly Muslim. That quickly changed as residents of more populous Philippine islands moved to Mindanao at the Philippine government's urging. Most of the newcomers were Christians; today 80 percent of Kauswagan's residents are Christian.
Religion and land issues in the Philippines have become intertwined, and the simmering tensions have erupted several times into civil war. Kauswagan residents remember a violent uprising in their town in March 2000 led by the Moro Islamic liberation Front.
"We could not distinguish an MILF member from a Muslim then. We were angry and we looked for anyone to blame," says Gloria Gimena, who attended a four-day Culture of Peace
workshop in November led by Pakigdait, a community-based peace group. The workshop focused on understanding the roots of conflict in Kauswagan and exploring ways to develop peaceful relationships.
Mennonite Central Committee has contributed to Pakigdait's research and documentationon conflict in Kauswagan.
"It was only after the Culture of Peace workshop that I started dreaming of a Kauswagan where Muslims and Christians can talk honestlyand without any hint of suspicion," says Gimena.
Workshop participants were among the many leaders who celebrated Eid alFitr and Christmas together in 2001.
"I grew up in Kauswagan," says Reu Montecillo, pastor of the local Assembly of God Church. "Then Eid al-Fitr was awaited by both Muslims and Christians.
"I thought my childhood memories of Eid al-Fitr were just a thing of the past. I was wrong," he says. "There is hope and I witness it now."
MCC volunteers share Christmas with Iranian university students
Wallace and Evelyn Shellenberger, Mennonite Central Committee workers in Qom, Iran, gave an informal lecture about Christmas to nearly 400 Iranian university students Dec. 26. The couple was invited to make the presentation by Muslim students at Shahed Bahanar University, Kerman, Iran.
"They wanted to know more about
the birth and life of Jesus from a Christian perspective," Evelyn says. Many were familiar with the story of Christ only as recorded in the Quean, the Muslim holy book. Muslims believe that the historical Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. They consider him an important prophet and teacher but not the son of God.
The Shellenbergers, of Paoli, Ind., moved to Qom in May 2001 as part of an educational exchange program between MCC and the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute.
In an auditorium that students decorated with a Christmas tree surrounded by candles and wrapped gifts, the Shellenbergers shared the Bible's account of Mary and the birth of Jesus. They also told about Jesus' life - his kindness, his closeness to God and his stand against injustice.
"We emphasized that Jesus refused to use coercion and violence," Wallace says.
After the formal presentation, students asked the couple for more information: "How was the Bible written?" "What is the relation between religion and government in the United States? What is it like to celebrate Christmas?"
A Muslim cleric and neighbor to the Shellenbergers, Abbas Yazdani, told the students about aid MCC has given through the Iranian Red Crescent Society, which began in 1990 following a devastating earthquake in northwestern Iran. Most recently, MCC contributed more than $2.52 million in food that the IRCS is distributing to displaced Afghan families.
"The students were amazed that a Christian organization would give aid to a Muslim country," says Wallace.by Maria Linder-Hess for MCC Communications
Shortfall delays missionaries
MBMS International has announced a dramatic shortfall in giving to its core budget. As of Dec. 31, giving by MB churches and individuals is $348,000 behind what the agency had budgeted to receive. MBMSI is the global mission agency of Mennonite Brethren churches in Canada and the United States.
The agency is asking Mennonite Brethren to give extra funds to meet the current shortfall, and to continue to support the agency at normal levels through May 31.
"We urgently need the help of churches and individuals right away," says Harold Ens, MBMSI general direc-
tor. "The lack of funds limits our ability to build on the work that's already there, and to send new missionaries into the world."
The immediate effects of the shortfall are already being felt. A missionary couple targeted to begin a new work in South Africa will be delayed until finances are available. Budgeting for mission efforts in the new fiscal year, which begins June 1, will be limited by income received in
Arthur G. Gish records a moving story of the turmoil and suffering of the Palestinian people, the agony experienced by Israelis, and a vision of hope and new possibilities of reconciliation between Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
From 1995 to 2001, Gish experiences living with Muslim families, engaging in nonviolent actions with Israelis and Palestinians, and struggling to find creative responses to situations of injustice. Selected excerpts from his journal tell of the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) work and give a vision of how small peacemaking groups can make a difference in violent conflicts.
the current year.
Ens believes the funding shortfall will tum around within the coming year, as the agency moves toward a more congregation-based model of mission.
''We're confident people will support us financially in the future as we work with them on their • mission vision, and help them put into action the mission projects that God has placed on - their hearts," says Ens. "We just need • to get through this time of transition."
Over the past year, the agency has developed a new approach to mission, working more directly with MB congregations to develop the church's vision for mission involvement. The move included providing more full-time staff in its offices in Abbotsford, B.C., Winnipeg, Man., and Wichita, Kan., who work directly with churches and pastors.
The lack of funds will also limit short-term youth ministries in the MB constituency. Within the past two years, the agency integrated Youth Mission International, a short-term mission and discipleship ministry, that had previously been a partnership between MBMS International, Canadian Board of Evangelism and Mission USA, the two North American national conference church planting and renewal ministries.
The funding shortfall is not unique to MBMS International. Nonprofit agencies across the continent, including many MB agencies, are facing similar problems this year.
"While we seek your additional support, we encourage you to do that in addition to your giving to your local church and the other commitments you've made," says Ens.
MBMSI personnel encourage their constituents and congregations who wish to donate funds to MBMSI through the U.S. Conference to remember to specifically designate their donation to the mission agency. -by Brad Thiessen
SKILLS PUT TO USE FOR MINISTRIES IN WAKE OF SEPT. 11
More than 100 MDS volunteers build in NYC
Bernard Martin, Region I director of Mennonite Disaster Service, and others assumed that their traditional MDS skills would not be needed after Sept. 11. However, the Restoring Hope Project has provided an opportunity for these carpenters to make a contribution to the recovery of New York City following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Martin has been to the city five times and more than 100 MDS volunteers have followed.
Building space was needed to host community-based activities of the project. The Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in the city were willing to develop and run these programs of healing and hope, but their physical structures were in need of repair.
Ruth Yoder Wenger, project manager for Restoring Hope and pastor at
North Bronx Mennonite Church, says the renovation of these spaces supports the project objective to address the rise
in domestic violence, suicide, homelessness and unemployment that has occurred since the attacks. The renovated spaces meet these needs by providing safe places for meetings, food preparation, temporary lodging, job training and worship.
The volunteers from the United States and Canada worked with a total of seven city churches that requested help from MDS. Work began Nov. 26 and volunf) 411r:1 I teers have since com-
pleted a variety of jobs t
that included pouring
concrete, hanging drywall, replacing heating systems, renovating kitchens and installing new lighting.
For more information about the Restoring Hope Project, call (212) 737-3700 or email dsnewyork@ aol.com. Information is also available online at www.mds. mennonite.net. -by Ted Houser, MDS Communications VOLUNTEERS SPEND 30 MAN-DAYS
USERY aids
Korean church
Pyungsung Christian Fellowship, a Korean MB congregation in Tujunga, Calif., was recently assisted by a USERY team. USERY is a ministry of the U.S. Conference that pairs skilled individuals with congregations which have facility needs.
In this case, the USERY team installed a handicapped accessi-
ble bathroom in the church's social hall. The team also changed the exterior door and interior archway in the social hall to make them compliant with handicapped regulations. These improvements allow the congregation to increase the number of children it can serve in its child care pro-
gram from 14 students to 40 students.
The USERY team consisted of Don Loewen, Kelly Epp and Ted Thiesen from the Rosedale Bible Church in Bakersfield, Calif.; John Smith from Dinuba (Calif.) MB, Lee Willems from Reedley (Calif.) MB; John Rathjen from Bakersfield and Alvin Suderman from Fountain Valley. The team worked on the project for a total of 30 man-days, reports USERY coordinator Ted Thiesen of Bakersfield. -USERV
destroyed Jan. 26, 2001, by an earthquake. Mennonite Central Committee contributed $300,000 to help rebuild Jalla Dewanal village, Including Hatelba's new earthquake and cyclone resistant home. By the end of January, 74 new houses has been completed. -MCC
MCC AID CHANGES LIVES IN INDIA: The home of 7-year-old Hatelba, right, and her aunt, Ashoba, center, was
MORE NEWS
Leade, delays
-West Coast Christian Leade, readers have reported a significant delay In receiving recent copies of the magazine. Editor Carmen Andres reports that efforts to determine a cause for the three-week delay of the December Issue have tumed up no explanation. She will continue to research the anomaly In hopes of determining the cause and cor·
MBs talk peace
-A delegation of Congolese leaders, Including two Mennonite Brethren, traveled to Brussels Jan. 14-18 to particIpate In national reconciliation and peace talks. Sister Lukala, a MB Congolese missionary In France, and Malegbl, an attorney In Kinshasa, are part of the del· egation, reports Nzash Lumeya, a Congolese church leader currently teaching at MB Biblical seminary. The Democrat· Ic Republic of Congo, horne to the second largest national MB conference, was engulfed In civil war In 1997. --eL
New MB MCCers
- Two Mennonite Brethren volunteers with Mennonite Central Committee have recently completed orientation and are working In their placements. JoAnn Quintanilla, of Sanger, Calif., and a member of the MB church In Orange Cove, Calif., Iglesia el Suen Pastor, Is serving for two years In Reedley, Calif., where she will work with Immigration and document. tlon concerns. Molly Brandt, a member of Dallas (Ore.) MB Church, Is working for three years In Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where she will work as a popular educ. tlon library promoter. MCC Is the sere vice, development and relief agency of North American Mennonite and Brethren In Christ churches. Currently 867 boardappointed MCC workers serve In more than 50 countries. -MCC
KRISETYA PARTICIPATES IN CLOSING SERVICE IN ASSISI, ITALY
MWC president speaks at papal event
Mesach Krlsetya, president of Mennonite World Council, participated In the Day of Prayer for Peace In the World organized by Pope John Paul II and held Jan. 24 In Asslsl, Italy.
The pope's belief that religions should commit themselves to peace and Justice prompted him to host the event. He Issued an Invitation to heads of numerous Christian denominations from Orthodox to Evangelical to Quaker, to leaders of the jewish and Muslim faiths and of several Eastem religions.
Krlsetya was one of 10 leaders asked to participate In the closIng service, held In a
lamp-llt tent on the hili at the BasIlica of St. Francis. In his own language, each leader read one statement from 10 common c0mmitments to peace.
The Day of Prayer began with a two-hour train trip from Rome to Assls!. Its first session was devoted to "testImonies for peace" by Christian participants as well as those of other religions. The second session was devoted to prayer, with various Christian groups and followers of other religions praying In separate places In the city.
After the pope's concluding words and exchanging the sign of peace, all the guests
MUSIC, SPEAKER FEATURED
Tabor hosts youth rally
Tabor College (an MB college in Hillsboro, Kan.) and local Christian radio station IgRL cooperatively hosted Mid Winter Jam, a Jan. 27 youth rally aimed at junior and senior high students featuring a contemporary Christian music group and inspirational youth speaker.
Tabor's Office of Enrollment Management worked out details to host the event and secured speaker Alton Carter, founder of UfeChange Inc., a mentoring and motivational speaking program, and coordinator of the Stillwater (Okla.) Middle School Fellowship of Christian Athletes. IgRL radio handled promotion and made arrangements with Reunion Records recording group Whisper Loud, a teen trio that tours nationwide, to perform at the afternoon rally. -TC
Joined Pope John Paul II on the train to retum to Rome where they were hosted at guest houses In Vatican City. their visit ended with lunch with the pope the next day.
Krlsetya spent a day with Mennonite church leaders In Palermo before retumlng to Indonesia. He said that he hopes that MWC, particularly by working with the Pontlflcal Council for Promoting Christian Unity, can help the italian Mennonite church gain recognition and that his presence as MWC's representative at the Day of Prayer for Peace In the World demonstrated the Mennonite commitment to peace. -MWC
FPU program revised
The graduate leadership program at Fresno (Calif.) Pacific University (an MB university) has been renamed the Master of Arts in Leadership and Organizational Studies to more accurately reflect the curriculum and nature of the program, says director Peggy Avakian. While still retaining its emphasis on servant leadership, the program has been revised to offer five concentrations, thereby providing students with a high degree of flexibility in tailoring the program to meet their needs. Other innovations include the addition of a graduate research course, more help for students who have finished class work to complete their thesis project and a tuition rate that coincides with other graduate programs, making the program more economical. -FPU
CHURCH
NEWS FROM OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
Celebrations
Yale, S.D. (Bethel)-District Minister Roger Engbrecht presided over a marriage renewal service Feb. 17 for several couples who had participated in a marriage enrichment class. The couples signed a covenant, in front of witnesses, that will serve as a public confession of their commitment to God, family and each other. The evening also included singing and a fellowship reception.
Reedley, Calif.-The children and grandchildren of Edmor and Thelma Friesen placed flowers in the sanctuary Jan. 13, in honor of the Friesens' 50th wedding anniversary.
Fellowship
Reedley, Calif.- Diane Bish, organist and host of the television program "The Joy of Music," performed an organ concert Feb. 10. It consisted of organ favorites, classics and her hymn arrangements. The concert showcased the new four-manual Renaissance Allen Organ.
Wichita, Kan. (Fint)-Mike Andrews, senior pastor of Belleview Community Church in Littleton, Colo. will speak at the men's retreat March 1-2 at the Wichita Marriott. The topic is "Relationships: Men in Action or Missing in Action?"
Ministry
Littleton, Colo. (Belleview Community)-R & R Retreats (Rest and Renewal) is a new ministry of BCC for women in the greater Denver area. The first retreat Feb. 22-23 was for women who are a part of urban ministries in the Denver area. The goal of this ministry is to hold three retreats a year aimed at helping women connect with Christ and other women, and to heal, dream and celebrate through a small-group setting. Mountain Lake, Minn. (Commu-
nity Bible)-Jan. 1,2002, marked the official name change to Community Bible Church. The church was previously known as Mountain Lake MB Church.
OUTREACH
15
Teaching/Nurture
Okla.-Jan. 27 MB
ONGOING PRIORITY OF THE CHURCH PLANT
Emerging church recognized in N.C.
THE RIVER, a new church plant In Brevard, N.C., affiliated with the North Carolina MB Conference, held Its first gatherIngGet.25, 2001. earlier last fall, NCMBCdlstrIct minister James Fox reoognlzed the ; church plant, led by Peter John Thomas, 88 an emerg- 8 Ing church at the annual district convention. The church plant, while affiliated with the North Carolina conference, Is a self· funded project.
"We're In phase one of the church plant, building a solid core, meaning we haven't advertised or promoted the church yet," says Thomas In a letter to the Leader. "We plan to do a public launch In the fall. We have about 25 core people."
The ministry focus of the church plant builds on a commitment to developing connections with God and others. A brochure Introducing the new church to the community says, "At The River you're among fel· low strugglers. We believe It's refreshing and liberating to be open and honest about our lives and together 88 a church family dive Into the river of deeper connection
lesson on "A Christian View of Money," preached a stewardship message and had a dinner meeting with the stewardship board to encourage a biblical view of with God and one another." Sunday momlngser· vices, held In the facility of a local ministry, emphasize worship as well as prayer and preaching. The momlng begins with food and coffee followed by a worship service and concludes with lunch. Wednesday night small group meet· Ings, celled Community Groups, emphasize sharing, worship and prayer and are held In homes, Outreach Is an ongoing priority of the church plant, says Thomas, Two IndMduals committed their lives to Christ Jesus In the month of December and a number of pe0ple within the group are In recovery from alcohol or drug addiction.
Thomas, his wife Jodi and their two children moved to North Carolina a year ago with the goal of planting a church. Thomas has 12 years of pastoralministry, most recently with Faith Bible Church of Omaha, Neb., where he served as senior pastor from 1992 until 2000. Brevard Is a small city of about 8,000 In the mountains of westem North Carolina on the edge of Plsgah National Forest. --Connie Faber
Fairview,
Foundation President Jon Wiebe taught an adult Sunday school
Fresno, Calif. (Bethany)-Kyle Dodd was the resource person for a "Success That Matters" seminar Jan. 25-26. The seminar is designed to help men set goals in line with God's purpose and encourages participants to take a look at their lives and discover a deeper level of meaning and purpose. Dodd is the executive director for Camp Timberline, a Christian sports and adventure camp for men located in Estes Park, Colo., and is a teaching pastor at Cherry Hill Community Church in Denver.
Fresno. Calif. (North)-A dinner Jan. 17 introduced interested individuals to the Alpha Course, which began Feb. 14. This course was created for individuals who are not yet Christians, who are new in their faith or who want to deepen their faith.
Workers
Mountain Lake. Minn. (Community Blble)-The church welcomed Eldin and Joann Classen Jan. 6 as the interim pastoral couple for the next six months.
Papillion. Neb. (Rolling Hills)Paul Rownhurst was ordained Jan. 6. Rownhurst together with Leonard Reimer is planting a daughter church in Omaha, New Life Fellowship.
Harvey. N.D.-The congregation celebrated the ministry of LaRue and Barbara Goetz during the worship service Dec. 30. A potluck dinner followed. The Goetzes have served the congregation as a long-term interim pastoral couple.
Deaths
UNRAU. HILDA PLETT. Reedley, Calif., of Reedley MB Church, was born May 28, 1917, to Frank E. and Anna Harder Plett at Lehigh, Kan., and died Jan. 10.2002, at the age of 84. On Nov. 28,1944, she was married to Marvin Unrau, who predeceased her in 1991. She is survived by one son, Harlan Unrau, of Lakewood, Colo.; three brothers, Mendo Plett of Killeen, Tex., Frank Plett of Chouteau, Okla., and Ted Plett of Atwater, Calif.; four sisters, Frieda Berg of San Jose, Calif., Vesta Loewen of Meade, Kan., Rubena Berg of Campbell, Calif., and Vila Garrison of Atwater and two grandchildren.
STAUFFER. EDWARD ARTHUR, Nampa, Idaho. a member of Topeka (Kan.) MB Church from 1970 to 1955 and currently a member of First Mennonite Church in Nampa, was born March 9. 1925, to Chris G. and Anna Rediger at Milford. Neb.• and died Sept. 9. 2001. at the age of 76. On Feb. 10, 1952, he was married to Dora Miller, who survives. He is also survived by two sons, Lonnie and wife Linda of Edmond. Okla., and Gregory of Cedar City, Utah; one daughter, Claryce Ann and husband David Manweiler of Boise. Idaho and four grandchildren.
FAST. ERNEST. Reedley. Calif., of Reedley MB Church. was born Jan. 24, 1914, to Jacob and Lizzie Friesen Fast at Janzen, Neb., and
Fresno Pacific'" University
Fundamentum Christus
died Jan.ll, 2002. at the age of 87. On Oct. 27,1938, he was married to Irene Braun. who survives. He is also survived by a son. Steven and wife Linda; two daughters, Lila and husband Darrell Golbek, and Phyllis and husband Jim Worrell; one brother. Harry; four sisters, Esther Kagley, Ruth Kliewer, Anna Enns, and Hellen Panttaia, eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
MARTENS. GERTRUDE J. GOERTZEN. Henderson. Neb .• of Henderson MB Church, was born Sept. 21, 1913. to John P. and Elizabeth Regier Goertzen, and died Dec. 17,2001. at the age of 88. On Oct. 21, 1934, she was married to John F. Martens, who survives. She is also survived by two sons.
Wayne and wife Alma of Delano. Calif .• and John and wife Karen of Henderson; one daughter. Lucille and husband Max Lindsey of Springfield, Mo.; two brothers, Albert Goertzen and wife Velma and Harry Goertzen and wife Anna, all of Henderson; two sisters, Goldie Friesen of Aurora. Neb .• and Mary Friesen of Henderson; two sisters-in-law. Tena Regier and Helen Quiring, both of Henderson. Neb.; two brothers-inlaw. Jake Regier of Aurora, and Leo Warkentin of Reedley, Calif .• five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.•
Provost and Academic Vice President
Phone: Sue Kliewer. Human Resources Director (559) 453·2245
1 _pplicatlons should be Itted to: Janita Rawls. Ph.D. Fresno Pacific University 1717 S. Chestnut Fresno. CA 93702 Email: psearch@fresno.edu
Fresno Pacific University. an evangelical Christian University sponsored by the Mennonite Brethren Church. seeks a Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. with appointment effective in the summer of 2002. The position will coordinate and sustain collaborative leadership in accomplishing the educational mission of the university as expressed in the Fresno Pacific Idea and in the mission statement (available at www.fresno.eduldeptlpersonnellhrindex.html). The Provost and Academic Vice President provides intellectual and academic leadership of the educational programs which includes the student life division. advocates for faculty within institutional governance. oversees academic budget preparation and personnel functions. and serves as member of the President's Cabinet. chair of the Academic Cabinet. and liaison to the Academic Commission of the Board of Trustees.
Required qualifications include: earned doctorate and a record of successful administrative responsibility including head of a major academic unit; demonstrated excellence as a teacher in a college or university and evidence of scholarly achievement; commitment to and understanding of co-eurricular activities; clear understanding of and commitment to the theological distinctives and mission of the University. including its foundation in the Anabaptist Believers' Church tradition; commitment to integration of Christian faith and learning. commitment to the value of diversity and interdisciplinary approaches in higher education; ability to work collaboratively in an environment of shared governance; evidence of fiscal planning and management; ability to effectively represent the institution to its various constituencies.
www.fresno.eduJdeptl personnellhrindex.html
Fresno Pacific University provides equal opportunity for employment without regard for race. color. national origin. sex, age. or disability.
Clearinghouse
Have a position to fill? Looking for a new employment or ministry opportunity? Have a gathering or celebration to promote? Reach U.S. Mennonite Brethren through a Clearinghouse classified ad. The charge is 53 cents per word, with a $15 minimum. Withhold payment until an invoice is received. MB institutions advertising vacancies or position announcements may be eligible for a no-eost ad.
EMPLOYMENT-CHURCH
Senior Pastor
Growing, active, M.B. Church in the Pacific Northwest seeking a Senior Pastor who is interested in helping us to reach our highest potential in ministering to our growing community. Prospective candidates must be in close relationship with Jesus Christ, be comfortable in building relationships with people in the church and surrounding community, and be able to present messages that are based on scripture that are both interesting and relevant to our Christian lives. Send resume to: Birch Bay Bible Community Church, 7039 Jackson Rd., Blaine, WA 98230, attention Search Committee, or E-mail to Rod Pankratz (Search Committee chair) at rjpan@juno.com. Visit our church web site at www.BirchBayBibleCommunityChurch.org.
EMPLOYMENT-oTHER
Chief Executive Officer
Adriel School, a Mennonite-affiliated agency providing outpatient mental health/foster care/residential treatment services, seeks a visionary CEO with strong financial acumen and operational experience to lead its multi-site organization. Headquartered in West Liberty OH, one hour northwest of Columbus, Adriel annually provides services to over 1,000 children and their families who are experiencing a range of emotional and adjustment problems. Minimum candidaterequirements are: Christian actively involved in congregation, appreciation of Mennonite/Anabaptist heritage, Masters level education, 8 years of senior management experience, and strong inter-personal skills. Preferred candidates will have extensive social services experience. Send inquiries to: Kirk Stiffney, Mennonite Health Services, 234 S. Main St., Suite A, Goshen, IN 46526, fax: 219534-3254 or e-mail: KirkStiffney@aol.com
MISSIONS-TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES
China Educational Exchange, an inter-Mennonite program, is sponsoring a five-week teaching experience in China this summer (July 13-August 18). One week of orientation and sightseeing in Beijing is included. Teaching experience is not required. CEE is a program funded and supported by MBMS International, the global mission program of North American MB churches. For more information contact CEE at 1251 Virginia Avenue, Harrisonburg, VA 22802. Phone 540432-6983. Email: ChinaEdEx@aol.com. Web: www.chinaeducationalexchange.org.
Itinerary and Invitation
CPE, under the sponsorship of MBMS International, invites born-again Christians to serve as volunteers for its evangelism outreach to:
NOTE: Dates may be subject to some changes, pending further confirmation of some campaigns.
• Team up with national Christians and witness for Christ door-to-door.
• Some knowledge of the language of the country ishelpful.
• Between 800 and 2800 persons have prayed to accept Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord during a two-week CPE campaign. Come and be part of an enriching spiritual experience--cliscover what God can do through you.
For further information, contact:
Church Partnership Evangelism office: telephone/fax: 604-864-3941
Peter Loewen (residence) fax: 604-853-6482
Church Partnership Evangelism is a "church-to-church" effort that involves all bornagain Christians in personal evangelism worldwide. Your application to participate will be forwarded to the CPE Executive Committee for processing.
PETER LOEWEN
HAROLD ENS
CPE Executive Director MBMS International General Director
Out of the box
SOMETIMES, INSIGHTS INTO BIBLICAL CONCEPTS COME from the strangest places.
For years, I've struggled to explain to those who don't know God-and even those who do-the transforming power of encountering and sharing a right relationship with God. Ironically, I found a good example to start from in the nonChristian film Contact, based on a book of the same name by humanist Carl Sagan.
The 1997 film centers on the discovery of a signal from an extraterrestrial civilization by scientist Ellie Arroway (played by Jodie Foster). The signal, once decoded, contains the instructions for building a mysterious machine that will presumably transport one human occupant to the distant star Vega.
Eventually, Ellie is the one the goverrunent decides to send. Wired with video equipment, she narrates an incredible and wondrous journey across the galaxy through a wormhole created by the machine. She encounters a representative of an advanced benevolent race who reveals that coundess other beings exist throughout the universe. She is deeply moved, shaken to her very core. Everything she'd hoped for and believed in was true. And humanity has a chance to be a part of it.
When she returns to Earth, however, there's a problem. To the rest of the world it appears as if Ellie never left Earth at all, that the machine didn't work. The video equipment appears to back that up, showing nothing but static.
A senate hearing is called, and Ellie must defend her experience to those who are skeptical that it ever happened. She's challenged by National Security Advisor Michael Kitz Games Wood) to admit that even she has some doubts that she traveled light-years through space and met another being. Every piece of evidence seems to say that she is either lying or hallucinated.
Ellie pauses. Then she acknowledges that, as a scientist, she must admit there is a chance it didn't happen. But she doesn't stop there.
"I had an experience," she says, "I can't prove it. I can't even explain it. But everything that I know as a human being, everything that I am, tells me it was real.
"I was given something wonderful, something that changed me forever: a vision of the universe that tells us undeniably how tiny and insignificant and how rare and precious we all are, a vision that tells us that we belong to something that is greater than ourselves, that we are not, that none of us are alone.
"I wish I could share that," she says passionately. "I wish that everyone, if even for one moment, could feel that awe and humility and the hope."
At the end of the film, we find out that while Ellie's video equipment did indeed play static, it played 11 hours worth. Ellie evidendy went somewhere for those 11 hours. But Kitz keeps this a secret for national security reasons. Ellie never finds out that there is evidence that she experienced something.
That makes litde difference to Ellie. You see, Ellie has faith.
Ellie's experience is a good launching point when I talk to others about my faith in God. I cannot prove my experiences or encounters with a living, fearsome and personal God. Yet I know they've occurred. I am "sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:11). And my faith experiences leave me a lot like Ellie. I am irrevocably changed, shaken to the very core of my being. I rekindle the vision that I am tiny, rare and precious, that I belong to something far greater than myself, that I am not-that none of us are-alone. But Christian faith differs from Ellie's in an important way.
Most people have faith in something. They place their trust in themselves, family, wealth, career, philosophy, religionsomething that gives them hope and a way to live their life that promises fulfillment and peace. Ellie's faith was that there was something beyond herself and humanity, and her hope was in humanity's chance and ability to improve itself in order to be a part of it.
Christian faith, however, goes beyond beliefs about life and God or notions of how life should be lived or improved, no matter how deep felt or committed a person is to it. At the core, Christianity is not about religion or a way of life. Christianity is about entering into a relationship with a Person. And this relationship has a purpose. God wants us to have new life. He wants us to experience a rebirth, a spiritual birth. He wants to give us joy, peace, fulfillment, meaning and purpose. He wants us to be whole. As Danette Baltzer Roland writes on page 10, "Jesus didn't die on the cross so that we could lead simpler lives with less stress. He didn't die so that we could be nicer people or better citizens. His death provides life for us. He wants to make us new." Faith is entering into a relationship with a living God who wants to transform our lives.
That kind of faith is unpredictable. Once embraced, the lid is off the box. Faith spills out with a life and will of its own-the life and will of a living God. Nothing is the same ever again. How do we get to that point? How can we experience and encounter God in a way that will radically change us forever? How can we taste that new life, joy and peace?
Seek him. Ask him for it. Knock at his door. And do it over and over. Every day. Every hour. Every minute. God is so very faithful, but we must seek him. We must make space for him in our hearts and in our lives.
Once we have faith that God is real and that he can and will transform our lives, look out. Things will change-and often in ways we cannot even begin to imagine. That is both terribly frightening and wonderfully exhilarating. God is not a concept or religion or set of beliefs. He is alive, and he will change us.
This Easter, let's take the lid off the boxes in which we try to place God. Let's seek him. Let's make space for him in our hearts. Let's take him up on his offer to take us on a journey that will change us forever.
