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Gateway Christian Fellowship in St. Catharines, Ont. celebrated its first anniversary Nov. 4. Special features during the service included welcoming 9 new members to the congregation (see Personalia, this issue). Other highlights of the service included treats for the children, testimonies, and filling out prayer cards of 4 unsaved friends and bringing them to the cross at the front of the room. The service concluded with a potluck fellowship meal in the newly renovated cafeteria at Eden/Lakeport High School.
Proposed changes to laws in Germany could lead to some religious organizations being banned. Otto Schily, the Federal Minister of Interior of Germany, introduced the changes as part of an “anti-terrorist package” designed to ban extremist Islamic factions and religious groups that include anti-government elements. The changes would give government officials the power to dissolve without any further legal proceedings any group they decide is “in violation of penal laws or directed against the constitutional order” of Germany and the world. An appeals process would be possible, but would not overturn the dissolution of the group. The dissolution order would not only affect the main organization, but would dissolve all affiliated groups and ban foreign chapters of the religious organization from the country. Religious liberty defenders compare this law to France’s recent “anti-sect” legislation supposedly designed to stop cults from seducing impressionable people into their ranks through the use of mind control. The critics denounced the German bill as hostile to religious freedom, saying it gives the government the legal means to dismantle any legitimate religious organizations that the government wishes. – ChristianWeek, Evangelical Press News Service
Over 15,000 young people attended the Miles Ahead Crusade in Calgary’s Saddledome Oct. 26 that featured former National Football League player Miles McPherson, now a San Diego-based pastor and youth evangelist. With a budget of close to $300,000, the crusade was billed as the largest religious event to hit Calgary since the Franklin Graham Crusade two years ago. Organizers distributed 125,000 free tickets to churches and schools; 1500 volunteers helped with promotion, local arrangements, counselling and follow-up. McPherson capped the four-hour session with a simple but clear gospel message that challenged listeners to make a decision regarding their eternal destiny. About 4000 young people then came forward. The event also featured BMX and roller blade stunts, contests to determine the best hip-hop and break dancers in attendance and boisterous music by Christian pop bands Jake and Audio Adrenaline. McPherson committed his life to the Lord in 1984 while playing for the San Diego Chargers and immediately overcame a cocaine and marijuana addiction. He held his first Miles Ahead Crusade in 1996 in San Diego, which drew 4000 young people. – ChristianWeek
In 2000, 56% of 15- to-24-year-old Canadians used the Internet at home, making this the most popular point of access as opposed to school, work and other locations; 45% who used the Internet from home did so daily, compared with 22% at work, 14% at school and 2% at other locations; of those who were connected to the Internet at home, 52% also used the Internet at school, compared with 29% without home access. On average, people aged 15–24 who had Internet access at home spent 12 hours a week online compared with 3.4 hours per week for those without a home connection. Young men spent an average of 11 hours per week online, while young women averaged less than 8 hours per week online. E-mail is the most popular Internet activity among young people (71%); other popular uses include searching for information on goods and services (67%), accessing online chat rooms (59%), playing games (57%) and banking online (11%). – Canadian Social Trends, Statistics Canada
Mennonite Church USA, the new name of the American branch of the merged Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church, will officially come into existence on Feb. 1, 2002. Fifteen of the 22 area conferences, representing 69% of the total membership, have decided to be charter members. Of the remaining six, three conferences (Lancaster, South Central and Franklin) will be provisional members; two (North Central and New York) will be provisional if they have not voted to be charter members by Feb. 1; and one (Virginia) will decide in January whether to be a provisional or charter member. Provisional members have five years to decide whether to become permanent members, but have full membership status and are fully counted as members until then. The Puerto Rico Conference is the only conference which has decided not to join the new denomination. The Lancaster Conference has not made an official decision on its status; it is the largest area conference, with 18,600 members. Of MC USA’s initial membership of 116,000, including provisional members, about 71% will be former members of Mennonite Church, 17% will be former members of General Conference Mennonite Church, and 12% will be from churches which already had dual affiliation. – Mennonite Weekly Review
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent watchdog of health care in the US, one in four sexually active teens will contract a sexually transmitted disease this year. But, in a survey of 12- to-17-year-olds, 19% thought their odds were just one in 4,000 and only 28% correctly estimated their risk. Each year, television and movies show 14,000 sexual portrayals, of which only 165 (1.2%) deal with the risk of pregnancy, HIV or other STDs. – Plugged In
A mural of peace symbols from a variety of cultural groups is part of a downtown Winnipeg high school, thanks to a $1,500 peace and justice grant by Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba. The brightly coloured mural, designed and painted by junior and senior high school art students at Gordon Bell High School, features international symbols of peace, including the First Nations “Circle of Life”, the Chinese letters for peace, the Asian peace crane, a handshake, the logo for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Banner of Peace, and a hand peace sign. The mural, painted on eight plywood sheets between May and November last year, was mounted on the school in early December. – Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba
When Canadian Foodgrains Bank ordered 200 tonnes of lentils from Roy Legumex of St. Jean Baptiste, Man. for shipment to Afghanistan, the firm decided to donate 21 tonnes of split yellow peas as well. The container of split peas is already on its way to Afghanistan, and the lentils are part of a 1000-tonne shipment due to leave Canada in early 2002. Some of the wheat and other crops donated to CFGB by Manitoba and Saskatchewan farmers and community growing projects are being traded for lentils, which have higher protein. Of the remaining 800 tonnes in the upcoming shipment, 500 tonnes of chickpeas will come from Saskatchewan, 140 tonnes of great northern beans will come from Alberta and 140 tonnes of red kidney beans will come from Ontario. This shipment is the second phase of a 5000-tonne response that will help feed 400,000 people through the winter. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is providing 4:1 matching dollars in support of this project. – Canadian Foodgrains Bank
The Women’s Trading and Garments Centre in Pyongyang, North Korea received an order in 2001 from Mennonite Central Committee for 40,000 sets of baby underclothes for needy children. The centre, established in 1994 with assistance from United Nations’ programs, employs and is managed by North Korean women. Over the years, it has grown from 80 to over 250 staff. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund will distribute the garments to children’s homes in North Korea. For years North Koreans have suffered from a faltering economy and serious food shortages. In 2001, MCC contributed over $2.16 million in aid to North Korea, including canned meat, lentils, cooking oil, combination school/health kits and medicines. MCC and the American Friends Service Committee also work with farm managers on three corporate farms in North Korea to increase food production. – Mennonite Central Committee
Manitoba’s Justice Minister is recommending that Manitoba change its laws to allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt children. – Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, National Post, The Globe and Mail
Gong Shengliang, the founder of the South China Church, was granted a reprieve from a death sentence, scheduled to take place on Jan. 5. Sentenced on Dec. 18, Gong, 46, was accused of “using a cult to undermine the enforcement of the law” and of “complicity in rape”. Apparently, the testimony of two women used to convict Gong was false. It is likely he will be imprisoned instead of being executed. He has been granted a period of several months to appeal his death sentence. Gong was also accused of injuring 14 people during church rituals involving exorcism. His niece, Li Ying, 36, was also sentenced to death, but the sentence was suspended for two years. Fifteen other members of the church were sentenced to prison for periods ranging from two years to life. All have maintained their innocence and are appealing. The sentences come just after a major Communist Party conference in December that called for tightened control of all religions. Historically, once a religious group is labelled a cult by the Chinese government, certain stereotyped accusations are made against the leaders. Gong’s rape accusation is similar to that made against two cult founders – Wu Yangming of the Established King cult, who was executed in 1995, and Liu Jiaguo of the Lord God cult, who was executed in 1999. The South China Church is an unregistered house church described as “evangelical, fundamentalist” with about 50,000 members spread across 10 Chinese provinces; it has over 300 full-time evangelists who are mainly from poor rural areas and who have some basic education. – Compass Direct
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Last modified October 13, 2006.
© 2006 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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