|  | |
Previous | Next People & events
Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding issued a declaration at the end of May in Beirut, Lebanon, calling for the end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and the lifting of economic sanctions against Iraq. “The Lebanon Declaration” condemns “political threats to nations and repeated political efforts to label some as ‘evil’, to call others ‘men of peace’, and to use Scripture for the purpose of waging war”. The declaration also calls for a rejection of “any and all forms of violence, whether manifested as sanctions, occupation, terrorism or war”. Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding is a group of American evangelical Christians led by Gary Burge, a professor at Wheaton College. – Evangelical Press News Service
The death penalty has been abolished in 109 countries, but 86 countries, including the US, still have state-sanctioned executions. In the US, 746 people were executed between 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated, and 2000, rising above 30 executions per year after 1991 and peaking with 98 in 1999. The cost of a single capital case, from arrest to execution, is three to 10 times than that of a non-death penalty case, including a life sentence without parole. Since 1973, 98 people have been released from death row due to evidence that they were innocent. – Mennonite Central Committee US Washington Office
Giving to the Mennonite Disaster Service general fund is down 25% from last year; $356,200 US was donated from December 2000 to May 2001, but only $286,800 from December 2001 to May 2002. The general fund supports the investigation of all natural disasters and is often used to house and feed volunteers for the duration of smaller projects called “quiet” disasters by MDS. Quiet disasters cause lots of damage and leave families in need but do not draw a lot of media attention; as a result, fewer donors designate money for them. Flooding in Houston, Tex., caused by last summer’s Tropical Storm Allison, was one of 13 quiet disasters that MDS responded to in 2001. MDS is currently investigating the situation in Colorado, where tinderbox conditions sparked numerous wildfires. One disaster that has drawn an overwhelming amount of attention and support over the past year has been the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. MDS’s Restoring Hope project collected over $300,000 US for that disaster; this money was placed into a designated fund and is not available for responses to other disasters. – Mennonite Disaster Service
The Ontario Press Council has upheld a complaint by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada against the Toronto Star for a June 2, 2001 column that unfairly attributed the promotion of violence and hatred to evangelical Christians. The complaint concerned a column by Michelle Landsberg, who said that the motives of the mayor of Regina promoting Heterosexual Family Pride Day were “to try to enshrine one Christian or ‘missionary’ brand of sexuality as the only official and legal style of union”. The EFC’s complaint specifically addressed one paragraph which read: “Seems these evangelicals feel all shook up unless the state enforces their form of belief. Their idea of social stability, however, is just what threatens us all. It creates the kind of parents who teach their children to hate and taunt their schoolmates who are children of lesbians or gay men. It gives licence to the kind of thugs who would beat a Matthew Shepard to death because he was gay. It breeds the toxic intolerance that drives gay youths to a 30% higher suicide rate than other teens.” The EFC complained that the article “targets evangelical Christians and tends to engender bias and hatred toward them.” The Star responded that the column was not meant to apply to a specific religious faith but to “zealots”, individuals of any religion with a “militant zeal for a cause”. In upholding the complaint, however, the Press Council said it recognizes evangelical Christians as an identifiable group and is convinced that the reference to them in the column was unnecessarily hurtful. – Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
For the first time in three decades, the number of babies being born in the US is greater than the number of deaths. An increase in births among women in their 30s was a major factor in a three-year increase in births. Government studies also note a decline in births to teenage girls. – Evangelical Press News Service
The disappearance of the senior leaders of China Gospel Fellowship is likely due to cult activity rather than to the communist government. Christian Aid Mission News reports that over 30 leaders of the Christian denomination, which has approximately 3 million members, have not been heard from since Apr. 19. On that day, the men and women were travelling to various locations in China to attend meetings arranged by a Bible institute. However, members of China Gospel Fellowship say they now suspect that the meetings were fraudulent and were arranged by members of a pseudo-Christian group known as Eastern Lightning. The cult has been known to injure or kill those who oppose its beliefs and activity. China Gospel Fellowship has asked the government for help in locating the missing leaders, even though it is also considered a cult by the Chinese government and its leaders could face imprisonment. – Evangelical Press News Service
Tourism is down by 50% at Nazareth Village, an accurate, full-scale replica of first-century Nazareth located on a rocky hillside in old-town Nazareth, Israel. The non-profit village, begun in 2000, includes restored farm sites and a construction of a village using first-century building techniques. Employees at the village dress in first-century costume to help visitors appreciate the culture of village life during the time of Jesus. Executive director Michael Hostetler, a Mennonite, is hopeful that exposure by PBS, BBC and other media outlets will attract visitors to the village. – Evangelical Press News Service
A rare, deadly strain of meningitis (W135) has killed 1500 people and infected over 11,200 others in Burkina Faso. Drawing on worldwide connections to locate supplies of the vaccine, Mennonite Central Committee recently shipped 1220 vaccines and 200 antibiotic treatments to the capital, Ouaguadougou. In addition to 200 MCC and Africa Inter-Mennonite Missions staff and family, vaccine recipients included workers with partner agencies, whose social and medical work puts them at higher risk, and their families. The Danish Red Cross paid for 120 of the vaccines for their own staff. An additional 400 vaccines now being shipped will be distributed to Red Cross nurses, those caring for infected people, volunteers doing door-to-door prevention campaigns and street children. Antibiotics reduce the death rate from 80% to 10% of those infected, but the treatment is too expensive for most people in Burkina Faso. The Burkina Faso government operates inoculation programs against the two more common strains of meningitis, A and C. – Mennonite Central Committee
The Barna Research Group found that in a month 67% of adults in the US made use of at least one of three popular forms of Christian media – radio, television or books; 38% listened to a radio program with a teaching, preaching or a talk-show format; 43% listened to Christian music, the fastest growing format; 43% viewed some form of Christian television; and 33% read a Christian book other than the Bible. During the same period, 63% of adults attended church. – Evangelical Press News Service
The Ontario Divisional Court in July ruled that the definition of marriage as “the lawful and voluntary union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of others” is constitutionally invalid and inoperative because it discriminates against homosexual unions; the Court has given the Canadian Parliament two years to amend the law. However in October 2001, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield ruled that neither he nor Parliament can redefine marriage, unless there is an amendment to the Constitution. The Canadian government has now appealed the Ontario ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada. – Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the US has ruled that the US Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because of the phrase “one nation under God”. The June 26 ruling was made after a lawsuit was brought by California atheist Michael Newdow, who objected to his daughter being forced to listen as her fellow second-graders recited the pledge. The phrase “under God” was added by Congress in 1954 following a campaign by religious and civic leaders who wanted to differentiate the US from the atheistic Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. If the ruling is allowed, recitation of the pledge would be prohibited in public schools in nine states under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit Court. The ruling will likely be appealed to the US Supreme Court. The US Senate and House of Representatives, by votes of 99–0 and 416–3, have approved recommendations defending the wording of the pledge. The girl’s mother, Sandra Banning, has asked that her daughter be removed from the case, saying that she and her daughter are members of a Calvary Chapel evangelical church in Elk Grove, Calif. and have no objection to reciting the pledge. – Evangelical Press News Service
Acts deemed immoral in a recent Leger Marketing poll of 1519 Canadians: shoplifting (89%), spousal unfaithfulness (81%), cocaine and heroine use (79%), tax evasion (77%), prostitution (68%), alcohol abuse (66%), suicide (61%), smoking marijuana (47%), abortion (41%), gambling (41%), swearing (40%), homosexuality (32%), euthanasia (31%), pre-marital sex (27%), atheism (26%) and divorce (22%). Overall, 72.5% said they believed Canadians “have a strong sense of morals”. – ChristianWeek
Canadian Foodgrains Bank will be shipping 15,000 tonnes of corn to southern Africa. Nearly 13 million people in countries such as Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe are facing serious food shortages due to drought over the last two years. The corn, which is expected to arrive in South Africa for milling in early October, will help feed 500,000 people for three months. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is providing 4:1 matching dollars to support this project. – Canadian Foodgrains Bank
For the first time, North Korea has replaced Saudi Arabia as the country where Christians are most severely persecuted, according to the “World Watch List” released semi-annually by Open Doors. Saudi Arabia sees itself as the guardian of Islam. North Korean Communist ruler Kim Jong Il has tried to eradicate all belief systems other than the worship of himself and his deceased father, Kim Il Sung. Rounding out the top 10 on the list are Laos, Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia. – Evangelical Press News Service
Niagara Falls (Ont.) Christian Fellowship, has changed its name to Mountain Park Church, effective immediately.
Previous | Next
Last modified October 9, 2002.
© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
Masthead and usage information.
|
