MWR : Articles : Aug. 27, 2007

Last updated November 24.

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Articles : Aug. 27, 2007

Little flock moves beyond fear

Fifty percent of Mennonite Church USA congregations have 60 members or fewer. Other Mennonite groups probably tell a similar statistic. Jesus might as well have been talking to us when he called his disciples a “little flock” (Luke 12:32).

Response to epidemics was early church witness

WINNIPEG, Man. — In 1996, sociologist Rodney Stark attempted to find out how Christianity grew from a small, rag-tag group of people after Christ’s death and resurrection to become the leading religion of the Roman Empire and eventually the dominant faith of Western civilization.
Philadelphia teen promotes peace, reconciliation among his peers

PHILADELPHIA — Every day at school was a kind of mission trip for Keith Pretlow.
Menno roots of Simpsons’ family tree

The animated television and movie comedy The Simpsons is a satire of contemporary American culture. It is also a case study of a family — that of Simpsons creator Matt Groening — morphing from the Mennonite immigrant experience to pop culture celebrity in four generations.

Magazine lists annual college rankings

Mennonite four-year colleges and universities appeared in the annual rankings of colleges published Aug. 27 in U.S. News & World Report.
Global Youth Summit theme chosen

ASUNCION, Paraguay — AMIGOS, the Mennonite World Conference youth committee, has chosen “Service: Live the Difference” as the theme for the Global Youth Summit in Paraguay in 2009.
Bethel golfers work with inner city youth

NORTH NEWTON, Kan. — When Bethel College golf coach Gregg Dick considered team-building activities leading into a new season, he wanted it to be about more than just the team itself.
Conference stresses readiness for pandemics

WINNIPEG, Man. — When the next flu pandemic strikes, the first people to get anti- virals — drugs like Tamiflu that can prevent the illness — should be clergy.
In New York, intern got bigger view of ministry

NEW YORK — Morgan Kraybill got a taste of what pastoral ministry is like when she interned this summer at Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship. She had been toying with the idea of the ministry since she entered Goshen (Ind.) College two years ago.
Iran eye-opener

NEWTON, Kan. — What the United States and Iran need to better pursue peace is a dose of mutual understanding and cultural awareness, according to a Mennonite Central Committee worker serving in the Iranian city of Qom.