MWR : Articles : Oct. 20, 2008

Last updated November 24.

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Articles : Oct. 20, 2008

We could use some plaining

“The plaining of the Mennonite world” is how Donald Kraybill describes the trend of Old Order Anabaptist groups growing while mainstream ones struggle.

Pennsylvania cyclists ride for a higher purpose

BLOOMING GLEN, Pa. — At 7 on a Saturday morning, a dozen early-rising cyclists gather in a church parking lot to ride through the hills of Bucks and Montgomery counties.
Speakers at upcoming Rosedale Bible College event discuss what makes vital biblical Anabaptism

ROSEDALE, Ohio — John D. Roth and Jonathan Sauder will tackle topics that range from who needs conversion to why Anabaptism has answers for the emergent church Nov. 13-15 at Rosedale Bible College.
Musical gifts that serve all

CHICAGO — The club in a hip city neighborhood low-lit like its name — Subterranean — was a long way away from the farms, small towns and Mennonite churches of the band members’ childhoods.
‘Adoption’ of ethnic churches boosts MB membership

While Mennonite Church USA tries to reverse a membership decline, the second-largest U.S. Mennonite group has a much different story to tell.

The horse-and-buggy way

An international research team has begun an oral history project on the anti-modern lifestyles of the “horse-and-buggy” Mennonites of Canada and Latin America.
MCC hosts forum on Ahmadinejad meeting

FRESNO, Calif. — About 80 people attended an Oct. 1 forum hosted by West Coast Mennonite Central Committee on the topic of MCC’s Sept. 25 meeting with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York.
N.J. pastor loses credentials over sexuality issue

Franconia Conference of Mennonite Church USA took away the credentials of Pastor Michael Schaadt of Alpha (N.J.) Mennonite Church, effective Oct. 15, because Schaadt, who is gay, told the conference he could no longer commit to celibacy.
As Amish population rises, a quest for new land

Amish groups have grown rapidly in the past 15 years and moved into new states, according to research by the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College.
Theologian connects film and faith at arts festival

CHELTENHAM, U.K. — A Mennonite theologian spoke to more than 1,700 people at the annual Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival Aug. 28-31 at the Cheltenham Race Course in western England.