MWR : Articles : Nov. 24, 2008

Articles : Nov. 24, 2008

Giving thanks for the global church

As people in the United States prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, we mark an encounter between immigrant and indigenous groups on this continent.

Atlantic Canadian craft sales link volunteers, artisans

PETITCODIAC, New Brunswick — As Erica van Velsen and Cara Rempel set up Ten Thousand Villages displays, they see more than the beauty of the hand-crafted items they so carefully handle.
Paraguayan businessman tells of service as Cabinet official

LANDISVILLE, Pa. — When Nicanor Duarte Frutos, then president-elect of Paraguay, asked Ernst Bergen, a successful Mennonite entrepreneur, to join his Cabinet, Bergen was astounded.
For MDS, a time of forgotten disasters

Floods and hurricanes in the United States this year were severe but faded quickly from memory. “We are in a time of forgotten disasters,” said Scott Sundberg, Mennonite Disaster Service director of communications.
Paraguayans focus on beliefs that unite

LANCASTER, Pa. — With about 100 cultures in their churches today, Mennonites need to clarify their shared faith principles, said Alfred Neufeld, chair of the coordinating council for the Mennonite World Conference assembly in Paraguay in July 2009.
Socially responsible investing gains ground

WINNIPEG, Man. — As the world’s economy quakes, sustainability, value and transparency are key issues in the demand for restructuring the global financial system. These may be qualities that open the door to wider recognition of socially responsible investing, or SRI.

MB seminary president’s resignation explained

FRESNO, Calif. — The resignation of Jim Holm as president of Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in August was due to his involvement in an extramarital relationship, the MB magazine Christian Leader reported in its November issue.
Traveling quilt raises money for houses in Bangladesh

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — A quilt featuring children’s pictures of houses has finished its tour of nine relief sales, raising most of $71,840 at those sales for Mennonite Central Committee to build new homes in Bangladesh.

Not as it seems

One year for Christmas Eve, instead of having a live manger scene, our Education Committee decided to have the children act out the story ahead of time, take pictures and then project them on screen. That way even children who would be away at Christmas could be part of the story, and everyone could relax and enjoy the evening without getting nervous over presenting a live pageant. Since we were also able to arrange the picture-taking at a farm, the pageant could include real sheep and a real donkey.

Doing politics door-to-door

The first time I walked into a local campaign headquarters for a presidential candidate, I was struck with the spartan simplicity. It looked like a group of rooms that was unoccupied a few months earlier, and would be empty again soon. The walls were bare except for homemade signs. The furniture was mainly folding chairs and tables. Computers and phones filled out the unglamorous picture.

In, of and for the world

Last month, I read several “Views” articles from past years for a Mennonite Central Committee fundraiser. I squirmed at hearing myself condemning things (myself included) as “worldly” or “of the world.”

Modern-day prodigal sons

You’ve probably heard a version of this story before:
A rich businessman wrote his will, dividing his wealth equally between his two sons. The younger son, a worldly lad, asked his father for his share immediately, and the kind father consented.