MWR : Articles : Sept. 1, 2008

Articles : Sept. 1, 2008

Questioning war’s mythology

A myth is often thought of as a false belief, but it can also refer to a narrative people use to make sense of the world. Such a myth may or may not be true, and the conclusions drawn from it may or not not be helpful.

MDS plays important role in recovery

NEW ORLEANS — Bourbon Street was rocking, the bars and clubs filled with people enjoying one of New Orleans’ most popular tourist spots. A cacophony of jazz, blues, rock and country filled the narrow balcony-lined avenue, giving the area a bright and festive air.
Two book review editors, one church

CHICAGO — With hundreds of thousands of books published each year, magazine review sections help separate the wheat from the chaff.
Iraqi refugee family recalls horrors of war in Baghdad

AMMAN, Jordan — Meeron Chamoun is only 8 years old, but he courageously shares vivid memories of children being kidnapped from his school in Baghdad and school closures resulting from bombings and threats of bomb attacks.

MWC Executive Committee meetings focus on building communion

MANILA, Philippines — Mennonite World Conference Executive Committee meetings July 31-Aug. 5 focused on building global communion, the 2009 assembly in Paraguay, strengthening relations with Asian and African church bodies and hearing reports from the worldwide church.
Mennonites in Colombia take risks for peace

MANILA, Philippines — The Mennonite Church of Colombia is prepared to take risks to work for peace in the conflicted country.
MCC launches three-year response to Myanmar cyclone

YANGON, Myanmar — Mennonite Central Committee plans to provide more than $1.1 million in aid over three years to help people recover from Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, the southeast Asian nation also known as Burma.
Goshen, Bethel make new ‘best colleges’ list

When Forbes.com released its first ranking of America’s Best Colleges in mid-August, two Mennonite schools were among the 569 chosen.

What kind of peace for Colombia?

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia’s political climate has dramatically changed over the last months due to the following developments:

Humble beginning

By all appearances, Mary and Joseph are about as commonplace as you can get — a young woman and a craftsman, both of little consequence among the populace of a fallen kingdom long trampled beneath the treads of greater political and military powers.

Blueprint for political action

In The Scandal of Evangelical Politics: Why Are Christians Missing the Chance to Really Change the World? (Baker Books, 2008) Ron Sider, a Mennonite theology professor, author and president of Evangelicals for Social Action, offers to educate evangelicals on sound political involvement.

Candidates’ wars of words

The war of words in an election campaign gets everyone’s attention because these words supposedly have more impact than ordinary, daily discourse.

Beyond politics as usual

A quick search of the Web sites of the two major presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, shows the following statements on defense: