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The Bible comes out of the life of people who knew themselves to be children of God. It describes their experience with the promises and fulfillments, the burdens and upholdings, the sinfulness and forgiveness that constituted life in God's presence. It points to the way of life, the ethos, that emerged in response to this experience. To the degree that we know ourselves to be children of God, heirs of these people who preceded us, we listen to the stories of the Bible, in spite of their distance and strangeness, as part of our story. Abraham and Sarah (or, as they were

known at first, Abram and Sarai) were people who changed their story. More precisely, they were people who cut themselves off from the story that was given them so they could live out a new one.

The Bible tells only a bit of their beginning story, so if we are to sense something of how they began and what they left behind, we must piece it together from little clues still remaining in Scripture or derived from other sources.

The story of Abraham and Sarah began, as all our stories do, with a

family and a tradition. Sarah shared t: same lineage as Abraham, for she wi his half-sister as well as his wid Scripture traces their ancestry throuji, nine generations — from Shem, son : Noah, to Terah, father of Abraham a I Sarah, Nahor, and Haran. This wa£i solid beginning that provided a stroij basis for their knowing who they wci and what their lives should be.

Their early story also points toji religious connection. Scripture asal ciates them with two cities which wJ cultic centers for the moon god Sin. 0/ is Ur in the southern valley of n

a

Living

newst5ry

Ralph R. Sundquist, Jr

Leave what you know and go to what you do not know.

I uphrates River system, where Abra- j am and Sarah were born, and the other ;i Haran in the northern part, to which iiey moved. At Ur a seventy-foot tower ad been erected to honor Sin, and in [aran a temple was dedicated to his Worship.

i Further, both Abraham's niece Mil- !ah (later his sister-in-law) and Sarah erself bear names associated with this alt— Sarah with Sarratu, the moon Goddess who was the consort of Sin, and Hilkah with Malkatu, the regional jianifestation of the goddess Ishtar. 1 In the early story of Abraham and arah, then, there must have been an :quaintanceship with this lunar cult nd possibly an allegiance that included he worship of Sin and Sarratu and 'lalkatu.

This possibility is supported by a |!;miniscence that appears later in the fible. Joshua, as he recognized the jpproaching end of his life, called the pople together to remind them of the ! pginning and course of their story. Long ago," he said, "your forefathers lerah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, Ived beside the Euphrates, and they prshiped other gods" (Josh. 24:2,

|eb).

I But this is only the beginning of the ory of Abraham and Sarah, the part Iiat was destined to become no part. Ipmehow, in ways that are not ex- |ained, the familiar gods with their miliar promises and demands gave ay to a God who promised them eater than they had dreamed and :manded from them more than they id ever been called to give. [Bit by bit this God, the Lord Yahweh, ired away from Abraham and Sarah a identities that were setting the tline of their story. Closer and closer the center of their lives he cut until ne of their assurances remained. Leave your country, he said, the lleys and streets you have walked, the iple among whom you have lived, the 's you have worshiped. Leave your , Ired, the persons with whom you e your long ancestry and the daily ersation of your lives. Leave your I ,t's house, the family in which you ve grown up, the people who nourish d comfort you, who depend upon you ■ their own sustenance and satisfac- ns. Leave all these people and places d things that are dear to you and go to and I will show you. Leave what you ow and go to what you do not know. \nd, said theLord, "I will make of you ;reat nation, and I will bless you and ike your name great, so that you will

be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth will bless themselves."

This promise is so glorious as to seem irresistible. For Abraham and Sarah, however, it was assurance unfulfilled, the speaking of an alien God about a distant future in a far-off land. The demands, in contrast, called for imme- diate risk, for irreversible actions and tangible losses.

But the decision was made, and a brief sentence ends one story and starts another: "So Abram went, as the Lord

The Lord who had first revealed himself to Abraham and Sarah in Haran was a Lord who kept on revealing himself — whose ways were not clear and easy, but filled with uncertainty. The road to be taken was not known, and the resting places brought not confirmation of old securities, but revelation of new possibilities and change. At Shechem, Bethel, Hebron, Beersheba, and elsewhere — shrines of the gods of the land — Abraham stopped to worship. In each case he neither destroyed the shrine nor entered into its cult. Instead he accepted it as a place

The life of faith was a life of being open to new possibilities and of making decisions and taking actions while still encumbered with human weak- ness and sinfulness.

had told him." This is the new beginning that meant a new way of life for Abraham and Sarah.

The Bible tells us nothing of Abraham and Sarah as they struggled to decide what story they would live. We can only assume that for them even more than for us the cutting of roots and ties was painful and anxious. Nor does the Bible tell us what event or power persuaded Abraham and Sarah to give up their accustomed religion in order to entrust themselves to a God they hadn't known. Yet they put their old story behind them and set out to live a new one.

We must be careful not to think of this outcome as the happy ending of the story and to look upon Abraham and Sarah as hero and heroine who had completed what needed to be done. The author of the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews provides perspective by reminding us that "by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out not know- ing where he was to go" (Heb. 11:8).

The new story of Abraham and Sarah is a story of faith in the Lord Yahweh. It describes the way of life of people who lived by faith, and it shows the riskiness of this way of life. To live by faith is to live with less than full knowledge and with only the beginnings of transforma- tion in one's life. Abraham and Sarah were given neither the full understand- ing of their God and his will nor the strength and courage for living always at their best. What they were given was faith.

holy to the Lord, not driving out the other gods but absorbing something of them into the understanding of his God. All along the way the Lord revealed something new of himself, some new risk for the faith of Abraham and Sarah.

This risk extended to the decisions to be made, the actions to be taken. The story shows that Abraham and Sarah, far from being consistently courageous and upright, were often weak and wayward. A fearful Abraham, for example, was capable of turning aside an imagined threat to his life by denying his marriage to Sarah and permitting her induction into the pharaoh's harem.

Again, Abraham and Sarah, doubting the promise of a son of their own, could seek one through Sarah's servant Hagar, then, when Ishmael was born, turn against the mother and the child and drive them away in an act that was not only unfeeling, but also contrary to the laws of the people of the time (as shown by documents from Nuzi in upper Mesopotamia). Still later, both Abra- ham and Sarah could laugh in disbelief when a son again was promised to them in their old age.

So the life of faith was a life of being open to new possibilities and of making decisions and taking actions while still encumbered with human weakness and sinfulness. There were other testings, of course, other failures and actions of faithfulness, too. The son Isaac was born as had been promised, and Sarah and Abraham died in the land to which they had been led. The story, however, has not ended; it goes on still with its

rp

E MENNONITE

risk and fulfillment, its instances of weakness and faithfulness, its blessings still to come.

What is the way of life of people who live by faith? How is the ethos of Abraham and Sarah transformed into ethics for our lives?

Surely Abraham and Sarah cannot serve as models for us. We cannot look upon their behavior as our example. Our cultures are so separated by time and space, by custom and possibility, that we cannot possibly imitate their lives. In addition, their moral behavior itself, even by their own standards, is so deficient as to provide no reliable guide.

What is important, then, is not how Sarah and Abraham are good examples, but how their story touches upon our story. This touching occurs in two ways. First, our stories as individual

Maynard Shelly

They came from Asia. We don't know their names or the name of the country from which they came. Just 300 words in the second chapter of Matthew's Gospel cover their brief appearance on history's stage. They did their thing and went away.

We call them wise. How good to be wise! How good to be wise and to be able to bear rich gifts! And they came from Asia!

Does that make sense? Is this the Asia of our missionary letters? Is this the Asia of the Vietnam War and the Bangladesh famines? Asia has come to mean backwardness, poverty, and primitiveness. But wisdom? Does Asia really have anything that good? Does it have anything good enough to honor our Jesus?

Asia doesn't ring the bell these days. But it wasn't always so. Matthew could

people bear similarities to their story and distinctions from it, so the stories touch at different places and in different ways for each of us. Our very individu- ality is affected. Second, our story as a people of faith is simply the most recent part of their story, for we live in continuation of their faith, still con- fronted by ancient demands, still hoping for blessings yet to be granted. Our life together is at stake.

What we do, then, is to look at our own story — our story as a people and our stories as individual people — and ask: What is new about our story? (What is new about my story?) What of our old story must we set aside for the sake of our new one? (What of my old story must I set aside for the sake of my new one?)

And we look at our lives with the

write about the wise men from the East. He didn't need to qualify or apologize. He knew everyone would understand. For everyone knew that when people came from Asia they would be wise, people who knew a good thing when they saw it.

Even 500 years ago, Asia came on strong. That was the time Europe was all agog about the great things coming out of Asia, those lands around behind the Cape of Good Hope in places called India and China. People stood in line to buy even at a high price the muslin cloth, silks, and spices of India. Asia, so far ahead of Europe in its technology, made the rough goods of Europe seem crude by comparison.

Books and lectures by travelers from Asia sold out fast. China, a nation far larger than all the little states of Europe put together, administered its empire

same double focus: What is the Abr! ham or the Sarah who inhabits us? Ji what points do we discover our trust, what points our doubt, where oil strength, where our weakness? Wh are our risks, and what are our assu ances?

Finally, we look at our situation, or world, and the people around us: Wh is called for in this time and place? Wh' do we do to respond to God's call in tl present moment?

No doubt we find the answerii difficult and the answers unsettling, i we may experience the immediai touching of Abraham and Sarah's stoi upon our own. We bear responsibili for our story, perhaps for going o where we have not gone before. We lb a new story in response to the God wl calls us to faith.

with an expertise that dazzled the Wef So wonderful and desirable were I achievements of Asia that Euro] strained for more and more contact.

It was while Europeans were oj trying to find a shorter route to Asia th; they stumbled across a plot of re' estate they called America where thi called the people they met Indian; America disappointed them becau! they really wanted Asia.

So, for centuries, Europeans lived the shadow of Asia's greater glorifl They could claim superiority only in o| field. Europeans were Christians, an Asians were only pagans or infide: Only in the field of religion daw Europe's people boast. Asia ran off wi all the blue ribbons in technologf wisdom, politics, and science.

How times have changed! The who scene has flip-flopped. Space travij

) Once they were wis

THE MENNONITE seeks io witness, teach, motivate, and build the Christian tellowship within the context ol Christian love and freedom under the guidance ol 'he Scriptures and the Holy Spirit, ll published weekly except biweekly during July and August and the last two weeks in December at Newton, Kans 671 14, by the General Board ot the General Conference Mennonite Church Secojj class postage paid at Newton, Kans 671 1 4, and at additional mailing offices Subscriptions: In U S. and Canada, $6 00. one year, $1 5 60, two years, $23 00, three years; foreign. 58 50 per yl Editorial office: 600 Shaftesbury Boulevard, Winnipeg. Canada R3P OM4 Business office: 722 Main St . Box 34 7, Newton, Kans. 671 14 Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Box 34 7, Newton, Kans 671

4 JANUARY 4, 191

imputers, airplanes, and automobiles

e all products of western genius.

emocracy, perfected in European and Hmerican institutions, is the form of livernment to which all nations aspire lid claim to practice whether they do or |)t. Without aid and inspiration from le West, everyone in Asia would still

: riding oxcarts.

,But who is winning the religion 1 veepstakes? Christians are sure their jfith is still the purest. But if we'd count le votes of the less committed people in He West, we'd see the once-despised

eastern religions coming up fast in their claims for attention. The final verdict isn't in, but it is clear: the supremacy of Christianity is now under fire.

So, things do change — especially after 500 years and after 2,000 years.

But when those wise men from Asia came to worship Jesus, their tribute set the pace. Ring the bells! Sound the trumpets! Listen to what the leading intellectuals, scientists, and statesmen have to say. It is Jesus, God's Son, by the vote of this board of experts, three to none.

Jesus belongs to Asia. This does not mean absolutely. Asian ways differ from ours. A new religion does not always take the place of the old — it just moves in and takes what it can. So, Hinduism, for example, has become a museum of almost all the world's religious moods and modes from nature worship and idolatry to mysticism and spiritualism. Ramkrishna, one Hindu sect (or denomination), has enshrined Jesus as one of its deities and sincerely worships him. At Christmas, Ramkrish- na celebrated Christ's birth with festivi- ties common to Christian communities everywhere.

From this we learn that the worship of Christ in the East can sometimes be a worship given by people on their own terms and in their own ways. Even here the people of the East teach us. What is done openly by Ramkrishna in Asia happens undercover in other places. The Christian church has been at times a gallery of superstition, spiritism, na- tionalism, materialism, and other cults. Only when this is not so, can we say that the Christian way is a better faith.

Those wise men from Asia showed us the uniqueness of the salvation with which God saves us. When God acts, he acts through people. God presents himself in the stream of human history. This is incarnation, the Christian under- standing of the way God acts and reveals himself. Other religions reveal themselves through dreams, mysteries, visions, and human moods that rise and fall with the level of our blood sugar.

Those wise men were really astrolo- gers up to their armpis in mystery. They examined the stars to find God, and though they found him, we do-n't follow their example any longer. They saw God working from a control panel that operated the stars. Is God really tied down with mechanics and more inter- ested in confounding us with signs and puzzles than in meeting us?

Let's affirm that God acted supremely in Jesus Christ. John and Paul, some other really wise men, give us the explicit word.

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father" (Jn. 1:14).

"God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor. 5: 19).

God still acts to redeem people. He works in our world. Here where we live, where we wash the dishes and go to market, he draws us toward himself. Those with faith in their eyes see the things that he is doing.

jHE MENNONITE

5

News

Paul's Porch provides a roof for young men

Temporary housing for young men is the purpose of Paul's Porch in Columbus, Ohio.

Named after the Apostle Paul, who did a lot of traveling himself, Paul's Porch is sponsored by the Neil Ave. Mennonite Church in Columbus and staffed with volunteers from the congre- gation and three full-time volunteers supplied by Mennonite Board of Mis- sions, Elkhart, Indiana.

"The reasons guests are in need of a place like Paul's Porch are varied," said voluntary service worker Dennis Book. "Some are simply traveling and have been for some time. Others have been evicted from their apartments. Some are suffering from acute emotional or fami- ly problems. Most are unemployed."

Occasionally guests attend church, and a number of guests have returned on a regular basis in the evening to talk over a cup of coffee, Mr. Book said. "We feel good about establishing ongoing relationships with people who seem to have no one else."

Paul's Porch reopened last June 21, located in a house next door to the Neil Ave. church building. For a number of years, the second floor of the house, owned by the church, had been used for emergency housing by a group based at

nearby Ohio State University. Then it was closed and the program reassessed.

"Some church members thought the building should be used for Sunday school classrooms," said Mr. Book. "Others felt that, due to the previous heavy usage of the facility by persons with lodging needs, it was important to continue reaching those people in a creative way."

The latter opinion prevailed, and the church "began a two-months renovation project that resulted in a nine-months effort."

Now twenty-two volunteers from the Neil Ave. congregation work two 4-hour shifts a week at Paul's Porch together with the three VS workers: Dennis Book, Kaye Hostetter Book, and Ivan Emke.

"This kind of direct involvement, coupled with the initial support of extensive renovation of the facility, has established a deep sense of congrega- tional ownership and commitment to the growth of the project," said Mr. Book.

Paul's Porch is open to men ages eighteen to thirty, seven nights a week from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. Referrals come from other social service agencies in town between 5:00 p.m. and midnight.

Guests may stay up to three nights.

Staff members assess the immedia needs of guests, suggest temporal labor locations or where to find free < inexpensive meals, sometimes provit transportation, counsel, help people g on welfare, or just listen.

"We don't initiate Bible study i prayer, but often in an informal w; have a chance to express what Chri and the church mean to us," said M Book.

The house has seven beds in tW|, bedrooms plus a bed in the staff room, lounge, and a bathroom. Linens art beds were donated by Ohio Mennonii congregations. Bread, peanut butte coffee, tea, and soups are provided 1 the local congregation.

Since opening last June, Paul's Porq has housed about twenty differel guests per month.

"Community reaction and support fl the project have been good, and we fe that the project is meeting a pressiri need in a time of high unemploymeij and broken relationships," conclude Mr. Book.

The Neil Ave. Mennonite Church is member of both the General Conferencj Mennonite Church and the Mennonit Church.

Involve congregations, says MMA

More congregational involvement was strongly supported when Mennonite Mutual Aid's mandate was reviewed in a retreat November 19-20 in Chicago.

Fifty-seven people, representing Mennonite conferences and agencies and MMA, joined in the study of MMA's thirty-year history and its future.

Major input for the study came from C. J. Dyck, professor at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Indiana, who spoke on "The theological basis lor mutual aid"; Howard Raid, professor at Bluffton (Ohio) College, on "The philosophical basis anil concept lor mutual aid"; Harold L. Swart/.en- druber, MMA president, on "MMA: The first thirty years"; and Dwight Stoltz- fus, MMA field services director, on "MMA serving the whole congregation."

The major ideas to which the group said MMA should give more attention included:

— more congregational involvement, including more active and qualified mutual concerns representatives.

— financial counseling and assistance programs.

— retirement.

— expansion of mutual aid into a global dialog.

— development of a loss-ol-income program.

— mutual aid services to the twenty- five to forty-five age group.

— simplifying of present health pro- grams.

— informing the conferences better about MMA's services.

— development of programs to en-

courage improved life-styles.

— strengthening support for MMA congregational health improveme program (for lower-income congreg tions).

Among the General Conference repr sentatives at the retreat were Elbe Koontz, Newton, Kansas, Western Di trict conference minister, and Te Stuckey of Newton, General Conferenc business manager and treasurer.

General Conference representative on the MMA board of directors ai William Dunn, Normal, Illinois, chaii man of the board; George Dyck, Newto Kansas; Fred Lehman, Berne, Indian Howard Raid, Bluffton, Ohio; a Arden Ramseyer, Smithville, Ohio

Gordon Funk from Newton, Kansa helped with group process.

i:

JANUARY 4, 1

1

Nennonite school helps family of slain teacher

j ope Secondary School, formerly the Mennonite Secondary School, in the occupied rest Bonk town of Beit Jala held a benefit basketball game in November to raise Joney for the family of Khader Issa Nimmer. Mr. Nimmer, a civics'teacher at the ' :hool in Beit Jala, was killed in July 1976 in prison by a fellow inmate while serving ■four-year sentence for alleged security crimes against the State of Israel. The lme with Sir Zeit University raised more than $1,000 for the Nimmer family '■rough small private donations. Mr. Nimmer's arrest and death left his widowed ' other and his brothers and sisters without support. "Concern for Khader and his Amily was extremely widespread," commented Paul Quiring, MCC director in I rusalem. "The ideas and hopes which Khader stood for clearly live on in his iudents, friends, and others who knew him. The response to the benefit game is a inflection of their continuing concern."

etter to president asks

pr amnesty, no B-1 bomber

letter asking for unconditional am- asty for all Vietnam War-related fenders and for stopping production

the B-1 bomber has been sent to nited States President-elect Jimmy arter by Harold Regier, secretary for jace and social concerns for the eneral Conference Mennonite Church. The letter urges Mr. Carter "to broad- i your promise of pardon for [draft] sisters to an unconditional amnesty r all persons who for various reasons 'e being penalized for their actions iming directly out of the Vietnam-era 'aft, military service, and antiwar itivities. . . . These include not only •aft resisters, but also military desert- s, civilian protesters, former Ameri- ins now citizens of other countries,

and the more than 500,000 men given less than honorable discharges."

Mr. Regier continued, "for the sake of healing these war wounds and provid- ing compassion for the great many living American victims of this unfortu- nate war, we ask that you declare an unconditional anmesty."

The letter also "affirmed your reti- cence to endorse the B-1 bomber." It mentions the buildup of military hard- ware and nuclear weapons as a threat to human survival. "We ask that you scrap the life-threatening B-1 program and that these resources be used for life- enriching people programs.

"This is an opportune time to set a new direction, to determine new priori- ties and policies that are more in harmony with the commitment both you and we have to the Christian faith and its teachings of love and justice and peace," Mr. Regier wrote to Mr. Carter.

Baptist, Jew warn against religion in politics

In a postmortem on the 1976 elections in the United States, a Baptist religious leader and a Jewish rabbi have warned that drives to establish a "religious test" as a qualification for public office violate the U.S. Constitution and are contrary to the American tradition of religious liberty.

James M. Dunn, Baptist General Convention of Texas, and Marc H. Tanenbaum, American Jewish Commit- tee, cited especially those right-wing evangelical groups who had cam- paigned to elect "Christ-centered" can- didates on national and state levels.

The "vote-Christian" movement, they pointed out, had been organized by "a loose coalition of organizations with common goals and interlocking directo- rates." Among these, they listed the Christian Freedom Foundation of Wash- ington, D.C.; Third Century Publishers of Arlington, Virginia; the Christian Embassy of Washington, D.C.; Campus Crusade for Christ; and Intercessors for America.

Mr. Tanenbaum said Third Century Publishers, in its latest news bulletin, had expressed satisfaction with the fact that twenty-one of fifty-four "Christ- centered" candidates had won.

The rabbi denounced the concept that non-Christian believers, nonbelievers, or even Christians with a different religious commitment were less quali- fied, trustworthy, or patriotic.

Mr. Dunn warned that "we must guard against those subtle political- religious movements that would make religion the handmaiden of a specific political ideology.

"The insistence that candidates for public office seek the language of Zion, pass a 'born-again' test, or meet the demands of a right-wing questionnaire is not in the tradition of religious liberty as understood by Baptists or Jews," he declared.

Mr. Dunn noted that the intrusion of religion into the political picture had been a subject of discussion in the 1976 report of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, which had stated, "Christianity is not limited by or tied to any one form of political party or even any one form of government."

It had also called on Texas Baptists to reject attempt to "baptize" any particu- lar political philosophy.

The two men spoke at the annual meeting of the American Jewish Com- mittee's national executive council.

HE MENNONITE 7

Thirteen Latin Christians appeal to North Americans

Thirteen Christian leaders in Latin America, five whose names are not identified because of the dangerous situation in which they live and work, have written an open letter to their sisters and brothers in North America.

In a three-page communique, the signers urge solidarity in the struggle for basic human rights under repressive regimes, appealing to North American Christians to recognize the impact of United States policies beyond its own borders.

The letter concludes with the follow- ing paragraphs:

"Friends and fellow Christians, it is time that you realize that our continent is becoming one gigantic prison, and in some regions, one vast cemetery; that human rights, the grand guidelines of the gospel, are becoming a dead letter, without force — and all this in order to maintain a system, a structure of dependency that benefits the mighty privileged persons of always, of your land and of our land, at the expense of the poor millions who are increasing throughout the width and breadth of the continent.

"For this reason this open letter seeks to be the lamentation or the outcry of those who now have no voice in our America, because they are buried in the volcanos, in the rivers, or in the cemeter- ies; because they are rotting in prisons or concentration camps; or because they languish in incredible conditions of malnutrition and misery. This letter seeks to be an anguished, fervent call to your conscience and to your responsi- bility as Christians.

"If in the past you felt it to be your apostolic duty to send us missionaries and economic resources, today the frontier of your witness and Christian solidarity is within your own country. The conscious, intelligent, and respon- sible use of your vote, the appeal to your representatives in the Congress, the application of pressure by various means on your authorities can contrib- ute to changing the course of our governments toward paths of greater justice and brotherhood, or to accentu- ate a colonialist and oppressive policy over our peoples. In this sense you must ask yourselves if you will or will not be your brother's keeper in these lands of America, from which the blood of millions of Abels are clamoring to heaven.

"We, between tears and groans, are

interceding for you, in order that you may respond with faithfulness to the historic responsibility which as citizens of one of the great contemporary powers and as disciples of Jesus Christ it falls on you to assume."

Signing the letter were Sergion Arce, moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Cuba and rector of Evangelical Theological Seminary, Matanzas, Cuba; Plutarco Bonilla, rector of Latin Ameri- can Biblical Seminary, Costa Rica; Augusto Cotto, rector of Baptist Semi- nary of Mexico; Secundino Morales, Methodist pastor in Panama; Tapani Ojasti, general coordinator of the Lu- theran Church in Costa Rica; Jacinto Ordonez, executive secretary of the Latin American Association of Theolog- ical Schools; Antonio Ramos, bishop of the Episcopal Church of Costa Rica; and Saul Trinidad, director of the extension program of the Costa Rican Methodist Church and pastor of the Peruvian Evangelical Church.

Mennonite Health Assembly plans March convention

C. Everett Koop, surgeon-in-chief at Children's Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will address the opening session of the Mennonite Health Assem- bly March 5-9 at the Ben Franklin Hotel in Philadelphia.

Mr. Koop, also professor of pediatric surgery at the University of Pennsylva- nia, headed the medical team which in 1974 successfully separated Siamese twin baby girls. Mr. Koop's address, "The sanctity of life: Challenges and alternatives," will deal with his concern about the' directions in contemporary thought on human life, especially relat- ed to abortion and euthanasia.

The Protestant Health and Welfare Assembly opening celebration and theme interpretation is at 8:30 p.m., Sunday. The theme is "Christ's love — Keystone of the caring community." Concurrent denominational and general PHWA sessions continue Monday to noon Wednesday.

Mennonite Health Assembly mem- bership is made up of persons from all Mennonite groups involved in church- sponsored health and social welfare programs, including administrators, chaplains, nurses, and other interested persons.

Persons not on the MHA mailing list may write for registration and program information to Luke Birky, Mennonite Health Assembly, Box 370, Elkhart, Indiana 46514.

Brethren leader is part of WCC peace program

Planning sessions January 18-22 i Geneva, Switzerland, to launch a ne1! World Council of Churches acticj program against militarism and th armaments race will be moderated b H. Lamar Gibble.

Mr. Gibble, who is peace and intern; tional affairs consultant for the Churc of the Brethren, Elgin, Illinois, is one < three representatives from North Amei ica recently named to the WCC's Com [ mission of the Churches on Internatior al Affairs.

The sessions, Mr. Gibble pointed oui i|t are to implement decisions made at th, L WCC's fifth assembly held in Nairob I Kenya, in 1975. On the agenda is a worl; t consultation on militarism to be held is Hi the fall of 1977. Dates and place have no. ti yet been determined.

"The churches of the world need ti k come down hard against the armamenti Id race," insisted Mr. Gibble, "becausp years of negotiation between the Unite||« States and the Soviet Union, for exarajl pie, to get missile-for-missile reduction i of armaments, have not really given ifm world more security."

New mission structure approved in Bolivia

An executive committee which includei s nationals has been organized to diregjl the Mennonite mission program neafll Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

In November leaders from each of thf'n local churches met at the Mennonitik Central Committee center in Santa Cruktt to elect two representatives on thfli newly formed executive committeil Elected were Hugo Ribera of Las Carnaii sa and Asterio Salazar of La Crucena^t They will work on the committee witll two MCC representatives, Gerald Mum|fc aw and Lois Amstutz, and two mission} aries, David and Sara Letkemann.

The Bolivian mission program wa formerly directed by the missies workers and two or three MCC people

Among those cooperating in thi Bolivian mission are theCommission oif Overseas Mission of the General Con) ference Mennonite Church, the Mennoi nite Board of Missions of the Mennonitf Church, and the Argentine Mennonit} Mission Committee.

David and Sara Letkemann servtt under the Commission on Overseas Mission of the General Conference!! David was pastor of the Pleasant Hil Church in Saskatoon formerly.

8 JANUARY 4, 19711

}an conscientious objectors be citizens?

,7iUiam Janzen

lany Mennonite Central Committee iorkers talk of the enriching experien- ! s that come to them as a by-product of j eir work. One such experience came to je recently in a conversation with ;iorbjorn Jensen, a Jehovah's Witness. I The occasion for the conversation was < three-hour trip to a law office. We 'anted to make arrangements to appeal 'ruling that the Citizenship Appeal inurt had made against Mr. and Mrs. Insen last April. They had applied for limadian citizenship. The judge had I scribed them as a good family, but he i d ruled that their stand as conscien- : pus objectors made them ineligible for i izenship.

"The Jensens had planned to take this

I ling to a higher court, but the costs of j ing so led them to decide against it. jpwever, since the ruling had serious i plications for Mennonites and lethren in Christ and other conscien- ces objectors, MCC (Canada) decided i the September meeting of the execu- te to assist the Jensens in making the ■peal.

The 120-mile trip from the Jensens' ■m near Belleville, Ontario, to the vyer's office in Toronto, allowed for Is pe leisurely exploration of the way w understood nonresistance, how we tljd come to it, and why we held to it.

jie said, "We believe that we belong to tabther kingdom and therefore we want

II be as neutral as we can in the conflicts rl ween the kingdoms of this world. mese earthly kingdoms will soon pass I ay. They will be overcome by Christ

i we want to work for him and not

!h carnal weapons." ilDoes your desire to be neutral in the iljiflicts between the kingdoms of this J rid mean that you do not believe in dnocracy or value the freedoms that it divides? Do you not have some con- cerns about communism?" I asked, pi We do value the freedoms of democ- la y," he said. "We treasure them very nHich. Without them we could not do our )m aching. But we would not go to war M democracy. If we had to live under niMimunism, we would try to do as we mJhow. We would obey the government iiwhatever ways we could. But our pnljalty would always be limited. God sti priority. And if they put us in prison rii illed us, we would try to accept that, H t

1 What about other forms of political

and social involvement? There are ways of supporting our society without going to war; indeed, sometimes I think that the best ways of working for the good of other people do not include going to war for them. What do you think about that?" I asked.

"Oh," he said, "we do support our society. We pay our taxes. We try to do our jobs as well as we can. We try to help the communities in which we live, in various ways. And if there was a war here and some soldiers or other people were injured near our homes, we would do all we could to help them. But if you are thinking of politics we do not go for it. We do not vote, nor do we run for political office. That just takes up time and leads us away from the primary task of preaching the gospel."

"Let me then ask you about our peace witness," I said. "Mennonites tend to believe that the position of not going to war leads to a general opposition to war. Therefore, when governments spend large amounts of money on the weapons of war, we believe that we should try to let them know that we are against it. We have not done much of this. But we try. What do you think about that?"

"Things like that are good," he an- swered. "I have nothing against them. They should be done. But their value is limited. In the temptations of Jesus, Satan offers the kingdoms of the world to him. Satan could make that offer because in a sense they belonged to him. To think that the right kind of political involvement will take them out of Satan's grasp and transform them into God's kingdom is mistaken. Politics at best is a game that people play for their own pleasure. At worst it is Satanic. What the government people do with our tax money is really up to them. We want to preach the gospel. We believe that we are the ones who preach the true gospel and we feel that our energies should be given to this."

As we neared our destination, he had some doubts about our endeavor. Earli- er, he had expressed gratitude for MCC's intention to help. Now he talked of "these strange lawyers."

"For them it is probably just a job; and it will cost money. Is it right to spend the money of your honest and hard-working people in this way? I can live without being a citizen," he said.

The two lawyers, one of Protestant

background and the other of Jewish faith, had long been interested and sensitive to the persecution of religious minorities. They had also done their homework. They pointed out that it was not certain that an appeal could be made. The law did not provide a right of appeal. But they were willing to make an attempt if we wanted them to. After considerable discussion, we said yes.

On the way home, Mr. Jensen talked more favorably. "Those lawyers were really good people," he said. "You could just feel their deep humanity. And I really want to thank you and your people for being so helpful in this matter."

The questions about the legal status of conscientious objectors that this case raises have not been settled at the time of this writing.

MVS restructures in Philadelphia

The support group for the Mennonite Voluntary Service unit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been expanded to include representatives of more Menno- nite agencies in the city.

Charles Neufeld, associate director of MVS, said the unit had formerly served under the direction of the Crossroads Community Center board. Most volun- teers have been assigned to the center.

The new structure, which took effect in September, brings together in the advisory committee for the unit repre- sentatives of the community center, the nearby Second Mennonite church, the Fairhill neighborhood, the MVS office, and possibly from the Germantown Mennonite Church and the Philadelphia Mennonite Council.

Mr. Neufeld said the broader support committee would allow for more flexi- bility in service involvement for the volunteers.

Philadelphia is one of more than twenty locations in the United States and Canada in which Mennonite Volun- tary Service has personnel. Mennonite Voluntary Service is an arm of the Commission on Home Ministries, an agency of the General Conference Men- nonite Church. Most volunteers serve a one- to two-year assignment in such areas as housing rehabilitation, day care, and community organization.

f\\l MENNONITE

Words ffl deeds

Mennonite church leaders representing Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, Sudan, and the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities, Salun- ga, Pennsylvania, met in Nairobi, Ken- ya, recently to lay plans for coordinat- ing the efforts of Mennonite churches in eastern Africa. Until this year, the Eastern Board's office in Nairobi had served a coordinating role. Now the churches themselves have taken action to have their own regional office. Bishop Zedekia Kisare, chairman of the com- mittee, said the office, in addition to assisting the churches in working together, will serve as a liaison with other Mennonite agencies throughout the world. The committee plans to meet twice a year. Projects currently under discussion are leadership training, mission outreach to Mozambique and Djibouti, and ways to strengthen a witness to Muslims.

The first humanitarian aid to Kampu- chea (Cambodia) by any U.S. private organization since the war ended in April 1975 has been sent by the Ameri- can Friends Service Committee. Over one ton of medicines, valued at $12,000, was sent to help alleviate a dangerous shortage of drugs to fight malaria. About 90 percent of the adult population is reported to be affected by the disease. The shipment was sent under a license issued by the U.S. Treasury Department last summer.

The Bethesda Mennonite Church (GC) and the Mennonite Brethren Church of Henderson, Nebraska, recently cooper- ated in a meat-canning project forrelief. The total project amounted to 58,581 pounds of beef: 14,840 cans of beef chunks and 4,620 cans of broth.

To encourage expression of public opinion on the peace issue, the National Council for a World Peace Tax Fund is launching a campaign to help taxpayers send messages to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service with their income tax returns and to elected officials. "We are urging people to express their individu- al views," said Delton Franz of Wash- ington, D.C., chairman of the council, "but we have also prepared cards addressed to IRS and elected officials for those who wish them." The cards are designed especially for conscientious objectors and carry the following mes- sage: "I oppose paying taxes for war.

Give me a legal alternative. Support the World Peace Tax Fund bill. It would allow conscientious objectors to have that portion of their taxes which would normally go for military purposes used instead for peace projects." Packets containing five income tax cards can be obtained from the National Council for a World Peace Tax Fund, 2111 Florida Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008. Contributions may be sent to cover the cost of printing: 25 cents per set, ten sets for $1.00, $9.50 per hundred, $85 per thousand.

A cooperative effort of the Canadian International Development Agency, the government of Saskatchewan, Menno- nite Central Committee, and the govern- ment of Swaziland is providing a grant of $40,650 to the Swaziland Ministry of Education's Schools Agriculture Panel. The money is being used to buy a truck to transport building and curriculum materials to primary and secondary schools, to prepare agriculture curricu- lum materials, and to support an MCC volunteer working on development of curriculum and audiovisual materials.

An effort to help people on Haiti's central plateau develop their communi- ties has begun with cooperation from Mennonite Central Committee, the Mis- sionary Church, its associated national church, and the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. The communi- ty development effort emphasizes an integrated program of agriculture, ap- propriate technology, preventive medi- cine, and nutrition. Haiti's central plateau was chosen because of its less mountainous, large fertile land area and the limited amount of community devel- opment already in progress there. It is near Grande Riviere du Nord, where MCC has operated a program since 1959.

Recent visitors-in-residence at Asso- ciated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Indiana, have included Esther Lloyd-Jones, educator and writer from Columbia University; Howard Hersh- berger, Hesston, Kansas, businessman; and Milo Shantz, St. Jacobs, Ontario, businessman.

The 1977 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, to be observed January 18-25, will focus on the theme of hope in Romans 5:1-5.

Sculpture for Advent

The Rainbow Boulevard Mennoni Church in Kansas City, Kansas, one] three congregations comprising a Shaj ing Community in Rosedale, used metal sculpture by Arlie Regier (si above] as one of several visual foe) points during its Advent worship ser ces in December. The advent celebrati piece, weighing eighty-five pounds ai| standing five feet tall, was created l| Mr. Regier to involve the congregatkj in the expectation of the peace and joy Christmas. Untitled, the work is co structed of brass, copper, stainle steel, and chrome, which reflect the Jig of twenty tapers and candles. Placed the midst of the congregation, rathl than at the front of the sanctuary, tf sculpture reminded the worshipers th they are involved and participating the Advent services instead of beilj spectators. Members of the congreg tion could see each other mirrored in t two mobile chrome disks that are part the sculpture. The church also usi banners and bulletin covers created I the members of the congregation durii Advent.

10

JANUARY 4, 19)fi

J

f\ family affair in Indonesia

ie following interpretive article was n-itten by Dan Nickel, Mennonite Aethren missionary in Indonesia work- Ig with the Muria Christian Church in Jdonesia, which is a member of Menno- B e World Conference.

Ihy is the family so strong in Indone- li? One reason is that the churches (induct Pekan Keluarga, or "Family Jnphasis Week," each year, usually in fptember. The Muria (Mennonite) I nod has urged this on its local l urches as well.

•One church in Jakarta conducted its Ipetings in the homes, a different one ||:h evening. Beginning with husband- I fe relationships, they moved to par- ts' responsibilities toward their chil- m, children toward parents, and nily responsibility to the church and nmunity. In all sessions the whole lurch family" was together in one ice. The small membership and the loor-outdoor style of living in Jakarta ide this possible. On Saturday eve- lg the Pekan Keluarga culminated in a rathon sharing session including ich praise and prayer. \nother church in Jakarta arranged | a picnic as part of its Pekan lluarga. Half the fun is getting there, i people, young and older, piled into

lursery school

teen 4-year-olds in Freeman, South kota, are attending a nursery school med last September by Freeman nor College.

"he school provides a laboratory ining center for college students •oiled in the early childhood curricu- i and also provides a service to the cs rounding communities, according to i! san Yoder Graber, director of the li ly childhood education careers pro- el m at the college.

il forking as staff at the school are the , 3 college students who will complete il ir training in the early childhood nj ication program this spring. In addi- bi i to their experiences at the nursery ri ool, they will receive practical expe- in ice at the Markham Day Care Center, oi rkham, Illinois, and at the United i / Care Centers, Sioux Falls, South a cota.

m it the Freeman nursery school, chil- i n meet at the Bethany Mennonite

!

cFamilyf

^ocus

the backs of camper-style trucks and took off for the mountains. A few private cars were used as well.

Reaching the summit after following the switchback road through a moun- tainside of tea gardens, the caravan descended to the picnic site near a semiactive volcano. The truck driver in the lead tested his brakes on the first curve and found them insufficient to control. As he gained more speed, he apparently decided to ditch. Nosing into a high bank, the truck turned on its side and slid to a dusty halt on the gravel shoulder.

One girl received deep cuts to her left

Church from 9:00 to 11:15 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The day begins with group time, when the theme of the day is introduced and discussed. A story or music may be part of group time. A midmorning lunch may introduce the children to new foods. During the free play which follows, children may choose such activities as paints, clay, a workbench, unit blocks, a housekeeping area, tunnel, balance beam, and toys requiring small muscle manipulation. When weather permits, outdoor play follows.

One of the most important functions of nursery school is to help children deal with problems, said Petrea Preheim, director of the nursery school.

The nursery school staff tries to help children solve problems, but does not solve problems for them, she explained. When children are frustrated or angry, the staff tries to get them to express what they're feeling and what they

arm as the canvas wall tore to shreds in the skidding. The driver suffered sim- ilar cuts to his right arm. Other injuries were more superficial.

The whole church family stuck to- gether, getting the injured to a nearby public health center. The center was not busy, and while people were getting treatment, continuous prayer and praise were offered in smaller and larger groups. Twos and threes went to the bedsides to encourage the injured with their presence and prayer.

Lunchtime rolled around. The picnic site was only a five-minute drive away, but nobody suggested going there, not until the health of the injured people was known.

Instead, a buffet was set up in the lobby of the public health center, and the church family proceeded to eat potluck to the background of continued expressions of concern. As the injured emerged one by one, they joined us at the buffet, and our appetites picked up.

The picnic was held later. There on the grassy slopes near a big tree, the church family sat to hear yet another lecture in the Pekan Keluarga. The discussion which followed was filled with suggestions of what it means to practice body life in the church, the family of God.

want. And they try to make the children understand they can't always have what they want.

"You have to be firm with the chil- dren," said Ms. Preheim, "but you must let them know that you care about them. They can sense any phoniness."

Attendance at nursery school also provides an opportunity to discover any learning disabilities the child may have.

Goals for the nursery school children include their development of a good self- image, a wholesome attitude toward their bodies, a good start toward reach- ing their potential, and a positive attitude toward teachers, school, and learning.

The FJC nursery school is governed by a seven-member board. Four of the members have children in the school, and three do not. The board is advisory to the Freeman Junior College Board. Erwin C. Goering, Freeman Junior Col- lege

serves Freeman youngsters

i,

z MENNONITE 11

Record

Workers

Curtis Berkey has been appointed to a one-year assignment as consultant for native American affairs in the United States to MCC U.S. Ministries. He is a 1974 graduate of Eastern Mennonite College and has served as an MCC volunteer at the Institute for the Devel- opment of Indian Law (IDIL) in Wash- ington, D.C. His assignment will be part time in addition to his studies at Catholic University Law School, Wash- ington, D.C.

William E. Dunn, executive vice- president of Mennonite Hospital, Bloomington, 111., has been elected to the Illinois Hospital Association board of trustees. He is serving as chairman of the board of the Mennonite School of Nursing and is a member of the board and past chairman of the Bloomington Normal School of Radiologic Technolo- gy-

Maries Preheim, Goshen, Ind., has been appointed associate professor of music at Bethel College beginning in the fall. He will be coordinator of the music education program, codirector with Walter Jost of the college's choral groups, and private voice instructor. Mr. Preheim taught at Dakota State College, Madison, S.D., in 1972-75 and then joined the Goshen (Ind.) College faculty in choral music.

Vorn Ratzlaff, Winnipeg, has been appointed executive director of MCC (Manitoba) effective in spring after the end of the college school year. He is replacing Arthur Driedger, who has held the position for 6V2 years. Mr. Ratzlaff has been instructor of philoso- phy and church history at Mennonite Brethren Bible College, Winnipeg, for the past eleven years.

Fremont Regier has been appointed director of agricultural education at Bethel College beginning in the fall. In addition lo teaching courses in Bethel's associate in ai ls program in agriculture and business, Mr. Regier will serve as the liaison in cooperative efforts with Hesslon College in agriculture and coordinate a join! Kansas Stale University-Bethel agricultural pro- gram. Mr. Regier has served in (he Rural Christian Development program in Zaire since 1965, returning to Ihe LIniled Stales in 1976.

Berkey Preheim

David H. Suderman of North Newton, Kans., will beginjan. lasstaff personin higher education for the General Con- ference. Mr. Suderman will join the Commission on Education staff in Newton, Kans., half time to strengthen relationships between local congrega- tions and church colleges. He will also help congregations understand what happens to young persons who go away to college. Mr. Suderman, a native of Hillsboro, Kans., graduated from Bethel College, North Newton, and received graduate degrees from George Peabody College for Teachers in the field of music. He taught at Bethel College from 1936 until his retirement this past June. During that time he served as chairman of the Humanities Division and later as chairman of the Fine Arts Division. He taught choral music, voice, music edu- cation, and music history.

Published

A bibliography of Mennonite history books is available free of charge through Faith and Life Press, Box 347, Newton, Kans. 67114. The annotated biblio- graphy, compiled by Cornelius J. Dyck of Elkhart, Indiana, lists forty-six book suggestions for church libraries, con- gregational leaders, and church school teachers. The preparation of Ihe biblio- graphy was a project of the heritage committee of the General Conference Mennonite Church.

Th(J good nens Bi bio, the Bible in Today's English Version, has been released by the American Bible Society. II is Ihe first translation of the Bible in the English language to be produced by the society. The new Bible is expected lo break previous records with the first press order totaling 1.2 million copies,

Ratzlaff Suderman

Calendar

Feb. 4-9 — Council of Commission! Newton, Kans.

Feb. 25-26— Conference of Meniv nites in Saskatchewan annual sessionf Hague; speaker, Helmut Harder

Apr. 14-17, 1977— Central Distrii Conference annual sessions, Calvaf Church, Washington, 111.

May 4-6, 1977— Mennonite Medi Council annual convention, St. Pa) School of Theology, Kansas City, Mo|

July 28-Aug. 3, 1977— General Cofl ference triennial sessions, Bluffto* Ohio

Central

[an. 16-20 — Bible conference, Ro\ noke Church, Eureka, 111.; speaker. Ii Erland Waltner, Gerald Studer, Jol Drescher

Northern

Jan. 16-20 — Interterm study on I Book of John, Bethesda Church, Hendel son, Nebr.; speaker, Bertha Harder Western

Feb. 5 — Bluffton College alumni reu} ion, Camp Hawk, Newton, Kans.

Feb. 6-8— Bible lectures, Bethel Crt lege, North Newton, Kans.; speaki) Kalyan Dey

Help wantcv

Openings between January and September 19

Twenty child-care workers; fifteen housj r rehabilitation workers; fifteen community Sj \ vice workers; two apartment house manage two lawyers; three medical workers. Plan ahe It's not too early to apply. Contact:

Mennonite Voluntary Service

Box 347, Newton, Kansas 67114

(316) 283-5100

12 JANUARY 4, 19

■a

etters

irticle with answers

par Editor: Thanks for "My reflections | out stepchildren" (November 30, B76, issue).

i II appreciated it because it was an jticle with answers (as opposed to jeginning to face the issue" or "work- 3 toward a solution"). I felt the swers were ones that the author had jnd from her relationship with God i d that they were biblical. This is the kind of article that I look i'h one with concrete biblical guidance liative to life situations and relation- Jliips with man and God. Again, thanks. I ill M. Zoschke, Box 1, War road, Minn. "1 763 Dec. 3

tease-fire for liberators

fljiar Editor: I was among those who Agonized" about the family at Wichita if ovember 30, 1976, issue). The lectures w Letha Scanzoni left me somewhat '■raid. It seemed that she was encourag- tm husbands and wives to be mainly iincerned with their own fulfillment. Imere were strong "liberation" over- 1 ties.

wrlow can I be reprogrammed from the !«)! school of gentleness toward those djman beings which God made so [Hautiful and attractive — to me at least? v\ dear brother, perhaps having for- Itten that we should treat everyone '4 pally, opened the door for one of the Inale participants. His gentle gesture lis not accepted. I was not able to catch I r remarks sufficiently to repeat them ™w. I thought, Be careful to learn — here 1 Wichita, at least — as quickly as (J ssible. You have to adapt in order not ilflhurt others by similar behavior. ■Next day I was in real trouble. A \ >man was sitting next to me. Her name jinded so familiar. Should I ask piiether she was the wife of someone I few of? She might be offended by the -i-iumption to be someone's wife and In a truly liberated, self-fulfilled Ms. iiirhaps phrasing my question some- )| uat differently would help.

31 Is in perhaps your

"fsband?" Well, he may also be a Unrated person in her view. ■How in the world can I find out? I Vjuld like him to know in a personal I y that I have learned to appreciate

him through his work. I may not have this chance again, if she is indeed his wife.

"Are you perhaps somehow connected

with in ?" That shouldn't

hurt anyone.

"Yes." That was all. I was lost again.

"Why do you ask?" Hurrah! I made it!

"Well, I have read his articles in different papers. I really appreciate his work and ideas. He is doing an impor- tant job."

Reaction: "I will let him know." With that, the conversation came to an end.

I don't think I had a chance to relate my feelings in a meaningful and person- al way. Too bad. I didn't want to hurt, but the price I had to pay seemed very high to me. Is this what I have to sacrifice for the sake of liberation? It may sound overdone, but it was an agonizing experience.

Mel Schmidt's sermon on Matthew 14:22-23, entitled "What made you lose your nerve like that?" reminded me again that faith really means walking on the water. This is the challenge to all of us. Is it necessary to employ the coercive means that secular society is using in order to deal with continuous adjust- ments taking place in the church? Could we not expect these changes to come about by Bible study, prayer, and sensitivity to the leadership of the Holy Spirit?

With this in mind, I propose to all "liberation martyrs" a cease-fire in favor of the preservation and streng- thening our families are so much in need of. I am looking forward to our triennial meeting in 1977, focusing on the unify- ing aspects of the family. Erwin Cor- nelsen, 107 East 58 Ave., Vancouver, B.C. V5X 1V7 Nov. 19

Christmas in retrospect

Frieda Schrocder

The Christmas tree stands bare,

Robbed of its glistening tinsel

And its angel hair.

Cupped in my hands is a shiny ball

So fragile and so light that, did it fall,

Its loveliness would shatter at my feet.

I gaze at it in fascinated wonder

And see reflected there the children's faces,

Their eyes more beautiful than stars

And all the shining things that hang upon the tree,

Their faces fragile like the lovely ball,

So beautiful to see, so quickly shattered

By trembling hands that let it fall.

Slowly and carefully I put away

The shining object of my thoughts,

Wrapped in layers of tissue paper

And left snugly in a box.

How can I wrap those lives

In cotton wool and keep them safe,

Keep them from breaking in the falls of life?

If I could wrap them in my love To cushion all the blows,

Secure it with my prayers, would they be safe? Yes, I will put my love around them, Tied up and knotted with my prayers. Then, like the ornaments snug in their boxes, I'll put them in God's care And leave them there.

iTj E MENNONITE 13

Thaddeus Horgan

An unusual stone engraving can be seen on the Rockefeller Center building in New York. The center is located at Fiftieth and Fifth, one of the busiest corners in the world. The ancient mythological gods of arts, crafts, and industry are all there on the walls. Atlas, muscles taut with strength and pain, bears a groaning expression as he carries the world on his shoulders.

Just around the corner is the unusual engraving. It stands out in its own peculiar way because it appears so tiny in this mammoth canyon of stone giants. Unlike the other engravings or the atmosphere, it depicts a man at rest, basking in his leisure and his peace.

There in the midst of technology's and wealth's massive monument — that is really what Rockefeller Center is — is an image of the poor, simple, uncomplicat- ed saint, Francis of Assisi. He sits above a busy doorway on a usually noise-filled street. He looks peaceful and undis- turbed. In an arc that forms the outline of the engraving are birds in flight, but in flight toward him. Now that is unusual in New York.

At first, the engraving seems out of place, or at least one might think it was some sort of countercultural declara- tion. Who put it there? And why? I do not know. Perhaps someone just liked Francis of Assisi and gave him a place there. Maybe the designer realized this saint, despite the image and legend, was as enterprising as any of the people who fill Rockefeller Center's halls, offices, stores, or malls. Despite Francis's popu- lar and apparently contradictory image (who would expect this gentle saint to be in Rockefeller Center?) I Ihink he belongs up there on the walls. Among the mythological gods of human achievement, he is the only realistic

14

JANUARY 4, 19?

j

oresentative of a truly human person. Francis of Assisi knew himself. He ew what life was all about. He related ?11 with people. He was at peace with )d. He was in harmony with nature. : was completely human and allowed -nself to experience kindness, love, d security. He dared to share these th others. He was enterprising and urageous despite adverse circumstan- s. He remained joyous! He had trials, jch pain, bad health, many disap- intments, particularly with the urch establishment and his first mpanions. We tend to forget that. Actually Francis was a blend of the my ingredients of life that we all perience. Because he was not crippled living as he pursued life, he is mewhat of a hero. He definitely longs in Rockefeller Center. He is a mbol of something we all need day— hope.

Francis was an outstanding Chris- ;n. That is why there is so much legend ncerning him. He became what all iristians can become. And he did it so :11 that we have romanticized him ;ht out of reality. That is unfortunate, is like setting out on a trip and ciding that we will not arrive at our stination. To achieve any sense of f-fulfillment in our lives, both as lividuals and as the people of God, we ristians must arrive finally some- lere.

Dur age has tried to convince Chris- ns to substitute things for the real pe we should have within. Christian th teaches that in Christ we have a w relationship with God. The gospel Is us how to express this relationship daily life. And God has given us his irit so we can turn to him constantly, )ecially when we fail, and continue to press our relationship with him by dng one another. We are truly the nily of God. It is so simple when scribed in words.

.ike Francis, we can become distract- and seek our destiny where it can not b found. Commercials today promise ijj all sorts of messianic blessings and tiji lead us off course. Somehow it takes ■ time to realize that life is not fulfilled hi getting a big car. Like Francis, too, we | y sometimes be on the right course, It find ourselves using the wrong

I ans. When he was first inspired to

II new the church," Francis went into ij! brick and mortar business, restoring tilnbledown buildings. Later he learned lit renewal meant doing the gospel | th and for others. He fumbled a bit in fj i practice, but he was sure of one

thing: his relationship with God was that of a son to a father because of Christ. He could always turn to God. He could always start anew. That was the basis of his hope, the source of his energy, and the ultimate reason for his persistent joy.

We Christians can also have that joyous hope. We may find that difficult to believe because as Christians we are disunited. We are not exactly a model of hope for an agnostic or unbelieving world when we say theoretically that we are all Christians but then squabble because we are not one in fact. We can be one, though. Faced with our divisions, unity can still be our hope. We do not seek to be uniform, only at-one. In essence Christianity has to do with relationships: with God, with people, with creation. No one relationship is exactly the same as another, even within one family: wife and husband, child and child, brother and brother, sister and sister, and so on. A common bond of identity and a variety of love- expressions exist nonetheless among distinct individuals.

God tells us through Scripture and the preaching of the church that he wants to be "at one" with all his creatures. In Christ he has brought about at-one- ment. He has entrusted his Word and sacraments to the church to help us grow in unity. We can be one as God's people. It is our hope, a hope that is gradually being fulfilled. We have many human obstacles to overcome, not the least of which is mistrust, the destroyer of God and divider of his people. Our hope has no reason to fail us, however, if we are intent on doing God's will.

Our efforts make our hope credible: prayer, common social concern, doctrin- al discussions, sharing, and many other opportunities. This is what is so important — our hope can be a sign to all if we make it credible in practice. Another opportunity is at hand — the Worldwide Week of Prayer.

If we choose not to be involved, we can be like the stone at Rockefeller Center on which the image of Francis is engraved. Millions pass it daily without seeing it.

On the other hand, if we do choose to be involved, we will have to deroman- ticize the images many people have about Christians. They then will see our hope as their hope. Once people notice the engraving of Francis and become aware of the facts about life, then every time they pass by they will see the real message there — not one about arts or crafts or industry, but one about life.

Contents

Living a new story 2

Men from the East 4

News 6

Record 12

Letters 13

Christmas in retrospect 13

New hope from old images 14

The many meanings of church growth 16

CONTRIBUTORS

Ralph R. Sundquist, Jr., a United Presby- terian minister, is a writer, consultant, and teacher. He lives in Hartford, Conn.

Maynard Shelly, 624 Westchester Lane, Newton, Kans. 67114, is a free- lance writer.

William Janzen is director of MCC (Canada)'s Ottawa office, Ottawa, Ont.

Elfrieda Schroeder, Box 195, Kikwit par Kinshasa, Zaire, is a missionary in Zaire.

Thaddeus Horgan is a member of the General Council of the Atonement Friars, New York City.

Floyd G. Bartel, Box 347, Newton, Kans. 67114, is the secretary for congre- gational mission of the Commission on Home Ministries.

CREDITS

Cover, Strix Pix, Newville, Pa. 17241; 2, Harold M. Lambert, 2801 West Chelten- ham Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19150; 5, 14, RNS; 7, Paul Quiring, MCC; 10, David Regier; "Living a new story" is copyrigh- ted by A.D. magazine, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, N.Y. 10027, and is used by permission.

The Mennonite

Editorial office: 600 Shaftesbury Boule- vard, Winnipeg, Canada R3P 0M4. Tele- phone: (204) 888-6781.

Business and subscription office: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, Kans. 67114. Telephone: (316) 283-5100.

Editor: Bernie Wiebe, 600 Shaftesbury, Winnipeg, Canada R3P 0M4. Associate editor: Lois Barrett, Box 347, Newton, Kans. 67114. Editorial assistant: Susan Schumacher. Art director: John Hiebert. Business manager: Dietrich Rempel. Circulation secretary: Marilyn Kaufman. Special editions editors: Central District, Lloyd L. Ramseyer, 488 West Elm St., Bluffton, Ohio 45817; Pacific District, LaVernaeDick,588SouthWestMapleSt., Dallas, Ore. 97338; Western District, Elbert Koontz, Box 306, North Newton, Kans. 67117; Encompass, Mary Rempel, Box 347, Newton, Kans. 67114; and Window to Mission, Jeannie Zehr, 4226 Maplecrest Road, Fort Wayne, Ind. 46805.

31 E MENNONITE 15

The many meanings of church growth

Floyd G. Bartel

The term "church growth" has taken on special meaning in recent years.

The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:6, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth." It is still God who gives church growth. Church growth begins with the Holy Spirit fulfilling the statement of Jesus "I will build my church" (Mt. 16:18).

Church growth has taken on special mean- ing as a study discipline through the work of Donald A. McGavran, a former missionary in India. Mr. McGavran described his observa- tions of the overseas churches' growth or lack of growth as early as 1936. In the last twenty years, his studies have led to several books and the establishment of the School of World Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary. In 1972 it was decided to apply the research and study approach, first applied to overseas churches, to the churches in North America. Today the Fuller School of World Mission includes the Institute of American Church Growth.

Church growth thinking is also touching Mennonite churches. During the past several years, a number of Mennonite leaders have attended church growth seminars conducted by Donald McGavran and Win Arn.

A Consultation on Church Growth for Canadian churches was convened in Calgary during November of 1975. This was followed by the Bluffton Consultation on Church Growth in November 1976.

Lack of church growth in the General Conference was an agenda item at the General Board executive committee meeting held in December 1975.

The topic has become so popular recently at church conferences of various kinds that church growth seems to have become the new goal of the church. But is church growth our main goal? Our goal as a church is as it has always been — given to us by the Lord Jesus in the Great Commission. He did not say, "You shall grow." He said, "You shall be my witnesses," and "Go . . . make disciples." To ask questions about church growth means asking questions about our faithfulness to the Great Commission at home.

One meaning church growth has for many is growth in numbers. Others emphasize quality

of commitment rather than numbers. Ralph Winter suggests that to set qualitative growth over against quantitative growth is to pose a false issue. Jesus emphasized both. He worked with a small band of disciples and also ministered to the multitude.

Church growth has many dimensions. Where the Holy Spirit is evident in the life of the church, there is growth in teaching, in fellowship, in witness, in service, in prayer (see Acts 2:42), and other ways. Many aspects of growth cannot be measured. Yet there is also measurable growth in numbers where the church seeks to be faithful in its mission (see Acts 2:41, 44).

In my observations as a pastor, when a Mennonite congregation began to develop increasing interest in sharing the good news with its neighbors, there was a heightening of spiritual vitality which in turn was further enriched by the infusion of new believers into the fellowship.

Another meaning of church growth forsome of us is fear of losing our Mennonite identity. This includes such important features as non- resistance, committed discipleship, and a strong sense of peoplehood. Some of us wonder, "Will growth cause us simply to become more and more like other churches around us?"

We have been reminded often in recent years that our Anabaptist forebears emphasized the importance of discipleship. We are to be disciples. One purpose of our consultations has been to examine how church growth fits our heritage and our identity. We are rediscov- ering that the Anabaptists were also the reformers who reclaimed the Great Commis- sion for every member, that they not only emphasized being disciples, but making disci- ples, as the Great Commission says. That needs to be emphasized among us also!

We are seeing some new evidence in recent years that the testimony of a vital peoplehood reflecting the Spirit of Christ draws people to hear and believe the gospel in our day even as it did in the early church (Acts 2:47) and in the sixteenth-century Anabaptist movement. Our consultations on church growth are helping us to see that we have been given more to share than we had imagined!

The Mciiiioiiilc

OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO MAN LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST

f~S£:2 J ANUARY 11, 1977

iside this issue: ocus on TV— Why the fuss? Irom generation to generation

iblT

letween the lines

lfWiy die fuss?

Larry Keh.

Some critics have sardonically suggest- ed that television's most prominent feature is its power to sedate.

"Just because a lot of people look at it compulsively for hours on end, or at any rate like to have it on when they are around," says Malcolm Muggeridge, "does not necessarily prove that they are influenced by it other than superfi- cially."

The British wit goes on to explain that of the many people who have told him that they saw him "on the telly," no one has so far ever so much as mentioned, let alone quoted, anything he said.

So why the fuss? If TV puts people to sleep, is that not a blessing in an age in which insomnia is running wild and nervous tension is a constant worry?

A few critics argue that not only are we dozing off under television's relent- less and repetitious onward drone, we're actually being made zombies as a consequence. Now, that's a more serious charge, wouldn't you think? — one that we should not take lying down.

Jack Mabley, a Chicago tribune col- umnist, recently accused TV of being a bigger peril than the atomic bomb. He approvingly quoted a reader who made the following scathing analysis of television's addictive qualities:

"Televiewing, in my opinion, is the narcotic that will one day have all of us zombies in the fullest definition of the word. People have become so fascinated by the medium that they no longer know how to converse, how to think, how to behave in public, and, like all dope addicts, have lost allegiance to moral values on which this nation was built."

II that's the heart of the matter, I can hear some saying, the thing for Chris-

tian people to do is to swear off the tube permanently. Ban it from the home and from the lounges of our church schools — and that will be that.

Some families are following that route, but their number appears to be dwindling. Total abstinence is now rarely practiced.

Banning the television screen from our living and family rooms may not solve the problem. Children from TV- deprived homes seem to have sundry and ingenious ways of finding friends

who can provide them with seve( hours of illicit viewing every week.| few Hutterite colonies in Manitoba I discovering that even their we insulated communities are not capaf of protecting their young from l| electronic screen's allurements. Son| how their young men are finding ws of seeing "Hockey night in Canada" a! other favorite programs.

Television can thus be an issue ea for families without sets. The questii which TV-less families must ask the*

Does your television disrupt your meals, either by dictating when to eati by calling some family member to another room?

This newest of the mass media tends to be a stimulant toward violence, greed, and other undesirable behavior.

s| ves is, Should we ignore the medium Eiogether, washing our hands of its ejects because we don't have a set, or fbuld we provide at least some gui- cnce, knowing that our children will 1 ely get in some viewing sometime and s'neplace?

!t must be noted that not nearly all ■tics are agreed that television is r rely an anesthetic and no more. They Iiuld concur that the broadcast indus- I tends to shape most of its program- ing for a target audience that seems eivays to be below average in intelli- fice and sensitivity. Its content rarely rles above mediocrity. But these ob- s' vers would insist that far from being a lere sleep-inducer, this the newest of I; mass media tends to be a stimulant t'vard violence, greed, and other unde- sable behavior. They are deeply con- c ned, for example, about what the •n'dium is doing to children. (TV wlence and its effect on youngsters vill be highlighted in a later article in 'tis series.)

' Here is a quick survey of what a few of tj' critics are saying in the religious I :ss:

-Carol Miller [Christian heraJd, Oc- lier 10, 1976) listed ten questions ppple should ask themselves to see if ;I has gained the upper hand in their Hps. Among the queries she poses are 'tijse: "Does your television disrupt mir meals, either by dictating when to ; or by calling some family member to I'jther room? . . . Have you ever Rented an unexpected visit from a "];:nd because he interrupted your / wing? . . . Have you become tolerant ) language or vulgar behavior on the ; jhtronic screen that you once would ire considered shocking?"

-John Stapert, editor of the Church i aid (May 2, 1975) and a psychologist ||h marriage counseling experience, /vpte: "When it comes to impact on f lily life, I've often picked on the soap || ras, because I think they're really l mful. Every one of them is filled with iwpicion and intrigue. . . . Everyone )|tty much expects infidelity." jji A.D. magazine's "Platform" series, firry Skornia (March 1976) charged: "I that never before have human iligs been battered, confused, de- wed, and conditioned to violence and wd as by commercial television . . . day. In selling the 'goods' of the Alerican way, private economic pow- ■J leave frustration in the wake. Our mlaph may read: 'We didn't know it Ivj; loaded.' " He recommends that "Cfistians stop watching exploitative

programs and that they boycott the sponsors of such shows.

— "Television is not only an invader, it is a robber," writes Betty Lundberg (The Wesleyan advocate, April 3, 1972). "Christians who talk long and loud on the evils of drugs are hooked on TV. . . . Not only is the furniture grouped around the set, but lives and living are dependent on television."

— Deacon Anderson, an information specialist with a public utility company, takes a more philosophical view in Covenant companion (October 15, 1975): "It's not an easy thing for a body of believers born out of the 'readers' tradition — whose near-creed is 'Where is it written?' — to come to terms with television. ... It is particularly difficult to see television for what it really is because we usually see what we don't want to see on the newscasts, and the commercial content of TV runs the gamut from unwholesome to outright disgusting. TV is neither wholesome nor unwholesome. It is not radio-with- pictures. TV is to radio what a birthday cake is to a loaf of sliced white bread — some of the ingredients may be the same, but it's a different entity made from a different recipe for a different purpose."

To make our response to television even more difficult, those programs which we hold up as models often have deficiencies, too. When it comes to

wholesomeness, few programs would get a higher rating than "The Waltons." Yet Ralph Waite, a former United Church of Christ clergyman who plays the role of the father in this popular show, had this to say in an interview with Frederic A. Brussat [A.D. maga- zine, February 1974]:

"Sometimes I feel it is a modest and fairly honest show that promulgates simple virtues. Then I have days when I think it is really of dubious value — seducing people into thinking that the family and life in America should be as it is for the Waltons. It lulls people into believing that there aren't any real changes or crises going on in society. I wouldn't recommend that this show become a model to use in raising children. . . . My own growing up had much more pain, confusion, chaos, and much more of everything of life than the Walton family has. If a child grows up expecting to step into a world like the Waltons', that person is going to be very angry at us when thirty years old. There are so many things happening today that the Waltons just haven't come near."

So the reasons for fussing about TV are numerous. Some are obvious, others may be more difficult to see. A Meeting- house article

Next issue: Beauty and the beast (Vio- lence and the children)

I. EMENNONITE 19

The many generations of Mennonite farmers indicate that farm businesses have been successfully passed on with- in families. In fact, when parents could not pass on a farm to their children, it often became the major cause for migration to another country or to another area within the country.

A major desire of the pioneer Menno- nite farm family was to provide a farm for each child. Mennonites moved in almost a straight line across the United States and Canada, seeking cheaper land on the frontier of the West. They were usually also motivated by the desire to be part of a Mennonite commu- nity. Thus in strengthening their fami- lies, they also strengthened the Menno- nite church.

The Old Testament indicates some rather hard and fast rules about primo- geniture among Jewish families. This system provided for the eldest son to take over the family business. It also outlined the responsibilities to other members of the family. There was not much freedom of choice. If you were the eldest, this was your responsibility. It was expected and in most situations it was carried out.

Studies of Mennonite farm succession in America indicate that the youngest son most often took over the home place. Older sons usually hired out, often to

From generation

other farmers, to earn money and develop management skills prior to renting and finally purchasing their own farms. The youngest farmed with his father usually until the father retired. A traditional ladder to owning a farm business was hired hand, renter, owner.

Mennonites have engaged in business other than farming, mainly during the last generation. Farm succession has been thoroughly researched but pat- terns for other business succession are not yet established. Now is a good time for us to examine what is important for "succession."

Family succession of any business is possible only if the size of the operation is manageable by the family. If the parents are "real promoters" and devel- op a large business, the chances for the next generation's "taking over" are almost nil. When one aims to build a business as large as possible, the problems of succession are com- pounded.

A second area to consider is | training of those who are to take ovi the business. Today a great premium! placed on "freedom," often with accori panying frustrations. The heir mustfel an interest for the business and that 1 has a say in what goes on. He also need experience in the enterprise. Parens often want to give their children th which they never had, thus providing warped impression of how the businei world functions. Or another extreme! to require the children to work Ion hours at routine, boring tasks, thi killing any further interest in the open tion.

Perhaps the most important aspeo of business succession are the valuj and attitudes of the parents. If the ch| aim is "empire-building," it may wi "turn off" the children. It is said th| anyone can be a millionaire if he \ willing to pay the price. But how can ti children cope with a large operation Tax problems and necessary operatii funds can discourage many buddi! businesspeople. After seeing the "priq paid by parents to build an "empirii many children decide that it costs tj much.

What happens to our family life whi we give our "all" to make the businej go? How can we keep the business? "servant" and not "master" of our live!

Howard D. Raid When is a business to the point where wecan a!so"live"as a family andasmembe

of the church and community?

jany Mennonites are first-generation j sinesspeople who have worked hard imake it survive, let alone grow. Can \< sense when a business is on solid bund? Must the business continue to bw for survival or is it necessary only i' our egos? When is a business to the int where we can also "live" as a nily and as members of the church Id community? When is the point in r operation where we say: "I will not en another branch or buy a larger jichine, but I will give more time to my lurch and family"? Or when do we say: I will use that money for this or that lurch project"? Our churches and iinmunities greatly need the skills and jilities that are so useful in developing pusiness.

vlost of our activities are determined our ideas, attitudes, and values. Is r business a "way of life" that fits into 3 total life of the church and communi- ■ Agriculture once supported and stained the church. Farmers usually ed in a compact geographical area )und the church. They did not have i many contacts with people who held ferent values. There were no trade sociations or labor unions demanding kalty . All of the economic, social, and igious life centered around the church Timunity.

Today's businesses all involve many

to

feneration

organizations. What does this do to time, loyalty, and money for the church? In meetings of Mennonites, one usually knows what to expect and how to address the issues. Among non- Mennonites, one often needs to learn first how they operate.

If the business tends to destroy church and community life, one is probably engaged in "empire building." Business succession makes sense only if one is committed to working diligently at also building the family, the commu- nity, and the Christian church.

We should begin early to share the ownership of our businesses with the interested child(ren). By transferring early, we enable them to live in the community and take an active part. They will acquire the necessary skills while we are around to give counsel. Retirement will mean more for us and we will have time, energy, and skills for some kind of voluntary service. The federal tax laws encourage this early giving to our children. And the financial

burden is lighter when transfer takes place over a longer period.

Division of estates needs to be planned in fairness to all the children. This is essential if we wish to practice business succession and build the church community. Those children who are interested in the family business have a built-in opportunity to learn a trade and to learn how to work for a living. But the ones who will never share in the family enterprise should be assisted with an education to gain a marketable skill — a trade or a profes- sion. Then they, too, will be enabled to earn a living. To try and give each child an equal share of the operation is never fair to those taking over. They may have to liquidate the business to pay over the money. The family then loses the business, and the ones who were to take over may end up on an assembly line. The church community also loses be- cause the business may well go to nonsupporting owners. It is much better to help each child learn how to make a living.

Christian businesspeople are inter- ested in more than "building an empire." They want to see their generation pass on a good heritage to the coming generation. Their business is regarded as a "servant" to strengthen the family and the church.

hst the business continue to grow for survival or is it necessary only for our egos?

H MENNONITE seeks to witness, teach, motivate, and build the Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit It is t>'j shed weekly except biweekly during July and August and the last two weeks in December at Newton. Kans 671 1 4, by the General Board ot the General Conference Mennonite Church Second- M postage paid at Newton. Kans 671 1 4. and at additional mailing offices Subscriptions: in U.S. and Canada, $8 00. one year; $1 5 50. two years, $23 00, three years, foreign, $8 50 per year El irial office: 600 Shaftesbury Boulevard. Winnipeg, Canada R3P0M4 Business office 722 Main St . Box 34 7. Newton, Kans 671 1 4 Postmaster Send Form 3579 to Box 347. Newton. Kans. 671 14

E MENNONITE 21

Harry E. Martens

"I will make my will when I get around to it." That statement will probably ring in my ears for the rest of my life. I heard it repeatedly during my last seven years as an estate planning consultant.

We don't have authentic statistics on how many Mennonite couples or single persons have written their wills. My observation over the years is that we are around the national average of less than 50 percent. This counts only those who by all standards should have a will.

We are called to be good stewards of what God has given us. That includes making proper and thoughtful provision of our material possessions now for the time when we die. In Canada and the United States, this privilege is still available to us.

Many people have never thought about wills. Several times I've had the experience that people started to shed tears when I spoke to them about the need for a will and the opportunity to designate a percentage of the estate to the Lord's work. When I tried to apolo- gize for offending them, the invariable reply was, "No, no, I am ashamed that we never gave any thought to the opportunity for saying thank-you to God for all he has given us. We are Christians and I cannot help but feel that Christ must be ashamed of us."

A single woman died recently at age seventy. She never wrote a will because "she had nothing." It is another common statement made by both those who have

little and those who have much. This woman had comparatively little. After all expenses, including administrative fees, attorney fees, and taxes (higher in this case because there was no will) were paid, the residue was $1,500. Because there were no close relatives, the state distributed this to over 100 heirs. The largest bequest was slightly over $16 and the smallest was 42 cents.

A brief will written, signed, wit- nessed, dated, and residue after ex- penses designated for church causes could have extended this woman's witness beyond her death to help needy people see a new light of hope through Jesus Christ. If she had designated her estate to MCC for houses in Bangladesh, her seemingly small possessions would have paid for the building of six houses for refugee families returning from India.

With this article, we are giving you a round TUIT. You can never again say that you have never heard about making a will. And we are trying to help you get around to it.

An important and last testimony to the great love of Jesus Christ lor each of us can be written into our"last will and testament." It is a witness of our belief to members of the family, fellow believ- ers, and others who may learn about it.

God expects of each Christian to have a program of systematic and propor- tionate giving, both of our annual income and of our accumulated posses-

sions. The big test and the most impi; tant reason for having a will is to tas this opportunity and say thank-youfl God for what he has given me a| permitted me to use in my life. You anj| do this by designating a percentage I the Lord's work so that his love, t| gospel, can be "for all people" — throuji evangelism, Christian service, edul tion, and witness. Never underestim# what even a little can do, if God is w| it.

To those who have already writtj their wills, I urge you to review the Tremendous changes have taken plel in the last ten to twenty years. We keji up to date on furniture, clothing, officu milking parlors, machinery, landsca ing, appliances, and cars. But maj neglect to see that their wills are upj date. Too often, we say that can wait \\ we get a round tuit.

When you review your will or wh| you write one for the first time, here ill sentence you might include: "As | expression of my gratitude for i Christian faith and as evidence of nj faith in the future of the church of Jeaj

Christ, I designate percent of I

estate to . (chuBl

causes or charities of your choice). II

"Then there were motive, purport and desire, these three; but the m<j| problematic is desire." May I suggiij that you decide today to get "aroundl it." Do it in the interest of your lama and for the work of the church.

22 JANUARY 11, ll

Vews

aith and Life Bookstore pens on West Coast

lother Faith and Life Bookstore was to ■en January 3 in Fresno, California. The bookstore is the only one west of e Rockies operated by the Department ii Faith and Life Press, General Confer- |ce Mennonite Church. It is intended to :'rve Mennonites along the Pacific I bast.

Dick Rempel of Newton, Kansas, staff ;irson for the Department of Faith and jfe Press, said the bookstore is being

arted in response to a need felt among

number of churches in the Pacific

strict Conference.

Manager of the bookstore is Ramon H. ntz of Fresno, who has been operating business called Educational Ideas at le same location.

The new store is located at 1835 East likota, Fresno, California 93726.

Other Faith and Life Bookstores are in hwton, Kansas, and Berne, Indiana, lie department also operates the Fel- l|'/vship Bookcenter in Winnipeg, Man- ila, jointly with the Mennonite lethren Church.

- aire returns schools 1 church administration

P e Zaire Government will return to the clurches and other private organiza- t'ns the schools it took over nearly two ||ars ago.

included in the decree of December 30, 74, which provided for the nationali- tion of nonstate schools, had been the nning of religion classes during Tool hours. These are to be allowed ain under the order revoking the 1974

1 c cree.

]A circular sent out by Anglican ' I shop Yungu, president of the Episco- ' ]]1 Conference of Zaire, to dioceses and S'i'igious orders asking them to resume

I hponsibility for the schools they had I'lfsviously run, specifies that clergy or Members of religious orders should not Ijfflcessarily be appointed as heads of the naiools. They should, however, be

i ponsible for the management of the fjsfiools and for the appointment of irsonnel.

!: I The issue of church control of schools mi been discussed between the com- missioner of state for political affairs, K'. Engulu, and Bishop Yungu, accord-

ing to an EPS news release.

After the 1974 decree, Mennonite schools as well had been turned over to the government, and responsibility for religious education was transferred to Sunday schools. The changeover had also meant that teachers were no longer employees of the church and obligated to attend or to tithe and that Bible school graduates, for example, could not be employed as Bible teachers in the schools.

Mennonites among those asking for government files

The MCC Peace Section (U.S.) is one of several church groups which is attempt- ing to obtain its files for U.S. intelli- gence agencies, particularly the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

At its November meeting the Peace Section (U.S.) asked its staff to seek to obtain information that government agencies have on file about it and seek to have MCC as a whole join with the Peace Section in this request.

National Catholic News Service has reported that at least eight church groups have launched Freedom of Infor- mation Act suits to obtain their files.

Some of the groups, such as the U.S. Jesuit Conference and the American Friends Service Committee have made several requests for their files because, they said, information was withheld from them after their first requests.

Dan Sheehan, counsel to the Jesuit Conference, said material in the intelli- gence agency files focuses primarily on churches which have been active in social justice causes such as support for civil rights and opposition to the Viet- nam War.

Harold Regier, General Conference Mennonite secretary for peace and social concerns, said he is requesting files which U.S. intelligence agencies might have on Mennonite activities in Gulfport, Mississippi, where Menno- nites were active in the civil rights movement. Mr. Regier was formerly a pastor there.

Among the church groups which National Catholic News Service said have sought their files are the United Church of Christ, the Zion Methodist Church, the Church of Scientology, the Mosque of Islam, and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

Overseas administrators' group will include MCC

Council of International Ministries (CIM) is the name of a new consultative body established by MCC administra- tors and Mennonite and Brethren in Christ mission board secretaries De- cember 7-8 in La Grange Park, Illinois.

The new council represents the addi- tion of MCC to the former Council of Mission Board Secretaries (COMBS), which has been meeting since 1958. In recent years COMBS had met jointly with MCC representatives at nearly all its semiannual sessions.

"It became increasingly clear that the agenda reflected a growing common interest in many overseas areas where Brethren in Christ and Mennonite missionaries and MCC personnel work side by side," said James Bertsche, administrator for Africa Inter- Mennonite Mission.

The council also devoted a major block of time to leadership training overseas. Resource people were Hugo Zorrilla, dean of the Latin American Biblical Seminary, San Jose, Costa Rica, and Jonathan Chao, dean-designate of the China Graduate School of Theology, Hong Kong.

Among their concerns were the fol- lowing:

— a theology developed in the West and taught as normative in other parts of the world.

— a curriculum fashioned in the West and transferred overseas.

— teaching materials that are, by and large, direct translations of manuals written for use in the West.

— a heavy contingent of teaching staff whose training is western-oriented and who do not understand the need around them.

— the assumption that a full-time paid clergy is needed or even possible in other areas of the world.

"The theological content and mate- rials have not changed, even though there are sociopolitical factors that influence our ministry, even if we do not want them to," said Mr. Zorrilla.

The council will discuss leadership training further at its next meeting May 17-18 in Hillsboro, Kansas, and will draw up guidelines for evaluation of leadership training efforts overseas by its member groups.

E MENNONITE

23

7

South Americans plan conference

The South American Conference of the General Conference Mennonite Church will hold its triennial meeting February 10-13 in Witmarsum, Brazil.

Main speaker will be Samuel Gerber on the general theme "Geuebte Sinne durch Wachstum" (Heb. 5:13).

Special meetings for women and youth are planned during the confer- ence.

The conference will be preceded by a pastors' course in Curitiba, Brazil, on the subject of pastoral care, also led by Samuel Gerber.

The South American Conference has thirteen congregations, twelve of which are members of the General Conference. Total membership is about 4,000 in Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Canadian historians report establishing new archives

A Mennonite historical library is being established in British Columbia, George Groening of Chilliwack reported at the recent annual meeting of the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada held in Winnipeg.

The newly reorganized British Co- lumbia Mennonite Historical Society is also planning to work in the area of cultural expression and archives.

The Saskatchewan-Alberta society reported it is setting up an archives

facility at Rosthern Junior College.

Other reports concerned a film from Ontario, Frank Epp's research on a second volume of Mennonites in Cana- da, and future publication of a manual for writing congregational histories.

A major point of business was the decision to incorporate the national society. Provincial societies joining now will be British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan-Alberta. The matter re- mains under discussion in the Manitoba group.

Church growth meeting set in Ontario

United Mennonite churches in Ontario are planning a church growth seminar March 11-13 at the Bethany Mennonite Church, Virgil, Ontario.

The seminar will follow the pattern of earlier church growth consultations in Calgary, Alberta, and Bluffton, Ohio.

John Wimber of the Fuller Evangelis- tic Association, Pasadena, California, will speak on how existing churches grow and new churches are started. He was also a speaker at the Bluffton consultation in November.

Floyd Bartel, secretary for congrega- tional mission for the General Confer- ence Mennonite Church, Newton, Kan- sas, will speak on biblical perspectives on church growth.

About 160 people from the seventeen Ontario churches are expected to at- tend.

Brazilian women learn nutrition, sewing

"Need and interest in cooking-nutrition classes, basic sewing classes, and health classes have been great," report- ed MCC volunteer Pat Short who has been teaching courses in these three areas to the poorer classes in Viracao and Riacho Seco, two rural areas in northeast Brazil, as well as the town of Bonilo.

The cooking-nutrition class is a combination of book learning and prac- tical experience. The group discusses topics such as how the digestive process works, why water should be boiled and filtered, how to plan a balanced diet, and the importance of vegetables.

During the second part of the class the women work together to make a dish from each of the three basic food groups. "The recipes are kept basic, as cheap as possible and nutritious, using only what is available in the community," Ms. Shod said.

Women taking the course in the rural

areas pay about 15 cents to participate and those in Bonito pay 30 cents, according to Ms. Short. "This seems to put more value on the class and they have a part in paying for some of the food we use, MCC paying the remain- der."

In her sewing classes, Ms. Short works in tandem with Brazilian women who sew Brazilian style — without pat- terns. In Viracao, one of the rural areas, two young women have completely taken over teaching the sewing class.

As the classes progress the women learn to make buttonholes, insert zippers, do mending, and design pat- terns for and construct basic garments for babies, children, and themselves.

The women pay about 30 cents to take the course and MCC donates sewing kits for each of the women.

Women's health classes include mate- rial on family planning, childhood diseases, menstruation, and first aid.

Congregations may see Foundation Series in March

First-quarter materials for the net Foundation Series curriculum a| scheduled to be off the press in Marclj

"This will give congregations ampi time to examine and become famili; with the new curriculum prior to usfj September," said Paul Lederach, execij tive director of the cooperative project

The General Conference Mennonii Church, Mennonite Church, an Brethren in Christ Church are joint) publishing the curriculum for nursei through grade eight, with the Churchf the Brethren participating as a "coope. ating user."

From March through mid-May, trail] ing conferences are planned for peop in each district who will be curricului "communicators," who will be prepani to explain curriculum content, metho and ordering procedures to congreg tions. They will also be available counsel with teachers using the Found' tion Series next fall and to help any wf may have problems.

Most training conferences this spriil will be cooperative workshops with a1 four groups. Participants will be af pointed by district Christian educatk committees.

Training conferences are planned I South Bend, Indiana, March 4-5; Omi ha, Nebraska, March 4-5; Granthar Pennsylvania, March 11-12; Kidro" Ohio, March 18-19; Goessel, Kansa March 18-19; Souderton, Pennsylvania March 25-26; Dallas, Oregon, March2l 26; Upland, California, March 25-2 Harrisonburg, Virginia, March 2 5-2[ Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, April 1 New Holland, Pennsylvania, April 2 23; Roanoke, Virginia, April 29-30; ai Waterloo, Ontario, May 13-14.

Conference minister require

The CMM invites applications or inquiries the position of a conference minister, commence as soon as possible. The applies will be responsible to serve in a pastoral I to church leaders and to counsel and initii some programs with ministers and deacoij He will report to the executive. A knowled 1 of the German and English languages preferred. Salary is negotiable.

Applications available on request. Pies forward personal resume with application

Conference of Mennonites in Manitoba 202-1483 Pembina Highway Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2C9 Attention: John F. Wiebe, Conference Adm istrator

i

24

JANUARY 11, 19

femrds^deedg

j\new Mennonite fellowship in Hwa- | n, Taiwan, began meeting October 17. He new church is located in Fu-an, a pL/v housing development. Leadership ilcoming from missionary Otto Dirks £ j from the other two Mennonite cjjrches in the city. One of the goals of I; Fellowship of Mennonite Churches i Taiwan (FOMCIT) is to establish a I rd Mennonite church on the east cist.

j\oir le coup de foudre is a French- 1 iguage pamphlet recently produced I Mennonite Radio and Television in C nada (representing the Mennonite urch, Evangelical Mennonite Confer- ee, Mennonite Brethren Church, and neral Conference Mennonite urch). The pamphlet is a translated ad edited version of David Augs- rger's "Like falling in love." The tures were rephotographed in Mon- t at. Limited quantities are available e from Mennonite Radio and Televi- $|n, Box 2, Station F, Winnipeg, Mani- t la R2L 2A5.

lie Hoffnungsau Mennonite Church, I nan, Kansas, recently donated an ven-passenger Dodge van to Hopi ssion School, Oraibi, Arizona, and ivered it to the school in December.

ree MCC representatives were to ;nd two weeks in Vietnam, beginning uary 5. The three are Max Ediger, an ]C volunteer who returned from itnam in May 1976; Harold Jantz, tor of the Mennonite Brethren Herald

Winnipeg; and Donald Sensenig, mer missionary in South Vietnam ler Eastern Mennonite Board of ssions and Charities. The Japanese nnonite Fellowship was also invited send a member of the Mennonite egation but was not able to arrange

visit. The delegation will visit the lg Giang District Hospital, the site of jj or MCC assistance in 1976, and will ;ct and visit the 1977 project loca- \\, according to MCC Asia secretary rn Preheim.

■ ry farmers are being urged by MCC {(jnada) to save early winter bull Eij/es until May 15 to be donated to an MC native agricultural project. Last sumer forty-six calves were taken to t\ii Indian and metis communities: B odvein River and Berens River. MCC p:)icipates the bull calf project will be

Children collect paper for seeds

The junior Sunday school department at the Grace Mennonite Church in Phoenix, Arizona, has been collecting newspapers to raise money for seeds used in MCC projects around the world. The children have visited their neighbors, apartment complexes, and trailer courts asking for old newspapers. The newspapers were then transported to the recycling plant, which bought them. Through paper collection and their own offerings the children collected over $900 in a year. They decided to send $500 to MCC to buy seeds and to use the rest to buy two benches for the new church building.

expanded this year to three additional communities. Animals of grazing age, six to eight months, will be transported by truck to the native communities where they will be sold to individual families. The cost of the animal will be approximately 80 percent the market price. Heifers will also be accepted.

Two long-term Mennonite Disaster Service projects were closed before Christmas. Flood recovery projects on the Lummi Indian Reservation in northwest Washington and in Clayton, Georgia, were terminated, with volun- teers moving to other MDS sites. Other long-term projects are in Imperial County, California, near the Mexican border, where tropical storm Kathleen hit in September 1976; Atlanta, Georgia, where MDS is reopening a tornado relocation and inner city rehabilitation project; in eastern Idaho, where the Teton Dam broke in early June; and in the Big Thompson Canyon in Colorado, site of a July flood.

A Mennonite history contest for stu- dents in grades seven through twelve has been announced by the heritage

committee of the General Conference. Contestants may write on any topic relating to past and present Mennonite experiences. Typed manuscripts of about 1,500 words should be mailed by June 15 to Heritage Committee, Com- mission on Education, Box 347, Newton, Kansas 67114. Cash prizes will be awarded in each of two categories: grades seven to nine and grades ten to twelve. Prizes will be $50 for first prizes, $30 for second, and $20 for third.

The church in the Soviet Union, immi- grants to Germany from the USSR, and returned worker testimonials will be highlights of the public meeting January 21 at the Bethel Church in Winnipeg in connection with the MCC (Canada) annual meeting. On the board's two-day agenda are the possibility of entering into a contract with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Bilateral Division, a proposal for a staff person for the concerns of Kanadier Mennonites in the western hemisphere, and the relationships be- tween Canada and the United States in the context of MCC.

Ml MENNONITE

25

Quota rules reduce donations to Food Bank

The Food Bank of MCC (Canada) was designed on the "Joseph concept" — the principle that food would be stored up during the years of good harvest in readiness for the bad years.

Theoretically, Canadian wheat farmers should be able to give abun- dantly this yearbecause they have had a record harvest both in quantity and quality of wheat.

But it hasn't turned out that way. John R. Dyck, director of the Food Bank, said contributions have been slower in coming than expected, and the outlook is gloomy for the western producer.

Farmers want to give, he said. During a recent tour to farming communites in the Prairies, he found many who would gladly give their wheat, even without the income-tax-deductible receipt, if they could.

According to the Food Bank's agree- ment with the Canadian Wheat Board, the producer must make donations within quota restrictions. The quota is set for each grade of wheat according to the amount that can be sold on the market. On August 1 the first quota was three bushels to the acre for No. 1 wheat. Whereas some areas have received an additional quota for this high quality wheat, many have not.

At a recent meeting, officials in the grain trade offered little hope to farmers that they would be able to sell more than

In Ethiopia, where almost 92 percent of the people are rural, sowing their fields by hand and reaping with a sickle, Meserete Kristos Church (MKC) is making agricultural development one of its top priorities.

"As much as possible, the spirit of development should emphasize local resources," wrote Negash Kebede, an Ethiopian currently studying in North America. MKC, of which Negash is a member, recently invited MCC to work with its Development and Rehabilita- tion Board.

Eric and Mary Rempel and their two children, volunteers from Ste. Anne, Manitoba, arrived in Nazareth, Ethio- pia, in October to begin working with the development board. The board currently has a goat-raising project in Deder, a town in the mountainous eastern region of Ethiopia. Another project seeks to build ground water reservoirs and wells in the hot desert of

ten bushels to the acre this crop year (ending July 31, 1977). Producers may not make enough sales to cover produc- tion costs.

Many factors affect the demand for Canadian wheat. One of the most important is the world food harvest. When the harvest throughout the world is good, the Wheat Board has a hard time selling Canadian grain.

Ironically, the high quality of the wheat crop this year — a large percen- tage of the harvest is No. 1 — makes it more difficult to sell on the international market. No. 2 and No. 3 wheat would find markets more readily, particularly in the third world.

There is nothing much the producer can do about the quality of his crop. For various reasons, wheat cannot be as- signed a lower grade for convenience, tempting though it might be.

Some farmers have sold No. 1 wheat to feed mills at a much lower price than it is worth on the international market. All wheat, except what is sold locally as feed by individual farmers, is marketed through the federal Canadian Wheat Board to give all farmers an equal opportunity to sell their grain.

Mr. Dyck became aware of these problems during his six-week tour of Prairie communities. At meeting after meeting he was told that the Canadian Wheat Board should allow above-quota

the Awash Valley east of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. Other projects in- clude a farm co-op store in a town near Deder and a chicken project in Deder.

A major drought struck large areas of Ethiopia in 1973. Now that the crisis is subsiding, however, need for long-term integrated rural development becomes even more evident. Rainfall is seasonal, making the water supply a problem. Overgrazing by cattle and cutting trees for firewood threaten to aid the spread of the desert.

MKC was not as involved in famine and relief work as it might have been, according to MKC executive secretary Tesfatsion Delallew. However, MKC wants to serve in development.

Tesfatsion, development director Assefa Ketema, and P. T. Yoder, all of MKC, and Eric Rempel and Edgar Stoesz of MCC met in Nazareth in October to discuss their cooperating relationship. They agreed that the program will be

donations to the Food Bank.

But even were such donations allowij at this time, it is unlikely that til producers could deliver; the elevato; are glutted.

Mr. Dyck is not pessimistic, howevt "We are convinced that the Canadi; Wheat Board wants the Food Bank II succeed," he said. "We understand tt reasons for restricting donations to tlj quota. But a way needs to be found J allow farmers to give to the Food Ban!

He also offered the hope that ti Wheat Board may make sales during t year which at present it cannot projei, Should such a sale occur, the quo could conceivably rise, allowh farmers to deliver more grain to t| elevators.

Mr. Dyck noted that many peopjl outside the farming trade have difl culty understanding why whe farmers cannot give more to a progr^ such as the Food Bank when the harve. has been above average (twenty-eig bushels to the acre has been reportei, But the grain trade is capricious a| many factors influence the market, m harvest, and the production costs.

To date, the Food Bank has receivii initial payments for 16,000 bushelsj: wheat delivered to grain elevators | the Food Bank. The target for the fil year of operation is 500,000. The Fol Bank began operating October 1, 1 9/1

agriculture

supported principally by funds a| personnel from MKC, Eastern Mem nite Board of Missions and Chariti which has been active in Ethiopia si 1948, and MCC.

Mr. Rempel will serve both as a si person of the MKC development bo and as MCC country representati Because the program in Ethiopia will based on the development priorities the national church, this cooperat with the MKC represents a new mo for MCC programs in Africa.

Rempels previously served in B wana, where Eric designed an ox-dra tool carrier. Other volunteers in Et pia are Marcus and Diane Bock at i Bible Academy in Nazareth and Edwa and Cheryl Bauer in Deder.

Ethiopian church and MCC cooperate in

26 JANUARY 11, ll

Material aid program defended

e have problems, no question about it," said John Hostetler, MCC mate- 1 aid director, "but they are not major )Ugh to make us reevaluate the )gram in terms of closing it down." fhere is still a need for the millions of is of food and other material aid ,ich MCC ships annually to crisis uations — droughts, floods, hurri- les, Mr. Hostetler and other MCC ninistrators are saying. rhe questions which need to be ;wered are what kind of food will it fit in the environment and what is best way to distribute it, they say. "hey regard it as a learning expe- nce for MCC when MCC-canned meat ;old in the market in Port-au-Prince, iti, and the story is investigated and :ulated by the Associated Press, iow do such situations occur? /ICC administrators said that, before '5, most of the food sent by MCC to iti was being used by institutions :h as orphanages and hospitals, wever, because of a severe drought in iti in 1975, MCC increased its food pments from twenty-three tons sent

in 1974 to 134 tons. The MCC program expanded to include paying Haitian peasants for their labor with cans of beef rather than cash since food was not readily available for purchase.

Because food was short and a can of beef could be traded for five times the volume in rice, the peasants were willing to trade quality for quantity. Some of the beef found its way to the market where an Associated Press reporter saw it and where the more wealthy who could afford quality food bought it.

"The 134 tons of food sent to Haiti in 1975 represents less than 5 percent of the total amount of food we shipped around the world during 1975," said Mr. Hostetler. "Only part of that 134 tons was beef, and only a portion of the beef we distributed showed up for sale in the Port-au-Prince market. It was not thou- sands of cans as erroneously reported."

During the past year only thirty-one tons of food was sent to Haiti, since the drought had ended. Most of that is again being used in the kitchens of institu- tions.

I es and cartons await shipping at the MCC center in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

Even though the quantity of meat marketed in Port-au-Prince was small and the occurrence short-lived, MCC is concerned about what happens to meat and any other supplies after they are distributed. "We do care when material aid supplies are traded for other items or we lose a small quantity of supplies when a warehouse is broken into," said Edgar Stoesz, associate executive secretary for MCC overseas programs.

"However, any program we undertake or any way we decide to do things has problems. When a disaster such as the earthquake in Honduras occurs and we air freight food and begin distribution quickly, such distribution takes place under chaotic conditions."

Another important factor in the distribution of food is the dignity of the people who receive it, both Mr. Stoesz and Mr. Hostetler stressed. "We could control our food distribution programs in such a way that we could account for each bit of it, but that would require creating military-type conditions which would raise more objectional problems because that would destroy the spirit and dignity of the recipient," said Mr. Stoesz.

MCC personnel also emphasized that the material aid program is a supple- ment to the long-term development programs and a stop-gap measure to provide food supplies for a limited time when disasters such as drought or war temporarily stifle local production.

"Our most significant contribution is our personnel rather than the material aid supplies we distribute," said Mr. Stoesz. "The services we supply through skilled persons are a resource which brings about positive change lasting longer than material resources and which cannot be exchanged the way material commodities are."

"We take a hard look at our material aid program every year, but we are not planning a major review of it, making major changes in it, nor encouraging others to do so," said William T. Snyder, MCC executive secretary. "We do not just continue shipping the same amounts to the same places as the year before. Each year careful planning is done for the next year in preparation to shift with the needs of the world as they become apparent."

He said, "The question is not whether we should or should not have sent food to Haiti — there was a drought and there was not enough food to go around."

Peace Section member visits Ireland

Building a new nonviolent society from the bottom up is the goal of the peace movement in strife-torn Northern Ire- land, according to Atlee Beechy, who visited the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland November 29 to December 6, 1976. Mr. Beechy served as representa- tive of Mennonite Central Committee Peace Section on the Journey of Recon- ciliation.

The Journey of Reconciliation, a response to an invitation by leaders of the peace movement in Northern Ire- land, was sponsored by Church World Service and Pax Christi, the American section of the International Catholic Movement for Peace. Participants on the Journey of Reconciliation, including four Canadians and 105 people from the United States, attempted to give spiritu- al and moral support to the peace movement's efforts to stop the violence. More than 1,600 people have been killed in the past six years in Northern Ireland.

Members of the group, who ranged in age from fifteen to seventy-eight, repre- sented all the major Protestant denomi- nations, the Catholics, the Quakers, and the Church of the Brethren. Mr. Beechy was the only Mennonite in the group. About three-fourths of the group were women.

The climax of the week, according to Mr. Beechy, was a reconciliation walk and peace witness in Drogheda De- cember 5. More than 15,000 people gathered at the River Boyne, the site of a major seventeenth-century battle where the English slaughtered the Irish.

People from the Irish Republic and the international delegation met at one side of the river and people from Northern Ireland gathered on the other, advanc- ing to meet in the middle of the Peace Bridge that spans the river. In spite of the cold weather, the people remained for hymn singing, Scripture reading, and addresses by Catholic and Protes- tant leaders of the peace movement.

Mairead Corrigan, who helped to found the women's peace movement of knocking on doors, getting signatures, and organizing walks after her sister's three children were killed, spoke of a new battle of love among all people to replace war with peace.

Based on his participation in the Journey of Reconciliation, Mr. Beechy will recommend to MCC Peace Section several ways in which Mennonites might share in the efforts to make peace in Northern Ireland.

Record

Workers

Walter Friesen, North Newton, Kans., has resigned as vice-president and dean of student affairs at Bethel College. His plans for the future are open, but he has said he wants to "move out of top-level administration and return to counsel- ing, consulting, and teaching." Before joining the Bethel faculty Mr. Friesen served as dean of the University College at Wichita State University. He is a member of the Lorraine Ave. Church, Wichita.

Friesen

Sprunger

Brent Sprunger of Berne, Ind. has been named manager of the Faith and Life Bookstore in Berne, beginning Jan. 15. He is a December graduate of Goshen [Ind.] College with a major in communi- cations and peace. He replaces Howard M. Culp, who has been manager of the Berne store for more than twenty-five years. Mr. Culp will work for the United States Postal Service in Berne.

Calendar

Feb. 4-9 — Council of Commissions, Newton, Kans.

Canadian

Jan. 21 — MCC (Canada) annual meet- ing, Bethel Church, Winnipeg

Jan. 27-29 — Canadian Council of Boards, Winnipeg

Feb. 25-26 — Conference of Menno- nites in Manitoba annual sessions, Steinbach (Man.) Church Central

Mar. 4-6 — Lay leader-pastor work- shop, Bluffton (Ohio) College Western

Jan. 18 — Women Enrolled at Bethel Day, Bethel College, North Newton,

Kans.

Deaths

Klaassen

Olga Unruh Klaassen, General Confe i ence missionary on furlough from Zaii, j was born Mar. 30, 1927, and dijjl unexpectedly on Dec. 27, 1976, IU Saskatoon, Sask. She and her husban John E., had been missionaries in ZaiuJ under Africa Inter-Mennonite Missiih since 1964. They taught first at Nyan i and later at Mukedi. While on a previoi j furlough, Olga earned a bachelo; U degree in education, and during tt; j furlough she was continuing her Fren • studies. She was a member of the Carii h River (Sask.) Church. Funeral servidr were in the Eigenheim Church, Rr»|j thern, Sask.

Ministers

Henry Harder was ordained Oct. 31 North Kildonan Church, Winnipeg, j Gerhard A. Peters is retiring fromli pastorate of the Erie View Unit* Mennonite Church, Port Rowan, Oij effective this month. J. H. Petker willi assuming leadership of the Erie Vii congregation. Mr. Peters has sen] I pastorates at the Ebenezer Chur Gotebo, Okla.; First Church, Bun Kans.; Bourdon-Albright Church, Irj Hutterthal Church, Freeman, S.D.; a Bergthal Church, Pawnee Rock, Kan

A history of the Hague Mennonite Churct John D. Rempel, a narrative and pict| I1 presentation of the history of this congrel tion 1900-1975 is available for $4.00 frorr,

John D. Rempel

Box 175

Hague, Saskatchewan S0K 1X0

28

JANUARY 11, l|

letters

li— 11 ■IIIIIIW

T| o conscientious

) r Editor: Permit me to respond to an sjie on payment of taxes (November 2, B6, issue). I think that it is wrong to vifihold taxes for the following rea- rs:

I ) Jesus paid taxes (Mt. 17:24-27). Hp can say what that money went for? A\<fbe to pay for the salary of the Blier who pierced Jesus' side, maybe may for the legions who brutalized xiple on the front in Gaul, maybe even

•ay for, ultimately, the sword with

ch Paul was beheaded.

,) Jesus commanded to pay taxes IS. 22:15-22). The answer came as a

;ct question: Should we pay taxes?

I) Paul commanded that we pay

is (Rom. 13:6-7).

) Were not all those subjected to the emberg trials in the decision- Jng positions and had personal t along the line of atrocities? Regular liers and executioners were not jected to the trials. >) The taxes I pay are not "my" Biey once I have paid them. It then )mes the responsibility of the gov- nent how it is spent; otherwise, each becomes personally guilty of every le of family, society, community, Paul says: "Then we would have to jut of this world" (1 Cor. 6:10) if we not to associate or interact or do mess with the people of the world, s prayed: "Not that thou shouldst : them out of the world, but that thou ildst keep them from evil" (Jn. 5).

) A person can become too con- ntious. That person needs to be I ected and not allowed to confuse the Hie fellowship. Surely there is some- g wrong with the person if he is e conscientious than Jesus; he dd not be allowed to confuse the le brotherhood.

mean this to give light and not fire. I R. Baerg, Box 1540, Winkler, It. ROG 2X0 Nov. 20

I need to be divisive

J<jr Editor: At the end of each calendar fs' most U.S. citizens busy themselves ii the task of calculating the tax ■ch the IRS claims is due the govern- ist. This has become such a routine M:tice that we hardly think enough to

understand the implications of it, i.e., "the inconsistency of praying for peace and paying for war." What strikes me as being ironic is this: as Christians we seem to be far more accountable to the government than we are to the church. I have sometimes wondered why it is that we are more willing to allow the secular authorities to shape us and to "keep us in line" than we are to receive guidance from our brothers and sisters in Christ. The major exceptions to this in the General Conference Mennonite Church appear to be the intentional communi- ties of faith like Fairview Mennonite House and the New Creation Fellow- ship, where economic discernment is more obviously a part of the Christian commitment.

The main concern of my letter, howev- er, is to commend our conference presi- dent, Elmer Neufeld, for the fine way in which he has invited the response of members and congregations concerning the ethical issue of war tax payments (November 2, 1976, issue), whether we as individuals accept, question, or oppose those payments for war and militarism, it is my understanding that we as a people have benefited enor- mously from the dialog which has taken place during the past fifteen years or more. Troublesome as the questions are,

it is my hope that we can continue the interchange in a spirit of common search for obedience to the lordship of Christ in the affairs of the world. It is my feeling that ethical issues do not need to be divisive for Christian community if we are motivated by the love of God. "If we have love in our hearts,

Disagreement will do us no harm. If we do not have love in our hearts,

Agreement will do us no good."

So whether we experience tears of joy or grief in the attempt to channel our tax money into life-sustaining programs rather than into weapons of death, let there be both confrontation and an affirming of God and each other through covenant renewal. May the challenge to discern God's will enable us to be more faithful in doing it. Donald D. Kaufman, 609 Central Ave., Newton, Kans. 67114

Dec. 14

Russians plead for support

Dear Editor: Many points in favor of the Communist regimes have already been stated in our church papers, not only once but repeatedly (or in favor of our taking an uncritical position toward them).

Presently existing Communist and fascist-type governments demand, for

l> MENNONITE 29

peaceful relations, that we ignore those of their citizens whom they wish to destroy. Our peaceful silence, not al- ways to be confused with genuine peacemaking, has already helped to destroy many. Listen to two hard- pressed Russian Christians appealing to the World Council of Churches (Gleb Yakunin and Lev Regelson in Religion in Communist lands, Spring 1976):

"The persecutors of Christians are now extraordinarily concerned about their international reputation. They are trying very hard to prevent any possible protest. . . .

"If Christians could overcome . . . egotistic indifference toward other people's suffering, they would find ways of promoting ... an international protest campaign against the persecu- tors. . . .

"If every believer would send a letter of protest once a month to the persecu- tors, and if ... he would appeal ... to public opinion in his own country, he would undoubtedly diminish considera- bly the fervor of the enemies of Chris- tianity. . . .

"One of the most horrible weapons in the struggle against . . . conscience is the compulsory detention of dissenters in psychiatric hospitals and the forceful use on them of barbaric methods of 'treatment' which impair their brains and minds.

". . . Prisoners in psychiatric torture chambers . . . know what it means to be abandoned. . . . They often ask them- selves whether they are not already in hell, at this very moment. For them heaven remains a vision just as for a thirsty man in a desert. Somebody must save them. . . ."

Sadly, some "sophisticated" people question or actually deny these reports.

When the Russian dissenter Andrei Sakharov received the Nobel Peace Prize, he said, "Peace, progress, and human rights are three indissolubly linked aims, no one of which may be achieved if the others are neglected. . . .

"Detente can only be of lasting suc- cess if it is from the very beginning accompanied by unceasing concern for openness in all countries, . . . for the unfailing observance of civil and politi- cal rights by all countries — in short, if detente in the material sphere of disar- mament and trade is supplemented by detente in the spiritual, ideological sphere."

Mr. Sakharov has also said: "Thou- sands of lively people [in the USSR], apparently satisfied with their lot, scurry about. . . . But . . . what is hidden

is a set of human misery ... a million and a half prisoners [nearly three times the high U.S. percentage reported by Edgar Epp] — the victims of a . . . judicial machine that is the corrupt creature of the authorities and the local 'Mafia'. . . .

"I am very fond of the . . . culture of my country. . . . But I feel it necessary to call attention to those negative aspects that are of basic importance . . . but that are passed over in silence by Soviet and pro-Soviet propaganda . . . great vio- lence . . . that western liberals failed to notice: some out of naivete, others out of indifference, and still others out of cynicism.

"I am convinced that the defense of Soviet political prisoners and other dissenters, the struggle for greater humanity in places of imprisonment and for human rights in general, is not only the moral duty of honest persons throughout the world, but constitutes a direct defense of human rights in their own countries. But we often encounter a lack of interest in our misfortunes. After a visit to the Soviet Union by Harold Wilson, the British prime minister (to whom I had sent my usual appeal), I heard on the radio a placid commentary by a journalist who said Wilson could not allow himself to meddle in matters of human rights in the USSR, since these problems were basically of interest to 'rightest' elements, and he could not make common cause with them. . . . What levels of cynicism are possible!

"... I fear that such things as a lack of information of the opportunity [!] to analyze it critically, faddishness (which is all-powerful in the West), the fear of seeming old-fashioned (especially to one's own children, as many frankly admit), a lack of imagination where the factor of distance is involved, and an inadequate notion of the tragic complex- ity of real life (in particular, life in the socialist countries) — that these things may lead, and are already leading, to . . . the dominant stereotype of the . . . intellectual of the West, with all his illusions and mistakes. Basically, how- ever, the majority of such people have an outlook that is high-minded. . . . And this permits me to hope that in the final analysis the western intellectual won't let the rest of us down. . . .

"And the growth of leftist ideas must not lead to a weakening of the interna- tional defense of human rights . . . with the same standards for the Englishman ... the Russian . . . and the Vietnamese.

"My wife's mother, who spent many years in Stalin's labor camps . . . has a close relative; who lives in France. . . . He

once tried to find out from her wheth there was 'a particle of truth' in wh Solzhenitsyn had written. She cou only laugh bitterly.

"In 1948 the Universal Declaration j Human Rights [signed by the USS1 proclaimed the international charactj of the defense of human rights."

And in another work, Mr. Sakharcj wrote: "... I again appeal to a international organizations concernfj with this problem ... to abandon the. policy of nonintervention in the internj affairs of the socialist countries | regards defending human rights and manifest the utmost persistence."

Let's remember that Jesus also refuse to put any "internal" affairs out bounds. Ronald Rich, Box 126, Nor; Newton, Kans. 67117

I

Quotations from Andrei Sakharov I reprinted by permission of Randoj House, New York, New York, and a from My country and the world, Ij Andrei Sakharov, © 1975, and Sakhanj speaks, © 1974.

Published

House of the Lord, a short drama abo' the life of Hadewijk, an early Anabaptij in the Netherlands, has been publish! by Faith and Life Press for the Gener| Conference's Commission on Education The play, by Urie A. Bender of Waterlo Ont., concerns Hadewijk (pronound "HAH-duh-vike"), a sixteenth-centu' woman who became an Anabaptist ai was imprisoned for her faith. Copies; the play are available for $1.00 each frd Faith and Life Press, Box 347, Newtdj Kans. 67114. The play may not produced without written permissij from and remittance of $25 to Faith a| Life Press.

30

JANUARY 11, 18

feditation

!jtween the lines

I best part of our reading is sometimes done "between the lines." Usually we are lying a message, not only from what the speaker or writer is saying, but by c! ething he leaves unsaid. Reading between the lines may bring good news or bad, n in either case it may be more important than that which is plainly stated. I sus, who spoke the most important truths the world has heard, was often gaily eloquent through his silence.

Ipr instance, he tells of a young man who went the wrong way, did the wrong 8 gs, and in the process lost his money, his health, and his self-respect. Finally, fin the end of the line, he returned home, and his father ran to meet him. fesus tells swhat the father said. Most parents, then and now, would express similar e iments. Too many fathers, however, would have said something extra,

0 ething strangely conspicuous by its absence in Jesus' story. The man left out

little words that have been spoiling the homecoming of wayward lads for uries!

riey are these: Where have you been?

he Apostle Paul feared, as all sensible men do, that in relating personal dpriences he might be boasting. But some wonderful and important things had Opened to him which he dared not withhold.

■ ost of us find ample reason for retaining our humility — or returning to it — and |1 was enlarging upon this theme. He said:

|f o tremendous . . . were the revelations that God gave me that, in order to prevent becoming absurdly conceited, I was given a physical handicap (thorn in the i) ... to harass me and effectually stop any conceit. Three times I begged the \ for it to leave me, but his reply has been, 'My grace is enough for you' " (2 Cor. -9, Phillips).

t this point, there is something profoundly important left out by the great itle, and certainly it is the first thing most of us would have told, hat is it that he didn't say?

3 didn't divulge the nature of his impediment. And because he didn't, we find it Her to relate to him in our own afflictions. If he had said he was blind or deaf or Hp, only those persons struggling with the same problem would be able to find ti igth in his testimony.

I S is comforting indeed to believe that my handicap may be identical with his.

■ he of Jesus' most profound sayings, recorded in Acts 20, reads as follows: "It is his blessed to give than to receive."

I' lis, of course, means simply that it makes one happier to present a gift than to lime. A greater sermon than this can hardly be preached, although great numbers

1 pople have never discovered this truth for themselves. Some of them never will. I Mere are some who, having discovered it, tend to take a fanatical view. They fear I] by be wrong to accept any gratuities and stoutly refuse the gifts of others. What jaame, for these people cheat the givers out of well-deserved and probably much- ffejjied blessings.

ire again, we should read between the lines. Jesus didn't say, "It doesn't make liappy to receive a gift." Rather, he inferred it does by stating that it makes one happier to give one. And he, of all people, earned the right to make that derful statement. He gave everything!

is well for us to remember that, but we must never forget that Jesus proudly pted the gift of precious ointment from a certain woman who broke the aster box and poured the contents upon his head.

l|made him happy to receive the gift. It made the woman happier than he to give

•n't fail to read between the lines. Some of the greatest reading was never ten.

Glen Williamson

i

Contents

Why the fuss? 18

From generation to generation 20

TUIT 22

News 23

Record 28

Letters 29

Between the lines 31

Telecult: The newest religion 32

CONTRIBUTORS

Larry Kehler, 440 Best St., Winnipeg, Man., is pastor of the Charleswood Mennonite Church.

Howard D. Raid is professor of eco- nomics and business at Bluffton College, Bluffton, Ohio 45817.

Harry E. Martens, 2508 Ottawa Drive, Elkhart, Ind. 46514, has retired from his position as central regional manager and estate planning consultantforMennonite Foundation. He is currently on a teaching assignment in India under the General Conference's Commission on Overseas Mission.

Glen Williamson, 85 Titan Ave., Glad- stone, Ore. 97027, is a free-lance writer.

CREDITS

Cover, Strix Pix, Newville, Pa. 17241; 18- 19, CBC, Winnipeg, Man.; 20, Bob Taylor, 604 North Cook, Cordell, Okla. 73632; 21, Harold M. Lambert, 2801 West Chelten- ham, Philadelphia, Pa. 19150; 25, MCC; 27, Ernie Klassen, MCC; 29, Cork, Post- bus 2003, Heerenveen, the Netherlands.

The Mennonite

Editorial office: 600 Shaftesbury Boule- vard, Winnipeg, Canada R3P 0M4. Tele- phone: (204) 888-6781

Business and subscription office: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, Kans. 67114. Telephone: (316) 283-5100.

Editor: Bernie Wiebe, 600 Shaftesbury, Winnipeg, Canada R3P 0M4. Associate editor: Lois Barrett, Box 347, Newton, Kans. 67114. Editorial assistant: Susan Schumacher. Art director: John Hiebert. Business manager: Dietrich Rempel. Circulation secretary: Marilyn Kaufman. Special editions editors: Central District, Lloyd L. Ramseyer, 488 West Elm St., Bluffton, Ohio 45817; Pacific District, LaVernae Dick, 588South West MapleSt., Dallas, Ore. 97338; Western District, Elbert Koontz, Box 306, North Newton, Kans. 67117; Encompass, Mary Rempel, Box 347, Newton, Kans. 67114; and Window to Mission, Jeannie Zehr, 4226 Maplecrest Road, Fort Wayne, Ind. 46805.

h MENNONITE 31

Telecult: The newest relig

Some say that the television culture has become today's religion. The TV stars are its priests, the networks are the denominations, the sets are the shrines, regular viewing is its form of worship, the ratings dictate its morality, and programs are its rituals.

Every society has its institutions which assume the primary task of interpreting life, promoting values, and guiding life-styles. In our culture these have been the home, the church, and the school.

Today, the average family spends few hours per week together. An individual averages less than two hours per week in church. Students may spend up to twenty-five hours a week in classes.

Television sets are in over 99 percent of our homes in Canada and the United States. These sets are on an average of over six hours a day, seven days a week. In just two decades, the television industry has achieved almost total coverage in our homes.

If television is a reflection of our culture, then we can forget about the medium and look beyond it to the actual problems. But if TV is becoming an institution or a religion, then we must examine it carefully.

I believe that television is becoming an insidious countercultural force. At first, we regarded it as a luxury for the few and an entertainment vehicle at that. Like the printed page, the telephone, the radio, and the record player, we felt that it would be a focal point for awhile and then become absorbed into our culture.

However, TV is a powerful communications tool that has become much more than recrea- tion or distraction. Through catering to ratings, it declares itself enfranchised to probe, expose, and publicize all those things which feed human curiosity. Sensationalism becomes a weekly challenge for scriptwriters. Sacred things which have never been held sacred by majorities come in for regular ridicule. Only one way of life pleases the television industry — money.

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount spoke of happiness resulting from an unassuming,

modest, servant life-style. Compare that for a few days to a majority of TV commercials and the TV stars. Is there a remote possibility for reconciliation?

Jesus taught that human life is created in God's image and is God's highest handiwork. Television programs "waste" scores of lives and degrade many more to feelings of being worthwhile not in their relation to God, but to the payoff in one game or another.

Jesus taught that it would be better for a person to have a millstone hung around his neck and drowned than to hurt an impression- able child. Television assumes that all chil- dren can cope with adult violence, profanity, muckraking, sex, and other confusing expo- sures on the screen. The TV industry paints its own "plastic" images of what it means to become men and women, fulfilled, happy, and mature.

If the telecult has taken over, the fault may be our own. While children eagerly responded to "Sesame St.," our Sunday schools refused to adopt more realistic ways of teaching. When people chose to watch TV instead of attending Sunday evening services, many churches discontinued special services rather than trying some alternatives. We Christians have been too quick to sit by while the television cult grew across our land.

The vast tube wasteland is not without hope even today. One of the first things we must and can do is to recognize that TV is today's single most influential communications medium. We must learn how it functions and equip one another with the skills for evaluation and judgment.

Secondly, we can make ourselves heard. Citizens' groups have effectively challenged the images of some network programs. Other groups have become involved in the prepara- tion and promotion of constructive alternative programming. The giant of TV can be equally powerful for good if we have the courage to harness it.

But this newest religion will not go away of itself. The force of evil is always creative. We dare not ignore it. BW

The printed index for the 1976 issues of The Mennonite is available to anyone who writes for it. Write Box 347, Newton, Kansas 67114.

A handful of people still remember it. Women wore long skirts, worked hard at home, and dreamed of the right to vote. The small Pennsylvania farming villages of the Eastern District Menno- nites were quiet and sheltered from the larger winds of change. In 1911, these churches ordained the first woman Mennonite pastor in North America.

Ann Jemima Allebach was born in 1874 to Jacob R. and Sarah Markley Allebach at Green Lane, Pennsylvania. Jacob was a long-time deacon at the Eden Mennonite Church in Schwenks- ville, a banker, a merchant, and a postmaster. His first wife died of smallpox, leaving three-year-old Har- vey, who later became an Eastern District professor and pastor. His sec- ond wife, Sarah, was a businesswoman and a founder of the Schwenksville Lutheran Church. She died in 1882 when "Annie" was seven.

Annie was exceptionally bright and active. She wanted to become a busi- nessperson like her parents. Her father encouraged her to take normal school training at Ursinus College Academy. At age seventeen, she became the first woman teacher in Green Lane at the Middle Creek School.

Ann communicated her love and enthusiasm to her sixty-four pupils. The astonished school directors offered her any school in their district for the second year! In her spare time, she introduced elocution courses at Darling- ton and Perkiomen seminaries.

Ms. Allebach was baptized in the Eden Church at age eighteen. She dedicated herself to improving the religious training for youth. The Chris-

Mary Lou Cummings

tian Endeavor movement had been begun to strengthen the Sunday schools. Through W. H. Grubb, a family friend and the pastor at First Mennonite in Philadelphia, Ann introduced the move- ment to the Perkiomen Valley and helped to plan the first C E session and Young People's Convention of the East- ern District in 1893. Mary Laudenslager, a former church friend of Annie's, recalls how they used to ride to the C E programs with horse and buggy after the chores were done.

At age nineteen, Ann began to chafe at the boundaries of a tiny country com- munity. She accepted a position to teach elocution and philosophy at the East Orange Collegiate for Women in East Orange, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City.

For the next ten years, the Schwenks- ville Mennonites pretty much forgot about Ann Allebach.

In 1903, Ann became the principal of

the collegiate. Soon after, in the sell evaluation process common to people it their early thirties, she began to reexan; ine her goals in life. She had gone as fa as a woman could be expected to go i education. Was this her real gift? Wou! she ever marry and raise a family? >

Like many women of our own gener; tion caught in a similar uncertaint Ann went back to school. In 1907, slj began studies at New York and Colun bia universities and later at Uniq Theological Seminary. She reported' earned BE, ME, AB degrees and d some work toward a doctorate. At NY where her fashionable friends called h|l "Anna," she was elected president of til Philosophical Society. She also becan vice-president of the 23rd Distri Women's Suffrage Club.

In these years, the huge and preslj gious Wall St. Episcopal Church wi beginning to build "chapels" all overt!' city to provide social services to tl poor immigrants and city dwellet without jobs, food, and spiritual su! port.

Ann was drawn to help in the Chap: of the Intercession on 155th St. SI found herself where she had alwaj dreamed of being — part of the businei world, with much activity and direl action in God's causes! Her enerjf exploded like popcorn!

She established a large free kinds garten, a commercial school to teach ji| skills, a clothes bureau, and a month church paper, The intercession m<l senger. She placed 500 persons in jo during one year through her favorii the Employment Bureau. Ann taughl large men's class and preached often

34

JANUARY 18, 1^

'And the Rev. Miss Allebach does help.

h Lincoln Mission and in Brooklyn. At request of the New York mayor, she nulated the Municipal Employment hange.

ne can tell the kind of life and faith Ann Allebach stood for in her ds about Mr. Grubb: "In him is no sion, but practical Christianity, of d words and deeds, an unselfish and ight life."

er involvement in the work of the trch gave Ann a new sense of calling. Mennonite life-style of love and ice was her spiritual center. She had ined her Mennonite church member- H) and contact through Pastors Grubb Schantz. Now she approached these about being ordained by her own eral Conference Mennonite Church, he soul-searching of these Eastern :rict pastors is not recorded in ory. Warren Smith of Souderton still ills how the Zion Mennonite elders oached Mr. Schantz (pastor of Zion, n, and Harleysville). The Mennonite nsmen had never heard of ordaining oman! It was surely unbiblical! Not much was said at Eden. )me 270 people parked their buggies irst Mennonite Church in Philadel- i on a cold and rainy Sunday, tary 15, 1911. J. W. B. Schantz, Ann's or, carefully laid out his biblical n-rpretation that Paul's instructions 5r.|;ilence were specific to the Greek Mure, and the teaching that "ye are mi in Christ . . ." was his vision for u|re generations. He cited Christ's :h|ce of Mary of Magdala on resurrec- i(, morning as an "apostle to the idstles." N. B. Grubb gave Ann a Bible ir instructed her to "go and preach the

T

gospel." She was fully ordained to perform the duties of a minister of the gospel.

One spectator wrote, "Everyone felt that it meant a new departure, which would lead to increased usefulness for the church and consecrated woman- hood!" The newspaper headlines said: "Woman ordained as Mennonite pastor; Miss Allebach is first ofhersexsotoact in America; She is a suffragist." There was an implicit sense of new beginnings for the Mennonite church.

Ann continued her work in New York over the next five years. Amelia Berg- stresser, Warren Smith, and others remember that she occasionally preached as a guest in the Mennonite churches. Upon one such visit on a Sunday in 1912, she preached to a packed Eden Church from Job 23:8-9. In the afternoon, the Zion ushers had to set out extra chairs as Ms. Allebach spoke on John 14:6. That evening, the Harleys- ville Chapel was "filled to overflow that many claimed there were never so many people inside that building" to hear a sermon on Acts 1:8.

People could not imagine a woman in the pulpit. They came out of curiosity; they left speaking of her fervent and absorbing oratory.

In 1916, Ann Allebach was installed as pastor of the Long Island Sunnyside Reformed Church. The New York world printed a story about her on December 23, 1917: "Should you chance some Sunday morning to visit the Sunnyside Reformed Church, do not be surprised if the service opens thus: 'If any of you here present are sick or hungry and who need employment or help in your homes,

come to me after the service and I will help you!'" The article goes on, "And the Rev. Miss Allebach does help. There are many men and women in New York City who can corroborate this, men and women who know that this woman minister not only preaches but also practices the gospel."

Ann Allebach worked with a large pastorate, many city conferences, and numerous service activities. Her father had died and the family was scattered. During this time, she transferred her church membership from Eden to the First Mennonite Church.

Ann J. Allebach died of a heart attack on April 27, 1918, at forty-three years of age. Her funeral was conducted first at her sister Laura's home and then at the Eden Mennonite Church. She lies buried beside her mother in the Lutheran- Reformed cemetery.

Ann used to take her favorite niece, Beulah, fishing in Perkiomen Creek and for visits to New York. To Beulah and her husband, Leslie Chrismer, Ann was a "loving, confident, courageous, life- affirming — and a beautiful — woman." Years later, an artist friend painted Ann's portrait in miniature on ivory. Mr. Chrismer says, "Any woman would envy the beauty of face and character that it reveals."

Even after her death, the local Menno- nites were not quite sure what to make of Ann Jemima Allebach. Her name never appeared on the standard "who's who" lists. It is "penciled in" on an ordination list titled "Men ordained."

Her epitaph might say, "They shook their heads and marveled, and in several years they forgot."

MENNONITE

35

Marilyn Miller was ordained as copas- tor of the Arvada Mennonite Church on September 19, 1976. but the ordination service was much more than an affirma- tion of Marilyn and her gifts.

"When we were planning the service," Marilyn recalls, "I realized that God isn't just calling me to do this. He's calling all of us to do our jobs and also to do some things together to build his body in the world."

Believing this, Marilyn incorporated into the service some of the members of the church and community who are special to her. For the laying on of hands which culminated the ordination celebration, Marilyn invited people representing her family, her friends in the community, and all groups in the church, in addition to the ordained ministers present, to come forward and take part.

She says, "It kind of bothers me that we have a special service to celebrate and affirm my calling when other people in the church all have special callings. It seems to me we should have an affirma- tion celebration for all of them."

Marilyn's father and several other relatives are ordained ministers. But she says, "I don't feel it's a tradition I should, or have to, carry on. Maybe the tradition in our famiy is to live the Christian life as best you can. For me, the way I can best live my Christian life at this momenl is to be in the pastoral ministry."

Marilyn remembers wanting to be a

Jan Lugibihi

minister already as a child in Hesslon, Kansas, and preaching to the chickens on their roosts when her brothers and sisters tired of listening.

She also recalls going to church and hearing about the need for pastors in the Mennonite church. "I was thinking, 'If they need pastors, I wonder why God didn't make me a man, because I'd love to be a pastor.' "

Many events and people brought Marilyn from this childhood dream to her ordination.

After marrying Maurice Miller and moving with her family to Wichita, Kansas, to be a part of the Lorraine Ave. congregation, Marilyn became active in Christian education work and a weekly Bible study group.

This planted the thought that she might like to go to seminary. But, since there was no seminary in the area, she gave up the idea. She had heard of a

seminary in Denver, Colorado, but the . seemed to be no chance of going thei

One morning in her prayer she redet cated herself to doing the work G( wanted her to do in the place he chos That evening her husband came ho(\ and asked her how she would feel abo l moving to Denver, where his firm w|| opening a new office.

In Denver they became involved in tj Arvada congregation, and Maril; enrolled in Iliff Theological Seminari Christian education program.

She chose to go to seminary beca "in my life the Christian gospel 1 really said a lot and helped a lot, an wanted to be in a work where I'd be fii to use the concepts, words, and thiri like Bible study and prayer that ha| helped me."

Marilyn also felt, and continuesi believe, that this course of study hef, her in her family life. "I wanted to b> good mother to our children and felt I most important thing I could give thj was to help them have a meaning faith. I felt the more I could learn how! teach children and bring them up so trj could have a good relationship withO and humanity, the better it would be them."

Even when she entered Iliff, howev Marilyn was unsure that the pasto ministry would be her final goal.

"When I started seminary, I told advisor, 'I'm a woman and a Mennor and there are only four Mennoij churches in the Denver area, so I red

THE MENNONITE seeks to witness, teach, motivate, and build the Christian fellowship within the context ot Christian love and Ireedom under the guidance ol the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit published weekly except biweekly during July and August and the last two weeks In December at Newton, Kans 67114,bytheGeneral Board ot the General Conference Mennonite Church, S*(| class postage paid at Newlon, Kans. 671 14, and at additional mailing offices. Subscriptions: in U.S. and Canada, $8 00, one year; $1 5 50, two years, $23.00, three years; foreign, $8.5G^H Editorial office: 600 Shaftesbury Boulevard, Winnipeg. Canada R3POM4 Business office 722 Main St , Box 34 7, Newton, Kans, 671 14 Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Box 34 7, Newton, Kant. 611

36

JANUARY 18, 11

Dt whether I can get a job.' " fter two years of study, Marilyn was id by a person from an area Menno- church which was looking for a or, if she were interested in that tion. That planted another seed and ilyn began thinking seriously of the oral ministry.

len the Arvada congregation issued for her to become a copastor king part time with Peter Ediger. accepted that call and is working b half time.

iring her first year at Arvada, in tion to completing her studies at she has been instrumental in :ing a neighborhood ministry, dng in conjunction with the King of y Lutheran Church, arilyn has some sense that she is a eer in the Mennonite churches — an ined minister who is also a woman.

"I know some people see it as unfemi- nine, and that does kind of bother me because I do want to be feminine. But it's more important to me to be doing work that I'm happy with and that I feel called to do than for other people to see me as feminine. It's a higher value to me to be myself. As time goes by, I am getting more affirmation that it's possible to be feminine while participating in work that has been predominantly given to men.

"I saw women preaching sermons at seminary and I thought, 'If they can do it, I can.'

Marilyn feels that it is becoming easier because of the support she gets from people in the Arvada Church community who, as she says, feel "it doesn't matter much if you're different. What's important is that you're real and that you care about each person."

the laying on of hands, Marilyn invited people representing her family, her ids in the community, all groups in the church, and the ordained ministers ent, to come forward and take part.

t

Marilyn sees her ministry in the Arvada community as vital and chal- lenging. "I just enjoy doing a variety of things and I think in pastoral work you really get that. You meet people in all spectrums of life and you can relate to people at all ages."

She gets additional support from a group of seven Arvada ministers who meet regularly to explore what is happening in their churches and to them as persons. Marilyn explains, "We put each other on what we call the'hot seat,' where everybody asks you questions, but they're asked because the people care about you."

She also feels that the experience is good for her family. She's close enough to home and her half-time schedule is flexible enough so she can be available when her children need her.

"The kids share in my ministry. They've gone with me to visit our oldest member and they've gone to see babies when they're born. And on Sunday in church they get to be a part of the service."

About Arvada, Marilyn comments, "It's an exciting church. I feel the Spirit moving here. I see things happening. A lot of things are waiting to be born here."

Marilyn consulted several people before planning her ordination service to see what meaning they felt it could have. "One church member said to me, 'If you can celebrate you, then I'll be able to celebrate me.' Several people came to me after the service and said they felt that they had been ordained, too. That's what I hoped for. We need to celebrate each other and the milestones in our lives."

Can uoe neorz tne pRopbets?

I find it both amazing and frightening when I see the lengths to which some people will go to defend their position when they are convinced their interpre- tation of Scripture is the only right one.

A church in California was filled with toys. It had singled out the verse "Except ye become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter the kingdom of God" and made a period of child-play compulsory for church members. Histo- ry reveals that a segment of the early Anabaptists suffered the same disillu- sionment and romped about on the floor like children. Such behavior usually harms only those involved. When it involves violence, the situation becomes more serious.

Some early women who accepted an anesthetic to relieve the pain of child- birth were burned at the stake for avoiding God's curse upon them. Occa- sionally the newspapers report stories of parents who refuse to give a child medical attention because they believe God will heal the sick one. Sometimes the child dies unnecessarily.

A news report that the Ku Klux Klan is marching in Kentucky in the interests of a white brotherhood brings to mind how fervently some Christians during the slave period used the Bible to support their right to own another person.

President Dew of William and Mary College said in 1832 "that Christianity approved servitude, and that the law of Moses had both assumed and positively established slavery. ... It is the order of nature and of God that the being of superior faculties and knowledge, and therefore of superior power, should control and dispose of those who are inferior."

Josiah Priest in the Bible defences of shivery explained that the curse of Noah upon Ham placed the entire Hamite race

Katie Funk Wiebe

(from which he believed the black race descended) under the liability of being enslaved to the other two brothers forever. And many Americans have accepted this theory to support the natural inferiority of blacks, even to the present.

Frederick Douglass, an American slave who escaped bondage to become a leading spokesman for emancipation, later wrote in his autobiography that among the slaveowners, Christians were often the cruelest. He himself had witnessed "men sold to build churches, women sold to support the gospel, and babes sold to purchase Bibles for the poor heathen! All for the glory of God and the good of souls."

And if these practices seem strange, it may seem equally strange to know that at one time women of the church were denied the right openly to support mission causes because church leaders did not believe that Scripture supported such activity. Some women had to become almost militant in demanding the privilege to send the gospel to children and women in foreign lands. The Methodist women pledged them- selves "to walk the streets in calico," if need be, to bring the message of salva- tion to overseas women.

Carolyn Blackwood writes in How to be an effective church woman that these "female societies were not looked upon with favor by the brethren." Some churches declared that each society should have a "respectable gentleman" as the patron who was to open the meetings with Scripture and prayers. One minister insisted that some man ought always to be present at every missionary meeting of the women because "if left to themselves, there is no telling what they might pray for."

These church fathers of more than 100 years ago were concerned that the

Apostle Paul's prohibitions in Corinth- ans and Timothy not be violated, for", teach and exhort, or to lead in prayer public and promiscuous assemblies, : clearly forbidden in the holy oracles.)

Among the Baptists, the oppositk was even more severe to the women proposal to send single women to Chili to teach children and women. The men boards, writes Ms. Blackwood, "stren' ously opposed this innovation." Bf little by little, through prayer and fai: and courage, over a period of a quart of a century, the women achieved the goal. And today's women travel easif along the path these women forged fj them against harsh opposition. Tl work of women's missionary circles, tl equality of all races, and even the pri ilege of using anesthetics during chil; birth are accepted and seem reaso able and right.

Then what is the lesson in the varied examples?

Perhaps it's this: We tend to forg that sometimes what we consider to j the absolute truth of the Word of God: but a thin slice of our particular cultu! thickly frosted by a few Scriptu; verses. Instead of letting the Wol speak to us, we read our prejudices irl it and then promote that as God's trut It is possible to take a few verses; Scripture and turn them into a doctrij which leads thousands astray, ev! though the entire thrust of the rest of tl Bible may speak against such an unb. anced interpretation. Every once inf while we need someone with courage take a hard look at what is happenii and then to say to the rest of us, "Youfj promoting western life-styles, not Go<; truth."

A Frederick Douglass, a few ce cerned women were the prophe voices for their time. Are we hearij today's prophets?

38

JANUARY 18, 19

I!

Ouncil of Commissions st for February 4-9

E arch growth, a mission in Hong Kong, ail parochial schools will be among the s jijects on the agendas of the commis- ftis and boards of the General Confer- e:| e next month.

''he policymaking bodies of the con- n ?nce will hold their annual Council of C nmissions February 4-9 in Newton, Kpsas.

l/omen in Mission's executive com- tee will meet first, beginning at 9:00 i., Friday, February 4, at the General

Ciference central offices. The WM isory council will meet onSaturday, inning at 8:30 a.m. he General Board will meet at 8:30 ., Saturday, at the central offices,

h h an executive committee meeting

tfj previous evening, oard and commission members will md Sunday morning services in area gregations, then begin meeting at 3 p.m., Sunday, February 7, at First

^jnnonite Church, Newton. Members he Commission on Education, Com- ision on Home Ministries, Commis- a on Overseas Mission, Division of ministration, and the Mennonite lical Seminary board will meet from iday afternoon through Tuesday ning.

leetings will conclude with another G leral Board session from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday, at the central ces.

ill meetings, except for a few execu- i sessions, are open to the public, itations have gone to all area General Ejiference Mennonite congregations. l special invitation to the public has n given for the Sunday evening sion of the Commission on Home

listries. The commission will meet at 1 p.m. at the Grace Hill Mennonite Chrch east of Newton. The commission H hear an overall report from its staff all then identify issues for discussion djing the rest of its meetings.

Bn the CHM agenda are expected to bjsuch issues as the relationship of A|abaptism to evangelism and church gjwth, a possible cut of $10,000 in Pi erty grants, whether Hopi Mission S: ool in Arizona should become more irependent of CHM, and concerns of Cjiadian members of the commission all how CHM can relate best to the

Congregational Resources Board of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada.

The Commission on Overseas Mis- sion will discuss the writing of an overseas mission history, possible sup- port of a new theological school in Paraguay, participation in an inter- Mennonite mission in Hong Kong, disposition of mission property in India, the role of missionary wives on fur- lough, and whether COM should pay ransom if one of its missionaries were kidnapped overseas.

The Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission board, in which the General Conference cooperates, voted this fall not to pay such ransom, and Mennonite and Brethren in Christ mission administra- tors agreed last spring to recommend to their respective boards that a policy of nonpayment of ransom be the official position. The Evangelical Foreign Mis- sion Association board of directors has recommended a similar policy to its member missions.

The Commission on Education has invited eight General Conference- related parochial school administrators to attend its sessions and will devote one session to discussion of how COE can relate to church-sponsored primary and secondary schools. The parochial school administrators will have a sepa- rate meeting on Saturday.

Other agenda items for COE will include a study guide on the role of men in the church, funding for college courses on family life, camping, and beginning a series of study pamphlets.

The Mennonite Biblical Seminary board will be meeting Sunday and Monday and will discuss its cooperative relationship with Goshen Biblical Semi- nary on the same campus in Elkhart, Indiana. A long-range planning commit- tee is considering whether the two seminaries should merge or whether they should have one president at some time in the future.

The General Board will review the programs and budgets of the commis- sions and boards. It will also discuss such issues as war tax withholding for General Conference employees, minis- terial recruitment, salaries at the central offices, and television violence.

Women in Mission will plan for the women's session at the General Confer- ence triennial convention in Bluffton, Ohio, next summer. The advisory coun-

cil will also discuss the possibility of future joint issues of Window to mis- sion, its quarterly publication, and Voice, the publication of the Women's Missionary and Service Commission of the Mennonite Church.

Words©* deeds

The Mennonite Gulf States Missions Conference is investigating the possibil- ity of a joint witness in Starkville, Mississippi, with the University Chris- tian Church. Assistance in the mission of the church has been requested by Harold Kaufman, who is a lay leader there. The Christian Church is involved in ministries to university students and international students, a tutoring pro- gram for elementary and high school students, and a homemakers program. The Gulf States evangelism committee has invited the Mennonite Board of Missions, Elkhart, Indiana, to consider starting a voluntary service unit in Starkville or promoting a joint Mennonite-Christian fellowship.

The Eden Church, Moundridge, Kansas, spent Sunday, November 28, in small groups discussing the discovery and use of people's gifts in the congregation. A total of 391 people participated in thirty-four host homes. Among the comments were these: "There needs to be more encouragement in our fellow- ship; there are those who hesitate, are reluctant, and those who lack self- confidence." "Destructive criticism seemed to be the consensus of ourgroup to be a big force in stifling talents." "We need small churches (twelve or less) within the larger church." "Voluntary service can begin in Moundridge." "Some young people feel a let-down after catechism class; they would like to see more follow-up for their Christian growth." In most homes the groups decided the discussions were interest- ing, challenging, and beneficial.

A Conference on Charismatic Renewal in the Christian Churches is scheduled July 20-24 in Kansas City, Missouri. The 1977 conference is expected to draw 60,000 people for the ecumenical gather- ing. Among those on the conference planning committee is Nelson Litwiller of Mennonite Renewal Services.

TiE MENNONITE 39

He visits men in prison — and bails them out

Carl Landis tries to get people out of jail. As executive director of Lancaster Community Pretrial Justice Association (LCPJA) he visits men accused of crimes who must wait for their trial in the Lancaster County prison because they cannot meet bail.

Because studies have shown people released before trial have a better chance of getting a lower sentence, Mr. Landis tries to help the men meet bail so they can get out of jail, find an attorney, and prepare a defense.

The men either write him a letter or are referred by the prison counselor. Unlike the man's family who must visit through a window, Mr. Landis is al- lowed to have "contact visits" in a small room.

Sometimes he only needs to explain the bail system so the person will know what to do. Other times he contacts family or friends who can meet bail for the person. For people with some

financial resources, but not enough for the bail, Mr. Landis collects information about the person's job, family, past record, and reputation. With this infor- mation in hand, the magistrate will sometimes reduce bail or allow the person to be set free on the condition he pay the bail if he does not show up at trial. For one man whose employer, wife, and child urgently requested him back, bail was reduced so he could pay it.

For a few people with obvious finan- cial need, bail is posted with property or money from the LCPJA bail project. One thousand dollars is the largest amount posted so far. Because Mr. Landis was recently certified as a professional bail bondsman, the LCPJA is no longer limited in the number of people it can bail out.

With the two other LCPJA board members and the owner of the property used for bail, Mr. Landis makes sure the

Car/ Landis contacts people for the Lancaster Community Pretrial justice Association.

person requesting bail is not a seriou risk to the community and shows lack o> evidence he will fail to appear in courlt

Because the Lancaster criminal cour only meets every other month, a mat who cannot meet bail can sit in jail fror six weeks to four months waiting forhij hearing. Meanwhile his family is with out a wage earner and father. Thii means people who sit out the time anl are then proven innocent have beei punished for a crime they did nc commit. In such a pressured situatioij some people plead guilty although the! are innocent, so they can get the tria over with and begin serving a senteno,

LCPJA started in 1976 from a groupc, people concerned about this situatioi who wanted to provide bail and relate services to people jailed before trial. Tb: Trinity Lutheran Church provided irt office space in their parish house, an! other concerned people, such as a sem retired Mennonite couple, loaned prop erty as surety for bail or gave mone;> The fact that Mr. Landis could voluntef his time as executive director ga\| LCPJA the last push needed to stai functioning. No one else involved inth project had the time.

Although Mr. Landis works to he| individuals deal with the present couj system, the overarching purpose of tb) project is to show those in power thir the bail system is unfair to those w\ cannot pay. If enough people release) before trial receive lighter sentence and do not return to jail, Mr. Land says, "We may be able to say something to magistrates — if we have a good trad record."

After graduating in 1969 from Mir lersville State College in Millersvilli Pennsylvania, Mr. Landis spent thrt years in the MCC Teachers Abrotl Program — one year of language study I Belgium and two years as an Englisl teacher in Algeria. He then attend^! Associated Mennonite Biblical Semj naries in Elkhart, Indiana, graduate with a master of arts in religion.

Returning to Lancaster, his hoii town, in 1974, he worked as an M0 volunteer with the public offende; office.

When LCPJA formed and Mr. Land was appointed executive director, hi two-year term with MCC was extendi! to July 1977. He now works part tin with the Sunday worship services intl Lancaster County prison and part tin with the bail project.

40 JANUARY 18, 19'

Ihe Cuban church: Out from under suspicion

r|s interpretive article is by Doug ^tetter, a member of the MCC Peace tion, who visited Cuba on a Peace tion assignment from September 1- I 3976.

sit a strange mixture of fear and itement as our flight touched down ;he Jose Marti International Airport i|-Iavana, Cuba. I had come as part of American delegation of Christians at invitation of the Cuban Govern- nt's Institute for Friendship with the pie. We had been invited to spend ten s visiting schools, factories, and ective farms to help the American gious community understand the )an government, society, and people, had asked for free time to set up ointments and visits on our own in 3r to understand the life of the

rch in Cuba today as well. Our hosts ! accommodated us by leaving our nings as well as all day Sunday free, arly the first Sunday morning Merle use, a missions executive for the ireh of the Brethren who was a umber of our delegation, and I traveled i Pentecostal church we had visited night before. There we met a pastor ) would guide us to the Brethren in ist church in Quatro Caminos, about iteen miles outside of Havana, fter three buses and a 1953 Chev- iot taxi, we arrived at the church prtly after the service had begun. At ;d;jt glance we thought that the church empty, but then we realized that the gregation was on their knees in v'er. We slipped quietly into the back ch.

re were welcomed with tearful joy Mm the congregation got up from |ij/er. The Scripture for the morning Psalm 100. Pastor Juana Garcia special greetings to their sister hirches in the United States and Uijada. Merle preached a short sermon, irjl spoke briefly about theMennonite :h|~ch in South Vietnam and shared a :ej thoughts on our unity in a God who :ri scends all geographical and politi- 2a systems.

luring the sharing period later in the se ice one of the believers, who men- iicjed that we had arrived silently and Jrjcpectedly just like the second com- H; of Christ, hoped that when Christ *>ly does return he will also find the

;regation on their knees. . he Quatro Caminos church is a

simple church in a small rural village. Of the total membership of twenty-one persons, fifteen were present at that worship service. The congregation seemed to be composed of men and women of all ages, with a high number of youth participating.

Three new members had been bap- tized the previous month. Baptisms are still somewhat of a problem, since the Quatro Caminos congregation is the only Brethren in Christ church in Cuba and pastor Juana Garcia is not ordained, since she finished seminary after all the missionaries left Cuba. The pastor from the Open Bible Standard Church in Havana, whom we met later in the week, said that he had baptized the most recent converts. He explained that even though he belonged to another church, he was willing to baptize the new members strictly following the tradition of the Brethren in Christ. One comment which seemed to be the consensus of the Christian community was that the revolution has brought all of the Chris- tian churches closer together.

The service was closed with some good singing from several of the young people. One young woman named Eliza- beth asked that we carry "very special greetings from the youth of the Brethren in Christ church in Cuba to the Menno- nite and Brethren in Christ youth in North America."

The worship service Sunday was only the beginning of contacts with Chris- tians in and around Havana throughout the week. During my ten-day visit, I visited four congregations and two of the five Protestant seminaries inCuba. I was greatly impressed by the vitality, openness, and warmth of the congrega- tions and the churches' sincere attempt to grapple with the theological implica- tions of their situation.

The years of greatest hardship for the Cuban churches were immediately after the revolution. In the early 1960s the United States first instituted an eco- nomic blockade against Cuba. The blockade, which is still in effect, incor- porates U.S. law prohibiting support from the United States for missionaries or mission churches in Cuba. At that time all of the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ and all but one of the other Protestant missionaries left.

Many of the churches, including Mennonites and Brethren in Christ, also sponsored their Cuban pastors' emigra- tion to the United States as refugees,

leaving the church practically without leaders. Although she was not then a pastor, Juana Garcia saw the church leaderless, felt that her congregation should be kept together, and decided to go to the West Indian Mission seminary in Cuba for theological training. Believ- ers from the other Mennonite churches which dissolved joined other Protestant churches in the area.

Immediately after the revolution the government was suspicious of many of the churches, most of whom at that time actively opposed the new government. Some Christians even participated in the CIA-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion. During that period of turmoil the churches were closely watched. Juana Garcia mentioned that if a stranger came into the church she would imme- diately switch to preaching on John 3: 16, feeling that that passage would least likely be misunderstood as something subversive. But for many years now, the tension between the church and the state has subsided, and freedom of religion is guaranteed by the new Cuban constitution adopted in 1975.

Raul Caballos, a Presbyterian pastor, pointed out the dilemma for the Cuban church today. "For years we as Chris- tians claimed to be God's people. We claimed to care about the needy, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked, but mostly it was just words. And now we have a government which is doing these very things. Do you remember Christ's parable of the father who had two sons? He asked both to work in his vineyard. One of the sons said yes but did nothing. The other son said no but turned around and did what his father had com- manded. Christ turned to the people and asked which was the real son of the father. And the people responded, 'The son who actually did as his father commanded.' " Mr. Caballos pointed out that many times in the Bible where God's people were unfaithful, God would use even pagan kings to do his will.

Despite the difficulties of the Cuban church, however, I came away from Cuba with great hope. In both of the seminaries I visited there was much talk of the new church which is now being born. It is too early to tell what this church will look like. But it is evident that there are many Christians who are seeking to be faithful to God and to understand what he would have them do within the new society in Cuba today.

h MENNONITE 41

Africans discuss body-soul dichotomy

"Evangelism is not the same as social action, but both evangelism and social action are responsibilities of Chris- tians," said African leader Gottfried Osei-Mensah at the Pan African Chris- tian Leadership Assembly December 9- 19 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The executive secretary of the Lau- sanne Committee for World Evangeliza- tion said four concepts vie for accep- tance in the Christian world: social concern or evangelism, social concern is evangelism, social concern for evange- lism, and social concern and evange- lism. He subscribes to the fourth posi- tion.

"Feed, don't whip, reluctant givers"

People will give when they are spiritual- ly fit, said Vernon Wiebe, general secretary of the Mennonite Brethren Board of Missions and Services, Hills- boro, Kansas.

"List the people who come only for the morning worship service and never take any responsibility in the church, and you will have a list of most of the reluctant givers in your church," he said.

"The solution to their dilemma is not more encouragement — that is like ship- ping an undernourished pony. The solution is renewal and that is every member's responsibility."

Revised MB confession of faith released

The revised Mennonite Brethren Con- fession of Faith, written after over a decade of discussion in committees, churches, and schools, has been pub- lished in booklet form.

The first confession of faith drafted completely by Mennonite Brethren was published in 1902 and was accepted by churches in both North America and

Paraguayan settlement project continues

A Chulupi administrator and a Campo AJegre, Paraguay, family draw water from well, one of fifteen drilled for Indian villages by MCC in cooperation with the India Settlement Board. The board is made up of Chaco Indians and Paraguayo>\ Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church members. Other projects include classes: gardening, cattle raising, basic mathemetics, and use of credit. More than 7(j| Indian families joined the settlements around the Mennonite colonies betvra 1959, when the program began, and 1976. Approximately 80 percent of the seventj nine families who joined settlements last year grew up in one of the originj villages.

Russia. It was translated from German to English and printed in 1940. In 1966 the General Conference of the Menno- nite Brethren Churches voted to revise the confession "in contemporary lan- guage." The revision committee (A.J. Klassen, Victor Adrian, Clarence Hie- bert, and J. A. Toews) husbanded the revision through seven drafts. The final version was accepted by the conference in 1975.

Copies are available for 50 cents each from the Fellowship Bookcenter, 302 Kennedy St., Winnipeg, Manitoba R2L 1L4.

BOOK BINDING AND REPAIRING

Expert work on Bibles, zines and newspapers

hymnbooks, and others. Bind maga- in book form. Will do a year of THE

MENNONITE for $6.50 plus postage. 1 1. 1 1. ( Joertzen

271 Marshall Bay, Winnipeg, Manitoba (2()4) 475-6352

World Leprosy Sunday set January 30

World Leprosy Sunday on January will highlight the concern of the Chr: tian church for the fifteen million peoj in the world with leprosy.

The General Conference has be| involved in leprosy work overseas sin: 1902, when the late missionary P. j Penner founded the Bethesda Leproj Hospital and Homes in Champa, Ind|

The General Conference's Commj sion on Overseas Mission suppli; personnel until 1972 and has givi finances since then.

The General Conference also won with leprosy patients at Kilometer 81i Paraguay through missionary Elear Mathies. Ms. Mathies, a member of ll Leamington (Ontario) United Menil nite Church, has served there since IS as a nurse and physiotherapist.

The American Leprosy Missio Bloomfield, New Jersey, is offering, f of charge, to pastors and church lead a kit of educational materials for USf special services.

!

42 JANUARY 18, 1i

Ilecord

Ibrkers

ILna Cressman, missionary in India |[er the Commission on Overseas iiision of the General Conference I nnonite Church, returned to Kitchen- IjOnt., in mid-December for a 2V2- iths furlough. Ms. Cressman has n in India since 1947 and has been in ;hing and administration at Wood- :k School, Mussoorie, India, since B|5. She is a member of the Stirling II?. Church in Kitchener, d and Linda Enns of Niverville, n., left Dec. 28, 1976, for one year of ^uage study in San Jose, Costa Rica, owing that year, they will be serving er the General Conference's Com- njsion on Overseas Mission as mis- ii iaries in Colombia, particularly with i terature ministry, amuel and Leona Entz, First Church, vton, Kans., have terminated as leral Conference Mennonite mis- laries in Zaire, effective Dec. 31, IS 6. They have served in Zaire under ica Inter-Mennonite Mission since ember 1949. Sam served most re- ly as mission mechanic with general isportation responsibilities, and na was a nurse at the maternity Dital in Kalonda, Zaire. Upon their rn to Newton, Sam planned to be -employed as an auto mechanic. haron Epp, Bethesda Church, Hen- ;on, Nebr., began work Jan. 10 as a etary at the central offices of the eral Conference, Newton, Kans. She work with the Commission on rseas Mission, primarily as secre- to Verney Unruh, COM secretary 'ijAsia. Ms. Epp has most recently Hp secretary and comptroller for the altered Care Workshop (a center for rded adults) in Markham, 111. She »| served in that capacity while in Mlj.nonite Voluntary Service in 1974- 78She is a graduate of Freeman (S.D.) [ft or College. Ms. Epp replaces Donata wins GiJIen, who resigned in No- *ber to move to Wyoming.

na Friesen of Morden, Man., has ae I appointed as a mission associate in Vl.ico under the General Conference o| hree years. She left Jan. 5 for nine Hi ths of Spanish language study in I Jose, Costa Rica. After that she will $o|3 Cuauhtemoc, Mexico, to assist in r;jring practical nurses at the federal

Friesen

Reimer

hospital, where missionary Tina Fehr is director of nursing. Ms. Friesen, a member of the Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference, has most recently been employed at the Bethel Hospital in Winnipeg, Man., as a registered nurse. She served a three-months term under COM in March to May 1976. She was born in Mexico.

Harry Martens, Elkhart, Ind., left Dec. 30, 1976, to spend two months in India teaching about stewardship. His assign- ment under the Commission on Over- seas Mission of the General Conference Mennonite Church includes workshops, seminars, and classes on giving in congregations of the Bharatiya General Conference Mennonite Church. Upon his return from India, he will begin serving as general consultant and direc- tor of Mennonite Biblical Seminary Associates.

Helen Reimer of Meade, Kans., is beginning a 3V2-months term in Mexico as a mission volunteer under the Gener- al Conference. A licensed practical nurse, Ms. Reimer will be involved in maternity nursing at the Mennonite clinic in the village of Nuevo Namiqui- pa, near Cuauhtemoc. She is a member of the Emmanuel Evangelical Menno- nite Church in Meade and has been employed at the Fowler (Kans.) Nursing Home. She previously worked seven years at Trinity Hospital, Dodge City, Kans.

Joieen Siebert has been appointed an admissions counselor at Bethel College, North Newton, Kans., beginning Jan. 9. She will be working with prospective students for Bethel with special atten- tion to recruitment in northwestern Kansas and alumni children in the Northern District. A native of Reedley, Calif., she attended Reedley Junior College and California State University at Fresno. Ms. Siebert graduated from

Bethel in 1973 with a degree in elemen- tary education. She served a two-year assignment with Mennonite Voluntary Service at Friendship Day-Care Center, Hutchinson, Kans. Most recently she has been employed by Menno Travel Service, Newton. Ms. Siebert replaces Nyla Friesen Huffman who is moving to western Kansas.

Correction

Jurgen Schonwetter, Eben-Ezer Church, Clearbrook, B.C., has been named in- terim pastor of the Glendale Church, Lynden, Wash. He continues to be instructor at Columbia Bible Institute in Clearbrook. He has served previous pastorates in Walton, Kans.; Etna Green, Ind.; and Greendale, B.C.

Calendar

Apr. 14-17 — Central District Confer- ence annual sessions, Calvary Church, Washington, 111.

June 9-12 — Pacific District Confer- ence annual sessions, Aurora, Ore.

July 28-Aug. 3 — General Conference triennial sessions, Bluffton, Ohio Canadian

Feb. 25-26 — Conference of Menno- nites in Saskatchewan annual sessions, Seventh Day Adventist complex, Dun- durn; theme, "We are God's fellow workers"; speaker, Helmut Harder Northern

Mar. 31, Apr. 1, 2— Presentation of Gilbert and Sullivan's The gondoliers. Schmeckfest, Freeman, S.D.

Help wanted

Northern and Southern Cheyenne communities in Montana and Oklahoma need community service workers. Variety of positions possible. Married couples, age twenty-two years or older, who are available for two years, want to be helpful in a different culture, and have solid social service skills should Contact: Mennonite Voluntary Service

Box 347, Newton, Kansas 67114

(316) 283-5100

ft- MENNONITE 43

Review

Four books about women and men

Man as male and female, by Paul K. Jewett (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2975. 200 pp., $2.95 pbj; To be a man — to be a woman, by Kenneth and Alice Hamilton (Abingdon, Nashville and New York, 1975, 159 pp., $2.95 pbj; What wives wish their husbands knew about women, by James Dobson (Tyn- dale, Wheaton, III, 1975, 189pp., $5.95); and Women without men, by Dorothy Payne (Pilgrim, Phdadelphia and Bos- ton. 1969. 150 pp., $4.95]. are reviewed by Lois Barrett, associate editor of The Mennonite.

The "woman question" is really a man- woman question. That is the attitude of Paul Jewett in Man as male and female; A study in sexual relationships from a theological point of view.

The book is an extended commentary on Genesis 1:27, "And God created Man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Mr. Jewett's term "Man" refers to the Hebrew word adham, contrasted with "man" fish) and "woman" (ish- shahj.

Sexuality is not a result of the Fall, but a good, creative act of God, says Mr. Jewett.

He writes, "Man's sexuality is not simply a mechanism for procreation which Man has in common with the animal world; it is rather a part of what it means to be like the Creator. As God is a fellowship in himself (Trinity), so Man is a fellowship in himself, and the fundamental form of this fellowship, so far as Man is concerned, is that of male and female." ("Fellowship" does not necessarily mean marriage.)

Mr. Jewett argues against the femi- nists who advocate androgeny, the ideal personhood which transcends male and female. There are inherent differences between men and women which are more than physical and not simply cultural. Androgeny denies the good- ness of maleness and femaleness, he says.

On the other hand, he also argues againsl those (including theologian Karl Rarlh) who say thai because men and women are inherently different, one must always be subordinate to the Other, Such a theology is not biblical,

says the Fuller Theological Seminary professor.

If one presses the subjection of wives on biblical grounds, he says, one must also press for the subjection of slaves.

Mr. Jewett depicts Paul as a man caught between his rabbinic upbringing (with his interpretation of Genesis 2 that women are subordinate) and his commitment to the life-style of Jesus, in which men and women are treated with equal respect. Mr. Jewett tries to show that a faithful interpretation of Genesis 2 does not lead to a hierarchy of men over women.

Part of Mr. Jewett's argument is weakened, however, because he does not know what are the inherent differ- ences between male and female, beyond the physical. Most other differences vary from culture to culture, and the nonphysical differences between the sexes remain a "divine secret," he ad- mits.

The book is a helpful exposition of Genesis 1 and 2, but it would have been more helpful if Mr. Jewett had not tried to rely so much on a "secret" for which he has no evidence.

The less serious scholar might enjoy To be a man — to be a woman, a shorter study book written by a husband-wife team, both professors at the University of Winnipeg.

The two take a biblical look at masculine and feminine stereotypes, which are part of a fallen world.

" 'In the Spirit,' men and women have exactly the same needs," say the Hamil- tons. "There is no male or female way of finding God, no male or female way of receiving the Holy Spirit."

The book will be most helpful to adult Sunday school classes and during-the- week study groups in dealing with sexuality. Each chapter ends with a summary of the lesson, a list of discus- sion questions, and activity sugges- tions.

Less helpful is What wives wish their husbands knew about women. It may help married couples cope with tradi- tional roles, but it does little to offer alternative roles. The book will help women — and their

husbands — understand and identify feelings of emotional isolation and; depression. Chapter titles include "Low self-esteem," "Fatigue and time pres- sure," "Sexual problems in marriage," and "Problems with children."

Mr. Dobson assumes male leadership but the main weakness of the book i that he counters his opposition with ridicule rather than reason'.

And there are probably many fewer women in the full-time, stay-at-homf role than Mr. Dobson wishes.

Underlining the predominance off 1 women in other roles is Dorothy Payne's Women without men; Creative livingfoi1'' singles, divorcees, and widows. Ms,|| Payne, who has been both widowed and divorced, points out that, in the United" States, blacks of both sexes and every! *l age make up 10 or 11 percent of thef* population, while single women alont over the age of thirty make up 8 or E

percent.

The first nine chapters deal with t he concerns of single women — particular^ f middle-aged single women: social limff bo, a poor self-image, the physical life religion, employment, and involvemen' 1 in society and meeting others' needs. F1

"I have high hope and great faith in thi single woman," she writes. "But sh> must be awakened, she must act, sh must share her life. And she must b\ willing to take the first step."

The last four chapters are Ms. Payn own life story: her first short marria which ended in her husband's death, he intense sense of failure after her secom | marriage which ended in divorce, he crisis and new birth with the help o friends who cared.

"Once the self was released from il bondages of guilt, fear, and anger, I waM freed to do many things I had formed thought impossible." She entered seffljl nary at age forty-five and is now I minister to single women in Manhattai "Gradually I was enabled to becom creatively involved in the lives i others — to give and accept love and lid and attention because I now felt a ceptable."

This book should be on the highly recommended list for all single womi and lor others who care about them.

44 JANUARY 18, 19

Beauty and the beast

ItateMe aid the ■MMraa

Larry Kehler

Saturday morning television pro- ns were put in prime time, it would te a national scandal," charged a munications research expert at a /ention of religious communicators long ago.

eorge Gerbner, dean of the Annen- ! School of Communications in

ladelphia, said, "Saturday morning here we dump our cheapest, crudest, only the most violent, but the most products, compared to which

llost any kind of adult entertainment ill of sophistication, subtlety, and

lijianeness."

pildren's television, he concluded, ains "the crudest and most direct •ession" of North American preju- s.

any parents may be surprised by accusation. After all, Saturday ning programs keep their children of their hair while they do the ning or while they try to take mtage of the one day in the week n they can sleep in. mother, Tilya Gallay, counted her '\ blessings like this in a TV guide :le several years ago: "The beauty of dsion is that the children watch it. while they're watching, they're not g other things, like flushing your brushes down the toilet or tying

■Is in your best nylons to make a kjping rope. . . .

'jherefore, you television networks m heart. Ignore your critics and liilain your foes. Consider this a love ■ r from every woman who has ever lea child. Until they make boarding el|ols compulsory from birth, or bring iaj the extinct nursemaid, you are the n i^er to a mother's prayers."

3. Gallay is speaking tongue-in- h k, we hope. But probably not. We

have seen too many homes where television is in fact seen and accepted as a prime baby-sitter. One suspects that many parents have no idea what their children are watching, just as long as they keep out of mischief.

It is estimated that a North American child spends at least three hours every day in front of the TV set. That adds up to more hours than he or she spends in