MWR : Articles : Nov. 28, 2011

Last updated March 08.

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Articles : Nov. 28, 2011

Hope for a new Haiti

Haiti will always be Haiti. It will never change. That’s what a young, educated Haitian told me as our Land Cruiser meandered past the still-destroyed National Palace. He said he had little hope for his country but would always have hope for himself and his family.

Business, education keys to Haiti’s recovery

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Before the magnitude-7 earthquake struck here almost two years ago, Ronald Sadou Zami struggled to find work. Like many Haitians, he had discovered multiple ways to earn minimal income. He wrote poems for schools, was a sewing machine mechanic and sometimes did masonry work.
Housing, latrine projects help bring dignity back to life

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — In a matter of seconds, the January 2010 earthquake turned Elumene Charles’ modest, concrete home to rubble. She lost everything.
Trauma healing not just for earthquake survivors

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — With dignified humility, Edouarnus Estivil calls himself a direct victim of the January 2010 earthquake. It destroyed his Port-au-Prince home. It paralyzed his sister, and it killed his mother, the head of his household.

Peace testimony

Thanks to Wil LaVeist of Mennonite Mission Network for an inspiring article about the Kniss family (“Siblings Credit Parents for Love of Mission, India,” Nov. 7).

1st Philadelphia MCC festival a multiethnic celebration

PHILADELPHIA — The first Mennonite Central Committee Benefit Festival in Philadelphia brought together almost two dozen Anabaptist-related congregations in the Delaware Valley and raised $20,135.
Beyond aid, MCC Haiti an advocate for people

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Nearly two years after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, about $9 million of Mennonite Central Committee’s $16 million disaster response funds have been spent on projects to revitalize Haitians’ lives.
Lancaster administrator’s employment terminated

Lancaster (Pa.) Mennonite School has terminated the employment of an administrator facing allegations of sexual abuse.
Fla. church withdraws from Southeast Conference

Faced with an ultimatum concerning its stance on homosexuality, Covenant Mennonite Fellowship of Sarasota, Fla., has withdrawn from Southeast Mennonite Conference.

Should one issue define us?

There have always been differences among Mennonites over how to interpret church documents. Recently, there have been calls for Mennonite Church USA to impose churchwide uniformity on the interpretation of these documents, particularly as they relate to pastoral credentialing issues and same-sex marriage ceremonies. We believe such a move would not only repudiate the direction set in the “Purposeful Plan” at the Pittsburgh convention this summer but would be a recipe for increased conflict, distraction and polarization.