Articles : Dec. 5, 2011
Editorial
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The mystery of a big God
Open the blue hymnal, and there it is on the first page: mystery. “Words from afar, stars that are falling, sparks that are sown in us like seed. Names for our God, dreams, signs and wonders, sent from the past are what we need.”
Feature
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Journey from Navy to pacifism leads to church pastored by Army veteran
On a U.S. Navy psychological exam at nuclear submarine training in South Carolina, Michael Izbicki gave a concrete answer to a theoretical question.
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Family’s generosity, born of suffering, benefits university
WINNIPEG, Man. — Multiple harrowing escapes from Soviet captivity were the inspiration for generosity in the Redekop family, who recently gave a multimillion-dollar gift to Canadian Mennonite University.
Letters
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Fighting in church
A recent issue of MWR contained at least four articles on what the Mennonite church is doing for world peace, but in the last four months there were only one or two articles about cooperation between different groups of Mennonites — church peace. When I was a youth, our church in Montana was preparing to host the Alberta-Saskatchewan annual conference. A church member picked up something and threw it at me. I threw something back at him. He threw up his hands and said I ought to be nonresistant. Another brother jokingly said, “Ah, fellows, it’s all right to fight as long as it is inside the church.” Over the years I have observed that comment was not a joke but a reality. Are we working as hard for church peace as for world peace?
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A better name?
Amid a plethora of attempts to name a group of Anabaptist Christian believers, we have mired ourselves in a quagmire of names that fail to describe our small nuances, unite our common beliefs and clearly define to the world what and who we are (“A New Name for Brethren in Christ?,” Nov. 7).
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Demeaning word
Regarding “When Saints Met Originals” (Nov. 21): While Glenn Lehman meant this to be a humorous bit, I stopped smiling when I read the word “squaw.” This word is as demeaning to our First Nation friends as the “N” word is to African-Americans. Better word choice next time, eh?
News
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Conference in India celebrates centennial
Dhamtari, India — The Mennonite Church in India celebrated its 100th anniversary Oct. 27-30 with a gathering of about 1,000 people at Sunderganj Mennonite Church.
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Everence rate increase draws federal criticism
For the first time, the Obama administration used its new ability to publicly highlight health insurance rates it believes are unjustified — and did so by singling out a Mennonite-related insurer.
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Seven Amish hair cutters arrested for hate crimes
Authorities raided the compound of a breakaway Amish group before dawn Nov. 23 in eastern Ohio and arrested seven men on federal hate crime charges for a series of beard- and hair-cutting attacks on other Amish.
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Students protest military academy
NORTH NEWTON, Kan. — Eleven Bethel College students climbed on a charter bus at 10 p.m. Nov. 17, joining other students from Hesston College, McPherson College and Newman University in Wichita, as well as non-students.
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