MWR : Articles : May 2, 2011

Last updated April 26.

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Articles : May 2, 2011

Sharing our dreams

For Arvada Mennonite Church and Spirit of Joy Fellowship Church of the Brethren, members of the congregation are taking turns sharing our hopes and dreams in about seven-minute morsels. Linda Fish bravely started us off, sharing about her love of music.
Battling for breakfast

World Day of Prayer was held at Bethel church on March 4, when Green Grove Baptist Church hosted the event. This is a cooperative event held every year at five different neighboring churches.
Witnessing on spring break

During their spring break, 40 youth group members traveled to Birmingham, Ala., for their work project March 21-24.

An exploration of how love wins

If the unexamined life is not worth living, is the unexamined faith not worth believing? That might overstate it, but Christians ought to hold their beliefs up to scrutiny, to see how they fare when challenged.

Goshen artist helps develop historic Bible museum

For the past year and a half, Joel Kauffmann of Goshen, Ind., has been scripting a traveling exhibit that tells what he calls “one of the most tumultuous stories in religious history.”
Worker in Spain completes 1,000-page biblical trilogy

Dennis Byler, a mission worker in Spain, has completed a labor of love that lasted more than 20 years. He’s written a trilogy of biblical theology in Spanish totaling more than 1,000 pages.
MCC fruit tree project takes root in Bolivia

SWIFT CURRENT COLONY, Bolivia — Orchards of grapefruit, mango, papaya, avocado and other fruits will soon produce fruit of their own on Heinrich and Sara Neufeld’s large farmyard in this Mennonite colony 25 miles south of Santa Cruz.

Spirit still teaching

Through the eyes of the church and its call to the mission of Jesus, the current discussions on homosexuality are disturbing. I’ve been around long enough to have experienced similar discussions on divorce and witnessed the trails of debris left in its wake. For the most part, the church has now made its peace with divorce.
Vision of alliance

My proposal for a North American Anabaptist Alliance is not a mere dream, it is a vision. Responses to my article (“Alliance for Fellowship, Witness,” Jan. 3) have been encouraging. Some ask, “How do we structure this association?” That question is too institutional. Let it begin as an identity, a fellowship, in which each group maintains its uniqueness and seeks its own integrity yet relates in fellowship without any constraint or manipulation.

AMBS dean, pastor, church leader dies

GOSHEN, Ind. — Ross T. Bender, dean emeritus of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, who devoted himself to service and leadership in the Mennonite church, including congregational, denominational and global ministries, died April 21. He was 81.