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Preaching of the As Is the Case with Other Public Ministries in Word Was Called a Prayer of Illumination

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Preaching of the As Is the Case with Other Public Ministries in Word Was Called a Prayer of Illumination April 5, 2010 Volume 14 Number 7 Violet against violence inside Making the Word in worship come alive 4 Thinking outside the law 13 Gene Stoltzfus obituary 20 2 Canadian Mennonite April 5, 2010 Editorial leadership and an area church described as “still a patient in critical condition” Words are powerful after recovery from a “near-death” ex- perience of division and strife. As a new- Dick Benner comer to the Canadian scene, I had to be Editor/Publisher brought up-to-speed on these histories. That, perhaps, is a good thing, because peech seems to be on the public While this war of words engulfs us, I can bring a fresh set of eyes to these mind these days. it might be instructive to examine how settings. Still, regardless of the past, the S As I write this, much of the we use words in our own settings. We language bothered me. No stranger to Canadian press and Ottawa University Mennonites, too, sometimes resort to conflict, I know all too well the destruc- seem to be in a spat over the sanctity of the force of words to diminish each other tive dynamics of church members walk- free speech springing from the rather than, as the Apostle Paul ing away from each other when failing invitation, then the cancelling, of instructed the Ephesians, to “speak to agree on what is often camouflaged as right-wing American pundit Ann the truth in love . so as to build “doctrinal” or “spiritual” issues. Our pre- Coulter, who was to speak to the up the body.” disposition, as faithful disciples, to hold students. Having just returned from visits fast to our beliefs often trumps the call to “The university itself loses out to three of the area churches’ keep in covenantal relationship with our when it lacks the courage to be annual general meetings, I have sisters and brothers. a social laboratory,” opined the Globe heard a lot of words. Many of them were Let me suggest two antidotes: and Mail. “The University of Calgary is inspiring, the imagery rich, oftentimes • First, it might be helpful to see all of our a ‘beacon of light’ compared to Ottawa’s moving. I am remembering specific- work as, in the words of Alan Kreider, ‘darkness,’ ” droned Rex Murphy, CBC’s ally Don Rempel Boschman’s wonderful “God’s kingdom-coming.” He urged a silver-tongued pundit, in praising the analogy of comparing God’s “chosen spiritual discipline that he practises him- Calgary institution for actually following people” to a “parade in which all partici- self of praying that portion of the Lord’s through on its invitation to let Coulter pate and there are no spectators,” when Prayer “your kingdom come, on earth as speak there. leading Mennonite Church Manitoba in heaven” three times daily—morning, South of the border, political leaders delegates in worship. noon and night. He asks God to show opposed to the newly passed health care Or when Alan Kreider urged the MC him where and how he is working rather reform bill have become so incensed that Saskatchewan delegates to move from than the other way around. they have taken to employing the lan- “exhortation to incarnation” in formu- • Second, take heed of the words of Betty guage of violence, such as John Boehner, lating witness language as they relate Pries, who, in working with churches the House minority leader, who declared “authentically” to an increasing number through their lifecycle stages, says that the passage was “Armageddon.” of non-church-going neighbours. congregations should consider conflict The Republican National Committee Or when Terry Schellenberg, speaking as an ongoing dynamic. What matters is put out a fundraising appeal that includ- to the MC Alberta delegates, compared not that it exists, but how it is managed. ed a picture of Nancy Pelosi, speaker of so vividly the powerful influences of Faithful people can disagree respect- the House, surrounded by flames, while the dominant Roman Empire on new fully. She believes the church to be a the committee’s chair declared that it Christians in Paul’s time to our consum- place of “risk, searching, questioning and was time to put Pelosi on “the firing line.” er-driven culture of today. listening.” And Sarah Palin put out an online map But I also heard some discouraging These constructs should give us some literally putting Democratic lawmakers in words. I heard references to “rumours” framework in choosing our words care- the cross hairs of a rifle sight. floating around regarding styles of fully for the building up of the body. About the cover: Tying violet ribbons for peace on a tree at Foothills Mennonite Church, Circulation: Please contact Lisa Jacky toll-free at Calgary, are, from top left: Darcy Krahn, Lil Bartel, Trudy Rempel and Marg 1-800-378-2524 ext. 221 or by e-mail at office@ Werner. They joined worshippers in all Calgary Mennonite churches on canadianmennonite.org for subscriptions and ad- dress changes. Subscriptions can also be ordered at March 21 in a pledge to witness for peace and ‘acceptance of all people’ our web site. We acknowledge the financial support of after a year of violence in the city by white supremacist groups. See story the Government of Canada through the Publications on page 17. Assistance Program towards our mailing costs. ISSN PHOTO: DICK BENNER, CANADIAN MENNONITE 1480-042X PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40063104 REGISTRATION NO. 09613 Making the Word in worship come alive 4 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE ITEMS TO CANADIAN MENNONITE contentsIf your church is like most, you spend more time 490 DUTTON DRIVE, UNIT C5 with announcements than reading the Bible during WATERLOO ON N2L 6H7 worship. For those churches that want to reverse this Phone: 519-884-3810 Toll-free: 1-800-378-2524 Fax: 519-884-3331 trend, provides nine prac- Web site: canadianmennonite.org Christine Longhurst tical suggestions to again make Scripture an integral Please send all material to be considered for publication to: part of our Sunday morning gatherings. General submission address: [email protected] Readers Write: [email protected] New residence hall to be built at CBC 14 Milestones announcements: [email protected] B.C.’s Columbia Bible College is actively fundraising to build a new $3.5 Obituaries: Lisa Metzger, [email protected] million residence for its Abbotsford campus. The new four-storey resi- Calendar announcements: [email protected] dence will house 134 students. Material can also be sent “Attn: Submissions/Readers Write/Milestones/Obituaries/ Calendar” by postal mail or fax to our head office. Violet against violence 17 Reprint requests: [email protected] On March 21, Calgary’s Mennonite churches banded together to distribute violet ribbons as a peaceful response Mission statement: Canadian Mennonite (CM) is a bi-weekly Anabaptist/ to the race-related violence that has flared up in the city in Mennonite-oriented periodical which seeks to promote covenantal relationships within the church (Hebrews 10:23-25). It provides channels for sharing accurate the past year. and fair information, faith profiles, inspirational/educational materials, and news Introducing Muslims to Jesus 18 and analyses of issues facing the church. In fulfilling its mission, the primary con- A Sudanese convert from Islam—now a Christian evangelist—gives stituency of CM is the people and churches of Mennonite Church Canada and its CMU students and faculty tips on how to open up their Muslim con- five related area churches.CM also welcomes readers from the broader inter-Men- tacts to the possibility of accepting Jesus as their personal Saviour. nonite and inter-church scene. Editorial freedom is expressed through seeking and speaking the truth in love and by providing a balance of perspectives in news and Celebrating abilities 19 commentary. CM will be a vehicle through which mutual accountability can be Carrying the Paralympic flame represented the spirt of the games for exercised within the community of believers; the paper also encourages its readers Bonnie Sawatzky, a Peace Mennonite Church member and former to have open hearts and minds in the process of discerning God’s will. wheelchair athlete. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has prom- ised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, A greater voice for minority Reformation traditions 22 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, AMBS professor Walter Sawatsky chronicles recent consultations and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:23-25, NRSV). between various Reformed church denominations in the spirit of ecu- Board of Directors (by appointing body): menical dialogue. MC Canada: , Ed Janzen, Les Klassen Hamm, Joon Hyoung Park; MC B.C.: Linda Matties; MC Alberta: James Moyer; Regular features: MC Saskatchewan: Joe Neufeld; MC Manitoba: Al Friesen; Pontius’ Puddle 6 For discussion 7 Readers write 8 MC Eastern Canada: Larry Cornies; Milestones 11 Yellow Pages 22 Calendar 29 Classifieds 30 CMPS: Carl DeGurse, Margaret Ewen Peters, Tobi Thiessen Board Chair: Tobi Thiessen, [email protected], 416-622-7850 Words are powerful 2 Dick Benner Head Office Staff: Dick Benner, Editor/Publisher, [email protected] Putting the cat to sleep 9 Ross W. Muir, Managing Editor, [email protected] Melissa Miller Barb Draper, Editorial Assistant, [email protected] Dan Johnson, Graphic Designer, [email protected] Counting the cost of retirement 10 Lisa Jacky, Circulation/Finance, [email protected] Mike Strathdee Advertising: Lisa Metzger, [email protected], toll-free voice mail: 1-800-378-2524 ext. 224 New blog postings Correspondents: at canadianmennonite.org/blog/ Rachel Bergen, National Correspondent, [email protected], 204-885- 2565 ext.
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