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| August 18, 2009
Number: 66
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Contents
¬ Farewell from Leo by Leo Hartshorn
¬ Thanks for the beat! by Susan Mark Landis
¬ Funeral for the oldest warrior, who hated war by Susan Mark Landis
¬ Otterville by Merrill R. Miller
¬ Action alert: ACT for peace
¬ In the rubble that is Gaza by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach
¬ A handshake across the oceans by Max Ediger
¬ 50 Ways to leave your lover, Mammon by Anton Flores-Maisonet
¬ And after hearing the advice of the brothers... by Brother James Dowd
¬ Who Is My Neighbor? by Tom Beutel
¬ Prayer against the easy way
¬ Readers respond to the July issue
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Road Construction
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Farewell from Leo
by Leo Hartshorn
July 31, 2009, I ended seven years of work with Mennonite Mission Network as Minister of Peace and Justice and 36 years of church ministry.
<read more>
Thanks for the beat!
by Susan Mark Landis
Leo Hartshorn, Mennonite Mission Network Minister of Peace and Justice and Chris Hoover Seidel, Peace and Justice Support Network Administrative Assistant, ended their service July 31, 2009. New staff positions and structures are being created as Mennonite Church USA strives to serve congregations more efficiently.
<read more>
Interested in immigration issues? Join the conversation at And You Welcomed Me: A consultation of the people of God on Immigration. Anyone interested in a Christian response to questions concerning immigration is invited to attend this information-packed weekend of workshops, worship, and networking. September 18-20, 2009, Lakeview Camp and Conference Center, Waxahachie, Texas (near Dallas).
Scheduled Workshops:
- Root Causes and Intro to Immigration Law by Miriam Cardenas and Jennifer Dorrie, West Coast MCC
- Education and Options for Active Advocacy by Jodi Read, Tucson, AZ
- Engaging the Immigrant Community in Mental Health Education and Empowerment by Gilberto Perez, Goshen, IN
- Immigration and Romans 13 by Daniel Carroll Rodas, Denver, CO
Register online at www.MennoniteMission.net/Immigration. (Registration available in both English and Spanish). Save money if you register by August 25. Final registration deadline September 1.
Planned and convened by Mennonite Mission Network (Peace and Justice Support Network, Urban Leaders Network), Executive Leadership of Mennonite Church USA and Western District Conference.
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Funeral for the oldest warrior, who hated war
by Susan Mark Landis
Harry Patch, the British 111-year-old last survivor of the Western Front trench warfare, died July 25, 2009. His funeral packed the cathedral in Wells, another 2,500 mourners stood outside in a steady drizzle to watch on a giant video screen and the funeral was broadcast live to the nation. But the New York Times headline reads, "Funeral for the Oldest Warrior, Who Hated War."
<read more>
Otterville
by Merrill R. Miller
"Otterville" is copyrighted and is not to be reproduced in any form without permission. Contact Merrill Miller at <merrill@mph.org>
Action alert: ACT for peace
Health care access, town hall meetings, misunderstandings and angry confrontations are the news this month. We've compiled information to help you sort it all out.
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Health care access conference calls
Join a one-hour conference call with Mennonite experts giving a Christian viewpoint of the United States health care access debate.
Speakers include:
- Tammy Alexander is the Legislative Associate for Domestic Affairs at the MCC Washington Office, focusing on immigration, the environment, and health care.
- David E. Cockley is Associate Professor of Health Services Administration (James Madison University) and Adjunct Professor (Eastern Mennonite University)
- Keith Harder is leading Mennonite Church USA efforts for a healthcare plan for congregational church workers.
- Susan Mark Landis is Mennonite Church USA peace advocate.
- Tim Stoltzfus Jost is a professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law and was the primary author of the national health-care resolution passed by the 2009 Mennonite Church USA Delegate Assembly
You might listen with a group so you can discuss further after the call.
You may send questions by email to SusanML@MennoniteUSA.org Questions must be received by Sept 1. After the call, you may send comments to SusanML@MennoniteUSA.org.
More details and visuals will be available by September 1 on http://www.MennoniteUSA.org/nationalhealthcare
Sept 3: Thursday, 10 pm Eastern, 9 pm Central, 8 pm Mountain, 7 pm Pacific
Sept 8: Tuesday, 8 pm Eastern, 7 pm Central, 6 pm Mountain, 5 pm Pacific
Attendee dial-in # 712-432-1001
Attendee access code: 477952371#
All attendees will be on mute. There is space for 1000 attendees. You are responsible for any applicable long distance charges that may apply to your phone line. The conference call costs nothing extra.
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Capitol Reflection
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In the rubble that is Gaza
by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach
This past spring, several Members of Congress visited Gaza. Their visits were the first to Gaza by U.S. officials in three years, and came not long after the 22-day fighting between Israel and Hamas had come to an uneasy end.
<read more>
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WorldViews
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A handshake across the oceans
by Max Ediger
Part 4 of a 5-part series on Agent Orange.
What message do the members of Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) have for Americans? "In the past, the war made us angry and we had to fight. We didn't understand much about America and the American people then. Now we understand more and we want to cooperate with you so all people can experience peace. When you bring this peace crane to us we have a new idea for peace. Like this small bird, we must fly forward into a time of cooperation and friendship and not go backwards to relive things that will destroy our friendship. Tell your friends in America that it would be good if they would write their names on the birds they fold. Then we can say we have a friend in America with this name."
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Are you aware of human trafficking/modern slaves in your area?
We're preparing a study guide to help congregations help stop modern slavery for sex or labor. We're looking for stories or real case studies (we will change names). Please send stories to SusanML@MennoniteUSA.org.
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Shield of Faith
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50 Ways to leave your lover, Mammon
by Anton Flores-Maisonet
Below are 50 habits that my partner, Charlotte, and I have sought to undertake in our desire to love God, not Mammon. The key for us is not simplicity or voluntary poverty but a theology of enough. We are still living at a level of consumption that is not sustainable at a global level but, with God's grace we journey on. Join us on this journey to right living.
<read more>
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Peace Before The Sun Goes Down
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And after hearing the advice of the brothers...
by Brother James Dowd
Last month, I wrote about the importance of keeping silence in both the monastic and the wider cultures for the purpose of creating peace. But I also said that this was a two-part column and that the "other side of the coin" of creating peace is that each member of the community (however that is defined) is willingly and freely able to "speak their truth." And so here we are at next month's entry!
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Student Aid Fund for Nonregistrants
PLEASE NOTE: Application deadline is September 1.
The purpose of this special non-budget fund is to help replace potential government grants and loans lost by students who for reasons of Christian conscience choose not to register with the U.S. Selective Service System. Applicants are asked to complete a statement outlining their reasons for choosing not to register.
The goal of the Student Aid Fund for Nonregistrants (SAFNR) is to replace the same amount of grants and loans that young men are denied. SAFNR is available
- to any nonregistrant attending a Mennonite Church USA college or seminary and
- to any nonregistrant attending a congregation of Mennonite Church USA and enrolled in undergraduate or graduate studies in other-than-Mennonite institutions.
Funds for grants, loans, mailings and staff time to administer this program come solely from donations. Thanks to your contributions, we have been able to replace student grants. However we need to borrow to offer loans, and interest rates continue to increase. Our goal is to become self-sufficient over the next few years by reducing the need to borrow these funds.
For more information, read our guidelines at http://peace.mennolink.org/articles/safnrdoc.html.
To apply, print out the application form (http://peace.mennolink.org/resources/safnrform.pdf) and mail it to the address listed on the form.
We invite:
- your prayers for these young men during this time of heightened emphasis on war. More than 25 states have enacted legislation restricting non-registrants' access to state education benefits or employment, and many states are now enacting legislation linking registration with the privilege of obtaining a driver's license. For more information on these developments see http://www.sss.gov/FSdrivers.htm.
- your contributions to the fund.
- your suggestions of other people and congregations who might want to contribute.
To donate and for more information, see https://giving.mennoniteusa.org/project/detail/2543. |
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Balancing Acts
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Who Is My Neighbor?
by Tom Beutel
Because we are privy to the full story as Jesus told it, we know what happened what happened to the man who "was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho." [He] "fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead." But the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan did not know. Each simply saw a person in serious need and responded in some way--two ignored the man in need and passed by; one, the Samaritan, helped the man.
<read more>
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Praying for Peace
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Prayer against the easy way
This month's prayer was written by Byron Rempel-Burkholder, editor, Faith & Life Resources, Mennonite Publishing Network, Winnipeg, MB.
<read more>
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Reader Response
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Readers respond to the July issue
Reader responses and editorial corrections from our July issue.
<read more>
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