A new website promotes thoughtful debate about high-stakes hydro issues. Energyjustice.mcc.org is the work of the Interfaith Task Force on Northern Hydro Development, a collaboration between Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and a volunteer task force made up of Evangelical Lutherans, Roman Catholics, United Church members, Anglicans, and a mix of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. The site aims to inform southern electricity consumers about what is happening on the “other end of the transmission line.” A “Faith Page” explores the “spiritual dimension” of hydropower.—Interfaith Task Force on Northern Hydro Development release
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A provisional task force appointed by Mennonite World Conference (MWC) met for the first time in Asunción, Paraguay, Jan. 24–26 to plan how Anabaptist-related service organizations from around the world can work more effectively together. The meeting followed worldwide consultations in Pasadena, Cal., in 2006 and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2010 where participants from 27 agencies and 18 countries agreed to collaborate. Task force representatives John Fumana (MB/DR Congo), Barbara Hege-Galle (Mennonite/Germany), César García (MB/Colombia), Arli Klassen (Mennonite/USA), and Cynthia Peacock (United Missionary Church/India) will meet again in October 2011 in California.—MWC release
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To reflect shifts in disaster response needs, budget challenges, and a renewed emphasis on their original vision, Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) is eliminating 4 staff positions at the binational headquarters as part of overall budget cuts. MDS will seek to empower local units and regions in responding to disasters and encouraging volunteer participation. Last year 10,000 volunteers served 26,000 volunteer days in 23 project locations.—MDS release
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Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) has launched a presidential search for a successor to Gerald Gerbrandt, who completes his term June 30, 2012. Gerbrandt has served as president at CMU since its inception in 2000. Under his leadership, CMU has expanded academic programming, education settings, and enrolment – currently serving 1,750 students. Gerbrandt also guided CMU’s acceptance into the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada in 2008.—CMU release
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March 11, an 8.9-magnitude offshore quake – one of the largest ever recorded – unleashed a tsunami along the coastline of Japan, with more than 80 aftershocks measuring over 5.0. At press time, the death toll was in the hundreds, and tsunami advisories and evacuation orders were being issued for coasts on both sides of the Pacific. Sources report no MB churches or missionaries in Japan were affected.—The Associated Press
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The Mennonite Faith and Learning Society (MFLS) and Trinity Western University (TWU), Langley, B.C., signed an agreement to establish a chair in Anabaptist/ Mennonite theology at TWU. MFLS also hosted a public gathering in March at Columbia Bible College, Abbotsford, B.C., featuring University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) president Dr. Mark Evered, concerning ways UFV and MFLS can work together to promote awareness of Mennonite values, history, and contributions to the region.—MFLS release
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Assailants purportedly sent by al-Qaeda and the Taliban killed the only Christian member of Pakistan’s federal cabinet Mar. 2, spraying his car with bullets outside his parents’ driveway. It was the second assassination in two months of a high-profile opponent of blasphemy laws that impose the death penalty for insulting Islam. The killing of Shahbaz Bhatti – a 42-year-old Roman Catholic who has spoken out against violence against Sikhs in Canada – further undermines Pakistan’s shaky image as a moderate Islamic state and could deepen the political turmoil in this nuclear-armed, U.S.-allied state.—The Associated Press
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In 1988, Simon Berry, a development worker in northeast Zambia, marvelled that, in the most remote regions where medicines were scarce and 1 in 5 children died before the age of 5, he could always find a Coke. He thought “If you can get Coca-Cola to these places, why can’t you do the same with basic medicines?” In June, Berry and his wife Jane plan to launch ColaLife in Zambia, using Coca-Cola’s vast supply chain to deliver medical supplies. Wedge-shaped “AidPods” fit into the spaces between the bottles in the crates. The Berrys are seeking funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates and Clinton foundations.—Macleans
