Could we, as Anabaptist, Mennonite, MC USA (insert your denomination here) churches relate to each other as family?

Could we take the risky and difficult stance that we don’t all have to agree on everything, but that we will continue to talk about it, forever, if necessary?

Could we decide that we love each other, even if one of us feels like the taken-for-granted older sister who never gets the glory, and another feels like the youngest brother everyone is always picking on?

Could we accept those who come and go in our family of churches with love, grace and dignity?

Could we be that open to one another?

Our culture is becoming increasingly dichotomized. With us or against us. Right or left. Inside or outside. The cultural climate in the United States is threatening to pull the church apart. Television shows, political rallies and news programs are teaching us that the only way to relate is to shout loudly at those who believe differently. And if they persist in believing something different, then you should defame and vilify them.

Could we have a radical, truly Anabaptist peace witness in the world by doing one simple, but difficult thing, learning to listen and agreeing to love each other despite differences?

Well, could we?

The Merry Lea Center at my alma mater Goshen College is hosting a conference on climate change in September:

Earth As Ally: Facing Climate Change Together is the theme of a conference at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College, Wolf Lake, Ind., Friday, September 17, 6 p.m. to Sunday noon, September 19. This faith-based event is a blend of hands-on fieldwork outdoors and thoughtful discussion. It offers concerned lay people a chance to meet and learn from environmental professionals. For more information, see http://www.goshen.edu/merrylea. Or call 260-799-5869.

The issue of climate change is one that churches have been slow to deal with, in part because many Christians believe that global warming is a hoax (or at least exaggerated). However, there’s been a slow shift as some Christian and evangelical groups begin dealing with environmental concerns under the rubric of “creation care.” While there have been some ups and downs, it’s gratifying to begin see both theological and practical work being done in this area.

While Work and Hope‘s primary focus is not about environmental issues, we would welcome a series of posts on the issue of creation care.  If someone is interested in writing a limited series, please contact us at workandhope at emu.edu.

(updated below)

Since Saturday morning, news outlets have reported on the killing of ten members from a medical team for International Assistance Mission in northern Afghanistan.  The medical team had been traveling back to Kabul after a two week mission providing optometric care in remote rural villages.

According to the Associated Press, a spokesman for the Taliban claimed responsibility and charged the team with spying and attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity.  In the same article, IAM director Dirk Frans denied that the medical team was proselytizing and expressed skepticism that the Taliban had perpetrated the killings.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has confirmed that one of the dead is MCC worker Glen D. Lapp, a member of Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster, Penn.  According to MCC, Lapp was a trained nurse who had worked in Lancaster, New York City and Supai, Ariz.  He previously served with MCC during the responses to hurricanes Katrina and Rita and was to complete his term in October.

Lapp is the third MCC volunteer to disappear or be killed while serving in the field during the mission organization’s ninety-year history.

Update: At this point, neither MCC nor the Lapp family has established a memorial fund for Glen.  However, it is possible to donate to MCC and designate it “in memory of Glen Lapp.”

It is also possible to donate online to the work of the International Aid Mission in Afghanistan.

(updated below)

Peace activist Art Gish died this morning in a tragic farm accident when his tractor flipped over and caught fire. He was 70.  See Athens County peace activist killed in farming accident in the Columbus Dispatch.

Art was most recently known for his work in Hebron with Christian Peacemaker Teams, lending his years of peacemaking experience to volatile region. He served as a conscientious objector in Europe with Brethren Volunteer Services and was active in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960′s. He worked as a street preacher, co-founded People for Peace and Students for Peace and authored several books on peacemaking and simple living.

Journalist and activist Rose Marie Berger has a tribute to Art on her blog.

As a teenager, I was deeply influenced by his book, Beyond the Rat Race, a matter-of-fact guide to simple, counter-cultural sustainable living written back in the 1970′s.

Art was a pioneer and prophet, who embodied the biblical call to justice in his day-to-day life. He will be missed.

UPDATE: Art’s son, Dale, has created a Facebook memorial page. According to Dale, a memorial service will be held for Art on August 7, in the basement of the First United Methodist  Church in Athens, Ohio at 2 pm.  See page for details