January 2004 News
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Call for Papers: “Mennonites and Refugees: A 25 Year Retrospective.” A history conference examining the interaction between North American Mennonites and refugees will take place on September 30 – October 1, 2005, at the University of Winnipeg. The conference is held on the 25th anniversary of the coming of the so-called Vietnamese “Boat People” and other Southeast Asian refugees in 1979/1980. This was a time when many Canadian and American Mennonites became directly involved in refugee sponsorship. Research papers are welcomed on one of the following four themes: (1) the historic, cultural and theological context that led North American Mennonites to take leading roles in refugee sponsorship programs; (2) the cross-cultural experience of both the refugees and the Mennonite hosts during the months of actual sponsorship and settlement; (3) the organizational response by Mennonite institutions such as M.C.C. Canada and other institutions to the coming of the refugees; (4) the long-term inter-ethnic relationships-direct and indirect-between Canadian or American Mennonites and newcomers from the southern hemisphere, specifically those from Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. The conference organizers also welcome submissions for storytelling by both hosts and refugees. The conference is hosted by the Chair in Mennonite Studies, University of Winnipeg. It is sponsored by the Divergent Voices of Canadian Mennonites subcommittee of the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada with funds from Mennonite Central Committee Canada. Members of the Planning Committee include Sandy Dooey, Ionka Hristozova, Larry Kehler, Royden Loewen, Ken Reddig, Stephanie Stobbe and Tim Wichert. Please send proposals to: Royden Loewen, Chair in Mennonite Studies, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. R3B 2E9 or email to r.Loewen@uwinnipeg.ca
Conference: “Teaching Peace: Nonviolence and the Liberal Arts Curriculum.” A conference on the relationship between nonviolence and the liberal arts curriculum will be held May 26, 27 and 28, 2004 at Bluffton College in Ohio. The conference is expected to begin a conversation that extends, complicates and challenges the methodological proposals found in the book Teaching Peace: Nonviolence and the Liberal Arts (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003), which suggests particular applications of a nonviolent worldview to issues and problems of the academic disciplines. For more information contact: J. Denny Weaver, Department of Religion, Bluffton College, 280 W. College Ave., Bluffton, OH 45817
Conference: “Molochna ’04: Mennonites and Their Neighbors, 1804-2004,” an international conference commemorating the bicentennial of Mennonite settlement in the Molochna region of Ukraine will be held June 3-5, 2004. Host institution: Melitopol State Pedagogical University, Ukraine. For more information contact: N.V. Krylov (krylov@mpu.melitopol.net) or John Staples (Staples@fredonia.edu). The conference will seek to cover the costs of tourist-class travel, accommodation and maintenance for participants from the CIS. Honorary chairs for the conference, additional conference conveners and a list of sponsoring institutions will be announced at a later date.
Graduate Student Conference: “Religious Texts.” The second Mennonite Graduate Student Conference, sponsored by the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre (T.M.T.C.), will be held June 18 – 20, 2004, at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana. The conference theme is “religious texts.” The primary purpose is to provide Mennonite graduate students an opportunity to present their academic research with other graduate students in an interdisciplinary context and interact with each other as colleagues. Travel/lodging bursaries may be available to participants. For more information: e-mail: mennonite.centre@utoronto.ca; call (416) 978-6078; or visit the Web site at http://individual.utoronto.ca/menno_theology/.
Conference: “Seeking the Welfare of the City: Questions of Public Peace, Justice and Order.” The Peace Theology Research Project announces a conference August 1-4, 2004, at Akron, Pennsylvania, on the theme “Seeking the Welfare of the City: Questions of Public Peace, Justice and Order.” The conference is open to Mennonites and Brethren in Christ. Presentations may address global, national, state/provincial or local issues from an analytical perspective, from the viewpoint of participation in public structures through work or advocacy, or to model alternatives to current public thinking and practice. For more information, contact Bob and Judy Zimmerman Herr at bh@mcc.org or Peace Theology Research Project, MCC Peace Office, Box 500, Akron, PA 17501.
Conference: International Congress: “Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575). Life – Thought – Influence” will be held in Zrich, August 25-29, 2004. Bullinger’s five-hundredth birthday (July 18, 2004) offers an opportunity to reinforce the scholarly encounter with this great personality and to broaden discussion on his thought and influence. Questions should be directed to the following address: bullinger2004@theol.unizh.ch. Universitt Zrich, Institut fr Schweizerische Reformationsgeschichte, Kirchgasse 9, CH-8001 Zrich.
Conference: “God, Democracy and U.S. Power: Believers Church Perspectives.” How do Christians in the believers church tradition, living in a democracy that is the world’s dominant power, understand their witness to God? This fifteenth gathering in the series of Believers Church Conferences is being hosted by Eastern Mennonite University and Bridgewater College in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with assistance from the Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office, Church of the Brethren General Board Washington Office and the Baptist Joint Committee, September 23-25, 2004. The conference is designed to clarify together what it means to be both citizens of the state and members of the body of Christ. For more information or to submit proposals contact Nate Yoder, Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, VA 22802. Tel: (540) 432-4255; E-mail: yoderne@emu.edu; www.emu.edu /churchandpolitics.
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News and Announcements
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