OUR CHANGING WORLD

 

Ouida has been busy this past month working with the post office on changing our mailing permit from second class to third class. She opted for this change not only because it is now more economical for us, but mainly because it simplifies record keeping and mailing procedures. Even though we have mailed second class for 37 years, the postal officials advised that third class might now be better for our operation, and they assure us that the quality of handling will be no different, but you might receive your paper a day or so later than before. We are at least going to try it. We can return to second class if need be. My health is virtually back to normal since my radical prostatectomy on Jan. 3 (I walk two miles each morning as if I were Superman), but I have not yet returned to Houston for the final tests. I greatly appreciate your prayers and concern.

The film on the life of Alexander Campbell, Wrestling With God, now and again referred to in this column during its preparation, is now a reality. Ouida and I have seen it on our VCR and we found it delightful. It made us proud to be Campbellites. It is one hour and ten minutes long. The acting, costuming, and photography are all professionally done, and it catches the essence of Campbell the man and the reformer. But his wife Margaret nearly steals the show. Super! It deserves an Oscar! I was pleased to have served as an adviser in the making of it, which took five years. Here is something you can use for years to come in blessing others. After July 1 it will be available from a distributor for $79.95. Until then you can purchase it from the producers for $59.95 plus $3.00 postage, a real bargain believe me. Order from Wrestling With God, Box 761, North Hollywood, Ca. 91603.

During the 1980’s the Disciples of Christ established 132 new congregations. To such fast-growing denominations as the Pentecostals that may not be an impressive figure, but for a mainline Protestant denomination that is supposed to be dying it is impressive. Their goal for the 1990’s is 200 new churches. We hope that the Lord so blesses them that they end the decade with twice that many.

In Uganda, Africa it is estimated that 25 % of the male population between the ages of 16 and 40 are infected with the AIDS virus. More than 6,000 cases have already been documented, which is believed to be only a fraction of the actual cases. But what is unusual about Uganda is that the victims are not shunned but embraced with unconditional, sacrificial love and tenderness. This has impressed missionaries working there as an example of compassion for the rest of the world.

Episcopalians in the U. S. for years have had serious problems over the ordination of women, with at least one separate group formed in protest to the practice. Recently in Philadelphia the House of Bishops, made up of 182 Episcopalian bishops, issued a statement calling for unity in the worldwide Anglican communion despite differences over the issue. At the same time the bishops affirmed the ministry of a black woman bishop, the first female bishop in the whole world of Anglicanism.

There is a new book out that tells teachers how to survive the violence in today’s public school classroom. The book notes that 157,000 crimes occur in U.S. schools in a typical month. We have our work cut out for us, don’t we, each of us in her own community.

The World Bible Translation Center, a Church of Christ outreach in Ft. Worth, Tx., recently sent 17,000 of its newly-translated Easy-to-Read Russian New Testaments to Soviet citizens. The Center has arranged for the printing and distribution of 100,000 copies of the New Testament inside Russia.

NEW SUBSCRIPTION RATES This is to announce a modest increase in our subscription rates, the first in nine years, effective immediately. Single subscriptions are now $6.00 a year or two years for $10.00. In clubs of three or more (mailed by us to separate addresses) new or renewal, including your own, the rate is now $4.00 per name per year. For the first time in 37 years we are forced by higher foreign postal rates to charge a higher price for all addresses outside the United States, which is now $8.00 a year. While these new rates take effect immediately, they do not affect the subscriptions or renewals received up to now, which will be processed at the old rates.