If Christ Were Head Of The Church, Which Schisms Would He Support?

Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouvert (1852-1929), The Last Supper

We Christians are a contentious lot. Over the centuries we have divided and re-divided into countless different communions, separated from each other by diverse customs, creeds and ethnic origins--all because we feel compelled to defend what we believe to be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 

Not being able to work things out, of course, is never our fault. It just that other people are either too carnal and too contrary to do and believe the right thing.

Due to our responsibility to remain faithful, we've come to affirm that churches have every right to separate from those who are in error. Or at least ours does, as long as we follow Roberts Rules of Order or a similarly civil process in coming to our decision.

And all of our decisions, in contrast to those who differ from us, are legitimate and justified. Our one and only desire, after all, is to be faithful to Scripture, the whole Scripture and nothing but the Scripture. And isn't the Bible, as we understand and interpret it, absolutely clear on everything faithfulness to Jesus requires? So why don't all of the folks we are separating from--or who are separating from us--see things the right way? It's baffling.

Of course we do regret having so many divisions. But as the Good Book says, "Good wood splits easily" (or something like that). And somewhere it is also written (or if it isn't, it should be), "Better to separate amicably than to have unresolved differences and disagreements."

End of satire.

On a more serious note, the Mennonite Church USA, already representing only about .00045% of the total number of the world's professing Christians, is about to experience a new round of church separations and divorces that will create even more and ever smaller sub-groups.

If Jesus were alive and were acting as Head of his beloved body and bride, the church, would he approve?

Ironically, we keep affirming every Sunday that he is in fact not only alive, but that he is our One and Only True Lord and Lover.

But has anyone bothered to ask him how he feels about all this?

**************************************************

"With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, 
forbearing one another in love;

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body, and one Spirit, 
even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, 
and in you all."

- Ephesians 4:2-6 (KJV)

Here's a link to other posts on church unity: http://harvyoder.blogspot.com/search?q=church+unity

Former Inmates Weigh In On MRRJ Article

Reporter Patricia Borns did an investigative piece on the Middle River Jail in Verona that was published in the Staunton News-Leader yesterday. She wrote this after receiving a copy of complaints in a July 5 letter to the Virginia Department of Corrections signed by 20 women incarcerated at the facility.

Middle River houses 150 offenders from  Harrisonburg and Rockingham County and one of the inmates transferred there had sent me a copy of the letter several weeks prior. After giving MRRJ an advance copy I posted it on my blog with the understanding that I would also post any official MRRJ response.

I print the following responses to the article in the News-Leader without names, although all signed their online posts.

[It should be noted that the treatment of inmates at Middle River Jail may not be significantly different than at many other facilities. Not every inmate may have the kinds of negative experiences as described below, and most members of the MRRJ staff are undoubtedly dedicated and good people.]

Here is a sample of the posts, slightly edited for brevity and clarity:

"I was housed at MRRJ once. I am a diabetic. First they lost my insulin altogether so I went over 15 hours without medication. I ended up being sent to the hospital. Before the trip to the hospital i was denied a bond. But after being hospitalized the jail found the seriousness of my growing illness they made a bond appear out of thin air. Once they woke me up to sign the paperwork for my bond they removed all Middle River property from me and left me naked in a hospital bed. Didn't even bother to tell any family to notify them of my condition."

"My friend DIED in that jail! She was supposed to be sent to Augusta Medical for psych help and died due to lack of appropriate medical treatment!"

"It's sad that they can't get the meds they need. Rockingham County jail is just as bad. It's so sad." 

"It took them a half hour for them to get a wheel chair for a girl that was having a panic attack... And then another girl had a stroke and took them 20 minutes. M.R.R.J is the worst jail possible and you only get fed twice a day on weekends. We should at least get snack bags because some of us don't get money for canteen and we are hungry sometimes."

"I was just incarcerated and myself was one of the ones who had signed that letter. And the living conditions at M.R.R.J are insane. I mean we get two rolls of toilet paper and certain amount of pads and we were locked down for a week and weren't allowed to take showers. The food is also horrible and you get fed the same thing sometimes twice a day. I mean they need to be looked at and matters at the jail need to change because that jail is very inhumane. I thought Rockingham County jail was bad. But M.R.R.J is ten times worse." 

"I was there from June 11-July 6 and I  asked them several times could I see a nurse to get checked for a UTI bccause of the KoolAid there. And just to get pads you have to put in a request form. Something needs to be done."

"I was doing a weekend and I lay in a cold holding cell floor the whole weekend with pneumonia. I coughed so much in that cell I cracked my ribs. I asked to see medical 10 times and never got to. This was ten years ago."

"I would like to state that I can positively verify these complaints being made by these women!!! I recently spent several days at MRRJ, & the girls were not only trying to get sanitary products when they were having their periods, but then were also being denied toilet paper when they asked for it, and THEY NEEDED THAT TO SOAK UP THE BLOOD OF THEIR MENSTRUAL CYCLE BECAUSE THEY WERE BEING DENIED THE BASIC PRODUCTS REQUIRED FOR SUCH THINGS?!! I wish McCauley could hear how RIDICULOUS THAT STATEMENT about the reality of things being different than what was written in the letter sounds?!!! That makes me so ANGRY BECAUSE , once again, its just being shrugged off like it doesn't matter?!!! And the statement about the pads being used for other things like padding pillows is also pretty absurd?!!! I guess if someone in a wheelchair gets arrested, they tell em to stand up and walk, coz you know? Theyre probably just pretending to be paralyzed or something right?!!! Give me a BREAK?!!! I want to state for the record that the complaints made by those girls are 100% TRUE & ACCURATE AS TO THE REALITY OF HOW CONDITIONS ARE AT MRRJ?!!! Its COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE?!!"

"I was housed at MRRJ, and yes it sounds about right. Women inmates receive very little compared to the male inmates. And I have seen situations, and they ignore you, you never get anywhere.... The staff treats inmates like they are worse than dirt. Most staff are really unprofessional and rude. I'm a person who believe in punishment such as incarceration if deserved but that jail is the worse I ever heard."

Here is a link to the text of the letter by the 20 female inmates as posted on my blog, along with several additional comments by former inmates: http://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2015/07/women-at-mrrj-voice-some-grievances.html

How Government-Run Health Care Just Saved Us Over $50,000

Today is the 50th Anniversary of the Medicare Program

Alma Jean had a heart catheterization done at RMH Sentara in May, and learned she needed to have two stents put in due to an obstructed artery. This resulted in an overnight hospital stay and a total bill of $65,374.55 (just $10,000.00 less than we paid for our house 27 years ago).

According to our statement Medicare paid $12,374.07 of the bill and Everence, our supplemental health insurance, covered the rest of the allowable amount, another $1,297.46. The remainder was labeled a "Discount or Ineligible Amount", a grand total of $51,703.02, for which RMH Sentara was not reimbursed.

I'm neither a medical nor a financial expert, so I may not fully understand all of this, but it does raise the question of whether hospitals seriously overcharge for their services.

For example, of the 20 separate items in our statement, the two main procedures, "percutaneous transcatheter placement of drug-eluting intracoronary stent(s), with coronary angioplasty when performed" were listed at $20,629.00 each, or $41,258.00. Then there was a $2,344.30 charge for the injection of one 1mg of bivalirudin, among other 18 items. Yet the total amount Medicare and Everence paid for everything was just $12,227.26, representing a huge saving.

Makes me wonder whether a single payer government-run health care plan would really be such a bad thing. My oldest brother Sanford, who moved with his family to Costa Rica in 1965, doesn't think so. When he suffered a serious heart attack over a year ago,he had three options: 1) Do nothing medically, and trust God to heal him; 2) Pay for all of his care at a private hospital; 3) Utilize Costa Rica's "Social Security" program which provides  health care for all. Cases are prioritized in terms of urgency, but the care he received through this third option was adequate and he is doing well.

Sometimes a government can accomplish some good things, and Medicare appears to be an example of such a program. Maybe it's one all citizens should have access to, not just us fortunate older ones.

A Foretaste Of Heaven In Harrisburg, PA

Mennonite World Conference photo

Some 7,500 Mennonite and members of related Anabaptist groups met for the Global Assembly of the Mennonite World Conference at the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg July 20-26. As a participant in the last two days of the week-long celebration I felt transported into a new world that felt a lot like heaven.

1. As in heaven, members in the Jesus movement are a part of a global community. 

MWC photo

"Your blood has ransomed people for God
    from every tribe and language and people and nation. 

And you have caused them to become
    a Kingdom of priests for our God."

- Revelation 5:9b-10 NLB 

MWC Global Assembly represented a wonderful mosaic of languages, colors and cultures. A hundred years ago most Mennonites were of ethnic Swiss, Dutch or German origin, but today the majority are a part of the Global South, in numerous African and southeastern Asian countries.

I was blessed by workshop discussions with people from other parts of the globe and by numerous informal conversations with them. I'll long remember pastor Samue Masku of India telling me about the joy he felt in connecting with fellow believers here from all over the world.

2. As in heaven followers of Jesus celebrate the ecstasy of God's dream for creation coming true.

MWC photo

And then I heard every creature 

in heaven and on earth 

and under the earth and in the sea. 

They sang:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power
    belong to the one sitting on the throne
    and to the Lamb forever and ever.”

-Revelation 5:13 (NLB) 

For me the music in the Arena was a truly "ecstatic" experience ("ek" meaning from and "stasis" place). In celebrations of song we were transported to a future time and place in which God's will is a reality on earth as it is in heaven, when every voice breaks out in celebrations of salvation from evil and oppression. 

No one will forget the gifted international choir that led us in worship, the overwhelming experience of 7000 voices singing "I'll Fly Away", or the incredible voice of soloist Nohemy Garcia singing one of her own compositions on Friday night. http://pa2015.mwc-cmm.org/watch-live/   (55.0)

3. As in heaven, followers of Jesus experience a unity that transcends all their differences.

   

I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.  

And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, 

and the Lamb is its light.  

The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory.  

Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there.  

And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city.

- Revelation 21:22-26 (NLB) 

Through our narrow, myopic lens, we fail to grasp the breadth and scope of God's love.. And we naively assume we have all of God's truth distilled in our creeds and statements of faith. But at Harrisburg we were able, at least for a few short days, to envision an often divided people reclaiming our oneness as a part of God's worldwide, eternal family.

4. Yet not everything about MWC reflected "as it is in heaven".

I was still painfully aware of some of the stark economic disparities that remain between attendees from the affluent North and the Global South. In a conversation with Pastor Busani Sibanda of Zimbabwe, he shared with me how difficult it was to provide for their family of three daughters, for whom tuition alone was $600 each for each of their three school terms in a year. On a meager pastor's salary and whatever else he can earn from painting houses on the side, he and his wife constantly face a struggle for survival. Yet they are a part of the same Mennonite family as North Americans with spacious homes, six-figure incomes and three-car garages.

So while we daily pray for God's will to be done on earth as it is done in heaven, we often fail to do our part to make that a reality.

Look, God’s home is now among his people! 

God will live with them, and they will be his people. 

God himself will be with them. 

God will wipe every tear from their eyes, 

and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. 

All these things are gone forever.

- Revelation 21:3-4 (NLB) 

"Our religion is a worked out religion," declared closing speaker Bruxy Cavey of Canada. "We love God only to the extent that we love our neighbor. We can never separate the two." Or as Pope Francis is quoted as saying, "You pray for the poor and the hungry, then you feed them. That's how prayer works." 

Held every six years, MWC, last met in Paraguay in 2009 and is set to convene in Indonesia in 2021. Or maybe next time in the New Jerusalem.
 
To see live streaming of the worship services, photo and video galleries, articles and blogs visit the Assembly website. 

Women At MRRJ Voice Grievances

Middle River Regional Jail

Some inmates at the Middle River Regional Jail in Augusta County are housed in open dorms with over thirty bunks each, with almost no privacy. 

When on lock down those inmates are forced to stay at their beds--without showers and with only occasional bathroom breaks--sometimes for days at a time. Noise is constant and fights break out frequently, according to first hand reports.

 I recently received the following letter dated July 5, signed by twenty women at the Middle River Regional Jail and addressed to the Department of Corrections in Richmond. I submitted a copy, without the names, to MJJR and offered to post any response they might have, as I have no way of confirming the specifics of each of their complaints. The author of the letter, slated to be transferred to a state prison, has been moved. 

 Here are some of their complaints, in their own words:

Department of Corrections
P. O. Box 26963
Richmond, VA 23261-6963
re: Middle River Regional Jail

To whom it may concern:

This letter is in reference to the above jail, Middle River Regional Jail in Staunton, Virginia. DOC really needs to evaluate this facility.

There is an inmate who has been here two weeks. She has lupus and cancer, and still has not received the medications she is required to take. Her family has called and spoken with someone here asking why she has not received it and they were told that she has, but the only thing she has received is Ibuprofin. She is daily in a lot of pain.

Another inmate has broken her hand in two places. X-rays were done showing that. She was given a gauze wrap and told to take Ibuprofin, but they failed to look at her records to see that she was allergic to it, so she is still suffering. She has constantly asked corrections officers and nurses about what is going on, but still no word. This has been since June 7, 2015. This inmate has served our country and she has made mistakes but she deserves to be treated as a human being.

Another inmate was in line to get her meds and was given a pill in an envelope and the inmate stated that this wasn't her pill. The nurse looked at the envelope and stated it was not hers but said if she had taken it that it would have been her fault. How is that the inmate's fault, when the nurse should be qualified to do her job?

Another inmate was waiting to get her meds and the nurse gave her a 300 mg dose of Lamictal when she was only supposed to get a 200 mg dose. Thankfully the inmate saw that and gave back one of the pills. With this medication the dose should be gradually increased because if not it can cause a rash and cause the inmate to die.

One more inmate on quite a few meds due to a lot of health issues was told by her CO that she needs to just be put down. A lawsuit waiting to happen.

When we inmates here are having periods we constantly have to ask for pads. We have inmates bleed through their clothes and sheets. Getting  replacements on these items is not a quick process and very unsanitary. Why can't each inmate at the beginning of each month be given enough pads to last for the month? Not each inmate has the same flow, and it's a daily process of going to the call box to get our two pads. Also, some inmates require a shower and if we are on lockdown you can forget that.

As to the food situation, the menu repeats every three days, and frankly we wouldn't feed it to our dogs. On Saturdays and Sundays we receive only two meals a day. As far as getting milk with our meals, we only get 3-4 ounces in the morning. We get a lot of Kool-Aid that causes the UTI's here.

Classes are available but there is a lack of coordination and a long waiting list. We thought classes would be once a week, but we have seen only a few people go. If there were were more for inmates to do there would be fewer fights, etc.

We are thankful to have a TV, but in order to watch it you have to purchase a $33 radio plus batteries. We are charged $3 a day ("rent") to be here and but still have to purchase hygiene supplies, so most who leave are left with a hefty balance not being paid. We're not sure what happens to money once inmates are released, but this money could go to programs to rehabilitate inmates.

Everything involving programs is a waiting game. Some inmates are really trying to do better but don't have the means or resources once they are incarcerated. We have sentencing guidelines but it seems like none are being followed and then you have overcrowded jails.

We are all voices and we will continue our quest until we are heard. You will not be the only ones who receive this letter. We will also be sending it to the Governor, Congressmen and to TV and newspaper outlets.

Something needs to be done. Thank you for your time.

(signed by twenty female inmates)

We Wept When We Remembered (Mt.) Zion

Interior of Mt. Zion Amish Mennonite Church

By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yes, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
We hung our harps
Upon the willows...

- Psalm 137:1-2a NKJV

This past Sunday some fifty of us attended the last worship service of the Mt. Zion Amish Mennonite Church, located along graveled Guthrie Road north of Stuarts Draft.

I, along with my family, had become a charter member of that congregation when it was established in 1955 as an offshoot of the Stuarts Draft (Old Order) Amish Church. The new congregation allowed the use of cars and telephones and aimed at being more open to evangelizing others in the community, though for many years it continued to conduct most of its services in German. I remember being excited about positive changes at Mt. Zion, and recall putting in many hours as a teen joining other in constructing the building that was closed Sunday. 

Exterior view of the Mt. Zion meeting house

In 2012 the ownership of the property was transferred to the trustees of the nearby Pilgrim Christian Fellowship, a somewhat more progressive Amish Mennonite ("Beachy Amish") Church for ongoing upkeep of the church building and the cemetery, where my parents, my older sister Lucy Schrock and niece Miriam Schrock are buried along with other close acquaintances and relatives. The stated reason for the transfer of the deed was Mt. Zion's "diminishing numbers and their aging membership".

Old Order Amish church and school

The same decline in membership had occurred thirty years earlier in the Old Order Amish Church along Tinkling Springs Road, which closed its doors in 1986 and remains vacant today. I was baptized there in 1954 and have fond memories of that church as well, which was less than a mile from our farm.

My brother-in-law Alvin Schrock, 87, was a faithful minister of the Mt. Zion Church for 58 of its sixty years. It was hard for him to speak his farewell on this last Sunday, having served under four bishops and three fellow ministers during the past five decades, and having seen the church go from a thriving congregation of around 50 families to now having only himself and his daughter Barbara Ann left as official members. Ironically, in its latter years, several families who were not of Amish background, but who were drawn to its counter-cultural faith and life, did become a part of the congregation for a time. But eventually members of the Mt. Zion family died, moved elsewhere or joined other churches, including the Pilgrim Christian Fellowship Church on White Hill Road.

At Sunday's service Schrock opened with the words, "We rejoice today even though we  are experiencing trials over things not going as we had desired." He then read from a passage in Paul's letter to the Philippians, "I thank God upon every remembrance of you... I long for you in the deep compassion of Christ... I am confident that the one who began a good work in you will complete it." 

Four other ministers added their own words of both lament and encouragement in the three hour service, urging all of us to remain faithful to the vision and faith of founders and leaders of Mt. Zion. 

One of them read the following words of the prophet Isaiah:

"...the Lord has anointed Me...
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

- from Isaiah 61 NKJV

View of boyhood farm from the Stuarts Draft Old Order Church site

 Here's a link to other posts on Amish faith and life http://harvyoder.blogspot.com/search?q=Amish

Governor Appoints 27 To Parole Commission

July 9, 2015 press release
http://rihd.org/

RICHMOND – Today Governor Terry McAuliffe announced the appointment of an experienced group of law enforcement professionals, legislators, community leaders and academics to serve on his Commission on Parole Review. On June 24^th the Governor signed Executive Order No. 44 creating the Commission and charging it with reviewing Virginia’s approach to parole and recommending any policy changes that may enhance public safety while protecting taxpayer dollars. The Commission will be chaired by former Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley, Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran and Secretary of the Commonwealth Levar Stoney. 

“This bipartisan panel of Virginia leaders will bring an array of perspectives to this important discussion about how our Commonwealth can best keep our communities safe while spending every taxpayer dollar as wisely as possible,” said Governor McAuliffe.  “I applaud their willingness to put political dogma and preconceived notions aside and engage in a thoughtful process about how this policy has worked for Virginians over the past twenty years and whether there are any opportunities to improve it going forward. With the guidance of Co-Chairs Moran, Stoney and Earley, I am confident that their final report will represent the best interests of all citizens of the Commonwealth.”

The first meeting of the Commission is scheduled for Monday, July 20, from 1-4 p.m. in House Room 3, Virginia State Capitol.  

The Commission will address five significant priorities related to Parole Reform: 
      Conduct A Review of Previous Goals and Subsequent Outcomes.
      Examine the Cost of Parole Reform/Abolition
      Evaluate the Best Practices of Other States
      Recommend Other Mediation Strategies
      Provide Recommendations to Address Public Safety Challenges 

A draft report is due to the Governor by Nov. 2, 2015, with a final report due Dec. 4, 2015. 

Members are as follows: 
         The Honorable Mark L. Earley, Sr., of Leesburg, Former Attorney General of Virginia; Owner, Earley Legal Group, LLC.  Will serve as Chair.
         The Honorable Brian Moran of Richmond, Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security.  Will serve as Co-Chair.
         The Honorable Levar M. Stoney of Richmond, Secretary of the Commonwealth.  Will serve as Co-Chair.
         The Honorable Jill Vogel of Fauquier, Member, Senate of Virginia
         The Honorable Dave Marsden of Burke, Member, Senate of Virginia
         The Honorable Dave Albo of Fairfax, Member, Virginia House of Delegates; Chairman, Courts of Justice Committee
         The Honorable Luke E. Torian of Prince William, Member, Virginia House of Delegates
         The Honorable Kenneth W. Stolle of Virginia Beach, Sheriff, Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office
         The Honorable La Bravia J. Jenkins of the City of Fredericksburg,  Commonwealth’s Attorney
         Gail Arnall, Ph.D., of Washington, DC, Consultant for Outreach and Development, Offender Aid and Restoration
         Camille Cooper of Louisa, Director of Government Affairs, The National Association to PROTECT Children & PROTECT. 
         Marcus M. Hodges of Spotsylvania, President, National Association of Probation Executives
         Cynthia E. Hudson of Richmond, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General
         Kimberly Lettner of Farmville, Retired Chief of Police, Division of Capitol Police
         William R. Richardson, Jr. of Arlington, Member, Virginia CURE; Retired partner, Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr LLP.
         Cheryl Robinette of Buchanan, Director of Substance Abuse Services, Cumberland Mountain Community Services Board
         Mira Signer of Richmond, Executive Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness of Virginia
         Faye S. Taxman, Ph.D.,  of Gaithersburg, MD, Professor, George Mason University
         David R. Lett of Richmond, Public Defender, Petersburg Public Defender’s Office
         Meredith Farrar-Owens of Henrico, Director, Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission
         Sandra M. Brandt of Norfolk, Executive Director, STEP-UP inc.
         Alvin Edwards, Ph.D, of Charlottesville, Pastor, Mt. Zion First African Baptist Church
         Jack Gravely, JD. of Richmond, Executive Director, Virginia State NAACP
         Bobby N. Vassar of Richmond, Chief Counsel (Retired), U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime
         Timothy J. Heaphy of Charlottesville, Partner, Hunton & Williams, former United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia
         Mindy M. Stell of Dinwiddie, President, Virginia Victim Assistance Network
         Thomas M. Wolf of Richmond, Partner, LeClairRyan
Ex-Officio Members: 
         Tonya Chapman of Richmond, Deputy Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security
         Karen Brown of Richmond, Chair, Virginia Parole Board
         Harold Clarke of Richmond,Director, Virginia Department of Corrections
         Francine Ecker of Richmond, Director, Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services
         Margaret Schultze of Richmond, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Social Services

**********************************************

Pray for the work of this commission. Address concerns to:  (804) 225-4260 or Brian.Coy@governor.virginia.gov
Here's a link to more posts on parole reform http://harvyoder.blogspot.com/search?q=parole+reform