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Seattle Mennonites working against war

He and "a handful of others" within his congregation, Seattle Mennonite
Church in Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference, are war tax resisters
(WTR). Like many WTRs, Stoltzfus is not a single-issue war tax resister.
Stoltzfus's decision to stop voluntarily paying for war grew out of
convictions he formed while engaging in peace, justice and service
ministries. Stoltzfus calculates his income tax liability and then gives
that amount of money to Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), instead of the
IRS.

"It's important for me to allocate (my tax money) to what I believe in,"
he said.

Seattle Mennonite pastor Weldon Nisly also has resisted and redirected
war taxes since he started refusing to pay the excise tax on his phone
bill in 1970. At that time, the excise tax, which was created to pay for
the Spanish American War, was increased to fund the war in Viet Nam. In
the early 1970s he and other co-workers modeled lives of consistent
conscientious objection by refusing and redirecting war taxes. For Nisly
- and other WTRs within his congregation - withholding war taxes is a
way to follow Jesus and spread his message of peace.

"I'm fully convinced that war tax resistance is the most significant way
of getting in the way of war," Nisly said. "As a Mennonite Christian who
wants to take Jesus seriously in all of life, I believe that (the
enlistment) of tax dollars to wage endless war is the only conscription
that matters to the powers that be."

Nisly doesn't keep his war tax resistance a secret. He has often written
letters to the IRS, members of Congress, his congregation and to church
and local publications explaining why he refuses to fund wars. Nisly
continues to send a note to his telephone company every month explaining
why he isn't paying the excise tax. Once, when he forgot to withhold the
phone tax, a Southwestern Bell worker called him to ask if he'd made a
mistake. Withholding the telephone tax, he said, "is a way to face my
faith and conscience every month and to give witness to how we
understand what it means to follow Jesus today."

Since 1975, Nisly has resisted paying for war in several ways - from
living on a below-taxable income to resisting a significant amount of
taxes and redirecting up to 50 percent of his income taxes. That's the
approximate amount of the federal budget (not counting Social Security
and other trust funds) that funds present and future wars and pays for
interest on the percentage of the national debt created by past wars.
Nisly also sends the money he withholds from the IRS to CPT.

One year when Nisly was pastor of Cincinnati Mennonite Fellowship, the
IRS attempted to levy his congregation to collect his refused taxes.
After serious discernment, the congregation directed their chairperson
to refuse to cooperate with the levy. Another time IRS levied his bank
account, causing 22 checks to bounce. Nisly considered this "a really
good opportunity to witness" as he contacted everyone to explain why the
checks bounced and paid them in cash or by money order.

The Seattle Mennonite Church's WTRs' witness and beliefs were shared
with 75 people who attended a bi-annual conference focusing on "Ways We
Resist War" of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee
(NWTRCC) hosted by the Seattle-based Nonviolent Action Community of
Cascadia. At the event, about 20 panelists and workshop leaders
demonstrated ways they resist war, such as doing counter-military
recruitment in economically disadvantaged high schools, organizing
veterans for peace, working in the coercive atmosphere of a VA hospital
and not being allowed to talk about peace, exposing corporations that
profit from war, living in an egalitarian commune, leading nonviolent
protests against the United States' weapons of mass destruction, as well
as refusing to pay for war.

"War tax resistance is the equivalent to refusal to comply with
conscription of our bodies to wage war in times past," Nisly said. "That
faithful struggle and refusal has always been very significant for our
Anabaptist forbearers. ... It is not first a political question or even
a moral question. It is first a question of faith in Jesus Christ. It is
impossible to follow Jesus where Jesus doesn't lead. And I cannot
conceive of Jesus unquestioningly complying with waging war."

Editor's note: The Treasury Department announced May 25, 2006, that as
of July 31, 2006, the federal excise tax would no longer apply to long
distance bills, including cell phones, mixed local and long distance
services, and Internet phone service. However, the tax will remain on
local phone service until Congress passes legislation to abolish it.

Bible study author learns of time stewardship

NEWTON, Kan., and WINNIPEG, Man. (MW USA and CWM) - When Melissa Miller
began to write a Bible study guide on women and the stewardship of time,
little did she know that she would be the first "student" of its
lessons.

Miller, Canadian author of My Times Are in Your Hands: Women and the
stewardship of time, says the project taught her much about how her
writing was in God's hands - even though deadlines loomed and time ran
thin. She wrote the 62-page book's lessons on behalf of Mennonite Women
USA (MW USA) and Canadian Women in Mission (CWM). They co-produce a
Bible study guide each year as part of their ministries to women's
groups and individuals. This 2006 study, printed by Mennonite Press in
Newton, Kan., is the first of a trilogy on the stewardship of time,
talent and treasure.

"I welcomed the chance to write a Bible study on time, to explore
biblical wisdom for 21st-centry North American Christians," says Miller,
who lives in Winnipeg and is a family life consultant, pastoral
counselor and author. "Alas, I became bogged down by time pressures and
struggled to give birth to this study.

"Neither clock-watching nor attention to the seasons enabled me to put
words to the page. I needed a miracle. Thank God who provides such
miracles! In an unusually quiet Christmas week, most of this study
flowed from my fingers, an astounding bout of creativity. I was awed by
the Spirit's generous gift."

Miller's struggles strengthened and enriched her work, as they provided
examples of how God's grace and wisdom can shape one into being a better
steward of time. Included in the 62-page guide are 10 lessons and a
concluding worship. Also included are 10-minute devotionals on each of
the lessons, as well as Christmas and Easter programs for group special
events. Cover artist is Marj Engle, Salem, Ore.; and book designer is
Gwen Stamm, Scottdale, Pa.

The lessons include:

* Time from God
* Time with God
* Everything Has Its Time
* Healed from Hurry Sickness
* Time to Trust
* Time to Let Go
* Time to Be with Each Other
* Time to Claim and Use Power
* Time to Grieve
* Time to Take Stock
* Time with a Timeless God - a closing worship service

Rhoda Keener, executive director for MW USA, and Erna Neufeldt, CWM
president, endorse Miller's work and affirm how she conveys a sense of
God's grace for maneuvering through a society plagued by "hurry
sickness."

"I think this study speaks to women's daily lives," Keener says. "Not
only is it very well-written, with connective and contemporary stories,
but it is also very timely for our ministry this year. It corresponds
well with our Women in Conversation retreats in Kansas and Pennsylvania,
which focused on treasuring time.

"And it gives women resources to deal with the tendency in our culture
to take less and less time to nurture our relationships with God, each
other and ourselves. This study will help women take some time to sit
and be quiet, to sit and listen, to sit and reflect on the rich
scriptures that can guide us on our use of time."

Neufeldt says, "I am grateful for this study because it will help us to
take the time to study, to pray and to listen to God. Psalm 16:11
reminds us God shows us the path of life. This study can be a guide on
this path."

To order the Bible study guide in the United States, send $7 payable to
MW USA, to the MW USA office at 722 Main St., Newton, KS 67114. For more
information, please call toll-free 800-794-5101, ext. 227;
office@MennoniteWomenUSA.org.

In Canada, order directly from the Mennonite Church Canada Resource
Centre, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd, Winnipeg, MB R3P OM4; toll-free
866-888-6785; resources@mennonitechurch.ca. They will bill you for $7
Cnd., plus postage and GST.

MW USA is also offering a companion piece to the Bible study guide. It's
a seminar leader's guide, "Is there a cure for hurry sickness?" written
by Marlene Bogard, minister of Christian worship for Western District
Conference in Mennonite Church USA.

It's free by e-mail; for each paper copy please enclose $2 for postage
and handling.

Laurie Oswald Robinson is editor for Mennonite Women USA and Timbrel
magazine, which serves Mennonite Women USA and Canadian Women in
Mission.