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What does it mean to be a Peace Church?
Peace Sunday 2025 – Testimony A story of the church in Myanmar What does it mean to be a Historic Peace Church – or, rather, a church dedicated to the ways of Christ’s peace? This is the question that the Mennonite church in Myanmar wrestles with as the ongoing conflict there continues to affect many…
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Redrawing our relationships of proximity
Peace Sunday 2025 – Teaching Resource Sermon on Matthew 22:34–40 “Vecino” or “vecina” (neighbour). This is one of the ways we refer to the different people around us in Bogota, Colombia, whether they live in our building, the house next door, or we meet them in a store or other shared and public places. We…
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Terms renewed and specialists appointed
As Mennonite World Conference’s Executive Committee and General Council delegates gather for worship, fellowship and discernment, there are farewells and hellos. Members of the Executive Committee and the Commission serve six-year terms. The terms are staggered to ensure continuity. Executive Committee The Executive Committee is elected from the General Council (GC) and meets annually. Two…
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The beating heart of MWC
Deacons The responsibilities of the Deacons Commission include overseeing the Global Church Sharing Fund (GCSF), fostering prayer within the Anabaptist communion (sending the Prayer Network email, hosting Online Prayer Hour and collaborating with the president on pastoral letters), and deacon visits. From 2022 to the end of 2024, the Deacons Commission approved 20 GCSF proposals…
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A pastoral letter from Anabaptists in Ecuador
A state of “internal armed conflict” has been declared in Ecuador since January 2024. The government continues to struggle against violence from organized crime groups. The three Mennonite national churches in Ecuador – Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Ecuatoriana (IEME – MWC member church), Iglesia Cristiana Anabautista Menonita de Ecuador (ICAME), Iglesia Cristiana Menonita (ICME) – call…
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A pastoral letter regarding legal action for the protection of religious liberties
Beloved sisters and brothers We call you to prayer for our siblings in the USA who are taking legal action that seeks to restore the rights of people of faith to gather, worship and serve without government interference. Mennonite Church USA joins more than 20 Christian and Jewish communities in this action. The current presidential…
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Yesterday’s martyrs inspire those who suffer today
“Their commitment to passing down the message of peace and the gospel inspires me to live a sacrificial life for peace.” Stories of the early Anabaptist martyrs have shaped and inspired Mennonites around the world for 500 years. They continue to do so for suffering pastors in Myanmar, like the one quoted above. From 25-29…
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Reflections on Kintsukuroi
Brokenness into glory Clay in God’s hands Brokenness into glory Kintsukuroi, a traditional Japanese technique, involves repairing ceramics with lacquer and gold, embracing damage as part of an object’s history instead of concealing or discarding it. This process entails identifying broken areas and delicately mending them with precious gold, resulting in unique pieces that blend…
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The mosaic of Scripture and of the church
Peace Sunday 2024 Teaching resource Reading Scripture has always been at the heart of the church’s life, but from early on, different ways of reading and understanding have led to conflict and division. What is Scripture? Already in the early centuries several movements arose with differing claims about the meaning of the Gospel and how…
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Peace Sunday 2024 – Activities
2 Corinthians 4:7 describes the gospel as a “treasure” in “clay jars.” These humble vessels bring to mind the Japanese tradition of kintsukuroi that creates (or recreates) pottery from broken pieces. Damaged vessels are put back together, often with gold binding, to create a useful object once again. The new piece tells a story about…
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Interconnected family celebrates peace
Peace (English) – Paix (French) – Amani (Swahili) – Mirembe (Luganda): children at a Uganda Mennonite church wrote “Peace” in multiple languages. (See photo below.) Each year, the Peace Commission prepares a worship resource for Peace Sunday. Organized around a new theme each year, the package includes a Scripture focus, prayers, an activity and a…
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Third peace conference brings faith and peace together
“There’s something in the water among Mennonite theologians and peace building scholars and practitioners…around the decolonial project that people are drinking from now that is interesting and quite good,” says Andrew Suderman. The Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) professor and secretary of Mennonite World Conference’s Peace Commission organized the third Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival…
