“Jesus is our hope: even if we go through the valley of the shadow of death, he is by our side.”
In the Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday materials for 2023, meet the Christian believer in Burkina Faso who declares this faith despite challenges – and more.
MWC creates worship resource materials three times a year for member churches: Peace Sunday (18 September, 2022), YABs (Young AnaBaptists) Fellowship Week (3rd week of June) and for Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday (22 January 2023).
“Each year for Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday, we encourage Anabaptist-related churches across the globe to use a common theme in a worship service to connect with our global Anabaptist family,” says César García.
Many congregations celebrate on the Sunday closest to 21 January, the date of the first Anabaptist baptism in 1525.
“Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday is an opportunity to remind our communities of faith that we are all part of one body made up of many tribes, languages and nations (Revelation 7:9),” says César García, MWC general secretary.
“In 2022, many of us were able to gather with joy, in person and online, for our MWC’s global Assembly in Indonesia, but that is a small portion of our global faith family. Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday makes it possible for every local congregation to join in shared worship, in spirit, in their own time, own place, and in their own way,” says Arli Klassen, regional representatives coordinator.
Churches may use as much or as little of the worship package as is useful to them. It contains preaching resources on the lectionary texts, four testimonies, cultural context and suggestions for offering from Africa, a children’s story and multimedia resources.
Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday is an opportunity to cross barriers: worship with another local MWC member church; invite an MWC speaker from the speakers’ bureau; host a communal meal – or a communal time of fasting – and take up an offering for the work of MWC connecting the Anabaptist-Mennonite family of faith.
“The calendar date isn’t important; you can use these resources to ponder living out peace in your congregation any time of year,” says Andrew Suderman, Peace Commission secretary.
MWC would like to hear about you! How did you use the worship package and add your own creativity to observe these events.
Tell us how you used these prayers, activities, testimonies or teaching resources in your congregation. Please send photos and reports to photo@mwc-cmm.org to share with other members of our global faith family.
For Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday, send us your congregation name so we can drop a pin on our celebration map.
