-
God’s church and its vocation for peace
Like the chambers of a heart, the four MWC commissions serve the global community of Anabaptist-related churches, in the areas of deacons, faith and life, peace, mission. Commissions prepare materials for consideration by the General Council, give guidance and propose resources to member churches, and facilitate MWC-related networks or fellowships working together on matters…
-
Peace Sunday 2016
“Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:18). In a world ravaged by violence, it is not easy to be a Peace Church – a church dedicated to the ways of Christ’s peace. These ways require much intentionality, persistence and even sacrifice. It is not always certain that Christ’s ways of peace will be effective. And yet the author of James reminds…
-
Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference considers Peace Network
Bogotá, Colombia – Conrad Grebel University College hosted academics, practitioners, artists and church workers at the inaugural Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival, 9–12 June 2016. In Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 203 people from 20 countries (from Canada to Colombia to DR Congo) attended 30 concurrent sessions. Three plenary speakers (including Fernando Enns of Germany and…
-
Being a Peace Church: How are we doing?
We estimate that there are 9,500 congregations throughout the world that are part of the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) family. These congregations are found in every continent and in every imaginable context. This means that there are, potentially, thousands of active communities of the peace of Christ functioning in many contexts in need of reconciliation.…
-
Recognizing our interconnectedness
Like the chambers of a heart, the four MWC commissions serve the global community of Anabaptist-related churches, in the areas of deacons, faith and life, peace, mission. Commissions prepare materials for consideration by the General Council, give guidance and propose resources to member churches, and facilitate MWC-related networks or fellowships working together on matters of…
-
JUST coffee in the Philippines
At one of the breakout sessions in MWC Assembly Gathered 2015 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, last July, former and present MWC workers exchanged coffee from their respective countries during their reunion. Unbeknownst to many, one special brand traded that day is not just another coffee. Coffee for Peace from the Philippines is JUST coffee. The story…
-
Churches in Latin America call for prophetic peace witness
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa – As Mennonite World Conference (MWC) member churches celebrated Peace Sunday on 20 September 2015, they also recognized the ways in which peace continues to be wanting in their communities. In Colombia, Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren churches, and Global Anabaptist Service Network agencies Justapaz and Mencoldes considered the meaning of peace as…
-
Celebrating Peace Sunday: A call for people who sow peace in peace
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa – September 21 marked the International Day of Peace – an event observed around the world with the hope that global citizens may renew their desire to work for peace. Mennonite World Conference and its member churches participated in this global day of commitment to peace by celebrating Peace Sunday on September…
-
We Cry (A prayer of lament)
We cry with those whose lands are ravaged from war. We cry with those who, because of war and violence, have already lost their home. We cry with those who leave behind what they know in search of a better life for their children and families. We cry with Abdullah, the father of Aylan and…
-
Panama Mennonites request prayer for land struggle
Panama – A request for prayer for land struggle was the main request that a Mennonite World Conference delegation heard in a February 2015 visit with church and indigenous community leaders in Panama. Leaders of the MWC member church, Iglesia Evangélica Unida Hermanos Menonitas de Panamá (United Evangelical Church: Mennonite Brethren in Panama), invited the…
-
Using violence against violence? Statement from a peace church perspective
In the face of the terror caused by the IS militias in Iraq and Syria, Western nations have reacted with air strikes and deliveries of weapons. A reaction that, given the atrocities described, has been widely accepted – also increasingly in churches. Among the same churches that almost unanimously raised their voices in protest against…
-
MWC responds to urgent appeal from Middle East churches
Bogota, Colombia – In response to urgent appeals from the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon and from the Middle East Council of Churches, Mennonite World Conference issued a call for “a shower of prayer, solidarity and blessing” to MWC member churches. In a communication to “all the Evangelical and Protestant churches and…
