Prayers of gratitude and intercession

Everyone can travel to Indonesia for this year’s Mennonite World Conference hybrid Assembly. Around 1250 will do so in person, while thousands of others will visit Indonesia through screens. 

Through a daily “Panorama Indonesia” presentation, participants follow Jesus across barriers by sampling the multifaceted ministry activities of three host synods.* 

Each Assembly plenary session opens with a period of singing. An international ensemble choir and local band lead singing from the international songbook, compiled anew for each Assembly. “Participants will recognize old favourites and learn new ones,” says Benjamin Bergey, Assembly 17 music coordinator. (Click here to learn more) 

Inspiring speakers from each continental region – including Young AnaBaptist leaders – will teach on the daily themes. (Click here to see morning and evening speakers ) 

In the morning sessions, one of the four MWC Commissions will discuss their work of breaking barriers and building communion among Anabaptist-Mennonites across the world. 

The evening sessions will be hosted at a different location each night. “This way, online participants can ‘travel’ around Java, seeing the local church gathered in worship,” says Liesa Unger, chief international events officer. (Click here to learn about the host congregations).

• Delegates from the Global Youth Summit will share how they learned, served and worshipped through “Life in the Spirit.” 
• President-elect Henk Stenvers from the Netherlands will be introduced. 
• Representatives of Meserete Kristos Church will extend the invitation to the next Assembly in Ethiopia in 2028. 

Renewal 2022 will take place at the closing celebration worship service on Sunday morning. “This series of events commemorates the 500th anniversary of the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement, remembering the past, and looking ahead to how God will shape us in the future,” says John D. Roth, Faith and Life Commission secretary and Renewal 2028 coordinator. (Click here to learn about prior Renewal events).

There are five evening worship services 5-10 July 2022 in Indonesia. These livestreams may occur at mid-afternoon or early morning in your local time, depending on location. (Click here to learn how to find Assembly sessions in your local time) 

There are five morning plenary services 6-10 July 2022 in Indonesia. These may be livestreamed in the evening, during sleeping hours, or early in the morning where you are. (Click here to find Assembly sessions in your local time) 

The Indonesian Assembly just got a little bit larger. The National Advisory Committee for Assembly 17 and the executive committee of MWC have decided to raise attendance numbers for the gathering in Indonesia to 1250.

COVID-19 cases in Indonesia remain low so the Indonesian government has lifted quarantine restrictions for travellers.

“We would love to see you in Indonesia. Please register now! It is not yet too late to make travel plans,” says Liesa Unger, chief international events officer.

“Anyone can register until we reach the limit. Our registration team is happy to put in the extra effort to facilitate these late registrations and General Council arrangements.”

If gathering sizes are increased later, more local participants may join the closing worship service at Holy Stadium, 10 July 2022.

The expanded number of participants allows for the General Council to take place onsite instead of online.

“Mennonite World Conference is a communion – that means we are in a deep, spiritual, unifying relationship with one another,” says César García, general secretary. “The discernment work of the General Council is best done where we can spend time with each other, fellowshipping not only in sessions but also over meals and in leisure outside of meetings.”

The Commissions will also attend Assembly and hold face-to-face meetings.

“Without a doubt, our time in Indonesia will be a blessing for our global communion,” says César García.

“We come together throughout the world to sing and to make music together,” says Benjamin Bergey, Assembly 17 music coordinator. With attendees from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia, “What we have [at Assembly] is an opportunity to reframe what is important about music.” 

At this hybrid Assembly, participants who have never been able to attend Assembly before can participate in the music from their homes and local congregations and learn how sharing music can connect communities throughout the world.  

“As the world becomes more connected, the music also becomes more shared,” says Benjamin Bergey.  

Registrants for Assembly online receive the International Songbook which contains 40 hymns that represent music from Mennonite traditions on five continents.  

The selection affirms and celebrates unity in the Anabaptist-Mennonite family while expressing diversity in multiple languages, highlighting new Indonesian and Asian songs to create a base of shared musical language for the years to come.  

“By taking the time to learn someone else’s songs, we have another opportunity to make it more universal,” says Benjamin Bergey.  

These new songs, with notation help from Anita Purwidaningsih, will be shared by the International Choir and an Indonesian band. The 10 singers come from each of the five continents represented at Assembly, and the band, under the direction of Debora Prabu, features musicians from Indonesian congregations.  

For online participants of Assembly, Benjamin Bergey invites all to enter into the music wherever they are.  

“For many, a part of what has been really fun has been having 8 000 voices together,” says Benjamin Bergey.  

“The music will be very different from the Assemblies in the past, but I really do encourage people to sing from home,” he says. “Try to enter in any that way that feels right or comfortable. If you can be open and dive in with your whole being, you can always learn new things by doing things differently.” 

• How has music shaped the ways in which you worship?  
• How has music shaped your understanding of different cultures and expressions of faith?  

Registering for Assembly online will give you a chance to experience both traditional and contemporary songs that form Mennonite congregations around the world as Anabaptist-Mennonites come together to worship using the unifying language of music.  

Did you know? Registration gives you an all-access pass to Assembly.   

Not only…. 

• plenary speakers beamed to you from 5 different sites in Indonesia, 
• the international choir singing old favourites and new hits, 
• Workshops with scholars and practitioners in the Anabaptist-Mennonite family 

but also 

• video activities from the children and teen/youth program 
• a small group chat room to encounter new and old friends from around the world 
• opportunity to pray with brothers and sisters in places of challenge, suffering or joy. 

Nobody anticipated the pandemic barrier that would challenge Assembly plans when they chose the theme “Following Jesus together across barriers”. 

One year later than the original date, the 17th Assembly of Mennonite World Conference takes place 5-10 July 2022 with 700 participants on-site in Indonesia and thousands of online registrants across the globe, live-streaming sessions or watching the video recordings at a more convenient hour later in the day.  

Meet the evening speakers: 

• Timothy J. Geddert,* professor of New Testament at Fresno Pacific University (Biblical Seminary) in California, USA, opens the event by exploring how Jesus modelled crossing barriers in Mark 7:24-30.
• Therapist and newly minted AMBS theology graduate from France, Salomé Haldemann shares on learning together. Looking at passages from Scripture, she points at God’s passion for justice and the Holy Spirit’s empowerment for Christ-followers.  
• From Hong Kong, pastor and composer Jeremiah Choi speaks on living together within the body of Christ. Exploring passages from Scripture, he shares about unity in the body of Christ and solidarity with others.  
• Drawing from her experience ministering among people living on the street in Costa Rica, Cindy Alpízar speaks on caring together. Stories of Jesus from the Gospels and admonishments from Romans and Colossians animate her presentation on serving one another in the name of Christ.  
• At the final evening service, well-known speaker, author and church leader Barbara Nkala from Zimbabwe rallies participants to celebrate together. God’s reconciling Spirit that empowers barrier crossing between cultures, churches, ages, genders and more, as taught in Isaiah, John, Ephesians and 2 Corinthians.  

“We’ve put together an exciting set of plenary sessions with Anabaptist leaders from around the world,” says Frieder Boller, plenary session coordinator. “We expect to become inspired by the Holy Spirit through various people’s insights, experiences and stories of what it means to follow Jesus. Join us!” 

The evening sessions will air live in the afternoon in Europe and Africa, in the morning in the Americas.  

*Note: the previously announced speaker for Tuesday evening withdrew for personal reasons.

Click here to view a chart of times by city around the world   

Did you know? Registration gives you an all-access pass to Assembly.   

Not only…. 

• plenary speakers beamed to you from 5 different sites in Indonesia, 
• the international choir singing old favourites and new hits, 
• Workshops with scholars and practitioners in the Anabaptist-Mennonite family 

but also 

• video activities from the children and teen/youth program 
• a small group chat room to encounter new and old friends from around the world 
• opportunity to pray with brothers and sisters in places of challenge, suffering or joy. 

Assembly plenaries set YABs and Commissions in conversation 

“It’s remarkable that I can share,” says Ebenezer Mondez, YABs (Young AnaBaptist) committee representative for Asia. “I come from a very small church with no more than 1 000 members nationally, and from a country that always has foreign missionaries. We have always been the recipient. The Assembly made me realize that I have a gift to share too.”  

As at the Assembly in Pennsylvania, morning worship at the Mennonite World Conference Assembly 17 in Indonesia 5-10 July 2022 bring the YAB representatives into conversation with members of MWC’s four Commissions through two plenary addresses.  

Some 700 people will worship together with the international choir at STT Sangakala in Salatiga while thousands of online registrants tune in from around the world.  

Under the theme “learning together,” Larissa Swartz, YAB chair and North American representative will speak on interacting with diverse faith perspectives. Faith and Life Commission member and consecrated sister in the Chemin Neuf ecumenical community Anne Cathy Graber from France will speak on discerning the will of God.  

On “living together,” Ebenezer Mondez will speak on living through a time of crisis. Teacher and advocate Adriana Belinda Rodríguez Velasquez from Honduras will represent the Peace Commission with an address on dialogue and solidarity in diverse religious settings.  

On “caring together,” Colombian musician and teacher Oscar Suárez will speak on care for the environment. Social entrepreneur Jose Rutilio Rivas of Colombia of the Mission Commission will speak on caring for people who are marginalized and displaced.  

In Saturday’s sessions on “celebrating together,” environmental scientist Makadunyiswe Doublejoy Ngulube from Zimbabwe will share on intergenerational solidarity. Representing the Deacons Commission, Patrick J. Obonde of Kenya will celebrate diversity.  

Morning plenaries also include a daily special feature on Indonesian churches. 

Closing worship on Sunday morning (in Indonesia) includes Renewal 2022. This event forms part of a series commemorating the 500th anniversary of the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement. Plenary speaker Nindyo Sasongko, a theologian in Indonesia and USA, and member of the Creation Care Task Force, will speak at the original Assembly venue, JKI Holy Stadium in Semarang. 

Time zone differences mean morning worship sessions will be live the previous evening in the Americas, and in the early morning in Europe and Africa.  

Click here to view a chart of times by city around the world   

Registration has perks: take in ALL of Assembly  

Online attendance at Assembly 17 is so much more than a YouTube video. Registration for Assembly 17 provides an all-access pass!  

• Take part in morning and evening sermons, greetings from ecumenical guests, worship singing with the international choir.  
• Attend workshop presentations.  
• Watch video activities from the children and teen/youth program.  
• Join a chat room to converse live with brothers and sisters from around the world.  
• Read stories and watch vlogs about the service projects, host churches in Indonesia, and attendees at Assembly 17.

All videos and stories will remain accessible for up to one month after Assembly.  

How is the gospel being shared in Indonesia, a country with the largest Muslim population in the world? Find out as you worship together with four local congregations that will host the evening worship sessions during MWC’s Assembly 17: in Jepara, Solo, Margokerto and Ungaran. 

“Through these satellite locations, all participants can see, hear and experience the unique worship styles found throughout Indonesia,” says Liesa Unger, MWC chief international events officer.  

How is the good news being shared in these local communities? 

All four pastoral teams mention the richness of the diversity found in Indonesia, a country that officially recognizes six religions. The local Mennonite churches have learned first-hand the importance of neighbours uniting.  

• The GKMI* congregation in Solo has been working with Peacemakers Confessing Christ International (PCCI), a network of Anabaptist partners from around the world (under the coordination of Eastern Mennonite Mission USA) with a focus on Christian-Muslim relationships.  

• In addition to creating relationships with other faith traditions, the GITJ* congregation in Jepara looks to the past for inspiration. The Mennonite community in Indonesia originates from Jepara: the first Mennonite baptism outside of Europe took place in Jepara on 16 April 1854,  

“The church’s vision is to be God’s family who brings prosperous peace,” say co-pastors Herodion Noto Widi Susabda and Danang Kristiawan. “This vision is realized through building relationships with other religious communities as the most real reality in Indonesia. GITJ Jepara is also a church that respects the cultural roots of its people, namely Javanese culture, and appreciates art and creativity which are the strengths of Jepara.” 

• GITJ* Margokerto takes its place in Mennonite history as the second Mennonite “village” founded out of P.A. Jansz’s vision. 

• Inspired by attending the Global Youth Summit in Paraguay 2009, young leaders at JKI* Maranatha Ungaran initiated an event that became Unlimited Fire, a conference that creates spaces where young people can encounter God’s love and be trained as they are plugged into local churches and communities. 

Access to full worship sessions, workshops, music and interactive chat spaces will be exclusively available to Assembly registrants, in-person or online. 

*Today, there are three Anabaptist-Mennonite groups in Indonesia: 

• Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa (GITJ –Evangelical Church in the Land of Java) 
• Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia (GKMI –Muria Christian Church of Indonesia)  
• Jemaat Kristen Indonesia (JKI –Indonesian Christian Congregation) 

Your registration gives you an all-access pass to Assembly.  

Not only…. 

• plenary speakers beamed to you from 5 different sites in Indonesia, 
• the international choir singing old favourites and new hits, 
• Workshops with scholars and practitioners in the Anabaptist-Mennonite family 

but also 

• video activities from the children and teen/youth program 
• a small group chat room to encounter new and old friends from around the world 
• opportunity to pray with brothers and sisters in places of challenge, suffering or joy. 

“The Mennonite World Conference Assembly is a space to learn more about our brothers and sisters from different parts of the world. Everyone, regardless of budget or vacation time, will have the opportunity to gather online to worship, fellowship and study the Bible together while learning about how Jesus invites us to overcome barriers,” says Jardely Martínez, Youth Program Coordinator.

“This year we can learn more about the Mennonite churches from Indonesia, their culture and their worldview on community, faith and discipleship.”

This year, when you register through the virtual hub, you receive an all-access pass to the virtual Assembly Hub. Together with your local congregation, you can have both a shared and personal experience as a part of a great cloud of witnesses.

Here you can access live streams of the daily plenary sessions, participate in hybrid and online workshops and discussions, as well as follow Assembly on-site through short videos highlighting what is happening in each moment throughout each day. You will also be able to participate in mixed online and on-site small groups, where interpreters will facilitate conversations between languages so you can discuss with people throughout the world.

Registered participants will have access not only to all live events, but also a database of recorded sessions that can be found in the virtual Assembly Hub. Use the information below to plan your schedule to watch and participate in all of the plenary sessions and workshops available. Reference the table below for clarification between Western Indonesian Time and your local time zone.

• “Morning sessions” will start at 09:00 Semarang time with music from the International Choir, followed by stories from Indonesia and two speakers, ending at 11:30 Semarang time.
• “Evening worship” will start at 19:00 Semarang time and end at 21:00 Semarang time.
• The youth late evening program will be from 21:00 to 23:00 Semarang time.
• Additional workshops and other interactive sessions will be offered 0:00 to 2:00 Semarang time and 6:00 to 07:30 Semarang time, to better suit participants in other time zones.

As an Assembly registrant, you have access to all videos and articles for up to one month after Assembly has concluded.

We encourage churches to come together for online Assembly. Please consider donating to Mennonite World Conference if you are participating in a watch party that someone else has registered for.

In Indonesia, a country where sorting and proper treatment of trash is rare, how do we run the Assembly sustainably?

In 2019, Bangun P. Nugroho, a member of Jemaat Kristen Indonesia (JKI church) Holy Stadium in Semarang, Central Java, realized that landfills are filling up fast with a mix of organic and inorganic waste. The lack of sorting and treatment releases a stench to the surrounding community. So PT ALTSA, the company he worked for, did a feasibility study into waste management, got proper licenses and in March 2020 started accepting the food and green waste from a local public university in Semarang to be treated.

“Every day, the university produces tonnes of mixed wastes, among them plastic, paper, green waste and food waste – all of which used to end up in landfills,” Bangun P. Nugroho says.

PT ALTSA started to sort them, turning the green waste (the result of plant pruning and grass cutting) into compost. Meanwhile, food and other organic waste fed to maggots. These black fly larvae eat the waste food, getting rid of the stench and reducing the volume. The processed organic waste is then sifted and sold as fertilizer.

In addition, because organic waste is fertile breeding ground for maggots, excess larvae can be sold to chicken and fish farms as high protein feed, free of antibiotics.

“It is an end-to-end solution. The organic waste becomes fertilizer for the farms and food for the maggots. The maggots become a good diet for chicken and fish that we eat. And we return our food waste to the maggots,” says Bangun P. Nugroho.

Other than processing the university’s waste, PT ALTSA takes on other clients like restaurants, cafeterias and hotels. Mennonite World Conference will partner with them to ensure that the waste produced by the Assembly is properly treated and returned to the ecosystem sustainably.

“All I want is for things that people throw away to be returned to the environment in a form that is acceptable to them,” says Bangun P. Nugroho.

How will we gather for Assembly 17? The Executive Committee has opted for limited on-site attendees and many options for online attendees at the hybrid Assembly 17. MWC Assembly is hosted by the three Indonesian Anabaptist-Mennonite synods in Central Java, Indonesia, 5-10 July 2022.

MWC Assembly 17 in Indonesia will welcome 700 on-site participants with the option of additional Indonesian guests for opening night and closing service. Due to COVID-19 regulations, 700 is the number currently possible.

Registration for online participation opened in December 2021. Registration for on-site Assembly will start 8 March 2022 at 22:00 Western Indonesian time. 

Mennonite World Conference’s Assembly, which normally gathers thousands of Anabaptists from around the globe every six years, was postponed from 2021 to 2022 due to the pandemic.

Program

Sangkakala Seminary (STT), a JKI seminary located outside Salatiga, will host most of the plenary sessions. In addition, “satellite” meeting places at four local congregations will live-stream evening plenaries, while the international choir sings at STT. The closing service will be celebrated at JKI Holy Stadium in Semarang.

“This way, online participants can ‘travel’ with us to different places in Indonesia,” says Liesa Unger, MWC Chief International Events Officer.

• Most of the afternoon activities — including workshops, Global Church Village, fun and games, and children’s program — and lodging will take place at two hotels in Salatiga.
• Morning and late-night youth program will also take place at the hotel’s indoor and outdoor venues.

Registration categories

• A little less than half of the 700 registration spaces for on-site Assembly are reserved for Indonesian registrants, divided up between full participation and daily participation.
• The remaining registration spaces will be divided equally between the four registration categories (based on national GDP), to give members from each region opportunity to participate. [Click here to view rate categories]

“This mode for Assembly increases complexities in planning, but offers more opportunity for local church members to engage with international visitors, creates more opportunities for online participants to get to know Indonesia and to respond faster to possible health concerns,” says Liesa Unger.

Global Youth Summit

The Global Youth Summit (GYS) on the theme “Life in the Spirit: Learn, Serve, Worship” will be attended by GYS delegates and 60 full-time participants 1-4 July 2022 in Salatiga, Central Java. Local Indonesian young adults can join for the evening worship organized by GYS delegates of different continents.

General Council and other meetings

• The General Council meetings that precede the Assembly will take place online.

“With additional visa required and quarantine periods changing frequently, the financial risk of ballooning lodging costs and rescheduling flights for more than 100 General Council delegates is too great,” says César García, MWC general secretary.

• Meetings involving the Executive Committee, Commission chairs and secretaries and MWC staff will take place in Indonesia. These groups, which normally meet face-to-face, have not been together in person since before the pandemic began.

Further information regarding workshops, network meetings, Assembly Scattered tours and lodging options will be posted on the registration site.

“We want as many people as possible to come,” says Paulus Widjaja, chair of the National Advisory Committee in Indonesia. “We first dreamed of it in Paraguay in 2009. The pandemic discouraged us but we are still very enthusiastic to bring people to Indonesia.”

Will there be Assembly this summer? Absolutely! Who will attend in Indonesia? Watch for upcoming news.  

In their February online meeting, the Executive Committee are deciding on the attendance model for Assembly, based on the most current public health information, travel advisories and future projections.  

“We depend on government decisions regarding visa or quarantine and are committed to creating a safe environment for participants and local churches,” says Liesa Unger, MWC Chief International Events Officer. 

Mennonite World Conference staff are creating different modes to participate in the Indonesian Assembly. Options will include face-to-face meetings alongside online communion. The hybrid Assembly will bring together Indonesian churches with international participants in many ways.   

“We pray that a great number of our global family of Anabaptist-Mennonites will choose to participate in the hybrid Assembly this July, in person or online,” says Liesa Unger. “Our Indonesian churches are eager to meet the global Anabaptist-Mennonite family this July to explore what it means to follow Jesus together across barriers.”  

Watch your email and MWC social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) for this news. 

How lifelong relationships become real 

Assembly tours have something for everyone!

• an adventurous bicycle ride across a rural rice field
• a deep dive into Indonesia’s Mennonite church history as told in John D. Roth’s new book A Cloud of Witnesses
• immersion into batik-making or local village life
• a visit to historical and religious landmarks to hear the story behind them,
• a culinary journey into making Indonesian food,
• and many more!

Assembly Gathered: half-day tours sample cultural and religious diversity 

Every afternoon, Assembly will offer a number of half-day tours that will take visitors to the local attractions in and around the host city, Semarang. “Participants can choose from exploring Semarang’s old city, a theme park featuring all the traditional houses of Central Java, the marina, a nearby coffee plantation, places of worship, or sampling local culinary delights,” says Sarah Yetty, Assembly’s national co-coordinator.   

“The afternoon tours focus on giving participants with limited time in Indonesia a glimpse of Central Java’s rich history and diversity while enjoying the scenery,” Sarah Yetty says.  

Assembly Scattered: explore church history, multireligious society and community outreach  

For those extending their stay in Indonesia before or after Assembly Gathered, Indonesia 2022 offers multi-day tours from Bali, Yogyakarta, Karimunjawa Island, Solo, as well as Assembly Scattered programs hosted by more than 10 Mennonite communities in Indonesia.  

“In Assembly Scattered, local GITJ, GKMI and JKI churches will host a group of 10-50 visitors each. The church members will become tour guides as their visitors explore their area and learn what it means to be an Anabaptist within the local context,” says Agus Setianto, Assembly’s national co-coordinator. 

Among the many examples of the multi-religious context of living in Indonesia, the program with GITJ Jepara offers a visit to a local Islamic boarding school. Participants will share a meal with their students and teachers. Another host, GKMI Winong in Pati, is considered one compound with the next-door mosque because a canopy connects the two buildings.  

Many host churches will take visitors to other places of worship, evidence of communities that are continuously learning to co-exist through dialogue with each other.  

Closely connected to interfaith work is the church’s diaconal ministry to the local community. On the tour hosted by GKMI Yogyakarta, participants can view the housing built by the church following the 2006 earthquakes in the city. GKMI Anugerah Jakarta will share about its mobile clinic ministry, while JKI Salatiga will take you to visit the Bu Moi orphanage.  

For those wanting to learn the Dutch mission history from colonial times, the programs offered by many GITJ churches offer an insight into the work of the Dutch missionaries and how Javanese missionaries infused biblical messages with Javanese art and customs to share the gospel to their own people.  

Cultural activities, sightseeing and culinary delight are part of every tour. However, they offer more than tourism.  

“Assembly Scattered is an opportunity to interact with Anabaptist Christians in their local context, worship together, share meals and start lasting relationships. Visitors learn about day-to-day life as a follower of Christ in Indonesia. The host churches are enriched by opening their homes and churches to ‘family’ they would otherwise not have known. This is how lifelong relationships become real,” says MWC chief international events officer Liesa Unger.  

View the video highlights of Assembly Scattered hosts and programs here. The playlist will be updated regularly: 

• In English 
• In French 
• In Spanish 
• In Indonesian