Prayers of gratitude and intercession

Winnipeg, Canada – Mass events can leave behind a mountain amount of trash. But at Mennonite World Conference’s 16th Assembly in Harrisburg, 21–26 July 2015, the management of garbage was an expression of worship to God the creator.

Assembly organizers “decided early on that we would attempt to make the conference environmentally friendly to the degree that it was economically possible,” says national coordinator Howard Good.

Fresh air
The selected venue, the Farm Show Complex has a comprehensive recycling plan, a 1.8kw wind turbine and 125kw photovoltaic solar energy generation system and a 30,000 gallon rainwater recovery tank to capture roof runoff.

Chief international events officer Liesa Unger worked with the engineering team on the air conditioning “to create an environment that people around the world feel comfortable in.” In response to guests who left the cold building in the hot Pennsylvania summer, the team reduced the number of fans by half and raised the temperature several degrees.

Shuttle busses ferried guests between their accommodations and the convention events to reduce use of private vehicles.

Every registrant received a MWC-branded aluminum water flask fillable at one of 25 water stations throughout the building to replace disposable plastic bottles.

Even the convention bag was green. Local volunteers, including groups of Amish, sewed event bags at Mennonite Central Committee’s Ephrata Material Resources Center from donated fabric and discarded neckties. Matching the dimensions of the school kits sent overseas, the bags could be donated to MCC after the event.

But Good and his team went even further.

Eaten up after eaten on
With encouragement from the Mennonite Creation Care Network (MCCN), the planning committee made the extra investment to ensure that for the 39,000 meals, all plates, cutlery, napkins, cups, leftover food were fully compostable at a cost of about $0.60/meal.

Even the communion cups for Friday’s celebration of the Lord’s supper were compostable.

“Spread across 39,000 meals, [it] was not that expensive,” says Good. Savings in other areas mitigated higher costs incurred by the sustainability measures. Thirty volunteers at lunch and 40 every supper supplemented caterer Centerplate’s staffing needs. Local Mennonite agribusinesses donated some foodstuff or sold it to the caterer at reduced prices.

Over the course of the week at the Farm Show Complex, the Environmental Recovery Corporation trucked away almost 4.25 tons of waste Oregon Dairy Organics, a sister company to the Lancaster County farm and supermarket. There, the items were shredded, mixed with manure and periodically turned. After three months, this was blended with soil for use in landscaping and erosion control.

There were bumps along the way. “We discovered it was much easier for people to comingle regular trash and compostable trash than we realized,” said Good. Recyclable trash also found its way into compost receptacles. One container, refused because too much non-compostable material was mixed in, had to be incinerated.  

Educating eaters
“Initially, the sorting made little sense to convention goers,” says Marlisa Yoder Bontrager. With five members of her family, she volunteered at disposal stations during meals at Assembly to help diners sort out their garbage from compostable items.

The Assembly team also produced more signage and an explanatory video to help guests discern which materials were recyclable, compostable or just plain garbage.

“Once they understood the process, many shared feelings of relief and appreciation when they realized that their trash wasn’t going to a landfill,” says Yoder Bontrager.

Cooperation
The cooperation of leadership from the Farm Show Complex was key to the success of the ambitious waste reduction strategy, says Good.

Sharon Altland, executive director of the Farm Show Complex, says they do their best to accommodate client requests. Centerplate, the onsite catering contractor, used their broad food services network to find a reliable vendor able to meet MWC’s needs.

The venue already prioritizes green initiatives, but “working with Mennonite World Conference opened the doors to yet another conversation,” says Altland. “We are working to take steps to reduce food waste and are in conversations with the food vendors for the 100th Farm Show to capture prep waste.”

“The fact that 4.25 tons less [garbage] was hauled [to the incinerator] is a huge accomplishment,” says Altland.

“[Assembly planners] were willing to grapple with the gap that sometimes exists between best environmental practices and convenience – and then made it work for a huge gathering,” says Yoder Bontrager who is also a member of MCCN’s council. “They reflected in practice…an important commitment: growing in our dedication to care for God’s creation as an essential part of the good news of Jesus Christ.”

“Even though being responsible can mean higher costs, good planning in other areas can make it all affordable,” says Good.

—MWC Release by Karla Braun

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – The first ever Anabaptist World Cup will be played on the afternoons of July 22, 23, 24, and 25, as an optional recreational event during PA 2015, the Mennonite World Conference Assembly.

The matches will take place at Logan Field, a community soccer field near Dillsburg, PA, about a 25-minute drive from the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, where PA 2015 will be held.

“Teams will be put together by diversity of age, country, and gender,” explained Howard Good, National Coordinator of PA 2015. No qualifications were requested on the sign-up form, nor were registrants asked about their experience with the game.

“The goal is to have fun playing soccer,” smiles Good, “more than it is about winning and losing. Soccer is a unifying force around the world. That’s our hope for the Anabaptist World Cup!”

In order to play and to be a spectator, one must be a full-time registrant for PA 2015. Each team will play either on Wednesday and Friday, or on Thursday and Saturday. “We don’t want soccer to be an all-consuming event that keeps registrants from going to seminars or on tours, or from joining in the Global Church Village,” remarked Good.

Each afternoon, the first match will be one hour long, followed by a 15-minute break and then a second hour-long match.

The schedule will accommodate either 16 or 24 teams, each with 15-18 players, depending on the number who sign up.

Points will be awarded for each match. The team with the most overall points will be declared the winner.

“We’re going to work hard to keep the Cup fun and not too intense,” he commented. “It’s a bit of a gamble. There won’t be any practices; just some time to warm up and kick the ball around before each game. We’ll have one or two refs on each field to monitor things and keep the game flowing smoothly.

“We’ll be creating a short video that will explain the rules and regulations of the Anabaptist World Cup, which team members will watch while riding the bus to the game. We’ll be playing for fun, but we’ll be generally adhering to FIFA rules.”

Andrew Good and Nick Miller Good, two of Howard Good’s sons and longtime soccer players now living in Philadelphia, are organizing the teams and schedule.

“Each team will have a manager. Part of their job is to help set players’ expectations. These games won’t be professional. They’re for everyone, but we want good aggressive play.

“People who aren’t in great shape can play in areas on the field where there isn’t as much activity, and they can play for shorter periods of time.

“When you’ve got players from up to 50 different cultures playing, with different styles and estimations of success, there’s strong potential for misunderstanding. But the organizers who are helping to put this together are committed to making the Cup a success.

“If this first Anabaptist World Cup works well, I’m sure there will be a second one. César García, MWC’s General Secretary, isn’t a big soccer fan. But Liesa Unger, International Events Coordinator for MWC, is, so she’ll likely make sure it happens again!” said Good.

Spectators are welcome. Although the field has no bleachers, there’s lots of grass and a few trees.

Oh – and each player and spectator gets an Anabaptist World Cup T-shirt as a souvenir.

Article by Phyllis Pellman Good, writer and editor for Mennonite World Conference.

Anne Zernike was the first Mennonite woman ordained in the Netherlands, possibly in Europe and “even maybe in the world,” said Christien Duhoux-Rueb. She and Coot Winkler Prins, pastors from the Netherlands, highlighted Zernike at a workshop and with an award at PA 2015.

Ordained at the Mennonite church in Bovenknijpe in 1911, Zernike was the first woman to attend the Mennonite seminary in Amsterdam, and her first public sermon drew large crowds of “curious people who want to find out if she is real,” Duhoux-Rueb said.

Today, Zernike is the inspiration – and benefactor – for women theologians through the Anne Zernike Fund, established 2011.

In an informal ceremony in the Global Church Village, Duhoux-Rueb and Winkler Prins honoured outgoing Deacons Commission chair Cynthia Peacock for her pioneering service. Peacock has been “a source of inspiration for many,” the committee declares on their website.

“[Peacock] has done extraordinary work in a male-dominated society when she wasn’t always heard,” Duhoux-Rueb said. “She stood her ground, used her voice and was friendly but firm.”

To the small crowd gathered, Peacock responded, “I don’t deserve this, but I am thankful.”

The Fund is currently supporting seven women pursuing theological education. “We cannot afford to deny their talents,” said Duhoux-Rueb.

—From reports by Kelli Yoder (Mennonite World Review) and Connie Faber (Christian Leader).

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – Organizers for the 21-26 July Mennonite World Conference Assembly announced recently that registration will remain open until Assembly, but only the following options are available online beyond 1 July: full time/shared registration without the meal plan for clusters 1 and 2, and part time registration.

After 1 July, online registration for clusters 3, 4 and 5 will not be available, to make sure that there is enough time to process visa letters. (Country clusters refer to different groups of countries, https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ereg/newreg.php?eventid=96239&) Registrants travel information is needed, please email the itinerary to registrations@mwc-cmm.org.

After 1 July, registrations cannot be modified and all unpaid add on options will be removed from registrations so that final arrangements can be made by MWC staff. If add on options are still available by the time of Assembly, tickets will be sold at registration starting Wednesday, 22 July.

Balances need to be paid before 1 July. Those paying after 1 July, should not send checks which might not arrive in time. If checks are not received in time to process before Assembly, registrants will be asked to issue a new check.

Those who do not pay their balance before 1 July or who register after 1 July, will enter the “slow” registration line at the beginning of the Assembly.

Evening walk ups are invited to attend evening worship services if space allows. The MWC website will indicate availability of space for each evening at the time of the event.

The cost per evening will be $35 US for adults and $15 US for children. One family pays for only up to two children. Payment can be made in cash or by check at the door. Registration for evenings is not possible. The evening schedule can be found here. Schedules can be found here.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – The need for many to get visitor’s visas to the USA, to attend the Pennsylvania 2015 MWC Assembly in Harrisburg, has long been a concern for many planners and participants. For more than a year, the MWC Visa Task Force (VTF) has been making preparations.

Now that it is April 2015, and only a few months to go before the Assembly in July, we can say that obstacles and struggles are definitely present but are less than we anticipated. We are expecting a well-attended Assembly.

We knew from the beginning that about 1,000 people, from 44 countries where USA visitor’s visas are required, would have to work hard to come to Pennsylvania 2015. Looking forward, we noted three arenas of struggle. Would enough people want to take on the expense and anxiety to get a visa and make the needed travel arrangements? Would MWC logistic and financial support be forthcoming to make this happen? and Would the public systems for national passports and USA visitor’s visas be supportive?

On each of these fronts we have been frequently surprised and blessed. People have come forward from many countries: over 200 from Zimbabwe early on, around 300 from India, over 100 from Congo, a still growing number from Indonesia, Ethiopia, Central and South America, the Ukraine, and more.

Many people are planning to come from Europe, Japan, South Korea and other locations where visitor’s visas to the USA are not needed. It has truly been a humbling experience to see so many people making great efforts to come to Pennsylvania 2015!

The extra support needed for all this from US and Canada MWC church conferences has also been strong. People near to Harrisburg have opened their homes to welcome visitors. Many are donating time, food and money to support Pennsylvania 2015. And we are learning that, yes, people in this area do want to be good hosts, and are working hard to make this evident.

And lastly, concern was always there about the level of support Pennsylvania 2015 would receive from USA Embassies which must grant visitor’s visas. From early on, we were encouraged by the responses we received from officials. There was a clear level of support communicated, and a willingness to give counsel about what was needed and why these needs were there. Many other governments, needing to issue passports to people wanting to travel, also have been supportive. 

We are aware that in each of these arenas (people able to come, logistic and financial support, and travel permissions and documents) many different needs and demands remain. It continues to be a major undertaking, this Pennsylvania 2015. We know that not all who want to come, will be able to. We know that the support systems within our own churches here will sometimes prove difficult.

And we know that not all who seek travel documents and visas will be successful. USA Consular Officers will have doubts and questions in some cases, and so there will be some people who are denied their application for a visa. In each of these there will be frustrations and many opportunities for misunderstandings.

But we expect, in the end, we will be having a great Pennsylvania 2015 Assembly/Reunion in Harrisburg in July.There will be good representation of brothers and sisters from around the world, who will bring the stories of their efforts needed to make this journey.  We look forward to a meaningful time with the world church – and hope you plan to come too!

Article by Bob Herr and Judy Zimmerman Herr, MWC Visa Task Force Coordinators

Stories heard along the way

When asked to share examples of experiences people are having in seeking to obtain visas, the authors replied, “These are just a few stories. We have not gone into too many of the issues on why some have been denied visas as it is very hard to understand all the reasons right now in the middle of the process. And Consular Officers do not often give reasons, so we’re left with peoples’ speculation.”

• When one older African woman learned that her visa was denied, she refused to pick up her passport at the Embassy. She said, “No, I only need that passport if it has a visa in it to attend Pennsylvania 2015, so I will not pick it up.” After some further deliberation, a visa was approved and she then picked up her document. (We are not suggesting this is something others should try – maybe only those who can present a convincing grandmotherly demeanor and spirit.)
• Some visa denials come because people include inconsistent information, such as asking for a visa that does not conform with the dates of the MWC Assembly. This may seem a small point from the perspective of an applicant, but is seen differently from an official who knows little of this person except what is presented on the application.
• The most difficult categories for visa applicants are young adults, who may be perceived as perhaps wanting to remain in the US for economic reasons, and older/retired persons who may have family to remain with after the Assembly. We encourage these folks to be ready for questions relating to these concerns. Easier visa applicant categories are people who have a record of traveling and people who are well rooted in a business or profession.
• One person, who is a pharmacist, was asked in the visa interview, “Why do the Mennonites need pharmacists at the Assembly?” His answer was convincing and his visa application was approved.
• In one case, a pastor couple was denied a visa because the Consular Officer said they had insufficient resources to make the trip to the Assembly. In that case, they are re-applying and submitting a letter from their congregation that says the congregation is funding their travel. They hope this will make a difference.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – “PA 2015 will be green,” says Howard Good, National Coordinator of the Mennonite World Conference Assembly, to be held July 21-26 at the massive Farm Show Complex (FSC) in Harrisburg. Good had just received word that expenses for the green endeavour will fit the projected budget for the global event.

Owned by the state of Pennsylvania, and supervised by the state’s Department of Agriculture, “the Complex and its catering service have been remarkably flexible and open to our ideas and requests,” commented Good.

“Any time someone comes to the table with ideas about how we can be more sustainable as a department, and as state government, I’m right there,” said Hannah Smith-Brubaker, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and the official directly responsible for the site.

“I see stewardship as part of the Mennonite commitment, and I’m thrilled that that can play out at the Farm Show Complex. My goal is to be able to apply what we’ve witnessed from the PA 2015 planners to the Annual Farm Show which attracts 500,000 attendees each January, as well as other events we hold here year-round.”

Good and his team have set down green baselines for PA 2015. No plastic bottles will be sold at the event. Instead, each PA 2015 registrant will receive an aluminum water bottle. Twenty water stations will be set up for refilling within the buildings, which cover 24 acres under roof. Volunteers will handle the restocking. Shuttle buses will be provided to cut down on car traffic to and from hotels and the nearby Mennonite communities. All hotels contracted for the event have been asked to supply recycling bins either in their guest rooms or their lobbies.

The biggest endeavor is the capturing of all food waste and turning it into compost. The Farm Show buildings use solar collectors, solar panels, water reclamation tanks, vending misers, and low-flow water fixtures, among other energy-saving projects. But the Complex has not focused on capturing food waste, until now.

Three major players have been engaged to handle the waste related to feeding more than 6,500 attendees twice daily.

The Environmental Recovery Corporation will bring two empty 30-yard containers to the Complex to collect food waste. Then they’ll show up each night to haul away the filled containers to Oregon Dairy Organics, a composting facility just north of Lancaster.

At Oregon Dairy Organics, both the pre-consumer food waste (trimmings from food prepping) and post-consumer waste (including compostable tableware) will enter a three-month decomposing process. “It’s all natural,” explains Derrin Ranck, composting site manager, “but it’s sped up.

“The material brought from PA 2105 will be mixed with cow and horse manure to properly balance the nitrogen and carbon elements in the compost so it isn’t harmful to the ground when it’s put to use. Then it will be periodically lifted into windrows by a composting machine to hasten the process and to make sure the materials are decomposing evenly.” At the end of the three months, the compost will be mixed into potting soil and topsoil, and it will be used in landscaping and erosion control.

Good calculates that using compostable food service will add several dollars per person per day in costs. “Matt Gebel worked with us to design menus that allowed us to stay within our budget while remaining true to our convictions.”

“We put out a lot of garbage,” says Gebel. “The process of separating food waste is going to be a challenge, but it’s one we’re ready for. PA 2015 is offering us volunteer staff, and those people will make the difference since we need extra hands to carry this out. But this is not an inconvenience!”

Gebel expresses gratitude for PA 2015 on another point. “By having this event during our usual summer downtime, our staff will be able to work rather than going on unemployment during these weeks.”

Sharon Altland, Executive Director of the FSC remarked, “This is a learning experience for us. Yes, it means increased costs, but we want to phase these practices into our future shows here.”

“It’s important to me that we in the Department of Agriculture are as careful as we ask our farmers and consumers to be,” reflected Smith-Brubaker.

“All of this fits our Anabaptist value of respecting God’s earth,” says Good. We’re called to be responsible about how much we send to landfills. These choices fit Mennonite World Conference’s convictions, too.”

Article by Phyllis Pellman Good, writer and editor for Mennonite World Conference.

Additional photos – high resolution for publication – by Merle Good

(From left) CJ Filak of Environmental Recovery Corporation of PA; Howard Good, National Coordinator of PA 2015; Derrin Ranck of Oregon Dairy Organics; and Angela Dietzel, MWC liaison to food services at the Farm Show Complex, stand next to one of six composting buildings at Oregon Dairy Organics where PA 2015 food waste will be composted. Click here for photo.

At Oregon Dairy Organics, food waste is mixed with cow and horse manure in order to balance the composition of the eventual compost. Click here for photo.

Derrin Ranck, standing at Oregon Dairy Organics in front of the TURN-TEC machine, invented by his father, Merle Ranck, to aerate composting material. Click here for photo.

(From left) Members of the Green Team for PA 2015 in the Rotunda of the Farm Show Complex (FSC): Matt Gebel, General Manager of Centerplate, the food service supplier at the FSC; Sharon Altland, Executive Director of the FSC, Hannah Smith-Brubaker, PA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture; and Howard Good, National Coordinator of PA 2015. Click here for photo.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – At a dinner event immediately following the 21-26 July 2015 Assembly, Mennonite World Conference general secretary César García expressed appreciation to a number of staff members who are ending their work involvement with MWC.

Merle and Phyllis Good were recognized for their service as communication consultants and fundraisers. Over the past 31 years – since the 1984 Strasbourg Assembly – they volunteered in a number of areas: writing articles, taking photos, editing Courier, developing the Anabaptist Shelf, publishing and promoting the Global History series, helping with social media and marketing, raising funds for both the core and Assembly budgets and advising on overall strategy. During some of those years, Phyllis also served on the General Council and the Executive Committee.

Eleanor Miller was recognized for 25 years of service. She served as a volunteer in the MWC Strasbourg office from 1990-1997, assisting in the planning of Executive Committee and General Council meetings and also the 1997 Assembly in India. From 1997-2015 she served as administrative assistant and during this time – until 2014 – she was also a member of the communication team. In addition, from 2003 to 2015 she was responsible for collecting all national church information and statistics for the MWC global census of Anabaptist-related churches.

Tim Lind was recognized for several key roles with MWC. From 1997 to around 2003 he and Pakisa Tshimika worked on a Global Gift Sharing project and co-authored Sharing Gifts in the Global Family of Faith (Good Books, 2003). After the 2003 Assembly in Zimbabwe and until 2014, Lind served as MWC’s Church to Church Relations Coordinator. In the months leading up to the 2015 Assembly, he provided assistance to individuals from the Democratic Republic of Congo in dealing with visa issues.

Other departing staff recognized at the dinner event were Robert J Suderman, who served as Peace Commission secretary for the past six years, Devin Manzullo-Thomas, who served as editor of Courier/Correo/Courrier since January 2013, and Ron Rempel, who served as chief communications officer since January 2012.

Also recognized were two individuals who completed a six year term as commission chairs: Richard Showalter of the Mission Commission and Paulus Widjaja of the Peace Commission.

At the dinner event, Liesa Unger, chief international events officer, Howard Good, national coordinator for the 2015 Assembly, and Lynn Roth, North America Representative also took the opportunity to thank the many paid and volunteer staff who helped with Assembly planning.

MWC release 

Photos: Phyllis Good, Merle Good, Eleanor Miller, Tim Lind, Robert J Suderman, Devin Manzullo-Thomas, Ron Rempel, Richard Showalter, and Paulus Widjaja

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA  – Applying for a visa to enter the U.S. is serious business for many internationals hoping to attend PA 2015, the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly to be held here July 21-26.

A Visa Task Force – with two members on the ground in Africa, one who moves between Africa and North America, four in Asia, and two in Latin America – assists visa applicants in completing their paperwork and prepping for their embassy interviews.

Judy Zimmerman Herr and Bob Herr, who lead the group, are based in the U.S. They organize letters of invitation from MWC, which applicants can use as part of their interview process when applying for a visa, and they maintain a link to the office of Customs and Border Protection, assisting with good communication for people who will be arriving at U.S. borders.

The U.S. requires visas from 44 countries where members of MWC churches live. The investment for individual visa applicants is substantial – $160 USD in most places. Travel costs to consulates or embassies are on top of that.

A majority of the applicants are obtaining visas. For example, the word from Latin America is that many are getting visas, including all demographics. In general, throughout the world, those who have traveled outside their countries before are not finding it difficult to receive visas.

However, Task Force members observe some patterns in visa denials – those who do not own land, who do not have a career or steady work, who do not have a spouse and children in the country issuing their passports, or who have never traveled outside their country, are more likely to be turned down. But there are frequent surprises, as the following stories illustrate.

• “Mrs. A. had attended the last MWC Assembly in Paraguay as a member of a choir who had sung there. The choir was hoping to sing again at PA 2015. In her embassy interview a few weeks ago, she was asked a series of questions in a local language and answered them in that language. Her visa was denied. She would not accept the denial, quickly switched her language to fluent English, and refused to take back her passport, asking again why she was denied. To avoid creating a scene, the interviewing officer asked her to come back the next day to collect her visa. When I picked up her passport for her the next day, the first thing I checked was whether her visa was present, and it was!” The Herrs note that how applicants present themselves often is quite influential.
• “It was heartbreaking to watch my own pastor be denied a visa. Twice. In my country, a pastor’s wife is also considered a pastor, although she has no paper credentials to verify this. So she was denied, too.”
• “Three young women who are currently living in Canada, but come from a country that requires a U.S. visa, traveled to a U.S. consulate in another city in Canada for their visa interviews. When they arrived, they learned that the interviews had mistakenly not been booked. However, the folks at the consulate said, ‘But these women traveled all this way, so we need to give them their interviews.’ They made space in their schedule, and all three were granted their visas.”
• “A group of 18 women and one man landed at my home one night around 9:00, wanting a place to sleep. The communication had said that they would need a place to “wash their faces.” My wife and I opened up every space we had to accommodate them. In the morning, they turned our home into a church service with song and prayer. It was good. But of the 19, only two women got their visas. I was very sad. I can imagine 17 participants in a hired bus, traveling 440 km back home, having been denied. We had rented space in an Internet Café and assisted them with their DS-160 application forms. Where did we go wrong?”
• “A particular brother was my partner in the whole process, having volunteered to encourage church members to attend PA 2015. He organized a group of six, including himself and his wife. His pastor was part of the group. Four of the six were interviewed by one officer and were granted their visas. My friend and his wife were interviewed by a different officer, and they were denied. They haven’t decided whether to reapply or not.”
• “A pastor from a rural area had a lot of interest in attending PA 2015. He went through all of the application steps, and on the day of his interview, security agents at the embassy helped him go through security so he wouldn’t be late for his interview. When the consular officer met with him, he told the pastor that he had no fingerprints, and regretfully, he couldn’t grant him a visa. Without fingerprints, the embassy would not have a digital identity for him on file. This brother had worked in construction since he was very young. During the last seven years, he worked in his family’s brick-making factory. He had worn his fingers down so that he had no fingerprints because of the hard work he had done since his youth in one of those jobs.”
• “Eleven people from an especially remote and very poor region of one country registered to attend PA 2015. Although I encouraged them to do this, I also really wondered if they would possibly get visas. Most of the people in the group had not traveled outside of the country before, and they were getting their passports for the first time for this occasion, too. They traveled to the capital city (an hour flight, or a 20-hour bus trip) for their visa appointment. I was thrilled when all 11 of them walked into my office with smiles on their faces, all of them having received their visas.”

Many interviews are yet to be held during the next few weeks leading up to the Assembly.  Because the outcome for many visa applicants is still uncertain, persons and countries are not identified in these stories from the Visa Task Force.

Challenges remain for many traveling to PA 2015, even after a visa has been granted. Visa Task Force members ask for prayer in these areas:

1. Continue to pray for all of those who will have their embassy interviews in the next few days and weeks.
2. Pray for people’s entry into the U.S. This is often a stressful process, because people who rarely cross borders or deal with immigration officials are not used to answering personal questions.
3. In many cases, it is very difficult for those who have been denied visas to be generous toward those who have been issued a visa. Pray for peace and goodwill for all involved.
4. Some US Embassies are having technical glitches/problems issuing visas, with a number of visa interviews needing to be rescheduled.  For those still waiting for their visa interview, the schedule may be tight and uncertain. 

In summary, MWC officials are grateful that the majority of applicants are receiving visas. The biggest challenges remain, as expected, for persons who have never traveled outside their home country before or who are young enough not to have a job, spouse or significant assets to return to.

MWC release by Phyllis Pellman Good, a writer and editor for Mennonite World Conference

Harrisburg, PA, USA – A dedicated team of staff and volunteers captured images, videos and stories during Mennonite World Conference’s 16th Assembly in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, 21–25 July 2015. Visit pa2015.mwc-cmm.org to re-live your PA 2015 participation or to experience it for the first time.

Meet people like Sushant Nand, a man who tried his hand at sewing a comforter for Mennonite Central Committee – an organization he works for back home in India.

Find highlight videos of each day and the whole assembly, plus videos of the worship services to help perfect your rendition of Eres Todopoderoso.

Download resource pages from workshop presenters, such as Juerg Braeker’s PowerPoint slides on Liturgy, a transforming act. 

Click here for highlight videos

• Event highlight reel
• Daily highlight reels
• GYS highlight reel

MDS house build at Mennonite World Conference Assembly erects homes in 5 days

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – Pounding nails may be the last activity one might expect at an international church convention, but for many at the Mennonite World Conference’s PA 2015, it was a perfect fit.

Every afternoon, just outside the air-conditioned halls of the Harrisburg Farm Show Complex, two prefabricated houses were built by participants looking for a way to use their muscles that would connect meaningfully to their faith.

MWC-MDS“You always talk about church but you don’t do anything,” Alex Noord remembers his seventeen-year-old son Neils telling him in their home in the Netherlands. Now, attending the Assembly with Neils and 14-year-old Tymen, he and his sons got a chance to “do” something.

In the hot Pennsylvania sun, Neils and Tymen nailed studs into the wall frames of one of the houses, which were destined for two families who lost their homes in natural disasters: one in Nebraska and the other in Maryland.

“I like to work with technical things,” Neils said. “Building a home feels great.”

The construction of prefabricated houses by volunteers under the Partnership Home Program is one part of the work of Mennonite Disaster Service, headquartered in Pennsylvania. Each year, MDS also sends dozens of volunteer teams to scenes of flooding and disaster throughout North America to help victims clean up, repair and rebuild their homes.

At PA 2015, MDS staff and volunteers were on hand to guide some 30 volunteers each day to help construct the houses’ floors and walls, which would eventually be dissembled and packaged for transport.

Participants included people of all ages, many of them inexperienced in construction. Darwin Villacis, part of a mission church in Ecuador, contributed two afternoons to the project in order to observe how North Americans built their houses.

“I have talent in my hands; I don’t have talent with my words and my tongue,” said the 47-year-old mechanic.

Marcela Dow had never handled a hammer before. The 15-year-old and her youth group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, volunteered “because it’s always fun to help people; you can see the change you’re bringing.”

Byron Rempel-Burkholder is a writer and editor from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

*To see more stories, pictures and videos like this, visit pa2015.mwc-cmm.org. The site also contains resources for your congregation from workshops at PA 2015, such as downloadable worksheets, PowerPoint slides and information sheets.