“It was wonderful to begin this year praying together,” said Willi Hugo Perez after January’s online prayer hour. “May God encourage and strengthen the spirit of unity and peace in our beloved Anabaptist Mennonite family throughout the world.”
Around 80 people gathered on Zoom at 14:00 UTC on 16 January 2026 to pray together at Mennonite World Conference’s bimonthly event. The featured presentation was an update video from a Mennonite pastor in Venezuela.
After opening prayer, Scripture and the featured presentation, members are divided into small groups according to language and spend the next 35-40 minutes praying together as they feel led.
At the close, all participants join back into the main room and the group leaders offer a brief report.
The theme of prayers from the breakout rooms was for peace in the world: for elections, power transitions, refugees, people displaced for natural disasters, power issues in global politics and also in the church.
“We had seven people from six countries…” Each group leader begins their report with the number of countries represented in their room. For example, one English room reported praying together in English, Hindi and German.
At January’s event, prayers for Iran, USA, Venezuela, Colombia, Gaza, Ecuador, Hong Kong (60 people died and 1000 people lost their homes in an apartment tower fire) – were raised in many rooms.
“We prayed for unity of people in churches with all the political polarization that tends to reflect itself in distancing and disunity,” said one breakout room leader.
“We prayed for economic stability as it is important for people’s survival and keeping families together,” said another.
In the Hindi group where members gathered from five different national churches, they prayed for a member that recently elected a new executive committee. The leaders face the challenge of reconciling with groups that have separated from the national church.
A Pentecost babble of greetings erupts when the formal program is over as Anabaptists from around the world greet friends on the other side of the screen.
As these greetings cross over each other, Thomas R Yoder Neufeld dropped a prayer into the chat: “Let’s not forget to pray for MWC that we would live into the unity and peace of Christ as we face our differences.”
Continue with solidarity
May our prayers move us to action. In 2026, Mennonite World Conference focuses on solidarity. We invite you – particularly during this season of focus before Easter – to join in solidarity with the global Anabaptist through your prayers.
Take a photo or video to share with the global family how you are praying in solidarity. Use the text below. Send your photo or video to photos@mwc-cmm.org.
We pray in solidarity with sisters and brothers from ____________ (insert country name or national church name).
OR
__________ (insert your congregation name) prays in solidarity with sisters and brothers from __________ (insert country name).
Join us at the next online prayer hour. Please register here.