Binuangan Mennonite Christian Church in the Philippines celebrated Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday through singing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” “Blessed Assurance,” “Trust and Obey” and “God You’re Good.” Some of the songs were sung in the language-Ilokano. Ilokano serves as the common dialect used alongside local dialects such as Kankana-ey, Bugkalot, Ibaloi, Kalanguya, and others
General Secretary
Creativity helps us have the imagination to picture things we haven’t seen or experienced before.
When I read the story of Dirk Willems – an imprisoned Anabaptist who pulled his pursuer out of the water after he fell through the ice – I used to have to use my imagination.
Since moving to Canada in 2019, I have seen frozen lakes and rivers with my own eyes.
Walking on ice is real – as real as the loving Spirit of God working on the lives of
Dirk Willems and his pursuer.
Today, when we look at a fractured world, full of anger, violence and disagreements, sadly even within the church, let us challenge our imagination to live into the world of shalom God calls us to.
- What if the world were full of people like Dirk Willems?
- What if we saw Jesus in the face of our enemies?
- How could we be a global church whose spiritual cornerstone is mutual love among Christians, even to the point of giving up one’s own life?
- How could we experience that love in our families, workplaces and neighbourhoods?
It is that way of living that allows us to understand the other in a deep way, by listening
and speaking to the other in love.
When we sing, as written about in this issue, we stir our imaginations. We sing of our love for God and for others, and the music moves us to feel it. We live into imagination through harmony as we express unity through diversity.
Let’s ask God for his presence to help us to live according to that imagination in each
relationship around us.
César García, MWC general secretary, originally from Colombia, lives in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. This article is adapted from his 2016 & 2022 “holy day letter” for Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday.