Across the globe, more than 41 million people – around half of them children – are now at risk of starvation in 43 countries. The global hunger crisis is driven by conflict, by climate change; and by the economic impacts of COVID-19. Even in countries where some have an abundance of food, many people are lacking the basics.
Mennonite World Conference is working with a large group of Christian churches and networks to launch a weekend of prayer and action 16-17 October 2021. This will coincide with World Food Day on 16 October.
Global church and network partners include ACT Alliance, Integral Alliance, Lutheran World Federation, Micah Global, Organization of African Instituted Churches, Salvation Army, World Council of Churches, World Evangelical Alliance, World Methodist Council and World Vision International.
It will be a time for us, as followers of Christ, to unite across denominations in solidarity with our sisters and brothers, praying for them and with them, so that they can live their lives without hunger, with dignity, in all life’s fullness, experiencing the grace and love of God.
During the course of the weekend, we invite our members to share a meal with other families and individuals, offer your prayers for those who are hungry, and reflect on the causes and impacts of hunger.
On Sunday, 17 October 2021, we encourage local congregations to focus on this global hunger crisis in their Sunday service.
for the Weekend of Prayer and Action Against Hunger October 11-13, 2024
For this Weekend of Prayer and Action Against Hunger, Christians from all around the world will gather for prayer and worship around the theme of global hunger and food justice.
We offer this guide to support worship planners to develop a service of prayer or worship that fits your local context. You will find selections of prayers to choose from, which are offered to be used or adapted for your own community’s context.
“Enough to Share”
There are shared meals one will never forget. Years ago, I visited churches in Zimbabwe. It was a difficult time with incredibly high inflation and political turmoil with violence. We passed by a church building under construction in the suburbs of Harare. It was a working day. Spontaneously people came when they saw our cars. We sang and prayed together.
We were about to leave, but someone asked us to stay. Women went to their homes and came back soon with chicken, rice, and salad. We sat down and shared a meal together. What a sign of love and welcome. I was blessed by the gracious gift of food, hospitality, and care. It was like light rising in the darkness. I was reminded that God’s kingdom is not a future dream. It becomes real in the middle of the injustices and hardships we are facing, such as increase of hunger, wars, armed conflicts, climate change, most affecting those who only cause few carbon emissions, etc. God’s kin-dom is real, today, when we share food with one another, explore new ways to grow wheat and vegetables, see Christ in the stranger and become God’s beloved community.
Follow up questions:
Do you remember meals that touched and even changed your life?
With whom could you share food? Perhaps you wish to reach out to people with whom you never met for a meal?
Look at your life and at your community in the light of God’s promises in Isaiah 58,6-12.
Any thoughts on how these promises transform yourself, your community and the world?
Liturgy: Sharing food with the Hungry Ð Isaiah 58: 6-12
Conflict; an uneven global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic; the effects of climate change; high inflation; as well as the rising cost of food, fuel, and fertiliser are driving a polycrisis that is pushing tens of millions of girls, boys, and their families into extreme hunger.
The number of people affected by acute food insecurity has nearly doubled over the past three years, from 135 million people across 55 countries and territories in 2019 to a record 258 million in 58 countries in 2022 Ð even more than last year’s mid-year projection that, without urgent action, 222 million across 53 countries and territories could face Ôcrisis’ (IPC 3) conditions or worse.
In the face of dire statistics, we know that hunger has a nameÉ
Seven-month-old Hamdi weighed only 8.8 pounds in June when she arrived at a nurition clinic in Baidoa, Somalia. Health workers found her to have severe acute malnutrition, exacerbated by acute watery diarrhea and measles. Drought in Somalia is not only impacting access to food.
Ten year old Peter in Kenya, whose family’s food supply has been impacted by drought and climate change.
1-year old Nadia in Afghanistan, displaced and experiencing severe malnutrition.
Nadia, Hamdi and Peter found help and support…but the situation globally remains a significant challenge. And hunger is in every neighbourhood and community.
These realities are true in a world where there is enough to feed everyone….and so we pray for justice, for hearts to act and serve and for systems to change to take steps to end hunger.
Across the globe more than 41m people – around half of them children–are at risk of falling into famine in 43 countries. Famine is preventable and has no place in the 21st century. These people are not starving, they are being starved by conflict and violence; by inequality; the impacts of climate change; and by a fight against COVID-19 that has left them even further behind.
Time is running out. Action must be taken now to prevent the needless deaths of tens of thousands of children. If the world stands by and does too little too late, children will starve to death. Hunger will also force children and their families to make dangerous survival choices, such as child marriage or child labour, and this will have lasting harmful consequences for girls and boys.
Up to 811 million people were hungry in 2020, up by 161 million from 2019. This is a 25% increase from 2019, which is greater than the total increase over the past 5 years. Hunger increased in all regions of the world. Asia has the largest total number of hungry people, but Africa has the highest proportion of its population.
In our time of worship, we will focus on the invitation from Jesus to follow him – ‘Feed my sheep.’
We have the assurance that God sees and knows and hears the cry of each person experiencing hunger in the world today and invites us to participate in their redemption, ensuring that the daily needs of all people can be met. Our response, in hope-filled obedience, is to join in God’s redemptive work in the world.
Download worship resource below, a collaboration with ecumenical partners (Micah Global, Integral Alliance, ACT Alliance, World Methodist Community, Lutheran World Federation, The Salvation Army, World Council of Churches, WEA, World Vision) ⬇️
Our sense of smell is one of the most interesting senses we have. Smell can bring pleasant memories of a meal you loved as a child, and unpleasant odours can elicit disgust.
Church unity is like your sense of smell: it fills you with hope and strength when you experience it, or it makes you want to disengage and run away when poorly managed conflicts make it evaporate.
This is what Psalm 133 is all about.
Literary context
Psalm 133 is part of a group of 15 psalms referred to as“songs of ascents”.
The first psalm in the collection, Psalm 120, expresses the pain of discord and hostility while Psalm 133, at the end of the collection, responds to the question asked in Psalm 120: How can we speak about peace in the midst of a society that chooses war?
Historical context
It’s possible that the pilgrims who had lived through the exile used the songs of ascent when they would go to Jerusalem to celebrate a major festival. These are brief psalms that, when sung, reinforce beliefs and fundamental values that remind us of oppressive contexts and suffering like that of the Israelites in exile.
A study of the passage
The visible reality of unity
Even though some versions do not translate the first word following the title, hinneh, or “look”, is very significant. The invitation in the text to “look” indicates that the unity of God’s people is not merely something spiritual or something we only enjoy after death. The unity of God’s people is a tangible reality that can be seen and experienced in the here and now.
In the second century, Tertullian said, “Look how they love one another”.
The drawing reality of unity
Unity is a blessing that brings more blessings; it is a lengthy and abundant life; it is the aroma that spreads; it is the dew that soaks.
Just as a pleasant smell draws people, the unity of God’s people is something that everyone longs to experience and becomes irresistible when it is found. It is like when you are very hungry and pass by a restaurant that emits the aroma of your favourite dish.
In the same way, when you find unity in the middle of a sea of discord and conflict, you don’t want to let go of it.
The received reality of unity
The passage speaks of oil and dew that descend. The oil flows to the collar of the priest’s vestments where the precious stones on his chest symbolize the tribes of Israel. The dew brings coolness and fertility from Mount Hermon to Mount Zion.
This is what characterises the unity of the Israelites: It’s given by God and received by God’s people.
True unity is not built or reached through human agreements about doctrine and practice; it is a gift from God.
Application
Psalm 133 describes the reality of unity without explaining how to receive it in practice. Colossians 3:14 affirms that love makes unity possible. 1 John 4:7-21 explains that love is the only evidence that we know God. Divisions in the body of Christ are like a stench that repels others.
Meanwhile, church unity attracts others through the evidence of a supernatural love that unites disciples in harmony despite their differences.
We pray that the next 500 years in the history of the Anabaptist movement are marked with the love, reconciliation, and the gift of unity that draws those who are weary of a destructive world full of division, nationalism, political polarization and interminable wars.
—César García is general secretary of Mennonite World Conference. Originally from Colombia, he lives in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, with his wife Sandra Baez.
“Anyone who tasted Jesus is good should tell others what he/she tasted.”
Evangelism is a scary word for many of us, but this simple advice offered by pastors in Ethiopia helps to simplify the task. Although we each bear responsibility to share the gospel, it is the Holy Spirit that changes hearts. Our job is merely to speak up about how we have experienced the goodness of God.
In this issue of Courier, we share stories of churches growing in different ways. Bursting at the seams with growing congregations, the leadership team of Meserete Kristos Church shares their 10 step strategy for church growth.
The local congregation of Anolaima in Colombia is growing trees and grass and birds as they plant seeds of the gospel in the hearts of visitors to their “IgleParque.”
And in secular Netherlands, a Mennonite retreat centre and associated camping network live out transforming lives in community, running toward the questions and letting God fill in the spaces.
You will also find testimonies of the church community fostering the growth of faith from the 2024 Renewal event in Curitiba, Brazil: Transformed, together we live Jesus. In our resource section, there is news to pique your interest in the upcoming 500th anniversary of Anabaptism.
Finally, we need to hear from you!
How have you been moved by the sharing you read in Courier? How have you shared that with your wider church community? We are seeking your opinion about what you find most valuable in Courier. Please scan the QR code here or visit here to fill out the survey.
This survey will only take five minutes of your time, but your response will help MWC keep Courier relevant for you and your church. Thank you for your help.
–Karla Braun is editor, writer and website coordinator for MWC. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Please check your congregation’s copyright protocols before using these songs in public gathering.
Prepared by the YABs Committee for 16-23 June 2024
Theme:
Mosaic: We are God’s handiwork
Why this theme was chosen:
This theme highlights our part in God’s greater purpose. Like pieces of tile, alone, we cannot see our value. Sometimes, we may think we are insignificant, but when God puts us together with the right people and places, we fit: we find our purpose and realize our value.
Biblical text:
Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith Ð and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God Ð not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV)
Genesis 1:27 So God created humans in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (NRSV)
During this week, youth and young adult groups from all over the world can encourage each other and celebrate as one young adult Anabaptist community.
How can you participate?
Here are some suggestions!
Use and adapt the materials …
(Scripture, songs, discussion questions, prayer requests, testimonies, media, etc.) for use in your youth/young adult group that week. Watch for these materials on Facebook and our website.
Organize a YABs Fellowship Week event…
with other youth/young adult groups! Use the opportunity to enjoy fellowship with other Anabaptist communities. It doesn‚Äôt have to be complicated; just get together to worship, play, discuss, and pray – in person or online.
Join the discussion…
in a private Facebook group or on Discord and meet other YABs from around the world. Share conversations on your different perspectives.
We want to share your testimony on the impact of participating in the Global Youth Summit, a story of how God is working in your local context, a meaningful worship song or a prayer or prayer request. Please send your song, prayer or story via social media messenger, Discord or email no later than end of July.
“God is under the rubble in Gaza… He walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death. If we want to pray, my prayer is that those who are suffering will feel this healing and comforting presence.”
Pastor, professor and author Munther Isaac preached these words of lament to his congregation in the West Bank in October. Shared on video and in print, they reverberated with challenge around the world in the months after as the piles of rubble grew higher.
This issue of Courier deals with a subject which is controversial at any time. As this issue goes to press, death has been rained down on two peoples in land called Israel, Palestine, the Holy Land, the Middle East, the Levant.
The subject “calls for confession and much humility,” says J. Daryl Byler, former Mennonite Central Committee service worker in Jordan.
Through Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonites have been contributing the education among Palestinian people since the 1940s. In a land steeped with churches, some Mennonite groups have chosen to leave an impression through service rather than church planting.
Mennonites also have a history with Jewish peoples. Early Anabaptists recognized the insights Judaism offers for our understanding of Jesus as a Jewish man and for resisting empire to pursue the reign of God. However, Mennonite and Jewish coexistence in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries were often not harmonious. In Nazi Germany, Mennonites were as likely to support the state as resist it.
“Christians have used the Bible to support both anti-Jewish and Christian Zionist positions. One position suggests that Jewish people are less than fully human and the other suggests that they are specially chosen and favoured,” says J. Daryl Byler. “Neither of these positions is consistent with the core biblical themes:
God loves the world
All people are created in God’s image
God calls us to act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly
Jesus calls us to love our neighbour as self
“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
This issue takes a step away from the horror unfolding through our screens every day to consider those biblical themes and to share stories.
In our feature, scholars and practitioners share their readings of the Bible regarding the land and the peoples on it.
Our Perspectives authors share how their sojourn in this land has shaped their faith.
“We have to unlearn myths,” says Jonathan Kuttab, a Palestinian Christian with many points of intersection with Mennonites.
There are myths about Palestinian people to be unlearned and there are myths about Mennonite innocence with Jewish people that require humility and confession.
Holding power over other people, dehumanizing them does not build a world where anyone can flourish. It is certainly not the way of Jesus. Whether experiencing oppression, experiencing wealth, we all face temptations to blame others and destroy others for our own benefit – Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish, Mennonite or any other identity.
But as followers of Jesus, as we read our Bibles, may it call us to speak for those who are suffering, no matter which “side” they identify with. Let us walk through the valley with those in the shadow of death. Let us stand against injustice, no matter who is perpetuating it. And let us repent of how often we fail to discern injustice, speak with courage and act with love.
—Karla Braun is editor, writer and website coordinator for MWC. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
The unity of Christ seems to be easier to maintain separately.
Our tradition as Mennonite peacemakers results from a split from the wider church, and our plurality today – with its strengths and weaknesses – was the result in many cases of a disagreement that was not resolved. Our personal histories may also contain memories of ill-managed conflict: relationships broken; leaders ostracized; churches divided.
Early in the formation of the church, in the face of a crucially important matter, the leaders – and the factions – faced their fears and discerned together. The unity of the church could persist despite diversity because it is a gift of God.
“The unity in Christ that God is creating reaches to the edges of space and time and beyond – and includes us all even when we don’t include each other!” says Larry Miller, former general secretary of MWC.
In his address to MWC’s General Council, Larry Miller offered three practices that could help us approach conflict in the church and come out with unity on the other side, without necessarily being uniform.
a. Recognize Christ in one another. Even when the other seems wrong on points of theology and practice, can we acknowledge each other’s love for Christ and desire to follow him?
b. Learning receptively from each other. Just as I think I have something to teach you about what Jesus really meant, so you may have something to teach me about faithfulness.
c. Coming together as local congregation. In some cases, this is where the conflict lies! But can we remember even in conflict that no one has everything; but everyone has something? Swiss Mennonite theologian Hanspeter Jecker says “This recognition requires that the gifts of the individual contribute to the wellbeing of the whole…. Mutual encouragement and admonition are the foundations for…becoming a forgiving – as well as a forgiven – community.”
It won’t be comfortable, it won’t be quick and it will take courage. But instead of walking away from conflict, could we use these principles to walk toward conflict carrying the gift of unity, so that righteousness and peace may kiss?
—Karla Braun is editor of Courier and writer for Mennonite World Conference. She lives in Winnipeg, Canada.