-
A pastoral letter of remembrance and mourning
Beloved sisters and brothers 7 October 2025 is the tragic anniversary of an outbreak of violence that has led to hundreds of thousands of lives lost in the lands called Israel and Palestine and also in the larger region. We acknowledge that the image of God is in every man, woman and child: every death…
-
A challenge and a prayer
“I always leave Online Prayer Hour feeling encouraged,” says Ginny Hostetler, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Every two months, Mennonite World Conference hosts this online gathering. Participants spend most of the hour sharing and praying together in small groups according to language. This September, breakout rooms were facilitated in English, French, Spanish, Hindi, and, for the first…
-
What does it mean to be a Peace Church?
Peace Sunday 2025 – Testimony A story of the church in Myanmar What does it mean to be a Historic Peace Church – or, rather, a church dedicated to the ways of Christ’s peace? This is the question that the Mennonite church in Myanmar wrestles with as the ongoing conflict there continues to affect many…
-
Redrawing our relationships of proximity
Peace Sunday 2025 – Teaching Resource Sermon on Matthew 22:34–40 “Vecino” or “vecina” (neighbour). This is one of the ways we refer to the different people around us in Bogota, Colombia, whether they live in our building, the house next door, or we meet them in a store or other shared and public places. We…
-
Peace Sunday 2025 – Activities
Who is our neighbour? What is the gospel? Enact “Samarital Acts” (Luke 10:25-37) in the community OR Explore the meaning of “gospel” in the story and notice the different practical ways in which it is embodied in Luke 4. 1. Create multi-generational groups to explore the assignment together over four weeks. 2. Within the groups,…
-
Peace Sunday 2025 – Prayers and Liturgies
Prayers and Liturgies A litany for the moment Responsive reading: one voice for the regular text, all voices for the bold text. All voices join on bold and italic text. God of surprising birth You are not the saviour we expect, Your power does not look like the power We want our God to demonstrate. We wait. We…
-
Peace Sunday 2025 – Song Information
We want peace “We Want Peace” isn’t just a song title. It’s a call. A prayer. And a mission. We wrote this song because we don’t believe that violence can be the solution to our problems. “War is Contrary to the Will of God”, wrote the World Council of Churches in 1948 after the end…
-
Peace Sunday 2025 – worship resource
Theme The Courage to Love Why this theme was chosen Enacting love is a courageous act.Over and over again, Jesus invites and encourages his followers (and listeners) to embody acts of love, highlighting how dangerous – and therefore courageous – such acts are or can be.These Peace Sunday resources seek to explore, nourish and unpack…
-
Terms renewed and specialists appointed
As Mennonite World Conference’s Executive Committee and General Council delegates gather for worship, fellowship and discernment, there are farewells and hellos. Members of the Executive Committee and the Commission serve six-year terms. The terms are staggered to ensure continuity. Executive Committee The Executive Committee is elected from the General Council (GC) and meets annually. Two…
-
Living in a new era
César García (right) interviewed church leaders from other traditions who were present throughout General Council meetings in May 2025. (l-r) Paul Tché, Tim Gee, Neil Vigers, Hanns Lessing (with microphone), Samuel van der Maas, Anne-Cathy Graber (MWC secretary for ecumenical relations). “Reconciliation is central to our faith as Anabaptists,” said César García, Mennonite World Conference…
