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Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • As I write these words, our world is embroiled in several struggles. First, we have been clutched by a global pandemic which has disrupted any sense of normalcy we may have assumed. Our second struggle is with overt expressions of deeply rooted racism that continues to kill and oppress black and brown brothers and sisters. Both of these – the pandemic and systemic racism – are not isolated struggles. They both highlight the inequality (racial and economic) that continues to cause suffering and pain.

    These struggles highlight the realization that God’s peaceable kingdom is not yet a reality here on earth. If, however, we pay attention to the cries of those who cannot breathe – due to COVID-19 or police brutality – we can learn to respond in solidarity with those who are in pain and/or oppressed.

    The biblical narrative tells us the story of a God who walks with those who are disheartened, disenfranchised and who suffer. It also invites those who believe in this God and who follow his Son Jesus Christ to see how all of humanity is interconnected: when one suffers, creation is not well; things are not as they should be. If we are interested in embodying God’s peace and justice in this world, what happens to one should also matter to others. If we seek to be a Peace Church, we must therefore recognize our interconnectedness and challenge injustice while accompany those who suffer.

    Recognizing our interconnectedness, however, means calling into question the myth of “the individual.” The notion of “the individual” suggests that one is “free” or “separate” from others. It assumes that one can be “independent” from others; pushing against the idea that others may determine or affect one’s actions. Thus, the battle that rages on when we seek to emphasize “the individual” is one that seeks to be free from others.

    One thing that COVID-19 has highlighted in the past few months, however, is how we are all intrinsically bound. And this is a reality that those who are oppressed and exploited could have already told us. Put simply, what we do affects others. What others do affects us. For better or for worse, we are inextricably bound. We only need to see how COVID-19 has spread to understand this reality.

    In South Africa, the notion of ubuntu provides a significant philosophical reminder. Ubuntu has become the short hand for the phrase umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu which means “a person is a person because of other people.”

    In South Africa, ubuntu provided an alternative logic to the history and experience of colonialism and apartheid. Apartheid, which literally manes “apart-hood,” was the rigid structure that was based on racial segregation. It emerged out of European colonization and formed a legal system that was based on and promoted white supremacy and white privilege while suppressing and oppressing those it deemed as “not-white.” Apartheid was a form of social engineering that promoted separation and fear of the “other,” thus justifying oppression and violence against those it deemed as “not-white.” 

    Throughout the struggle against apartheid (which officially came to an end in 1994) and into the early years of South Africa’s democracy, the concept of ubuntu provided motivation and vision. It highlighted how apartheid and its separation and exclusion attacked not only one’s dignity, but one’s humanity! Desmond Tutu, for example, regularly referenced the notion of ubuntu as he challenged the logic and separating practice of apartheid. “My humanity,” he would remind people, “is bound up, is inextricably bound, with yours; and yours with mine.”[1]

    It seems to me that this notion of ubuntu is a concept we might want to embrace at this time (if not from here on in!). It may help us to better understand Philippians 2:3-4:

    Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than [one]self. Let each of you look out not only for [your] own interests, but also for the interests of others.

    When one member suffers, all members suffer. 

    Embracing such a vision of interconnectedness, however, has consequences. What happens to someone else matters to us, and what happens to us matters to others. And this may affect not only who we are, but what we do! It offers, in other words, a social vision, not an individualistic one!

    Embodying such a vision, however, takes a posture of solidarity. It assumes that we are not walking on our own but with others. There are many joys in embracing such a posture. But, it also means that we share in the suffering: when one member suffers, all members suffer.

    Thus, if we want to be healthy, we must also work to ensure that others may be well. If we want a world where everyone is treated with respect and dignity – as human beings and as gifts of God – then we must ensure that the “least of these” (those who might not count in the eyes of the principalities and powers) are front and centre in the quest for dignity and humanity. At the most fundamental level, this is what it means to be in solidarity with others.

    To live in solidarity, however, means that we must understand the struggles others face. In other words, a posture of being in solidarity with others means that we must also be aware of and question our constructed social realities in order to better understand why or how others are suffering.

    Herein lies the significance of lament. To understand lament – someone’s cry, someone’s pain, someone’s time of anguish – is to recognize that things are not as they should be. And this animates us (or should animate us) to investigate why some are suffering and explore how we might confront the issues that cause such suffering. Lament offers an opportunity to shape our social vision; it challenges us to recognize what is not right, where harmony is not yet a reality and what needs to change so that everyone may experience God’s shalom.

    This creates an invitation to be the church –the “called out ones” – today. It offers an opportunity to embody the vocation of the church in solidarity with others: struggling to ensure that everyone has the medical care, food, economic and social security and the dignity they need.

    When we respond to the invitation to be the church, we can participate in a vision of hope: that God is with us, works through us and has not forsaken us. It also stirs us to action to embrace our particular vocation in and for the world and to witness to Christ’s way of peace as we participate in making God’s manifold wisdom known for the world.

    May God help us respond faithfully.

    Amen.

    —Andrew Suderman, secretary of the Peace Commission. He lives in the USA where he teaches at Eastern Mennonite University.

     

    This testimony is part of the Peace Sunday worship resource for 2020. Click here to see more.

    View on YouTube

     

     

    [1] Desmond Tutu, No Future without Forgiveness, 1st ed. (New York: Doubleday, 1999), 31.

  • 23 July 1955–24 June 2020  

    Mennonite World Conference (MWC) lost Alfred Neufeld Friesen, a prolific author, theologian, historian and teacher who shaped Anabaptist theology globally. He died 24 June 2020 in Muenster, Germany, after treatment for liver cancer and kidney problems.  

    “Alfred Neufeld had a zest for life, friendship, and for our global church,” says MWC General Secretary César García. “Theologian, pastor, historian, teacher, photographer, music-lover, polyglot, father, grandfather, husband – these are only a few of the words that describe him.” 

    Alfred was born in Colonie Fernheim, Paraguay, on 23 July 1955 to Peter K. Neufeld and Margarete Friesen. He taught primary education in Filadelfia, Paraguay, and at the school for indigenous students at Yalve Sanga, Chaco, after graduating high school, then began his higher education in Fresno, California, USA, and Basel, Switzerland, until he obtained his PhD in theology of missions.  

    A pastor at heart, he served as youth pastor during his first sojourn in Switzerland, as adjunct pastor while in California, and as associate pastor of Iglesia HM del Barrio Clínicas in Asunción. From 1985-2009, he was a member of the pastoral team at Iglesia HM Concordia, Asunción.  

    Alfred served as rector of the Universidad Evangélica del Paraguay since 2005, where he began as professor in 1995, first at its related college CEMTA, then as lecturer from 1998-2009. Additionally, he served as director of Instituto Bíblico Asunción (1995-2003), board chair of the radio station OBEDIRA (1998-) 

    After serving on the General Council of MWC, he became chair of Mennonite World Conference Faith and Life Commission from 2008-2018. He represented MWC in several ecumenical dialogues, and played a major role in bringing together Mennonite churches in Paraguay to plan the MWC Assembly in 2009. He served as co-chair of the Trilateral Dialogue commission on baptism with representatives from MWC, Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He continued to serve as chair of the MWC Renewal 2027 committee.  

    He also served the Mennonite Brethren in Paraguay on national and international boards and was a member of the International Council of the World Evangelical Alliance 

    Alfred recently wrote Becoming a Global Communion, a history of MWC. He was also the author of “What We Believe together,” a book explaining MWC’s Shared Convictions, which has been translated into more than half a dozen languages. He has scores of published articles and has been a sought-after public speaker in English, Spanish and German.  

    A whirlwind force of academic prowess, Alfred also exuded personal warmth. He could often be found holding someone’s baby, and he could comfortably speak with anyone no matter one’s education or background.  

    He is survived by his wife Wilma Elfriede Kaethler (m. 10 January 1981) and their four adult children. Despite hospital precautions and flight restrictions, Wilma and two of their children were able to be by his side in his last days. 

    —Mennonite World Conference release

    Comments from MWC leaders

    “Alfred’s boundless love for family, friendship, faith and life itself reached across the Anabaptist world and far beyond.  With humility and keen wit, he had far-seeing vision for the church, communication ability, and theological understanding.” Nelson Kraybill, president

    “Alfred was an extraordinary leader. With boundless energy, he joined his deep love of Scripture, hymns, theology, and church history, with an equally deep love for the church and the world. The global Anabaptist-Mennonite church has lost a great statesman.”  John D. Roth, Faith and Life Commission secretary 

    “Alfred was a “force of Spirit”, one of God’s generous gifts to us all in the global church. I give thanks for this great friend, and will miss him dearly.” Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld, Faith and Life Commission chair 

    “Alfred’s commitment to truth, to Mennonite identity—especially Mennonite Brethren identity—and to receiving the gifts of all other churches made it possible for him to contribute to and shape the historic trilateral dialogue in ways that will prove beneficial to the three communions as well as to the wider global church.” Larry Miller, member of MWC Trilateral Dialogue delegation 

    “As the chair of Faith and Life commission he took care of individual differences in the members’ academic levels and set conducive atmosphere for fruitful discussions. During trilateral dialogue sessions, he exhibited exemplary prowess in putting historical complex theological debates in context so that harmony, unity and understanding prevailed among the members.

    “I have known Alfred to be a very able leader who was humble, brilliant, relational, resourceful, prolific writer and a faithful follower of Christ Jesus. He has rested with the Lord at a time when he was to be a reservoir of knowledge and wisdom not only to the Anabaptist community but also to global community of faith. As Anabaptist faith community, we live to cherish the functions and life of Alfred.” Rebecca Osiro, MWC vice president

    From the time I knew him in MWC meetings, he always was a towering figure, who spoke with passion whenever he delivered something. I admired the energy and knowledge of MWC convictions and the global church that flowed from him. We shall miss his presence with MWC.

    Barbara C Nkala
    MWC Regional Representative for Southern Africa

    Alfred Neufeld Friesen remembered with sorrow and gratitude

    Faith and Life Commission

    June 26, 2020

    As the Faith and Life Commission of the Mennonite World Conference we wish to express our deep sorrow
    at the passing of our beloved former chair and leader, Alfred Neufeld Friesen. We extend our sincerest condolences to Wilma and her children, offering our prayers for comfort and healing in this time of grief.

    Alfred, and indeed the whole family, served the global MWC family for many years. He was the first chair of the Faith and Life Commission, leading the commission together with John Roth, FLC secretary, from the time of its formation in 2009 through 2018. He also represented MWC in several ecumenical dialogues, most recently as the Mennonite co-chair of the Trilateral Dialogue on Baptism between Mennonites, Catholics, and Lutherans. And, at the time of his passing, he served as chair of MWC’s Renewal 2027.

    Alfred’s boundless curiosity, scholarly enthusiasm, and passionate love for the church, found expression in his writing. He wrote a commentary on the MWC “Shared Convictions” titled What We Believe Together: Exploring the “Shared Convictions” of Anabaptist-Related Churches (2nd edition; Good Books, 2015). In 2018 Alfred published Becoming a Global Communion: Theological Developments in Mennonite World Conference from 1925 to 1975 (Asuncion, Paraguay: Universidad Evangélica del Paraguay, 2018). For many of us his essay describing the four MWC commissions as “four chambers of the heart” was a reminder of the importance of each of our efforts for the well-being of the body of the MWC.

    But it also served as a gentle reminder of the heart Alfred had for the global Anabaptist koinonia (“A heart with four chambers: A theological foundation for the work of MWC’s four commissions,” https://mwc-cmm.org/resourc… .)

    Alfred had a very big heart indeed. No one could miss being challenged, impacted, and inspired by his loving energy for the church and its God-given task. We will miss it now.

    We give God thanks for the great gift we were given in Alfred. And we pray God’s restoring comfort to Wilma and the children in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

    ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you
    in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ (Matthew 25:23)

    Tewodros Beyene
    Rebeca Gonzáles Torres
    Antonio González
    Anne-Cathy Graber
    Nzuzi Mukawa
    Lydia Christina Adi
    John Roth (secretary)
    Thomas Yoder Neufeld (chair)

  • 19 June 2020

    Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

    Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Prince of Peace!

    We write to invite you and your congregation to observe Peace Sunday together with brothers and sisters in the global Anabaptist church family on 20 September 2020. Accompanying this letter, we send worship and resource material that your churches may use in celebrating Peace Sunday this year.

    The theme for this year’s Peace Sunday is: “When one member suffers, all members suffer: peace as accompaniment and solidarity.“

    The biblical narrative tells us the story of a God who accompanies and walks with those who are disheartened, disenfranchised and those who suffer. It is also an invitation for those who believe in this God and who follow his Son Jesus Christ to see the interconnectedness of humanity and to recognize that when one is not well or is suffering, creation is not how it ought to be. If we are interested in embodying God’s peace and justice in this world, what happens to one affects and should also matter to others.

    If we seek to be a Peace Church, we must, therefore, recognize our interconnectedness; we must accompany – be in solidarity with – those who suffer.

    May these resources help us in this pursuit.

    Rationale for Peace Sunday

    Following the recommendation of the 2003 Peace Council in Bulawayo regarding the establishment of Peace Sunday, the 2006 Peace Commission in Pasadena chose the Sunday nearest to 21 September (International Day of Peace) as a Peace Sunday to be observed by Mennonite World Conference member churches.

    The International Day of Peace was established by the United Nations Resolution on 30 November 1981 to be observed for the first time on the third Tuesday of September 1982 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. Later, the UN General Assembly set 21 September as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace.

    The resolution states that observing and celebrating the International Day of Peace “strengthen[s] the ideals of peace and alleviat[es] tensions and causes of conflict.” It declares “…the International Day of Peace shall henceforth be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day.” It invites non-governmental organizations and individuals “to commemorate, in an appropriate manner, the International Day of Peace, including through education and public awareness, and to cooperate with the United Nations in the establishment of the global ceasefire.”

    In light of this, the Mennonite World Conference Peace Commission, beginning on 11 March 2006, decided that

    1. The Sunday nearest to 21 September (the International Day of Peace) would be designated as a Peace Sunday to be observed in our churches around the world. For 2020, this will be 20 September.
    2. The MWC Peace Commission staff would prepare suggestions for Scripture readings, prayer concerns, reflections from our global communion and ideas of activities to help churches observe this day.
    3. Churches are invited to report back to the Peace Commission about their activities for this day. Please send stories and pictures to photos@mwc-cmm.org.
    4. Churches who already observe a different Sunday as Peace Sunday are encouraged to continue with their practice, and are invited to include the global church concerns in their prayers on the global Peace Sunday.

    MWC would like to hear how you observed Peace Sunday. If you have stories or reports of activities and worship events in your congregations, please send them to photos@mwc-cmm.org so that we can share them with our global church community.

    God’s blessings to you as you continue your work towards Christ’s peace!

    Yours in Christ’s peace,

    Andrew G. Suderman,

    SecrŽtaire de la Commission Paix

    AndrewSuderman@mwc-cmm.org

     

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  • Instead of being a great leveller, the COVID-19 pandemic is exposing pre-existing systemic inequalities that benefit some and disadvantage others. How can the Anabaptist family respond?

    Mennonite World Conference has invited Anabaptist mission and service agencies to coordinate their financial response to COVID-19 hardships experienced especially by under-resourced member churches around the world.

    Pre-conditions in parts of Africa, Latin America, and Asia (where 81 percent of MWC members live) are not advantageous to the arrival of the virus: isolation is difficult in crowded living conditions; clean water for hand-washing may be scarce while soap and hand sanitizer are expensive or unavailable; hospitals are not well equipped with tools or staff; informal economies cannot function in lockdown; social safety nets are inadequate or nonexistent.

    Linked to one another

    “When crisis strikes, some of our members are not as well resourced to access agency aid resources,” says MWC general secretary César García. “We are called to be a communion of Anabaptist-related churches linked to one another in a worldwide community of faith for fellowship, worship, service and witness.

    “By coordinating with Anabaptist agencies, we are fulfilling our mission and ensuring that help is available to all without duplication of efforts.”

    Mennonite World Conference worked with MCC to organize similar inter-agency responses to the ongoing crisis in Kasai, DR Congo, and to severe flooding that affected MWC member churches in Peru.

    Global Church Sharing Fund

    The MWC Global Church Sharing Fund will receive donations. A task force representing more than 10 global Anabaptist agencies will determine criteria of accountability and coordinate responses to requests. Mennonite Central Committee will lead the task force including leadership from the Deacons Commission and delegates from around the world.

    This interagency response will maximize the strength of diverse organizations, build on existing networks of primary relationships and mitigate competition for scarce funds.

    Requests for assistance funds will come from MWC member churches, associate members, or related organizations. Under oversight from the task force, they will be channelled to an appropriate member agency. 

    “Crises are not new,” says César García. “In the Bible, we learn from Joseph to plan ahead (Genesis 41); from the year of Jubilee that re-organization of oppressive systems is part of faithful living (Leviticus 25:10); from the Jerusalem church that we can risk generosity for the sake of others in need (1 Corinthians 16:1-4); and from 1 Peter 4:7-10 that we should practice hospitality and use our gifts in service of others.”

    Please write “COVID-19” on your gift at mwc-cmm.org/donate. Another option is to continue to support your preferred Anabaptist agency in its own COVID-19 response.

    Donate now

    Participating agencies

    —Mennonite World Conference release

  • Like the chambers of a heart, the four MWC commissions serve the global community of Anabaptist-related churches, in the areas of deacons, faith and life, peace, mission. Commissions prepare materials for consideration by the General Council, give guidance and propose resources to member churches, and facilitate MWC-related networks or fellowships working together on matters of common interest and focus. In the following, one of the commissions shares a message from their ministry focus.

    Right now, the planet is in a panic about a strange disease: COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) has concluded from its evaluation of COVID-19 that it should be classified as a pandemic. This illness is infecting and killing people regardless of ethnic, linguistic or socio-economic background

    Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, has stated that COVID-19 is costing us dearly, but in addition, the WHO is extremely concerned about the consequences of the pandemic on other health services and what that means, especially for children.

    According to Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the COVID-19 pandemic will go down in history as one of the worst that the world has experienced. Bárcena explained that this disease puts an essential global public service (human health) at risk and will impact an already weak global economy.

    Hopelessness and helplessness

    Scientists are working day and night to find an encouraging solution for humanity, but the complexity of the disease is hampering efforts and there is still no good news on this front.

    This disease has sent us into obligatory social isolation in our houses as decreed by governments.

    In a number of countries, clinics have collapsed under the weight of infected patients because their numbers exceed the capacity. Healthcare professionals are becoming infected and many die; in some cases because they do not have access to essential protective gear.

    In some countries, there is insufficient space in cemeteries to bury the dead so they are being buried in mass graves or in their back yards, while some are even left by the wayside.

    In a nutshell, more than 4 million people have been infected and close to 1.5 million have recovered. However, the most painful part of this tragedy are the more than two hundred thousand people that are sadly no longer with us. Suffering, hopelessness and impotence have taken hold of humanity.

    Many churches that are doing all they can to continue encouraging humanity with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to serve in the midst of this crisis have had to close their doors in obedience with preventive social distancing measures. This reality has struck a hard blow to the faith of some, even more so when they have seen family members or friends die while ministers and pastors are powerless to do anything, even bury the dead.

    An answer

    The world appears to be without hope. But an answer for humanity today is waiting within the pages of the Bible:

    “I lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1–2).

    This plea at the beginning of Psalm 121 was probably called out by King David. It offers us hope in moments of anguish when all seems to be going badly, with no way out and nobody at hand to help us in the middle of a crisis.

    It is a plea that inspires us to still believe in hope, that God in God’s wisdom will bring much needed help – and on time as well. It reminds us that when humans are unable to find a solution of their own accord that can transform a hostile reality into a desired outcome, the living God, the Almighty, can help us to understand what has happened, often without exempting us from suffering.

    Understanding reality brings hope and nourishes our faith so that we can help others.

    Only God

    In reality it is only God who can sovereignly intervene and give insight to the scientists so that they can provide humanity with a cure to this disease as soon as possible. Alternatively, that they can miraculously save humanity from this lethal virus through some simple means.

    Psalm 91 poetically proclaims the hope of being freed from the grip of a deadly plague by portraying God as a father or mother who clothes their children in protective love in order to shield them from cold and danger. Surely what the psalmist is expressing is based on communal experiences of something similar or worse than the coronavirus that happened at some point in human history?

    “For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.” (Psalm 91:3–4, NRSV)

    Jesus goes out to meet humanity

    Jesus Christ should be our only hope in moments like the one that humanity is living through today. It is precisely in situations like the one we find ourselves in that Jesus meets humanity, bringing hope, offering consolation to those that weep, healing the wounds of those who suffer from the evil that societies face at the moment. It is comforting to remember that when humanity was drowning in sin with no way out, Jesus brought salvation through his death on the cross.

    In this global context we could mention the prayer of Christ’s disciples as they faced a crisis caused by the threats made by the powers of the day. Those powers put at risk the Christian community’s freedom to preach the message of Christ, even to the point of their lives being in danger.

    “And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:29–30, NRSV)

    So, in the midst of these difficult times, it is possible for us as a global Anabaptist community to bring the hope of Jesus Christ to humanity as we pray to God for confidence and courage to live this reality while also offering help, love and prayer for health to those who are suffering and are without hope.

    —A Mennonite World Conference release by José Rutilio Rivas Domínguez, a pastor-theologian from Istmina, Colombia, and a member of the MWC Mission Commission.