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Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • Bogotá, Colombia – Maria Justa Ipanaque (34) never imagined that she would ride in a helicopter. The small-scale farmer who lives with her husband Ezequiel Ramos Sánchez (40) and five children in Chato Chico, Piura, Peru, became trapped in her house 7 March 2017 when a burst canal released El Niño floodwaters across the plain.

    “I was concerned about saving the animals,” says Ipanaque. “Suddenly, I was trapped. The water had risen considerably, and it was impossible to get out.” Ramos swam 40 metres to safety, but Ipanaque stayed in the house for several days until she was evacuated by helicopter. “I knew nothing of Ezequiel, but I was confident that he was alive and the children were with my mother-in-law,” she says.

    Ipanaque and Ramos lost the rice crop they’d sown on their half-hectare plot, in which they invested approximately 3,000 soles.

    Months later, they are living in a tent on a lot they received from the government in Nuevo Paraíso, farther away from their farm. “We know that now we cannot live near the farm, but we can use it to plant our food and get some income.” They hope to build a home on their new plot.

    “God knows all our needs,” says Ipanaque, who continues to hope for a better life and more education for her children.

    The flooding, which affected the 11 Mennonite Brethren congregations of Conferencia Peruana Hermanos Menonitas (CPHM), killed more than 100 people and affected more than a million people, more than 19,000 of whom were still living in temporary shelter months later. Houses, education and health facilities, and sanitation infrastructure were damaged and many crops were destroyed, affecting livelihoods.

    Mennonite World Conference is facilitating interdependent disaster response with all Anabaptist partners to support the Peruvian MB church help their members and their communities.

    MWC brought together MB Mission, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and ICOMB to form a steering committee resulting in the appointment of Antony Sanchez as disaster coordinator for a six-month inter-Mennonite response, jointly funded by MCC and MB Mission.

    Previously experienced with facilitating church participation in community disaster response with MCC and Mencoldes (a development program of the Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren churches of Colombia), Sanchez will assess needs, advise and train the disaster response committee and local groups formed by CPHM, and communicate with the involved organizations.

    In the immediate aftermath of the flooding, MWC, MB Mission, ICOMB and MCC supported the Peruvian church to distribute water, food, kitchen utensils and economic support. MWC regional representative Pablo Stucky conducted trauma accompaniment and resilience workshops, and the MWC Deacons Commission provided funding.

    The inter-Mennonite effort will help CPHM provide humanitarian assistance to affected families in the cities and surrounding communities in Piura department and La Libertad departments. The project will include installation of water tanks in one community to improve basic health and sanitation; reconstruction and renovation of damaged homes for 55 families; and provision of support for the recovery of agriculture and other livelihoods for 50 families.

    In addition, the project will provide training in disaster preparedness, trauma healing, sanitation and capacity building for church leaders.

    The MWC Deacons Commission will send another delegation in October 2017 to encourage the church and offer more workshops in trauma healing, disaster preparation and health basics.

    MWC and the other Mennonite partners are “God’s blessing to us,” says CPHM leader Antonio García. “It makes us feel responsible and committed, this opportunity will be a blessing for the churches here in Peru and a testimony for the community. As a church, we share the needs of the community.”

    “I feel blessed and grateful to have five children and that everyone is preparing and educating in order to have a better condition of life,” says Ramos. He and Ipanaque are members of the Mennonite Brethren church in Chato Chico. They are one of the 105 families who receive support from the program to improve housing and rehabilitate livelihoods.

    “We thank God for the help we have received through the church.”

    —a joint release of Mennonite World Conference, MCC, ICOMB and MB Mission

    Donations can be sent to MCC marked “Peru Disaster Response” or donate at www.mcccanada.ca (in Canada) and www.mcc.org (in the U.S.).

  • Akron, Pennsylvania, USA – A collaborative Anabaptist response will soon reach some of the 1.4 million people displaced by armed conflict in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) with food, household items and shelter supplies.

    The response, shaped and implemented by Congolese Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren church-based relief committees and coordinated by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), is supported by Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and other Anabaptist church organizations.

    The crisis began a year ago when a local militia group called Kamuina Nsapu and national security forces clashed over a political appointment. The armed conflict has escalated, and both militia and security forces have targeted civilians with forced conscription, mutilation, rape and mass killings.

    “It’s been hell on earth for a lot of our people, not only Mennonite people, but many peace-loving people in the same area that have gotten caught up in this maelstrom,” said Rod Hollinger-Janzen of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM).

    Among the people displaced in DR Congo are at least 8,000 Mennonites. “There is no place where this conflict has gone where there are no Mennonite churches,” said Rod Hollinger-Janzen.

    Church leaders report that 36 Mennonites have been killed among the UN-estimated 3,300 deaths since October last year. Church buildings and church schools have been damaged or destroyed.

    National and local Mennonite leaders in DR Congo – from MWC member churches – are key to the response, which will initially focus around the cities of Tshikapa in Kasai Province and Kikwit in Kwilu Province, where many people have fled. The leaders represent Communauté Mennonite au Congo (CMCo; Mennonite Church of Congo) and Communauté des Églises de Frères Mennonites au Congo (CEFMC; Mennonite Brethren Church of Congo).

    “MWC is playing in important role today: that of bringing the members of our Mennonite family together to promote unity and fellowship and to support one member who is suffering (the Congolese Mennonites,) using its arm embodied by the various partners, united in action so that they are more efficient,” says a Congolese church leader (name withheld for security reasons). “Through this action, Mennonites will be able to share the Mennonite values that are almost unheard of in the Congo. I think that our churches will enlarge their tent.”

    A Congolese assessment team visited the Kasai region in July and found a severe lack of food and increasing malnutrition. Families had to leave their fields and animals when they fled the violence, and food that is available for purchase is very expensive.

    “Many people are going hungry or eating once a day,” said Mulanda Jimmy Juma, MCC representative in DR Congo.

    In addition, families lack basic supplies such as bedding, kitchen tools and cans for carrying water, the assessment team reported.

    “MWC supports the Mennonite national churches CMCo, CEFMC and Communauté Evangélique Mennonite, and those in Angola who are also helping Congolese refugees,” says Deacon Commission secretary Henk Stenvers. “MWC links our struggling members to the global church with calls for prayer, financial support and by sharing information about the situation.”

    Seven Anabaptist organizations are working together to raise funds and awareness of the crisis, which has been largely ignored by Western media. They are International Community of Mennonite Brethren, MB Mission, Mennonite Church Canada Witness, and Mennonite Mission Network, in addition to MWC, AIMM and MCC.

    Contributions to the emergency response in DR Congo may be made online at mcc.org/congo-relief.

    – an MCC release with files from MWC.

    Communicate community

    As you pray for brothers and sisters suffering violence and displacement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mennonite World Conference invites your messages of encouragement and solidarity to share with our churches there.

    Take a picture with your congregation and a sign labelled “Prions pour la RDC” (Pray for the DRC). Please email messages and photographs to photos@mwc-cmm.org and post on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) with the hashtag #mwcmm.

    Send photos

  • Bogotá, Colombia – A 15th birthday celebration at their church, Casa de Oración, drew Ignacio and Liliana’s family out of their house in Manta, Ecuador, earlier than usual on 16 April, 2016, just before an earthquake struck. The 7.8 Richter scale tremor killed some 700 people and left more than 6,500 families homeless, including Ignacio and Liliana who stayed with his parents after the falling wall of the neighbour’s house damaged theirs.

    Usually, Igancio, an audio-visual volunteer at the church, leaves before his wife and two children, but with the service starting earlier this Saturday evening, the family went together.  Oscar Suárez

    They were on the street when everything started to move. Ignacio’s younger son fell under the car and the wheels almost crushed his feet. The trembling lasted around a minute.

    Many families like Ignacio and Liliana were left homeless, but they saw the hand of God represented in aid that arrived from MWC’s Deacon Fund, MCC, Rosedale Mennonite Mission and others.

    On behalf of Mennonite World Conference’s Deacons Commission, Henk Stenvers (MWC Deacons Commission secretary) of the Netherlands, Ephraim Disi Mbewe (Brethren in Christ Church bishop) of Malawi and Oscar Suárez (YABs Latin America representative) of Colombia visited the cities of Manta and Portoviejo in the most affected region 25–29 January 2017 to hear stories like Ignacio and Liliana’s and to encourage members of Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Ecuatoriana.     

    The Deacons Commission is responsible for the well being of the global communion; to walk along with member churches in their time of need, whether caused by natural disaster or oppressive government. The Deacons Commission arranges a visit to “put hands around the shoulders of the members and say: ‘We are with you during these trying times.’”

    In Ecuador, the Mennonite church’s response is both spiritual and practical. Members of the churches in Guayaquil came to aid in searching for victims. Church members in Manta and Portoviejo formed circles of hope by giving food and water to families with the most immediate needs.

    Pastor Juan Altamirano in Portoviejo told the Deacons about the makeshift camp for 2,800 people where some 200 people still await housing. Many thank God that the disaster occurred on the weekend when office towers had fewer workers inside, says Altamirano.

    “There is a lot of repair work being done, but the extent of the damage is such that it will take a lot of time to get everything back to normal,” says Stenvers. “It is clear that the church community played and still plays an important role in the aftermath of this disaster, [providing] space for lament and supporting one another.”

    “These families were able to see beyond the difficulties, …to see the hand of God, supporting them at every moment,” says Stenvers.

    “They lost their homes,” says Suárez, “but with the support of the Anabaptist world family that gave economic, psychological and spiritual help, they are recovering from this tragedy.”

    “We can count on our global extended family with God’s hand moving us in the problems.”

    As part of the MWC Deacons visit to Latin America, Stenvers and Suárez also attended Cono Sur meetings. Mennonite church members from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay met 21–25 January 2017 in Buenos Aires. Themes included Anabaptist identity, training church leaders, the position of women and youth in the church, the celebration of 100 years of Anabaptist presence in Argentina, and presentations from agencies.

    “The meetings were sometimes full of laughter and joy, sometimes emotional,” says Stenvers. “There was a strong feeling of community.”

    “Sharing in simplicity in the abundant, in the laughter, in the sadness was an experience that enlarged my vision of my extended family in the world,” says Suárez.

    Back in Ecuador, the encouragement and spiritual accompaniment from the global Anabaptist family helps the church in Ecuador “pick up the pieces together, knowing that nothing will separate them from the love of God which is in Christ,” says Disi.

    And Ignacio? He has finishing rebuilding the house, larger and better organized than before the earthquake.

    “If a member of the body suffers, all suffer; and if a member receives special attention, everyone else share your joy” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

    —Mennonite World Conference release

  • Fifth meeting of the Catholic, Lutheran and Mennonite Trilateral Dialogue Commission on baptism

    Augsburg, Germany – Representatives of the Catholic Church (Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity), the Lutheran World Federation, and the Mennonite World Conference met in Augsburg, Germany, 9–14 February 2017, for the fifth meeting of the Trilateral Dialogue Commission on Baptism. The meeting in Augsburg concluded a five-year dialogue process.

    The commission discussed and developed its final report, entitled “Baptism and Incorporation into the Body of Christ, the Church,” drafted by professors Theo Dieter (Lutheran, France), William Henn (Catholic, US/Vatican) and John Rempel (Mennonite, Canada). The trilateral commission agreed on a further process to finalize the report, which summarizes the rich discussions that have taken place over the last five years on three fundamental themes: 1) the relation of baptism to sin and salvation, 2) the celebration of baptism and its relation to faith and to membership in the Christian community, 3) the living of baptism in Christian discipleship. The report will be published in early 2018.

    The meeting was hosted by the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and took place in the Haus Sankt Ulrich, the conference centre of the Catholic Diocese of Augsburg. The trilateral group met at the same time and place as the Executive Committee and the four commissions of MWC. During the meeting, the trilateral commission gathered in morning devotions and Bible studies. Evenings, they joined the MWC for prayers. One afternoon, members of the trilateral commission participated in a tour led by Augsburg Mennonite Wolfgang Krauss, introducing the Anabaptist and Mennonite history of the city.

    —Mennonite World Conference release courtesy of Lutheran World Federation

    Reflections from a Mennonite participant in the dialogue:

    During the five years in which we have reflected on our theology and practice of baptism under the eyes of our partners, we have learned to respect, trust and challenge one another.

    From the Lutherans, I have seen more clearly that their concern about justification by grace through faith is not that discipleship is a secondary matter. Their concern is that following Christ be a lifestyle of gratitude for God’s grace and not good works to earn God’s favour.

    From the Catholics, I have learned that the sacrament of baptism does not have an “automatic” role in salvation. If someone persistently lives life against the Spirit of Christ, baptism will not save them.

    What did I realize about Mennonites from the observations of our dialogue partners? One insight is that our concern for the human response to God’s grace in conversion and baptism is so central that we neglect to give God’s initiative toward us its due.

     

    — Prof. Dr. John Rempel (Canada)

    Participants

    Roman Catholic

    • Sister Prof. Dr. Marie-Hélène Robert, NDA (France);
    • Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga, IMC (co-chair, Colombia);
    • Revd. Prof. William Henn, OFM Cap (USA/Italy);
    • Revd. Prof. Luis Melo, SM (Canada);
    • Revd. Avelino Gonzalez (co-secretary, USA/Vatican).

    Lutheran

    • Revd. Dr. Kaisamari Hintikka (co-secretary, Finland/Switzerland);
    • Prof. Dr. Friederike Nüssel (co-chair, Germany);
    • Bishop Emeritus Dr. Musawenkosi Biyela (South Africa);
    • Prof. Dr. Theodor Dieter (France).

    Mennonite

    • Revd. Rebecca Adongo Osiro (Mennonite);
    • Prof. Dr. Alfred Neufeld (co-chair, Paraguay);
    • Prof. Dr. Fernando Enns (Germany/The Netherlands);
    • Prof. Dr. John Rempel (Canada);
    • Revd. Dr. Larry Miller (co-secretary, France);
    • Prof. Dr. Alfred Neufeld (co-chair, Paraguay).

    Regrets

    •  Revd. Dr. KS Peter Li (Lutheran, Hong Kong, China).

     

    Trilateral dialogue between Mennonites, Catholics and Lutherans

  • 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.

    Renewal 2027 is a 10-year series of events launched by Mennonite World Conference (MWC) to mark the 500th anniversary of the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement.

    “Transformed by the Word: Reading Scripture in Anabaptist Perspectives” (the inaugural event in Augsburg, Germany, 12 February 2017) fits well within the mandate of the MWC Faith and Life Commission to help member churches “understand and describe Anabaptist-Mennonite faith and practice.”

    In the midst of the many Reformation commemoration celebrations, especially in Europe, it’s important to remember that the Anabaptists also emerged within the context of the Reformation and were decisively shaped by its rediscovery of the Bible as an authority for Christian faith and life.

    Shortly before the first adult baptisms in January 1525, a member of the Bible study group that formed the core of the emerging Anabaptist movement illustrated this clearly:

    “However, after we too had taken up the Bible and studied all the possible points, we have been better informed.”

    The letter went on to describe how they came to a deeper understanding of Scripture.

    Five central themes – visible in the quote above – distinguished their shift from walking alongside the Reformers to a posture of opposition:

    • Scripture is the key point of departure for the renewal brought about by the Reformation.
    • It is crucial to learn not only second-hand, but to read Scripture for yourself.
    • The Bible study group read with an expectant attitude. They “studied all the possible points,” posed questions about the text and received answers.
    • They reoriented themselves around these new insights. In this way, they were “better informed” in regard to the teachings of the Catholic church, but also in regards to Zwingli and the other Reformers.

    To be “better informed.” At first glance, that statement sounds very positive. But it also carries some pain. It suggests that one has indeed been mistaken; it includes a readiness to let go of older, cherished understandings. This is often not easy.

    The key question at stake here is: do we allow the biblical word (and the God who desires to speak to us) to scrutinize our convictions so that we allow ourselves “to be better informed”? Or does the admonition to “test all things and hold on to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) only apply to other people?

    Up to this point, all the themes could be regarded as Protestant principles. But the fifth point is the most distinct Anabaptist principle:    

    • The “we” in the quote is crucial: not only does Bible study happen in community; but new understandings of Scripture are also reached collectively.

    No one is forced to be part of an Anabaptist congregation – faith and membership are always voluntary. No single person has all the understanding or all of the gifts; but everyone has something. Therefore, it is crucial that we create frameworks for Bible study in which everyone can contribute to a better understanding of the biblical text: old and young, men and women, academics and labourers. Precisely for this reason the “we” in our text is so important!

    But several dangers are already evident in this same quote.

    To allow ourselves to be “better informed” sounds nice, but who can protect us from endless efforts to prove the superiority of one understanding or from the notorious church divisions that have occurred so frequently in Anabaptist history? How can we ensure that space remains for the recognition that all of our knowledge is partial and in need of additional insights? And how do we ensure that the “struggle for the truth” does not come at the cost of a “struggle for unity”?

    If “renewal of faith and life” and “transformation through the Word” are going to happen within the context of Mennonite World Conference, then it will be essential for it to happen in the form of members from north and south, east and west, walking together alongside each other as “we.”

    Hanspeter Jecker is a member of the MWC Faith & Life Commission and a professor of historical theology and ethics at Theological Seminary Bienenberg in Switzerland.

     

  • peace_sunday_2017_-_en_final_0Download

  • 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.

    “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

    “This visit made me realize we are part of a large global family. Now we know that we are not alone!”

    This is what we heard when a delegation of the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Deacons and Peace Commissions visited the Mennonite Brethren churches in Panama. When you live with challenges that threaten your traditional way of living, what is more important than knowing that you are not alone? Knowing that brothers and sisters are praying – even if they don’t know you personally – can be the difference between giving up or going on in hope, trusting the Lord.

    “We do not ask you to solve our problems. All we ask from you is to tell our story and to pray for us.”  

    Church members pray for a sick child 
    in Panama. Photo: Henk Stenvers.

    Being a deacon within MWC is not about giving financial aid or creating relief programs. The deacons walk with churches, listen, share and pray with churches in distress or in joy. We feel so powerless to help sometimes, but we must not underestimate the power of walking together, listening and praying.

    “The Deacons Commission must be the warm hand of the global church.” In 2009, Danisa Ndlovu, then president of MWC, spoke these words at the first meeting of the Commission in Paraguay. A hand on your shoulder, to show that others care, to feel the warmth of unity with others who share the same convictions. Even though we live in such different situations, express our faith in such different ways and have different histories, we know that we belong together in our faith. In our wish to follow Christ, we are part of one body of Christ.

    The Global Church Sharing Fund can support churches in the Global South to do projects to advance the life and mission of the church. It can be so very important for a local church to have its own place for worship or to build a school. The significance of rebuilding after destruction from a disaster or violence is beyond imagination. It is all about being a community – local and global.

    And like Paul writes to the Corinthians, the parts of the body belong together, even if they are different. They are interdependent; if one is missing, you are not complete (1 Corinthians 12:14–25).

    The global community is like the church in Pimpimsu in Ghana. We visited the small church in the evening, after it was already dark. One by one, people came to the church to welcome us. And everybody brought a light along. Every time someone came in, the church became better lit. When the church was full, it was bright in the church because of all the little lamps.

    That is what community is about. If you are not there, the church is a bit darker. Whether we are together in person at Assemblies or in spirit in prayer, we can be witnesses of the wonderful message of peace that Christ gave us. If you are not there, you are missed, because the light is less clear!

    The Deacons Commission wants to be a tool to support and strengthen that community. Join us in walking with our global Anabaptist family through the MWC Prayer Network. *

    —Henk Stenvers is secretary of the Mennonite World Conference Deacons Commission.    

                               

    *In 2016, the Deacons Commission relaunched an email-based prayer network, following the success of the prayer initiatives at Assembly 16. The Prayer Network sends out an email every two months containing four to five prayers. There may also be extra emails when an urgent call to prayer arises. The emails are available in English, Spanish or French. If you would like to share a prayer with us, please write to prayers@mwc-cmm.org.

    Like what you’re reading? Did you know you can support the work of MWC to write or collect and spread these stories of Anabaptists from around the world? Click here to donate.

  • Background

    The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country located in Central Africa, inhabited by nearly 80 million people, belonging to500 tribes and living on a surface of 2 345 410 square kilometers. The country experienced two waves of evangelism. The first evangelism occurred during the15thcentury through the first European explorers. This evangelism did not produce appreciable results. The missionaries’ collaboration with the colonizers for slavery, the lack of the Gospel in local languages, the fighting between tribes, and the traditional religions were some of the main cause of its failure. As for the second evangelism, it refers to the era of missionary organizations. The American Baptist Mission (ABMFS) was the first organization to launch its ministry in 1878 in the Congo Central, in the west of the country.

    Among the missionary societies that followed, one can quote the Congo Inland Mission (CIM), a mission society founded by American Mennonites. The work that CIM started in the Congo in the 19th century has resulted in about 250 000 Congolese Mennonites belonging to three different denominations: the Communauté des Eglises des Frères Mennonites au Congo (CEFMC), the Communauté Evangélique Mennonite (CEM) and the Communauté Mennonite au Congo (CMCo).

    Congolese Mennonites initiatives

    Anabaptist-Mennonite churches in DR Congo preach a holistic gospel. This is why, everywhere they are established, they build chapels, but also schools, clinics or hospitals, colleges or universities. They are also involved in peace building and reconciliation initiatives with the support provided by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Mennonite Brethren Mission.

    Moreover, Congolese Mennonites are presently active in cross-cultural evangelism. Their testimony goes beyond boundaries especially to Angola, Congo Brazzaville and South Africa.

    And in DRC, Mennonites continue planting churches in other provinces and are reaching even hidden or resistant people such as Batwa Pygmies in the Equatorial Forest. Four Batwa pygmies have been already trained at a Bible Institute and three of them are ordained pastors. Thirty-two local churches are established with them and led by themselves. In fact, mission departments are in charge of this important ministry in the Mennonite conferences.

    Besides, a program to reach especially Chinese citizens and/or foreign businessmen is already moving through prayers, distribution of Christian literature and other contacts.

    Major challenges

    In spite of the dynamism of the Congolese local Mennonite churches and the various natural resources in the country, the populations are confronted with poverty and the majority of them, even Mennonites, live in rural areas, below the poverty line. Political instability, wars, corruption, and the activism of the non-Christian religions are the major challenges that Christian ministries and churches are facing in the DRC.

    Mvwala C.Katshinga and John S. Fumana

  • 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.

    Mission Commission

    The goal of the Mission Commission of MWC is to imagine and build a new global mission partnership within the body of Christ that spans all the continents. We seek a partnership that is rooted in profound mutual love, ordered around mutual submission and that participates in economic sharing unfettered by ugly paternalism or unhealthy dependency.

    And we seek this not only as a gospel demonstration of our unity in Christ, but also for the sake of the mission of God in all the world.

    The story as guide

    The Bible is the story of God’s loving acts in creation and God’s redemptive purposes in history. As a consequence of human rebellion and sin, the world that God created good experienced distortion and destruction. Fear, pride, greed and selfish ambition led to estrangement from God and alienation between peoples. The consequence of this alienation is hatred, violence, war, oppression and injustice.  

    God’s purposes, revealed in Jesus, are to bring an end to hatred and fear, poverty and injustice, and to create one new family from all the different cultures, languages and ethnicities.

    Following Christ’s ascension, the church was constituted by the Spirit of God to proclaim and embody the good news that through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God is reconciling all humanity and restoring all of creation. Diversity is God’s gift for our enrichment.

    The wellspring of our mission

    God’s promise to bless all nations on earth is the wellspring of our mission. God’s purpose is to create a people drawn from every tribe and nation who reflect God’s glory in their unity. Following God, we reject the evils of racism and ethnocentric pride.

    The mission of the church of Jesus Christ, therefore, requires that we act with justice and mercy, and that we engage every person and group with dignity, respect and compassion on the grounds of their value to God. It also obliges us to expose and resist every system and every action that oppresses and exploits those who are poor, weak or vulnerable.

    We believe that unity is a gift of the Spirit, not something that we originate. At the same time, we regard the preservation of our visible unity as a practical expression of love and a critical dimension of our mission. When Jesus prays for the unity of his followers and commands them to love one another, it is for the sake of God’s mission (“so that the world may know that you [the Father] sent me” [John 17:23]).

    There is no more compelling demonstration of the authenticity of the gospel than followers of Jesus who are reconciled to each other and united in love across barriers of ethnicity, colour, race, gender, social class, economic status, political alignment or national origin. By the same token, there are few things that so undermine the credibility of our witness as when we Christians alienate ourselves from each other and tolerate or intensify the very same schisms between us.

    The challenge of difference

    One of the challenges we face within the global community is how do we deal with our differences. Our biblical canon gives us some clues on how to balance the tension between unity and diversity. A basic feature of our Bible is the mix of genres and literary styles while maintaining unity and coherence. It contains legal documents, genealogies, historical notes, travelogues, etc., from a variety of authors, subjects, genres and eras. 

    Our Bible allows that there is diversity within unity. The formation of the canon is a testimony that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the early church chose to keep the four Gospels each with its peculiar and distinctive tone.

    A different image for diversity is a tuning fork. This tool is used to adjust the orchestra (a variety of instruments, sounds and qualities) to a specific tone. The presence of the tuning fork does not erase or delete the differences of the musical instruments, rather it aligns the pitches so these disparate instruments can make beautiful music together.

    As communities of faith, our task is to share about the redeeming love of our God. Christ is our tuning fork. When we are tuned to Christ, it is easier to distinguish those non-essential things that separate us. Instead, we work in the midst of diversity for the kingdom of God.

    Realizing our goal will require an unflinching commitment to honesty and solidarity. In a spirit of love and forgiveness, we must speak honestly with each other about the obstacles to authentic community. Mutual love also will require solidarity with each other. We must be willing to share in each other’s struggles and suffering, and eager to offer support, prayer and companionship in the challenges we each face in our witness to the gospel. 

    So, why does the work of the Mission Commission matter?

    It matters because as the body of Christ, the church is God’s good news in a hurting and broken world. In his book, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society*, Lesslie Newbigin describes the church as a “sign, instrument and foretaste” of the kingdom of God. Before a watching world, we are called through our unity in love and sharing to be a reflection of the reconciliation that God has accomplished in Jesus Christ. We no longer live for ourselves, but for the world which God loves and seeks to bless through us (Genesis 12:3).   

    —Stanley W. Green and Rafael Zaracho, Mennonite World Conference Mission Commission chair and secretary

     

     

    *(Eerdmans, 1989, p. 233)
     

    Rafael Zaracho

    Stanley W. Green

  • “Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:18).

    In a world ravaged by violence, it is not easy to be a Peace Church – a church dedicated to the ways of Christ’s peace. These ways require much intentionality, persistence and even sacrifice. It is not always certain that Christ’s ways of peace will be effective. And yet the author of James reminds us that how we plant our seeds matters. If we indeed want the fruit of righteousness (which is closely related to the principle of justice), we must plant in peace. 

    Along with the Society of Friends (Quakers) and the Church of the Brethren, Mennonites are one of three historic Peace Churches. These churches have, throughout their history, confessed peace and the ways of peace as central to participating in God’s kingdom.

    How does your church form a faith identity rooted in the ways of peace?

    As a worldwide communion of faith, we will be commemorating Peace Sunday on 18 September 2016. How does your church foster the peace that is so needed in our world?

    —Andrew Suderman, Mennonite World Conference Peace Commission secretary

    Click here to see the Peace Sunday 2016 Worship Resource.

     

  • Bogotá, Colombia – Conrad Grebel University College hosted academics, practitioners, artists and church workers at the inaugural Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival, 9–12 June 2016. In Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 203 people from 20 countries (from Canada to Colombia to DR Congo) attended 30 concurrent sessions.

    Three plenary speakers (including Fernando Enns of Germany and Paulus Widjaja of Indonesia, known for their service with Mennonite World Conference), two banquet speakers, seven storytellers and six listeners led the event. In addition to lectures, the conference included seven installations of art, photography and sound, one concert, one play, three worship sessions and two drum circles.

    The conference examined a diversity of peace-related topics, such as inclusion and exclusion in the Mennonite church, development and livelihoods, history and theology, reflective practise, and case studies from India to Indonesia and from Laos to South Africa.

    The MWC Peace Commission led a workshop to explore the idea of a Global Anabaptist Peace Network (GAPN). Jenny Neme and Robert J. Suderman (both of the Peace Commission) and Noe Gonzalia (member of the GAPN Advisory Committee) shared stories to highlight the importance and blessings of being interconnected and the support and solidarity that comes with it.

    “There was a good spirit of engagement and interest in the idea of a Global Anabaptist Peace Network and the proposal presented. Most of the discussion that followed the presentation of the GAPN proposal focused on the organizational structure of the network,” says Peace Commission secretary Andrew Suderman who led the workshop and ensuing discussion. “It is exciting to see how this has already inspired some to think of the ways in which we are already and can further support one another as this network begins to take shape.”

    The event included creative evening events: Thursday’s public concert “Voices for Peace” and Saturday’s premiere of Theatre of the Beat’s “Yellow Bellies: An Alternative History of WWII,” and closed with a Sunday morning worship service and final plenary.

    Funding for the event came from 23 sponsors and financial supporters, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Mennonite Savings and Credit Union.

    —Mennonite World Conference release