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Churches in Latin America call for prophetic peace witness
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa – As Mennonite World Conference (MWC) member churches celebrated Peace Sunday on 20 September 2015, they also recognized the ways in which peace continues to be wanting in their communities. In Colombia, Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren churches, and Global Anabaptist Service Network agencies Justapaz and Mencoldes considered the meaning of peace as…
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Is Christian faithfulness possible without unity?
By all accounts, the 16th Mennonite World Conference Assembly 21–26 July 2015 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, was a resounding success. Memories of worshiping with more than 8,000 people from 65 countries; unexpected encounters with old and new friends; the beautiful profusion of sights and sounds of a truly global church; workshops on challenging topics and…
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We Cry (A prayer of lament)
We cry with those whose lands are ravaged from war. We cry with those who, because of war and violence, have already lost their home. We cry with those who leave behind what they know in search of a better life for their children and families. We cry with Abdullah, the father of Aylan and…
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Panama Mennonites request prayer for land struggle
Panama – A request for prayer for land struggle was the main request that a Mennonite World Conference delegation heard in a February 2015 visit with church and indigenous community leaders in Panama. Leaders of the MWC member church, Iglesia Evangélica Unida Hermanos Menonitas de Panamá (United Evangelical Church: Mennonite Brethren in Panama), invited the…
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Urgent appeal for prayer for Nigeria
or the second time in four months Mennonite World Conference issued an urgent appeal for prayer, this time for the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria – EYN), who is experiencing horrendous violence and persecution of the Boko Haram organization.
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Using violence against violence? Statement from a peace church perspective
In the face of the terror caused by the IS militias in Iraq and Syria, Western nations have reacted with air strikes and deliveries of weapons. A reaction that, given the atrocities described, has been widely accepted – also increasingly in churches. Among the same churches that almost unanimously raised their voices in protest against…
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Urgent appeal from the Middle East
MWC responds to urgent appeal from Middle East churches Bogota, Colombia – In response to urgent appeals from the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon and from the Middle East Council of Churches, Mennonite World Conference issued a call for “a shower of prayer, solidarity and blessing” to MWC member churches. In a…
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Colombian peace group lends support to South Korean conscientious objector
Bogotá, Colombia – For Jenny Neme, director of Colombian Mennonite organization Justapaz (Just Peace), recent support for South Korean conscientious objector San-Ming Lee was a natural occurrence. It sprung out, she said, of an attempt to “seek solidarity and mutual support, based in the prophetic role of the churches to engage in political advocacy in the…
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Commissions advance MWC mission in rare face-to-face meetings
Schoorl, Netherlands – From 19-24 March, leaders and members of the four Mennonite World Conference Commissions met together for a time of face-to-face discussion, reflection, worship and strategic planning to advance the mission of MWC. It was only the second such meeting of the four Commissions since their formation in 2009. They last met face-to-face…
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Mennonites and Lutherans Continue Journey Toward Reconciliation
Goshen, Indiana – On 20-23 July, a six-member task force appointed by Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Faith and Life Commission met at Goshen College with counterparts from the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) to review progress globally on the commitments that the two global communions made to each other in a service of reconciliation in Stuttgart,…
