• English

Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • Mennonite World Conference has no formally associated Anabaptist member churches in the Middle East. This was a missiological decision not to start another church in a region replete with variety.  

    However, Palestinian Christians are a witness to the Mennonite communion around the world. Where theory meets reality, they have shown those who are paying attention what it is to be faithful to Jesus’ call to nonviolence. 

    Since 7 October 2023, the eyes of the world have been turned to the Middle East where an act of violence and violation has unleashed a flood of death and destruction. 

    As Christians, we may look to our Bibles to interpret today’s realities in light of long ago promises.  

    The answer to this question is different for each faith community, says Dorothy Jean Weaver. A Jewish community’s answers arise from the Hebrew Bible, but as Christians, we are called to live out of the new covenant where geography is “no longer a factor for the disciples of Jesus.” 

    She joined several Mennonite scholars with experience in the region to reflect on what we read today. 

    A trajectory of inclusion 

    Starting in Genesis 12, we see the trajectory of inclusion that can be followed throughout Scripture, says J. Nelson Kraybill. It speaks of blessing and cursing but of these coming through the people of Israel to others.  

    “In Amos 9:7, God frees not only the Israelites, but also other people, even those who are considered the enemy of Israel,” adds Paulus Widjaja. 

    “One of the themes that comes through in the Old Testament in passages like Leviticus 26 or Jeremiah 7 is that covenant with God’s people is contingent upon acting justly,” says J. Nelson Kraybill.  

    “Jesus then picks up on Isaiah’s vision of all nations streaming toward the mountain of the Lord’s house (Isaiah 2:2) when he says the Temple Mount is supposed to be a house of prayer for all nations (Matthew 21:13),” says J. Nelson Kraybill. 

    Matthew (which is a very Jewish Gospel) ends with the disciples leaving Jerusalem, leaving Galilee and going to make disciples of all the nations, says Dorothy Jean Weaver.  

    And the very same thing happens in the Gospel of Luke. There’s a lot of focus on Jerusalem in the early story of Jesus, but by the end and even more so in Acts, “the gospel is moving from Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth,” says Dorothy Jean Weaver 

    A different framework 

    “Let Gaza Live,” artwork by Leyla Barkman

    There is sometimes a problem of ignorance even among some Christians, says Paulus Widjaja. “The Israel in the Bible and the modern State of Israel are two different things. We cannot just bring it together as if the modern Israel is the biblical Israel.” 

    “What makes me sad is that what has been created today is hatred, not love. Both Israelis and Palestinians have become victims,” says Paulus Widjaja. 

    “According to Leviticus, the land is God’s – people are tenants and aliens in the land,” says Alain Epp Weaver. This applies whether talking about Israel or North America or any place.  

    “Remember, as Mennonites, we have historically rejected the idea of the nation state and the sovereignty of kings,” says Jonathan Brenneman.  

    “If we read the Bible carefully, Abraham was chosen not for himself but to bless others,” says Paulus Widjaja. 

    “And in the New Testament, we see that these ideas are being taken and broadened to include the people of God who are followers of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Peter 2:9),” adds Dorothy Jean Weaver. 

    “The test of whether we are faithful stewards of the land we inhabit is whether we are doing justice in the land. We need a humane theology for Israel and Palestine, a theology that recognizes the image of God and each person – in Israeli, Palestinian, Muslim, Christian, Jew. God calls people to do justice and to stand against the violence of the nation-state that mars that image of God,” says Alain Epp Weaver. 

    “As an Anabaptist, I seek deeply for a transnational, grassroots, non-state-based system. It’s not related to ethnicity. There’s no justification for violence in the life of any Christian because we follow one who – even in his capture by the imperial army (the cops) – said ‘it’s not coming in through violence’ and healed Malchus’ ear (John 18:10),” says Sarah Nahar. 

    “Reading the Bible through to Revelation, we find our call to be egalitarian, boundary-breaking groups of people who are living with integrity with deep respect for the land and each other,” she says. 

    “It’s a call to complexity, not simplicity. We seek to be people living without a need to control others,” says Sarah Nahar. 

    “White churches of European heritage inherit legacies of anti-Jewish theologies that say that God has repudiated the Jewish people. We need to examine and reject anti-Jewish theologies which have fueled antisemitism,” says Alain Epp Weaver. 

    “Antisemitism historically has been part and parcel of European colonialism and racism. As Anabaptists, we need to stand firmly against antisemitism as a forms of racism,” says Alain Epp Weaver. 

    Readers of Scripture everywhere have the same call: love mercy, seek justice, free the oppressed, release the captives, declare Jubilee (Micah 6:8),” says Jonathan Brenneman.  

    The answer to ‘who is chosen’ is in the Beatitudes: blessed are the peacemakers; blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; blessed are the poor (Matthew 5:3-10).  

    “Blessed are those who are oppressed, basically,” says Jonathan Brenneman.  

    Some commentators, including human rights organizations, have referred to the Middle East today as an apartheid reality. How can Mennonites support a place where all people, Palestinian and Israeli, can sit securely under vine and fig tree (Micah 4:4)? 

    “It’s very hard to see what road map can chart a path from the current reality of violence and structural discrimination toward a future reality in the land in which both Palestinian and Israeli peoples can live freely, securely and at peace,” says Alain Epp Weaver.  

    “We pray, we support Palestinians and Israelis who are working to bring down the dividing walls that keep people from seeing each other as children of God and those dividing walls. We need to stand against the dividing walls in our hearts – and against the very physical walls erected by the Israeli state – that harm, degrade and kill people,” he says. 

    “We live in a world that has been divided up, where there are plots of land that some group says, ‘this is ours!’ But our calling to be faithful from wherever we are in society is to push for God’s justice on earth to the extent that we have the energy to move toward that goal as we are empowered by God: ‘your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth!’ (Matthew 6:12),” says Dorothy Jean Weaver.  

    “Who is responsibility for God’s will to be done on earth?” she asks. “The ultimate answer is that God is powerful over all. But God will also call us into action in bringing God’s will into existence on earth. We need to pray the Lord’s Prayer boldly and courageously.” 

    For those in Canada and the USA, the Mennonite Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Coalition is helping people do the challenging work of recognizing that sin is structural. 

    “The tasks that I can do include understanding how dynamics of power show up everywhere; recognizing systems of displacement and dispossession; asking at what cost and whose cost I gain privilege in society,” says Sarah Nahar. 

    “The gospel offers a new way of thinking about our lives and encouragement to reach across barriers no matter where we are or who we are,” she says. 

    “In ethics, if we want our action to be meaningful, that action should be based on a narrative because otherwise the action will not be meaningful at all,” says Paulus Widjaja.  

    There is opportunity for those who seek meaningful narratives to ground action and understanding regarding the Holy Land. Bethlehem Bible College, an evangelical school in the heart of the West Bank, is hosting their 7th Christ at the Checkpoint conference 21-26 May 2024. “Do Justice, Love Mercy: Christian Witness in Contexts of Oppression” – an invitation to “come and see!”, in person or on livestream. (Click here to learn more.) 

    How can Mennonites be peaceful but not passive? When there seem to be two sides, is it possible to be neutral without implicitly siding with the oppressor?  

    “Neutrality is a very dangerous word for us because it allows us to imagine that things are equal and very often things are not equal,” says Dorothy Jean Weaver.  

    In much of the world, especially the USA, Christians are assumed to be on the side that of the military that is committing the genocide. As Christians, if we are not speaking out, we are assumed to be on the side of militarism, of violence and of genocide,” says Jonathan Brenneman. 

    “If we look at that question from the theological perspective, then yes, we take a side, but not on the people, certainly not on a state – we take a side on values: justice, peace, reconciliation,” says Paulus Widjaja.  

    The Israelites in the Bible assumed that God was always on their side, but there were times God said: ‘I’m on your side when you are oppressed, but I’m also with others when they are oppressed.’  

    Just look at the biblical prophets. They could never ever be accused of being neutral about the situations in which they lived,” Dorothy Jean Weaver adds. 

    “So I’m taking the side of the Christian principles of justice, love and reconciliation. Whoever is being oppressed, then I will be with them regardless of their nationalities,” says Paulus Widjaja. 

    “It’s been really meaningful to do theology out on the streets together, working for a ceasefire with Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Baha’i and humanists,” says Sarah Nahar who sees far more than two sides. 

    “I’ve had a chance to do theology alongside anti-Zionist Jewish people who are experiencing great grief when their beautiful, multifaceted, deep faith is being smashed on one side by nationalism and crammed in on the other by militarism,” she says. 

    Christians are still recovering from CE 313 when the empire took over Christianity, so we can understand people who say they don’t want a state force to be associated with who they are.  

    “State violence does not protect me: relationship protects me. We can have safety and space in a shared world,” she says. 

    “In an eschatological sense,” says Alain Epp Weaver, “there is one side, the side of humanity, the humanity God is reconciling back to God’s self through the work of the Spirit, the Spirit that breaks down walls of division and hatred.” 

    “For the church to witness within this broken world means speaking out against all forms of injustice, including the structures of military occupation that build walls and deepen divisions. When we speak out for justice, people will sometimes accuse us of creating division, but we are doing it animated by this vision of a reconciled humanity that God is calling back to God’s self, calling us back to our created nature,” says Alain Epp Weaver. 

    Palestinian Christians raised a call that was published at the end of October: “We hold Western church leaders and theologians who rally behind Israel’s wars accountable for their theological and political complicity with the Israeli crimes against Palestinians,” they wrote. (Click here to read the full document.) 

    “I saw and affirm that call,” says Alain Epp Weaver. “The Western Church has been complicit in the dispossession of Palestinians. And the time for speaking out in action is long overdue.” 

    “The wide Palestinian Christian coalition that wrote that letter are working together in significant concord with each other and they are calling the bluff of the Western Church. I pray that the Western Church has ears and heart to listen,” says Dorothy Jean Weaver.  

    “I’m grateful for the tradition of pacifism so we can boldly and humbly not only take stances, but do action and be in prayer with a commitment to not eliminate others,” says Sarah Nahar.  

    “If we are wrong, we can seek, repair and learn. I’ll carry some of these questions into our 500-year anniversary which some believe should be a celebration because we have been faithful and others think this should be a moment to grieve that our Christian body was torn,” she adds. “That is also a complex question.” 

    “We all continue to work and pray for wholeness in that broken part of the world and in our own broken lives,” says J. Nelson Kraybill. 

    Contributors 

    • Dorothy Jean Weaver is retired from teaching New Testament at Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA. She also has a long history of travel in and out of Israel-Palestine, both for academic sabbaticals and for leading study tours and work groups.  
    • J. Nelson Kraybill is a retired academic and former president of MWC (2015-2022). He also has long-standing involvement in Israel-Palestine both as tour leader and as an academic. He recently served as scholar-in-residence at Bethlehem Bible College in the West Bank for eight months.  
    • Paulus Widjaja is an ordained minister in GKMI. He is a lecturer in the faculty of theology at Duta Wacana Christian University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.  
    • Alain Epp-Weaver directs strategic planning for Mennonite Central Committee. He lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. He has worked in occupied Palestine for 11 years, including two years in Gaza. as program coordinator and has written and edited books related to Palestine.  
    • Jonathan Brenneman is a Palestinian American Mennonite. He has worked with Community Peacemaker Teams in Palestine and worked on Mennonite Church USA’s “Peace in Israel and Palestine” passed in 2017.  
    • Sarah Nahar currently lives in Syracuse, New York, USA (unceded Onondaga Nation land). She was the North America representative on the AMIGOS – a precursor to MWC’s YABs Committee. A former executive director of Community Peacemaker Teams, she served with Mennonite Central Committee in Jerusalem at the Sabeel Liberation Theology Centre. 

    39.1

    Updated 16 April 2024: date of Christ At The Checkpoint conference corrected

  • Paraguay

    My name is Monika. I come from Paraguay, and I did a voluntary service in Nazareth Village. Nazareth Village is an open-air museum in Nazareth, Israel. This museum recreates life of the first century and aims to show tourists the Nazareth of Jesus’ time. 

    I was with the YAMEN* program for 11 months, 2022-2023. 

    When I look back and think about what I was able to experience, I realize that there were many things that shaped me. 

    The Bible, and therefore also our faith, is historically proven. This fact first became clear to me in Israel/Palestine. And it helped me give my faith a new appreciation. For me, faith – and especially the person of Jesus – was very abstract. It was difficult for me to understand that Jesus became a man and lived here on earth.  

    During my time in Nazareth, I spent a lot of time explaining life of the first century to tourists. I passed on the same information over and over again, and suddenly it was no longer an abstract thought. It would become easier and easier to imagine Jesus teaching in the synagogue in Nazareth or walking on the Sea of Galilee. It felt like I was in the events of the Gospels. 

    Something I also didn’t understand until then was that the scriptures in the Old Testament refer to Jesus over and over again. I was aware that there are verses like in Isaiah 9 that point to Jesus. But the fact that there were so many promises that Jesus fulfilled was new to me. And I was thrilled to discover these connections. 

    It wasn’t the places themselves – the excavations or the locations where Jesus spoke to his disciples – that strengthened my faith. It was the fact that what I read in the Bible is confirmed in so many cases by history. I was impressed by how God used people and nature to reveal God’s existence. 

    The museum is a replica of a Jewish village from the first century, and Nazareth is now an Arab city. The majority of the staff are Christian Arabs who represent the people in the original village.  

    Although I knew nothing about Arabic culture and didn’t speak a word of Arabic, the team at Nazareth Village welcomed me as part of the group from day one. I have always admired the staff for the time and energy they put into building relationships with the volunteers even though most volunteers only stay for a few months. 

    People at the Village taught me to cultivate relationships and not to judge people on their performance.  

    Something very typical of the Arabs is to ask about the family. Every Monday they would ask if I had spoken to my mom on the phone and how she was doing. At some point, I found myself calling my mom on the weekend so that I wouldn’t have say again that I hadn’t spoken to her. 

    I learned it doesn’t always have to be words that convey the love of Jesus. Sometimes it is actions that speak louder than the words. I have come to love and appreciate the staff at Nazareth Village, and I am grateful for the testimony they leave behind. 

    —Monika Warkentin is a member of HMC – Iglesia Hermanos Menonitas Concordia (Mennonite Brethren), Asuncion, Paraguay, part of the Mennonite Brethren conference. Her boyfriend from Paraguay, came to visit her in her year of serves and proposed to her at the Dead Sea, and now she is happily married. 

    *The Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN) program is a joint program between Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee. It places emphasis on expanding the fellowship between churches in the Anabaptist tradition and developing young leaders around the globe. Participants spend one year in a cross-cultural assignment starting in August and ending the following July.  

    39.1

  • Inspiration and reflection 

    Perspectives

    Resources

    General Secretary

    Word from the editor

    Confession and much humility 

    “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.

    39.1-en_fin_2_pages_spreadDownload
    39.1-en_fin_2Download

  • More resources related to this issue

    Kairos Palestine

    Christ at the Checkpoint

    Bethlehem Bible College

    Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center

    Assembly 2022 webinars

    Mennonite Church USA

    Mennonite Church Canada

    Mennonite Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery

    A reconciling response

    YAMEN

    Nazareth Village

    Tent of Nations

    Online Prayer Hour: prayer about suffering in Israel and Palestine

    Added October 2024

    If the war goes on…

  • You are invited! Join us for Climate Pollinators, a webinar series on creation care. See below! 

    Andre Wiederkehr, of Ontario, Canada, doesn’t have a driver’s license. That’s because he chooses not to use fossil fuels to get around. 

    Without using a car, attending Hanover Mennonite Church on Sundays means riding 21 kilometers by bike. “None of us is really an enthusiastic biker,” says Andre Wiederkehr, who lives on a farm with his brother and parents. 

    The question is: “Do we drive and continue the system which can’t be continued forever, so eventually there will have to be a break, or do we make the break now?” 

    Andre, his brother Theo and their parents have decided to make the break in numerous ways.  

    • On their 100-acre farm, they are working to swap out tractors and power tools for human-powered farming methods.  
    • They burn firewood instead of using a gas or electric stove, and let their wood stove double as a heater for their house.  
    • They grow most of their own food, eliminating the need for transportation.  
    • They use local building materials, like wood, as much as possible, instead of metal or cement. 

    The lifestyle they have chosen isn’t easy. The brothers work hard and sometimes feel isolated from friends and family. So how do they stay motivated, and what keeps them accountable? 

    “Most people hold themselves to some kind of moral standard,” Andre Wiederkehr says. “For me, I want to be a person of integrity, I want to be able to think well of myself.” 

    Andre Wiederkehr enjoys making tools for use on the farm, and he said he finds satisfaction in a job well done. He also said there’s something rewarding in “feeling that the thing you did, you’ve done in the right direction, in the right way.” 

    For Theo Wiederkehr, “The satisfying thing is… when I’m working with another species well. That happens most for me with our domesticated plants.” 

    Theo Wiederkehr owns a seed company and grows a wide variety of grains, including wheat. “We’ve had this relationship with this plant for 10 000 years of human history,” he said. “and it has shaped how our species has developed and we have shaped how its species has developed.” 

    “There is this enormous, strange satisfaction when you hold a sheaf of grain that you have grown and harvested in your hand,” says Theo Wiederkehr. “I felt it the first time I harvested.” 

    Modern society is structured around many systems that are harmful to the earth and to people. “Because of how our society has developed,” Theo said, “we end up in situations where there seems to be no good choice.” 

    For example, “Do we make a bad choice of travelling to church in a damaging way, or do we make a bad choice of not being part of that church? Neither really feels like a good option.” 

    For inspiration, the brothers turn to their Mennonite heritage. “Desire for integrity is something which is deeply ingrained in our faith,” Theo Wiederkehr says. 

    Andre provided an example: “I used to be really into robotics, and I do enjoy that a whole lot more than gardening at a brain-tickling level, but I don’t think I would feel good about my life if that was what I was doing right now.” 

    —Sierra Ross Richer is a member of Waterford Mennonite Church, Goshen, Indiana, USA. She is an intern with the Anabaptist Climate Collaborative (ACC). This story from the ACC’s Lent Climate Pollinator Series: Global Anabaptist Stories on Climate Change is reprinted with permission. 

    Click here for recordings from previous webinars: 

    You are invited! Join us for Climate Pollinators, a webinar series on creation care.  

    MWC’s Creation Care Task Force members from each region will host one hour of storytelling and Q&A. Church members from around the world will share how they are affected by climate change – and responding with resilient action and gospel hope.  

    Other featured stories for the North America webinar 

    Each webinar will take place at on Tuesday at 14:00 UTC (click here to find the time in your region). Register here: 

  • India

    A brief description of the journey of the Bharatiya General Conference Mennonite Church from the darkness of the 7-year period of division to the light of unification.

    The division and reunification of the Bharatiya General Conference Mennonite Church were marked by a series of events and challenges. The initial division was caused by a dispute over the rights of the chair and the secretary of the church. 

    In 1994, a seemingly minor issue of choosing the date and venue for the annual convention became the catalyst for division. Some members wanted the convention to be held in Jagdishpur (in the church’s northern zone) instead of Janjgir (in the southern zone), leading to differences among the office bearers.  

    This led to two separate meetings, one in Janjgir and one in Jagdishpur, resulting in a divided church with two chairpersons. 

    Elections were a significant concern during this time. To resolve the issue, the decision was made to hold elections separately in Janjgir and Jagdishpur, creating two executive committees. This division escalated when the chairperson tried to impose restrictions on bank operations, leading to legal disputes and FIRs (police reports). 

    Efforts for reconciliation were made, including interventions by pastors, the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), and the Evangelical Fellowship of India conference. However, these attempts did not yield positive results, and animosity continued to grow between the two factions. 

    The situation took a legal turn with hearings in the High Court, with both parties and registrar firms and institutions involved. The High Court ruled, but the dispute continued. 

    In 1997 and 1998, elections were held again, further solidifying the division. It seemed that reconciliation was becoming increasingly unlikely. Neither side was willing to cooperate. 

    However, a turning point came when a chance meeting occurred between me and the late Mr. N.S. Badhai in Gass Memorial, Raipur, in 1999. This unexpected encounter led to a conversation about reconciliation.  

    Both of us recognized our roles in leadership and the responsibility to bring about unity in the church. We decided to seek mediation from Rev. C.S.R. Geer (a former Mennonite from Jaghdishpur) with the goal of convening a joint conference (AGM). 

    With the support of a leader from the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), a joint conference was organized in Jagdishpur in November 2002. Despite initial competition, I called back my name for the position and Mr. N. S. Badhai was elected as chair. A powerful message from the EFI leader on the prodigal son story (Luke 15:11-32) touched hearts.  

    Members of both factions forgave each other and resolved to reunite and live together in the future. 

    Since then, the Bharatiya General Conference Mennonite Church has maintained its unity under the leadership of the conference’s president. The grace of God has continued to guide the church toward a harmonious path in spite of many challenges. 

    —Mr. Prem Kishor Bagh is church secretary at the head office of Bhartiya General Conference Mennonite Church in Jagdishpur, India.  

    Courier 38.4

  • Brazil

    Sometimes, it’s not an option to discuss difficult topics. Conflicts arise, but we can build something new instead of shattering the old.  

    In 2011, the Mennonite Brethren church in Brazil (COBIM) faced difficult conversations. God had brought leaders from other denominations into COBIM. Now we had to learn how to handle these differences. The traditional MB leaders had not planned to bring in these pastors from different backgrounds; they had certainly not planned to become MBs. 

    I was one of the latter. As an Assemblies of God pastor, I preached once at a Mennonite Brethren church and vowed never again.  

    But after moving to a suburb of Curitiba in 2006, a series of Holy Spirit promptings led me into an MB church again and again. After several months of involvement and becoming a member, in October 2007, the pastor invited me and my wife to be pastors.  

    God was doing some very big things in that congregation. What God was doing locally started moving in direction of the national church.  

    When we got together in conferences, we would see the differences in way of worship, in way of praying, in way of preaching. We had differences of culture between German and Portuguese; between an individualist culture and a collectivist culture. These were apparent.  

    Who was right? Those who were more traditional or those who were more Pentecostal? 

    God who sees everything said: “I will mix these two. We want to build something new where no one is right and wrong, but both are right and both are wrong and we bind both together.”  

    We decided to create a wider path where traditional and more charismatic could live together. Where both can respect and teach other: where we complement each other.  

    The Pentecostal folk who had gotten inserted in Anabaptist culture have to learn from this Anabaptist movement. But we also have to share what we have received.  

    It takes a lot of talking.  

    We pointed out one side. We showed the other side. We defined our limits so we could cooperate.  

    We wanted our strengths to converge, not to fight or bring power tensions.  

    There were many moments that were difficult.  

    Several times, I received tap on shoulder to ask: “How long will you stay here yet?” They implied that I should take my different-ness and go elsewhere.  

    Another time at a conference of pastors, some were making light about the work of the Holy Spirit, and how people react with emotion. My heart was heavy that they should take something so serious and made jokes about it.  

    But I felt the Lord calling me to be patient. God was going to do a something new. If people were not willing to change, God would deal with it.  

    Over the next period, the leaders who had been most resistant to change each left the MB church, for a variety of reasons.  

    These leaders were not bad leaders nor sinful, they just couldn’t see what God wanted to do. Their convictions based on their background and what they had learned were stronger than what the Lord wanted to do. 

    I think of when the Spirit came upon the Gentiles. The leaders didn’t understand why God would go to the Gentiles. But they were open to understand the Lord was doing a new thing, building a “jug” of blessing from the mixed “clay” of Jews and Gentiles with the water of the Holy Spirit.  

    In COBIM, God provided a “Barnabas” for me – named Paul. He is a “traditional” Mennonite Brethren, with a father from Russia and a mother who studied in Goshen College, USA.  

    After a career in international business – which opened his eyes to different ways of doing – he became involved in church leadership. His background allows him in a sense to “interpret” the charismatic movement into the culture of Anabaptists. People need a bridge; new ways are not just downloaded.  

    As we learn to live with difference, we pray for each other. It shows an attitude of your heart. 

    I have learned much from studying Anabaptist history. Through the traditional MBs, God led me to his Word. When I share a prophetic word, it is grounded in Scripture and joint discernment.  

    Step by step, two very different groups within COBIM are taking our differences and going in a smooth way. We could try to make it white or black – or we can create a path where we understand that if this one can go this far, the other can go this far, and we can go together. 

    “We have all our backgrounds,” says Paul, “but when we are open, God shows us things through Scripture and through experience.” 

    In the past, the clash of cultures hindered. Now. when we have problems, we don’t each go to our own side, but instead we sit together. We must be open to understand God works in different ways (see like Larry Miller’s three practices for building communion). 

    What did God do with the conflict in COBIM? God gave some charismatic leaders open hearts to hear and learn. God gave traditional MBs open hearts to hear and to love. God brought us together so the kingdom of God is multiplied, in Brazil and the world. 

    —Reginaldo Valim is pastor of Igreja Evangélica Irmãos Menonitas (Mennonite Brethren) de Campo Grande MS, in Brazil.

    Courier 38.4

  • Malawi

    “I am Yao,” says Madalistso Blessings Kaputa. That people group is regarded to be Muslim in Malawi. “Someone has reached me.” 

    Chewa, Yao, Lome (major people groups in Malawi): they can all be part and parcel of this family of God, he says. 

    As a Yao, he is able to represent the church in Muslim areas. “There is a connection, a relationship, between the Muslims and the church. We try to have a sense that we let the Yao Muslim community understand themselves. We are part of the family of God. We do not impose. The church is working together,” he says.  

    “I am the living testimony of the church and how Anabaptists live with other people. If I were not able to grow in this way, it would be hard to live in Muslim community. I pursue peace. I share gospel with peace.” 

    Anabaptist-Mennonite churches in Malawi boldly proclaim the gospel as they offer aid and succor to members and community alike.  

    There are two MWC member churches in Malawi: Mpingo Wa Abale Mwa Kristu (Brethren in Christ) and Mennonite Brethren Church in Malawi. Both were nurtured in their early days by African evangelists.  

    Mpingo Wa Abale Mwa Kristu (BIC): Like the Macedonian call 

    A small group began to meet for prayer in Blantyre in 1983. They became aware of the BIC church in Zimbabwe and desired to link with them. As they prayed, they were led to write a letter, inviting leaders from Zimbabwe to come.  

    BIC Zimbabwe received the call. In 1984, they sent pastors Philemon M Khumalo, Bekithemba Dube and their families.  

    A fellowship began meeting in Ndirande, a suburb of Blantyre, the country’s industrial and urban centre. A second church was soon started in Zombe. The church was officially registered in 1986.  

    Early leaders were Sani Selamani Chibwana who called the first friends together; Melawrie Fred Mbamera who became the chairperson; Ephraim Disi, the secretary.  

    Today the church has grown to 75 congregations in both the southern and central regions of the country. It comprises members from several ethnic groups.  

    The church has ministries for youth and for women. There are evangelism projects, ministries to people affected by HIV/AIDS and other compassion ministries.  

    The church is living out its Anabaptist identity by pursuing peace and loving one another. They seek to live as Christ gave to us in Matthew 5. “We need Jesus since God is love. This shows our real identity,” says Madalitso Blessing Kaputa.  

    As church members reach out with the gospel and find there is a physical need, they help: praying, walking alongside, supporting in seeking healing or resources.  

    They also offer teaching from the Bible and sound understanding about the need to put faith in Christ Jesus, not false doctrines. 

    “We can reach the person not only one-sided but both sides: spiritual aspects and even physical aspects,” says Madalitso Blessings Kaputa. 

    “We are there. We are salt and light, meeting their needs as a whole person with a holistic gospel,” he says. 

    Challenges 

    The pandemic was only one of the major challenges affecting the BIC church in Malawi. HIV/AIDS continues to break apart families. A cholera epidemic has only recently subsided. Climate change causes droughts and severe weather. Recently, Cyclone Freddy swept through the country, destroying homes, church buildings and wiping out both gardens and crops, resulting in the loss of pastors, church members and neighbours. Food shortages will mean higher prices. The church is praying about how they can help when the harvests do not come. 

    But the BIC church does not just look at challenges. There is hope.  

    “We are the agent that God has entrusted with to give love those that are not being loved,” says Madalitso Blessings Kaputa.  

    “Even though today we have health challenges, the church is there to give hope. 

    “Even with challenge like climate change: we have hope with Jesus,” he says. 

    Baptism: a time of joy 

    “If it would have been like a cup of tea, so much sugar is added showing that there is a joy,” says Madalitso Blessing Kaputa, about a recent baptism event.  

    Baptism in Malawi, a largely rural country, is mostly performed at the rivers or the lake. 

    Most of the time there is a large bunch of people, standing and looking, celebrating together.  

    It is time to fellowship, so there is often food. 

    Nothing can happen without singing. Singing is part of our joy.  

    Sometimes baptism is undertaken after months or year of study. But others wake up and say ‘let’s go!’ then go on to understand their baptism. After all, it’s not baptism that brings salvation but what is happening in their heart.  

    —Madalitso Blessing Kaputa is an evangelist with BIC Malawi. 

    Leaders at the MBCM annual general conference.
    Leaders at the MBCM annual general conference. Photo: Lyson Makawa

    Mennonite Brethren Church in Malawi: multiplying churches 

    In 2009, a man from DR Congo in Dzaleka Refugee Camp in the Dowa district of Malawi saw a need to start a church. Safari Mutabesha Bahati (DRC), Onesime Kabula (Rwanda), Charles Isaiah, Chiza Sedata, Gems Mariamungu, Gemeya and their families started a church and it started to grow. People from DRC, Burundi, Ethiopia, Rwanda joined, speaking French, English, Swahili and more were drawn in.  

    Their evangelistic fervour took them beyond the bounds of the camp to plant churches among local Malawians.  

    Today there are two congregations in the camp and 60 outside scattered through the rural areas of the densely populated country.  

    The strategy is that one congregation should plant another. These form into hubs of 7-12 congregations around a mission centre led by a senior pastor who reports to the executive. With this rapid growth, not all congregations have a formally trained pastor, but three times a year, pastors gather for one or two weeks of training through ICOMB’s Missional Leadership Training workshops.  

    Regional and cultural solidarity is strong in Malawian society. The MB church seeks to cross those barriers. “In church, we have all these groups together: our language is that Jesus Christ is our leader. What unites us is the gospel,” says Lyson Makawa.  

    The MBs strive to plant holistic churches. Evangelism and discipleship are priorities. “We believe to nurture the people who have just come to Jesus Christ so they can and grow in maturity,” says Lyson Makawa. New believers are encouraged to attend classes for at least a month to learn the basics prior to baptism.  

    “We also believe in planting churches where you are empowered spiritually and also physically.” 

    One example is the sewing project that was started in the refugee camp. Women are taught how to sew items for sale so they can have a source of income. 

    Another is promoting a pail kit system of farming. In one pail, the farmer receive an irrigation tool and seeds to plant vegetables.  

    The church has also started an incubator to hatch chicks for pastors to raise chickens for food and income.  

    Challenges 

    Pastors face many struggles, from lack of education to travelling between villages to supporting their families with little income. Their congregations look to them for spiritual support while their families seek financial support.  

    Although most pastors are men there is one woman who serves as a pastor. Up to 70 percent of church members are women. Although differences in faith practices between husbands and wives can cause marital problems, sometimes marital problems drive women to seek relief at church.  

    The MB church was not spared the affects of Cyclone Freddy. They are focusing relief efforts on elderly people, people with disabilities and those who are otherwise not able to support themselves.  

    Worship gatherings 

    A Sunday morning gathering starts with prayer, followed by about 30 minutes of teaching. Singing follows in several moments: vigorous praise with dancing, more contemplative worship, and choir performances. Over the next hour there is preaching from the Word of God by the pastor or an elder, or even a pastor from another church. After that, offering is taken, followed by the benediction.  

    Congregations may also hold midweek services for about an hour.  

    Gatherings focused on teaching from the Word of God take place on Wednesday, starting around 3 pm.  

    On Thursdays, the women often gather. These are times for work like decorating the church or encouraging one another.  

    On Saturdays there are meetings for intercessory prayers. “We have a God who answers our prayers,” says Lyson Makawa.  

    —Lyson Makawa is leadership and capacity building coordinator with the Mennonite Brethren church of Malawi.  

    Relationships with other churches 

    “We believe we belong to the larger family of anabaptists,” says Lyson Makawa. “Belonging to same roots brings us together.”  

    The Anabaptist-Mennonite churches in Malawi are connected to the larger body of Christ around the world as well as with each other. Both BIC and MB relate to Mennonite Central Committee and work with each other. 

    The MBs have also collaborated with a conservative Anabaptist-Mennonite group in the country on publication of evangelistic materials. 

    Relationship continues between BIC churches in Malawi and Zimbabwe: There are frequently Zimbabwean guests at Malawian church conferences, sometimes bringing teaching. A delegation of women from Malawi visited Zimbabwe on a learning project.  

    Following the example of their mother church, Malawi BIC is also evangelizing in new areas. Strategic planning is underway to reach the northern part of the country and also to reach into neighbouring Mozambique. “Mission is on our hearts,” says Madalitso Blessing Kaputa. 

    And the relationship with other church bodies reminds Malawian brothers and sisters they are not alone. “Whatever is happening with MWC, it is involving even the church in Malawi. We do not take this for granted: we are family,” says Madalitso Blessings Kaputa.  

    Courier 38.4

  • You are invited! Join us for Climate Pollinators, a webinar series on creation care. See below! 

    January to April is the rainy season in Guayaquil, a port city on the coast of Ecuador. But this past year, says Sara Noemi Viteri Moreno, a member of Iglesia Jesus el Buen Pastor (Jesus the good shepherd, a Mennonite church) in Guayaquil, it hardly rained at all. 

    Sara Noemi Viteri Moreno is an environmental engineer who helps lead the youth program at her church.  

    “It has stopped raining the way it used to,” she says, “and that makes it so it’s hotter.” She suspects these trends are linked to something else: decreasing tree cover in the city. 

    “Close to the church, there used to be these trees that were really old,” Sara Noemi Viteri Moreno says. But about five years ago, the city removed them. 

    Since then, there is less shade and the increased heat is notable, Sara Noemi Viteri Moreno says. It’s not just those trees. All around the city, trees have been cut down as the population increases. “Those trees brought rain to this area,” she says. 

    With over three million residents, Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador, and it’s constantly growing. Many of the newcomers are Ecuadorians from rural areas, but the city has also been receiving an increasing number of refugees from outside the country, mainly from Venezuela. 

    Since 2015, Ecuador has received more than 500 000 refugees fleeing political turmoil, violence, poverty and economic and social insecurity in Venezuela. In Guayaquil, many end up living by the rivers, under bridges and in parks. 

    United Nations Climate Change (UNFCCC) describes climate change as a threat multiplier. It “worsens social, economic and environmental pressures, leading to social upheaval and possibly even violent conflict.” 

    Immigration of refugees from Venezuela means that destinations like Guayaquil become more crowded. People cut down forests and build near rivers. This leads to problems like landslides and flooding, says Sara Noemi Viteri Moreno. 

     In the church, “We aren’t very conscious about what is happening.” 

    However, they are supporting Venezuelan refugees. Over the years, the church building has served as a temporary home for families searching for work and housing. Congregants have provided newcomers with mattresses to sleep on, food to eat and clothes to wear. 

    “Migration means there are more people in one place,” says Sara Noemi Viteri Moreno. “There aren’t any more places to get established anymore.” 

    “This is a part of climate change. It’s one of the problems we can start with.” 

    —Sierra Ross Richer is a member of Waterford Mennonite Church, Goshen, Indiana, USA. She is an intern with the Anabaptist Climate Collaborative (ACC). This story from the ACC’s Lent Climate Pollinator Series: Global Anabaptist Stories on Climate Change is reprinted with permission. 

    Click here for recordings from previous webinars: 

    You are invited! Join us for Climate Pollinators, a webinar series on creation care.  

    MWC’s Creation Care Task Force members from each region will host one hour of storytelling and Q&A. Church members from around the world will share how they are affected by climate change – and responding with resilient action and gospel hope.  

    Other featured stories for the Latin America webinar 

    Each webinar will take place at on Tuesday at 14:00 UTC (click here to find the time in your region). Register here: 

  • Earth in all its diversity, vitality and abundance is a gift that has been overshadowed by neglect, exploitation and unsustainable consumption.

    Anabaptist values, by contrast, call for stewardship (thoughtful care-taking), simplicity and the dignity of all persons created in the image of God. On behalf of Mennonite World Conference, the Creation Care Task Force (CCTF) has endorsed the interfaith call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. 

    “To be good caretakers of our common home, we must act and phase out the production of fossil fuels,” reads the interfaith letter.  

    It calls on governments to lay out a binding global plan to  

    1. End expansion of any new coal, oil or gas production; 
    2. Phase-out existing production of fossil fuels in a manner that is fair and equitable; 
    3. Ensure a global just transition to 100% access to renewable energy globally.  

    The letter, directed at national governments around the world, was first delivered to world leaders at COP27 (2022’s United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt). This call, begun in 2015 by Pacific Island countries whose borders are rapidly being reduced by rising oceans, attempts to spur nations to address the production of oil, gas and coal and to negotiate a fair transition to renewable energy. 

    “It is important that Anabaptists make our voices heard in support of actions that care for the planet,” says Doug Graber Neufeld, CCTF chair. “Moving away from fossil fuels is one of the most effective ways to support our brothers and sisters around the world whose livelihoods are threatened by climate change.” 

    “For Anabaptists from the Global South, the production and use of non-renewable natural resources such as fossil fuels, gas and coal raises various ethical problems, including our responsibilities to future generations. We are challenged not only to seek alternative energies but also to ensure that everyone can enjoy the abundance of natural resources fairly. We believe that God’s creation can fulfill every human need, but not human greed,” says Nindyo Sasongko, CCTF Asia Representative.  

    “All of creation is God’s work of love,” says Thomas R Yoder Neufeld, Faith & Life Commission chair. “To turn from our heedless exploitation of fossil fuels is not only in our human self-interest, but more importantly participation in God’s love for the world.”

    “Anabaptists believe that human patterns of greed, selfishness and overconsumption are sin which require repentance and transformation. This is spiritual work and it is also societal work. This call for fossil fuel non-proliferation asks governments to use their power to reduce the effects of these sins on the most vulnerable, and all of humanity,” says César García, MWC General Secretary.  

    MWC joins hundreds of other faith groups from the Laudato Si’ Movement (Roman Catholic) to the Parliament of the World’s Religions in calling upon governments to develop and implement a Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation treaty.  

    Click here to …

  • Stories in this page:

    Climate summit in Dubai 

    blog #1 – 29 November 2023

    Tomorrow, November 30, the annual United Nations (UN) climate summit starts in Dubai. It’s number 28, that is why the meeting is called COP 28.  

    COP stands for Conference of the Parties. Those Parties are the participating countries in the climate convention of the UN, almost two hundred of them. In other words: almost all countries in the world. 

    These climate negotiations (because that’s what they are) started in the 1990s. The World Council of Churches (WCC), which has a good working relationship with the UN, has been involved in these summits from the beginning. This involvement has now grown and has become multi-religious. Yes: the other major religions in the world also understand the importance of the climate summits and are making themselves heard. 

    The Vatican has a special role. In 2015, just before the big climate summit in Paris, the Pope released an important encyclical (Laudato si’) that had an impact on the negotiations. That summit concluded with the Paris Climate Agreement, which has become the new guiding principle. 

    Sharing as a new concept 

    Many citizens all over the world are concerned about climate change. That is very understandable, because far too few measures have been taken so far. Realistically it’s very difficult to reach good agreements with all those countries. 

    A rich country (like the Netherlands) must make efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But it also has a historical responsibility: CO2, the most common greenhouse gas, remains in the atmosphere for centuries. That is why poor countries are calling on rich countries to make more money and clean technology available. Otherwise, they will have to use fossil fuels for their economic development for a long time to come. And that means even more greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, due to their geographical location, these countries are most affected by the consequences of climate change. We see this almost every day on the news. 

    This, in a nutshell, is the complex problem facing the world. 

    The major economies follow a business model based on making profits. They don’t work with the concept of sharing. However, this will be necessary to roll out the clean technology the world needs quickly enough. If this does not happen, the climate will warm too much and the consequences will be incalculable. 

    Learning through collaboration 

    The reader will realize by now that we are essentially dealing with a profound moral and ethical challenge – one of the reasons the major religions in the world are involved. After all, the climate challenge is about preserving creation, including people, animals, plants and ecosystems.  

    Humanity will have to radically change course.  

    That is why, in recent years, other cultures – especially those of Indigenous Peoples – have been looked at with new eyes, because they can teach us a lot in many respects. The WCC works closely with their organizations and amplifies their voices. 

    Since the year 2000, I have been a member of the WCC team that monitors the climate summits. In that capacity I will be following COP 28 closely and will blog about it. 

    More to come. 

    Marijke van Duin  
    Member of the Mennonite Church in the Netherlands, a MWC member congregation.
    Since 2000, member of the Working Group on Climate Change of the World Council of Churches. This team is accredited as observers of the yearly UN climate negotiations.
    These blogs were originally published in Dutch on the website of the Netherlands Council of Churches. 

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    The beginning 

    blog #2 – 30 November 2023 

    It’s November 30, COP 28 has started. What are the most important points? 

    Global Stocktake (GST) 

    This year, for the first time, national climate efforts of recent years can be assessed and evaluated.  

    All countries have submitted climate plans under the Paris Climate Agreement and must implement them. Whether that actually happened, and whether those plans are ambitious enough, will be the focus in the coming weeks.  

    But various reports have already shown that this is not the case. In fact, the ambition must be increased 5 times (!) to achieve the most important goal of a maximum of 1.5 C warming. According to the latest data, global warming is currently already 1.4 C. 

    Loss & Damage 

    Loss and damage due to climate change.  

    Last year, after 30 years of lobbying, it was finally decided to set up a fund to compensate for this damage. Many countries are already experiencing this, which often leads to a decline in their gross domestic product.  

    Today, the fund has been formally established after a year of preparation. The fund is temporarily placed with the World Bank, which not all countries like. The need for (administrative) transparency and fair accessibility without geopolitical control was immediately pointed out. 

    There are of course many more important points. These will be discussed in subsequent blogs. 

    It is clear that this will be a very difficult COP.  

    The president of COP 28, Sultan Al Jaber, is also CEO of the state oil company of the United Arab Emirates. In his opening speech today, he stated that there is an important role for the fossil industry in tackling climate change. 

    And that is a sore point for many countries and organizations, especially the environmental movement.  

    How can you present the cause of a problem as the solution?  

    Well, it turns out that there are all kinds of ways to do this, especially technological innovations such as capturing and storing CO2 underground (CCS). But not only is this technology still under development and (therefore) very expensive, it is also used as an argument to continue developing new fossil sources.  

    Is that really the solution? 

    This contradiction will dominate COP 28. 

    The religious organizations, or Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs), were immediately busy today. Various religious organizations have been working together during the COPs for about eight years. Not only Christian, but also Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu and others. This afternoon there was an open dialogue about various important agenda items, which could also be followed digitally. The most important results will be submitted as recommendations to the Presidency of COP 28.  

    The dialogue was followed by an interfaith celebration. 

    The role of religion in climate discussion 

    New at this COP is the Faith Pavilion – a meeting place especially for religious organizations. Tomorrow various activities will be organized there by young people. The World Council of Churches, among others, is involved.  

    In addition, there will be a meeting tomorrow, co-organized by the United Nations itself, on the role of religion in the climate discussion and in climate action. That role is gradually being seen and appreciated.  

    And the day after tomorrow, 2 December, the ecumenical service will be held that has now become a tradition at the COPs.  

    Marijke van Duin  
    Member of the Mennonite Church in the Netherlands, a MWC member congregation.
    Since 2000 member of the Working Group on Climate Change of the World Council of Churches. This team is accredited as observers of the yearly UN climate negotiations.
    These blogs were originally published in Dutch on the website of the Netherlands Council of Churches.

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    COP28UAE
    Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President, joined climate leaders in launching the Global Cooling Pledge to collectively raise ambition and reduce cooling-related emissions. Photo: COP28UAE

    High level segment: kings, financiers and residents 

    blog #3 – 1 December 2023 

    The second day started with the so-called High-Level Segment. Today and tomorrow, many heads of state will give a speech in Dubai to underline how important this summit is. These will be given in two plenary rooms simultaneously, by one president after another, kings and heads of government – a tradition at climate conferences. 

    During the first few years I followed those speeches closely. I now know that they more or less amount to the same thing: the situation is urgent and we must act quickly. Some heads of state boast of what has already been done by their country, others – usually from less wealthy countries – call on their counterparts from richer countries for global solidarity. 

    While the speeches are being presented, informal meetings of civil servants preparing for the actual negotiations are held in other rooms. It is striking that the vast majority of them are in their 30s, some even in their 20s.  

    The discussions include the Global Stocktake (GST) and climate finance. That last point is perhaps the most important of the entire climate process. Because without money there can be no sustainability transition and no global solidarity.  

    Although around 400 million dollars was already pledged yesterday for the new Loss & Damage Fund, it does not mean much. The question is whether that money is ‚Äònew and additional’, i.e., comes on top of existing money flows, especially those for development cooperation and for adaptation projects. If that is not the case, the commitments could have negative consequences.  

    It is also important that the money is not spent in the form of loans, because that will further increase the already large debt burden of poor countries. 

    This is one of the many points that specialized observers of NGOs – including those of religious (development) organizations – pay close attention to. In this way they support the poor(er) countries that desperately need these flows of money.  

    That is why finding a definition for climate finance that is accepted by everyone is a very tricky issue. Civil servants and their government bosses have been considering this for years, including now in Dubai. Ultimately, these negotiations should result in a ‚Äònew collective and quantified goal’ for climate financing: NCQG (New Collective Quantified Goal). Many tough nuts will undoubtedly be cracked during this process… 

    What are other organizations doing in the meantime? 

    Climate Action Network International (CAN-I) holds a press conference every day to explain the status of the summit. This network is formed by approximately 2 000 organizations (!) from 150 countries. CAN-I has been a fixture at climate summits for years.  

    We, observers of religious organizations, also benefit from their expertise. 

    Today it became clear that the most important point for CAN-I is the phasing out of fossil fuels. One of the spokespersons is the founder of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative – an initiative to ban fossil fuels for good. Many religious organizations, including Mennonite World Conference, support this initiative.  

    A meeting about this will be held tomorrow at the Faith Pavilion, together with Greenfaith, an international multi-faith organization focused on climate justice. 

    Litmus test 

    Not only NGOs, but also authoritative organizations such as the IEA (International Energy Agency) and the IPCC (the international team of hundreds of climate scientists who work for the UN) argue that we must phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible.  

    Ditto former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, David Boyd. He said that COP 28 will be a litmus test for the entire UN climate negotiation process. In his opinion, if it is not possible to clearly agree that fossil fuels must be phased out as quickly as possible, this could mean the end of the entire process.  

    Let’s hope this will not be the case. 

    Other organizations are also hard at work. Including youth organizations and the Indigenous Peoples’ Platform (IPP).  

    This afternoon the Youth Climate Report was presented. This is an interactive documentary project: a digital database with videos about climate research by young people worldwide, from 2008 to the present.  

    The IPP has only been around for a few years and was created with the support of the World Council of Churches. Many Indigenous Peoples around the world feel disconnected from national borders and poorly represented by their national governments. Their voices were therefore not heard for years. Thanks to the platform, there are now various opportunities for them to participate in the climate process.  

    It is clear that they not only want to be seen as victims of climate change, which they certainly are, but also as providers of solutions. After all, they have centuries, even millennia, of experience with living with nature – not against nature.  

    Something to learn from. 

    Marijke van Duin 
    Member of the Mennonite Church in the Netherlands, a MWC member congregation.
    Since 2000 member of the Working Group on Climate Change of the World Council of Churches. This team is accredited as observers of the yearly UN climate negotiations.
    These blogs were originally published in Dutch on the website of the Netherlands Council of Churches.

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    Balancing act 

    blog #4 – 3 December 2023 

    Today is Health Day in Dubai. This means that the focus is on the relationship between climate change and human health.  

    Many people have died purely from heat stress in recent years, including in Europe. In addition, floods increase the risk of diseases such as cholera and malaria. Malaria is also advancing north, just like dengue: the mosquitoes that spread these diseases move north because of the higher temperatures.  

    And consider the smoke released during forest fires: it is very bad for your health. 

    Medical journals are increasingly paying attention to the negative effect of climate change on human health.  

    Another important meeting today was the ministerial round table discussion on ‚ÄúJust Transition.‚Äù This means achieving the fairest possible energy transition for the entire world.  

    This is perhaps the most important topic, certainly for the longer term.  

    The rich countries do have money for sustainable energy, but the poor(er) ones often do not. They are largely dependent on fossil fuels for their economic development. Something the fossil industry knows but too well. Their assessment of the future shows that they expect a decrease in the use of fossil fuels in rich countries, but an increase in poor ones. If this trend is not reversed, it will become impossible to adequately combat climate change. So there is every reason to focus on sustainable energy worldwide. 

    The strongest shoulders 

    Fortunately, there is broad agreement about the need to double energy efficiency worldwide in the coming years (up to and including 2030) and to triple investments in sustainable energy. But this will have to be accompanied by a rapid decrease in the use of fossil energy to have a positive effect on the climate. 

    However, strict realism is required: after all, we know what happens if, for example, the price of petrol goes up – protests and unrest everywhere. Just think of the yellow vests in France a few years ago, and the many protests in Latin American countries. People complain when they have to pay more at the pump. 

    This clearly shows that poor(er) people and countries need help to make the sustainability transition. This socio-economic aspect will become increasingly important in the coming years, also in rich countries. The slogan ‚Äòthe strongest shoulders must bear the heaviest burdens’ will have to be lived up to. 

    It is as if a ‚Äòthird way’ must be followed: not a foreign concept to Christians.  

    On the one hand, climate change forces us to switch to sustainable energy, on the other hand there is the need to keep economies running and/or further develop them. Hence the lobby to make fossil fuels cleaner and not to ban them.  

    To ensure that the energy transition takes place in a controlled manner, without economies being disrupted and societies ending up in chaos, but also without warming the climate further, a true balancing act is required.  

    This process is probably the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. And it therefore needs input from all parties: not only governments, but also the business community, citizen movements, trade unions, NGOs and science. Everyone can and should be able to discuss this. The ministers agreed on this today. 

    Due to the comprehensive nature of the Just Transition, there will be a Work Program (JTWG). It was advocated that this should be included in all work streams of the climate negotiations: mitigation (the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions), adaptation (to climate change), climate finance, technology and more. The Work Program will also have to find its way into national climate plans and long-term strategies. 

    Loss through militarization 

    Yesterday, 2 December 2023, the Pope was scheduled to give a speech in Dubai. But he had to be absent due to illness. Fortunately, his spokesperson was able to present his text during the last part of the High-Level Segment.  

    And what a text!  

    The Pope called for national interests to finally be subordinated to the overarching interest: fighting climate change and choosing life.  

    It is time for a new vision, he said, new confidence in the multilateral process and attention to the victims. Moreover, care for creation is closely intertwined with the pursuit of peace – how much money and energy is lost in all kinds of wars that destroy our common home! 

    The full text can be found at: www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2023/december/documents/20231202-dubai-cop28.html  

    CAN-I also referred to the link between climate change and militarism. Their ECO newsletter today read the following: 

    Militarization is responsible for 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions but is not being addressed. On top of that come the emissions as a result of actual conflicts: in the first year, the emissions from the war in Ukraine were equal to those of a rich country like Belgium. In 2022, global military spending rose to a record high of $2.24 trillion. G20 military spending represents 87% of that. These same countries spend 30 times more on their military than on climate finance. 
    (translation and summary by Marijke van Duin) 

    A topic that resonates with us peace churches‚Ķ 

    Marijke van Duin 
    Member of the Mennonite Church in the Netherlands, a MWC member congregation.
    Since 2000 member of the Working Group on Climate Change of the World Council of Churches. This team is accredited as observers of the yearly UN climate negotiations.
    These blogs were originally published in Dutch on the website of the Netherlands Council of Churches.

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    COP28UAE
    Dr. Sultan Al Jaber and World Bank President Ajay Banga connected during Finance Day at COP28, to discuss how to accelerate climate finance commitments from billions to trillions. Photo: COP28UAE

    Money, money, money 

    blog #5 – 4 December 2023 

    Today is Finance Day in Dubai.  

    Actually, finance is always in the centre during the climate negotiations, but today it is being talked about even more than usual. There are various streams of negotiations underway: about long-term climate financing, about the new target to be determined that I mentioned a few days ago (NCQG), about financing for adaptation through the Adaptation Fund (AF), about the Green Climate Fund (Green Climate Fund, GCF) for which the promised annual $100 billion by 2020 has still not been achieved. And more. 

    The discussions always come down to the same thing. Many poor(er) countries are in a downward spiral. Their economies are under pressure due to large debt burdens and increasing problems caused by climate change (storms, floods, droughts, crop failures, migration). It is not without reason that they have been calling for better support from the rich countries for years. Not only because those countries are richer, but also because they are responsible for the historic emissions of greenhouse gases, the consequences of which we experience today. 

    Billions 

    You would say that the installation of the Climate Damage Fund should alleviate this need. But the reality is that that is just a drop in the ocean.  

    The real need is not in billions of dollars, but in the trillions as many studies have shown. Because money is needed not only for loss and damage, but also for adaptation plans (adaptation to climate change) and for mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions). 

    The rich countries understand that they have to pay, but try to avoid this as much as possible, by 

    1. not taking responsibility for historical emissions; 
    2. using existing funds and labelling them as climate money (e.g., money for development cooperation); 
    3. saying that everyone should contribute (e.g., China); 
    4. having loss and damage handled by insurance companies;  
    5. involving the private sector. 

    Shouldn’t China contribute then? It is the second largest polluter in the world, after the United States.  

    And yes, perhaps it is strange that China is still classified as a developing country at the UN. But then it is often forgotten that emissions per capita are much lower than those in the US or the EU.  

    Moreover, China’s emissions are recent, not from centuries ago. So some nuance is in order. 

    Meanwhile, Western countries and China continue to have a stranglehold on each other in this regard. 

    And aren’t insurance companies useful? Well, for people who can pay the premium, yes.  

    But most people in the poorest countries cannot. So for them, the most needy, it is not a solution.  

    In addition, there is the risk that companies no longer want to invest in countries with a high climate risk. Which would be the beginning of the end. These countries actually need support for much-needed adaptation to climate change. But contributions to the Adaptation Fund have declined in recent years… 

    Shouldn’t the private sector participate?  

    Yes, of course, but that requires one or two things. For example, a different tax system; levies on CO2; levies on international financial transactions; and so on. It also includes reforming international financial institutions such as the World Bank and multilateral banks. Discussions about this have only recently started.  

    At recent COPs, there is a push for heavily taxing the billion-dollar profits of the fossil industry and using that money for climate finance. Will that happen? Let’s hope so. 

    Efforts without results 

    Back to yesterday.  

    A row broke out when it was announced that COP28 president Al Jaber had said that science had not shown that the target of a maximum 1.5¬∞C warming could not be achieved while maintaining the fossil industry. He promptly received a letter from two top climate scientists who debunked this. Didn’t Al Jaber know that CCS (carbon capture and storage) can only eliminate a very small part of the emissions? Even people in the oil and gas industry themselves know that. (I can confirm the latter. An acquaintance I have works on CCS at Shell, and he says that a maximum of 5% CO2 emissions can be eliminated.) 

    The cold figures are as follows:  

    • The fossil industry is responsible for 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  
    • Approximately 85% of this is caused by the combustion of the end products by industries and consumers (‚Äúscope 3‚Äù).  

    So even if the sector tries to make extraction, processing and production climate-neutral, it still makes little sense. In other words, the signing yesterday of the Oil and Gas Charter – an initiative of Al Jaber – by 50 oil and gas companies, does not have much significance. 

    By way of comparison, here is a statement by the head of the climate and health department at the World Health Organization: ‚ÄúTalking about climate change without talking about fossil fuels is like talking about lung cancer without mentioning tobacco.‚Äù 

    Unfortunately, fossil fuels are not mentioned in the COP 28 Health Declaration that was signed yesterday by 120 countries. 

    Marijke van Duin 
    Member of the Mennonite Church in the Netherlands, a MWC member congregation.
    Since 2000 member of the Working Group on Climate Change of the World Council of Churches. This team is accredited as observers of the yearly UN climate negotiations.
    These blogs were originally published in Dutch on the website of the Netherlands Council of Churches.

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    COP28UAE
    At the Youth Climate Champion Pavilion, Indigenous young people from the 7 socio-cultural regions engaged in insightful discussions to promote their essential involvement into the UNFCCC process, alongside leaders of each working group, indigenous organizations, communities and Youth Climate Champion Shamma Al Mazrui. Photo: COP28UAE

    Time pressure 

    blog #6 – 5 December 2023 

    Today, almost all meetings start late or are postponed. Not so strange, since this is the largest COP ever, with more than 100 000 registered participants. 

    The delegations are getting bigger. That of the fossil sector is the third largest, with almost 2 500 people. Only the delegations of host country UAE and of Brazil (which will host the COP in 2025) are larger.  

    This makes the negotiations increasingly unworkable. And more importantly: not all countries can delegate so many people. Poor(er) countries in particular have to make do with sometimes only a handful of delegates. Due to the large number of parallel meeting streams, it is impossible for them to follow everything, so these countries are immediately behind. 

    Now or never 

    Time is running out, because the ministers will soon be coming to Dubai. The negotiating texts must be well prepared by then. It doesn’t look good in that regard. 

    The new EU Commissioner for Climate, Wopke Hoekstra, will also make his appearance. He will try to push for the most important EU position: the phasing out of fossil fuels.  

    At the moment the split is approximately 50-50: half of the participating countries want that too while the other half does not. If it is not possible to get the phasing out in black and white, to many, the summit will have failed according.  

    It is now or never. 

    The reality of the world is grim. Five countries in the world (namely the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Norway) have new oil and gas production projects in the pipeline until 2050; approximately 51% of the total number of planned projects. If these countries – which are also historic emitters – were to withdraw those plans, it would save an enormous amount of CO2 emissions.  

    Fortunately, other countries show real leadership by joining the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, or by trying to get a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty off the ground. That kind of leadership is desperately needed. 

    In the Netherlands, Greenpeace has done important work on the fossil sector.  

  • Some years ago, in my local congregation in Colombia, a friend said to me: “Oh! César, how I envy you!” Why? I asked her. “I work in a multinational company. I deal with a lot of stress because of ongoing conflicts and broken relationships with my colleagues and bosses. But you, César, you work with pastors and leaders of churches. What kind of conflicts could you have?”

    We know conflicts among leaders, polarization and divisions are part of all churches – local, regional, national or global. Broken relationships because of disagreements seem to be the only option when differences are irreconcilable. However, I wonder if it has to be that way.

    How the church handles conflicts ought to be a mark of an alternative community. The church is the community that can show the world that handling conflict without division or broken relationships is possible.

    But as Anabaptists, we know that that has not been our case historically.

    Some months ago, I was reading an article in a Mennonite magazine. Its author said: “I am proud of leaving this church because that is the faithful thing to do. You know, when you have to sacrifice doctrine or ethics, you must leave.”

    Of course, that is a dilemma if you have to decide between unity on one hand or doctrine or ethics on the other. Is it necessary to sacrifice unity to keep a healthy doctrine or good ethics? That is how we have dealt with doctrinal and ethical conflicts in our Anabaptist history. Our experience of ongoing fragmentation has taken us to spiritualize unity or to leave it for the afterlife.

    However, the New Testament speaks about the unity of Jesus’ followers as a gift of the Holy Spirit to be received, enjoyed and kept here and now (see, for example, the book of Ephesians).

    Speaking of unity implies the existence of differences and disagreements.

    I do believe unity and disagreements are not opposites. In my own life, I experience contradictions. Today, I can’t entirely agree with everything I have taught before during my 30 years of ministry. Thanks to God, I can say that I have been growing in my spiritual life and walking following Jesus.

    “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect,” says the apostle Paul (Romans 12:2). Renewing implies change, transformation and some internal contradiction with what I believed, did or was before.

    If disagreements and contradictions are part of Christ’s body, conflicts are, too. That may be one reason why disagreements, teachings about forgiveness and conflict resolution among disciples are common topics throughout the New Testament.

    The problem, then, does not have to do with the existence of conflicts but how we deal with them.

    Broken relationships and divisions do not have to be the result of a conflict. If there is a robust and irreconcilable disagreement among Jesus’ disciples, condemning or excommunicating each other is not the only option. Why would we think our brother or sister in Christ is not an honest Christian because they do not coincide with our current way of thinking or with our group?

    Strong disagreements may push us to distance – for some time – from each other. Irreconciled positions may make it too difficult to work together. But that does not mean we must question the commitment to Jesus of those who disagree with us. Can we say: “I strongly disagree with you but still respect your commitment to Christ”? Can we create distance with other believers without condemning them and breaking the relationship?

    Those are some of the questions we want to address in this issue of Courier. May God guide us to find biblical answers that help us show the world what is different when we address conflict as members of an alternative community and in the power of the Holy Spirit. May God help us renew our minds about responding to church conflicts.

    —César García is general secretary of Mennonite World Conference. Originally from Colombia, he lives in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

    Courier 38.4