• English

Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • As presented to the Mennonite World Conference General Council, Limuru, Kenya, 24 April 2018

    Part I “All things gathered in Christ”

    • God is a gatherer
    • The Old Testament
    • The New Testament
    • Ephesians 1:10 – The Secret is Out! God is gathering all things in Christ!
    • Ephesians 2:11-22 – For He is “our” Peace
    • The near and the far
    • Conclusion – Anabaptists and the “gathering of all things”
       

    Part II “Unity of the Spirit – the creation of body and temple”

    • Spirit (ruach/pneuma) – energy, breath, wind
    • The unity of the Spirit
      • 1. Spirit as energy or power
      • 2. Spirit as breath
      • 3. Spirit as wind
    • The body of Christ, the womb in which the new human is being formed
    • The temple of God – a home from recycled material
    • Unity and diversity
    • Anabaptists and Spirit

    Part III “Maintaining the Unity of the Spirit – when walking together is hard”

    • We do not walk alone
    • How do we walk together?
    • Humility, patience, suffering each other
    • Forgiveness
    • Speaking truth WITH the neighbour
    • Seeing the face of God in each other
    • Does the bond ever tear? Does the chain break?

    At time of writing, Thomas R Yoder Neufeld is chair of the Faith and Life Commission. He is retired as professor of religious studies (New Testament) and peace and conflict studies at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

    English

    Gathering into one, Part 1Download
    Gathered into one, Part 2Download
    Gathered into One, Part 3Download

    Español

    Gathered into One, Part 1Download
    Gathered into one, Part 2Download
    Gathered into one, Part 3Download

    Français

    Gathered into one, Part 1Download
    Gathered into one, Part 2Download
    Gathered into one, Part 3Download

  • From Anabaptist Seed, by C. Arnold Snyder,

    from_anabaptist_seedDownload

  • Report on the Consultation on Believers’ Baptism

    Consultation on Believers Baptism 2015Download

    Participants in the Consultation on Baptism in Kingston, Jamaica 08-10 January 2015

    baptism_consultation_participants-2015_0Download

  • Reference documents

    Presented to the General Council of Mennonite World Conference Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, July 2015

    By Martin Junge, General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation

    5.6_junge_-_catholicity_and_diversityDownload

  • Presented to the General Council of Mennonite World Conference

    Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA,

    July 2015

    By Fernando Enns of Germany

    Dear brothers and sisters!

    It is a joy to be here, with you in Harrisburg,the place of our Assembly! And it is a joy to greet you as brothers and sisters! I simply take it for granted that I may address you as brothers and sisters.

    This is the ultimate reason why I decided to come here: to be with my brothers and sisters, from the whole world! To meet you! To celebrate with you! To worship with you! To rejoice with you, and to lament with you! To be inspired by you! To learn from you, and to share my gifts with you! To confess my faith with you and to pray with you – and pray for you, as you will pray for me!

    It goes without saying, that I come to this place, because I am part of this communion, this “community of Anabaptist related Churches”, called Mennonite World Conference.

    This is my home – as much as it is yours. I count on many things we have in common: our faith in Jesus Christ, whom we confess as Lord and Saviour, our common heritage of the Radical Reformation, the Anabaptist movement of the 16th century; our way of being church, which was formed over the centuries by our common “Mennonite story”;; our passion for peace and justice; our common witness and mission in this world.

    Yes, it is indeed a joy and a privilege to be part of this communion. And, I admit, it is also the diversity that attracts me. The different languages you speak, the different ways you look, the different cultures you come from. I feel enriched by the different ways of singing, praying, worshipping. I want to know, how you are church in a totally different political and societal setting.

    I want to listen to your concerns and the challenges you encounter. I want to be informed by the way you read the Bible and how you interpret it, my brothers and sisters, because I know, from experience, how great it feels to be a global family, including all our differences, and yet being one in Christ. To be with you here informs me of how rich, colourful, beautiful and diverse “Walking with God” can be. I could simply stop here, and invite us to a song of joy!

    There will be time for that later. Right now, I want to reflect with you on some challenges.

    5.5_enns_-_communion_and_diversityDownload

  • Global Mennonite History Series: Asia

    released in 2011

    Authors

    I. P. Asheervadam, Adhi Dharma, Alle Hoekema, Kyong-Jung, Kim, Luke Martin, Regina Lyn Mondez, Chiou-Lang Pan, Nguyen Thanh Tam, Nguyen Thi Tam, Takanobu Tojo, Nguyen Quang Trung, Masakazu Yamade and Earl Zimmerman

    General Editors

    John A. Lapp, C. Arnold Snyder

    1. Asia: A Brief Introduction — Alle Hoekema
    2. Christianity in Asia — Alle Hoekema  
    3. The Mennonite Churches of Indonesia — Adhi Dharma
    4. The Mennonite and Brethren in Christ Churches of India — I. P. Asheervadam
    5. The Mennonite Churches in Chinese-speaking areas — Chiou-Lang (Paulus) Pan
    6. The Mennonite Church in the Philippines — Regina Lyn Mondez
    7. The Anabaptist Mennonite Churches in Japan — Masakazu Yamade
    8. Anabaptism in Korea — Kyong-Jung Kim
    9. The Mennonite Church in Vietnam — Luke Martin with Nguyen Quang Trung, Nguyen Thanh Tam and Nguyen Thi Tam
    10. Conclusion: Asian Missions as Missio Dei — Takanobu Tojo
    gmh-asia-churches_engage_asian_traditionsDownload

  • Being Anabaptist Christians Today (1993)

    Mennonite World Conference General Council Meeting
    Africa Mennonite and Brethren in Christ Women’s Gathering
    Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 14–21 July 1993

    Gathered together from thirty-eight countries and many contexts at Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) these days in mid-July 1993, we have shared stories and testimonies which cause us to examine our own cultures in light of the gospel. Truly we have been a community seeking to discern and interpret faithfully God’s Word for our time.

    being_an_anabaptist_christian_todayDownload

  • Report on Conversations between the Baptist World Alliance and the Mennonite World Conference

    1989-1992

    baptists_and_mennonites_in_dialogue_for_readingDownload

  • Lutheran-Mennonite-Roman Catholic Trilateral Conversations 2012–2017

    It was with the twin goals of increasing mutual understanding and helping one another grow in faithfulness to Jesus Christ that a trilateral dialogue took place between Lutherans, Mennonites and Roman Catholics, from 2012 to 2017. Over the course of the five year period, the dialogue followed the well-established interchurch conversation method of annual one week meetings hosted successively by the communions. At each meeting papers were presented by delegation members as the trilateral commission explored the respective understandings of key theological and pastoral themes related to baptism and incorporation into the body of Christ.

    2020 trilateral report on baptismDownload

  • Anabaptist Songs in African Hearts
    released in 2003 at the 14th global assembly in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (also available in Spanish and French)

    gmh-africa-anabaptist_songs_in_africa_heartsDownload

  • A teaching resource from the Faith & Life commission

    What does it mean for member churches of Mennonite World Conference to share an Anabaptist identity? What is the value of Anabaptist “tradition” – and what does that word mean in a global context? What are our Anabaptist understandings of mission and fellowship?

    In 2009, the newly appointed Faith and Life Commission was asked to produce three papers that could be used in helping MWC communities reflect on such questions:

    • “A Holistic Understanding of Fellowship, Worship, Service, and Witness from an Anabaptist Perspective” by Alfred Neufeld Friesen of Paraguay;
    • “The ‘Anabaptist Tradition’ – Reclaiming its Gifts, Heeding its Weaknesses” by Hanspeter Jecker of Switzerland; and
    • “Koinonia – The Gift We Hold Together” by Tom Yoder Neufeld of Canada.

    All three papers were approved as a teaching resource by the MWC General Council in May 2012.

    Some weeks ago, I received a request from Bert Lobe to consider describing and reflecting on how the sixteenth century Anabaptists understood diaconal service, and how that understanding and practice developed historically. The idea was that this kind of study might provide a basis for discussion and discernment for the MWC Deacons Commission…

    an_anabaptist_theology_of_service_with_header2Download
    Deacons Commission

  • INTRODUCTION

    An international dialogue between Catholics and Mennonites took place between 1998 and 2003, beginning with the theme “Toward a Healing of Memories”, and concluding with a report entitled Called Together to be Peacemakers (CTBP). In the hope that, on the basis of that dialogue, Catholics and Mennonites may together offer suggestions for the World Council of Churches’ Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV), and especially in reference to the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) in 2011 with which it culminates, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Mennonite World Conference sponsored a brief conference 23–25 October 2007 in consultation with the DOV office. It took place at the Centro Pro Unione in Rome. As a result we now submit some theological reflections which Mennonites and Catholics, committed to overcoming violence, may affirm together as a witness to peace in the ecumenical context. We hope these reflections can be useful to others as preparation continues for the IEPC. We begin by identifying biblical and theological foundations of peace. These appear under the sub-headings of Creation, Christology, and Ecclesiology. Then follows a section on peace and discipleship. We conclude with some challenges and recommendations which might be considered as the focus of workshops at the IEPC.

    mennonite_and_catholic_contribution_to_dovDownload