*Revised
-
-
Global Anabaptist Peace Network -GAPN
Facilitated by the Peace Commission
Mennonite World Conference
Terms of Reference
Vision and Purpose of the GAPN
As Christians and members from the Anabaptist-Mennonite Family, we recognize that peace is at the very center of the Gospel, and that by witnessing to justice and peace (Just-Peace) we anticipate and participate in the already-inaugurated but yet-to-be-fulfilled Kingdom of God. As we seek to walk in the ways of peace, we need companions, fellow sojourners, to support us on the road, and we them. In doing so we can walk and journey together in witnessing to God’s Just-Peace.
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is a global communion comprised of 107-member churches from 57 countries around the world. These church bodies, which comprise approximately 10,000 local congregations, have produced much fruit – many peace-related organizations, programs, schools, training programs, research projects, activist-focused initiatives, activists, and scholars.
As an envisioned Global Anabaptist Peace Network (GAPN), we want to support and connect organizations and agencies that have emerged from and serve our church communion. Our hope is to foster an alternative consciousness – a consciousness of peace – as a witness to the realities and mechanisms of death and violence in the world. As such, we want to nurture an imagination built on the kingdom of God and it’s all encompassing and all-embracing vision of shalom.
In light of this, the GAPN seeks to becomes a space in which it is possible to:
- Walk in solidarity with and support one another as we pursue, promote, and build peace in the world;
- Have the fruit of our churches –i.e. the organizations, programs, schools, training programs, research projects, think-tanks, activist-focused initiatives, activists, and scholars – connected and to explore ways in which to walk with one another in mutually supportive, transformational, and interdependent ways;
- Strengthen the church and communities of peace and justice in our world and for the world;
- Create opportunities to explore the meaning (theological and philosophical) and impact (ethical and practical) of peace (i.e. shalom) as we seek to be a Peace Church in the world, which includes exploring and addressing the root causes of conflict, violence, injustice, and oppression;
- Strengthen our Anabaptist-Mennonite Christian identity and our peace consciousness.
Relation with Mennonite World Conference and the Peace Commission
The GAPN has grown in close relation with MWC, more specifically with the Peace Commission (PC). One key decision over time has been to translate this relationship into the structure: the GAPN is hosted and will be organized within the MWC’s coverture. In this framework, we see the PC as the entity/space representing and connecting the MWC members churches while the GAPN as a network oriented towards the different organizations that have emerged as result of the ministry of the churches, which in some cases are not members themselves of MWC or one of its existing networks. While the primary addresses of the PC and the GAPN are different, by rooting the GAPN in the PC (and more widely in MWC) we envision a way to sustain and/or re-connect the fruits of the Mennonite/Anabaptist “tree” to the “tree” itself (i.e., the church).
Structurally, this means that the PC will host the GAPN and seek to make the connections between the network, the other parts of MWC and, ultimately, the fellowship of churches. The fact that the GAPN is hosted by the Peace Commission and MWC does not mean limiting the action of the GAPN – especially if, as described, the goals of the network involve working with agencies and organization in multiple directions and levels – but rather grounding it.
Another way in which the MWC/Peace Commission and GAPN relation is translated into practice is by being able to use the opportunities offered by the MWC meetings (such as the Assembly, Commissions Meetings, and the MWC’s Networks meetings) to facilitate and promote face-to-face meetings of the GAPN.
Membership and Structure of the GAPN
- Facilitate the sharing of information and resources:
Share with one another urgent prayer and advocacy requests, news, stories, resources, perspectives, studies, expertise, and experiences of network members. This exchange may also include member related or driven opportunities for learning exchanges, internships, bursaries, funding, learning tours, and so forth, that may exist or arise.[2]Sharing in such a way would enable: - Membership Directory:
In order to promote the exchange between the different agencies and organizations, one key step is to develop a membership directory which responds to the needs of the GAPN. This means going beyond simply submitting or sharing “contact details” about different Anabaptist-Mennonite organizations. It would seek to explore the context and the kind of work in which organizations are involved. This will enable the members of the GAPN to explore and consider more concrete forms of exchange with other members. - Creating spaces:
In order to create interdependent relationships, we want to enable the creation of spaces whereby such connections, synergies, and friendships can emerge.
Guidelines for the GAPN
Given its vision, we have identified certain ways in which the GAPN should operate:
- The GAPN will focus on providing the infrastructure that supports and nourishes its members. This does not exclude encouraging urgent actions, campaigns and prayer requests, among others, that can be motivated from the network. Yet, at the center of the GAPN is the idea that the member organizations (and not the network) are at the center of the process. This can be done in different forms:
- The GAPN will seek to establish multidirectional engagement:
- Toward each other (other GAPN members).
- Toward MWC and MWC related churches.
- Toward other agencies outside of the Anabaptist-Mennonite family of faith.
- The GAPN will seek to foster spaces for interdependent relationship, building from the local to the global level. In this sense, the GAPN will seek to promote different levels of engagement:
- at a micro level (e.g., encouraging local/regional involvement and/or action, such as local gatherings, conferences, advocacy involvement, etc.).
- at a macro level (e.g., international relations; responding to political, economic, systemic realities; global gatherings, etc.).
- Every voice matters in the life of the GAPN: we want to make sure that the different voices are heard, acknowledged, and respected in the actions and processes of the GAPN. This implies that:
[1] This disposition that the GAPN will initially search for agency/organization as potential members does not mean that in the future some changes of could be possible, considering specifically the potential interest and involvement of persons/individuals. However, it was thought that initially working on the base of agencies and organizations as members would help the start and consolidation of the network. In the meantime, what could be considered is different forms of relationship, endorsement or support from individual or agencies, organization or churches (non-members) and the GAPN.
[2] Note that GAPN is not a funding organization. Our desire is to create opportunities for members themselves to share information about such funding opportunities as they exist, which is not granted by the GAPN itself.
-
Verse 1: Esuno Kokoro uchini (The heart of Jesus is reflected in my heart)
Verse 2: Esuno Heiwa uchini (I have the peace of Jesus in my heart).
Composer and performer:
Mitsuru Ishido is a church leader with Tokyo Chiku Menonaito Kyokai Rengo, an MWC member church in Japan.
-
The second workshop of this three-part series will look at current struggles of Indigenous Peoples and how MWC member churches and/or related organizations are walking with and standing in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples and their ongoing struggles.
Presenters: Andrew Suderman is MWC Peace Commission secretary and a member of St. Jacob’s Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church Canada) and of Shalom Mennonite Congregation (Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA). Joji Pantoja is MWC Peace Commission chair, a Mennonite Church Canada Witness worker in the Philippines and founding member of Peacebuilders Community Inc. Tala Bautista is a member of Peacebuilders Community Inc. in the Philippines. Wendy Kroeker is a member of Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and chair of GAPN. Katerina Friesen is a staff person at Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery (USA), a member of a Mennonite Church USA congregation, and pastor of a Wild Church. (hybrid)
Supporting document: Statement of solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
-
Indonesia 2022: workshop
This three-part series explores the document that the Mennonite World Conference General Council approved in Kenya 2018.
Presenters:
Andrew Suderman is MWC Peace Commission secretary and a member of St. Jacob’s Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church Canada) and of Shalom Mennonite Congregation (Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA).
Joji Pantoja is MWC Peace Commission chair, a Mennonite Church Canada Witness worker in the Philippines and founding member of Peacebuilders Community Inc.
Tala Bautista is a member of Peacebuilders Community Inc. in the Philippines.
Wendy Kroeker is a member of Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and chair of GAPN.
Katerina Friesen is a staff person at Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery (USA), a member of a Mennonite Church USA congregation, and pastor of a Wild Church. (hybrid)
The first workshop explores the MWC Declaration of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples document. It offers a glimpse into the background of this document, including the struggle of the Wounaan People and the way in which they, through their request, served as impetus for the crafting of this document. It also highlights the development of the document and the way it has been used thus far.
Indonesia 2022: workshop
The second workshop of this three-part series looks at current struggles of Indigenous Peoples and how MWC member churches and/or related organizations are walking with and standing in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples and their ongoing struggles.
-
In the world today there are still some countries that have mandatory military conscription, and there is a wide variety of policies toward conscientious objectors. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 18) states that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. In addition to the Christian foundation for exemption from military service expressed in this document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides a legal framework for protecting conscience against war.
Our hope and desire is for these provisions to be made accessible to all members of society who for reasons of conscience cannot take part in military service or training.
-
Dhuh Pangeran / Oh Prince of Peace
by Saptojoadi Sardjono
-
“Give us each day our daily bread”
Across the globe, more than 41 million people – around half of them children – are now at risk of starvation in 43 countries. The global hunger crisis is driven by conflict, by climate change; and by the economic impacts of COVID-19. Even in countries where some have an abundance of food, many people are lacking the basics.
Mennonite World Conference is working with a large group of Christian churches and networks to launch a weekend of prayer and action 16-17 October 2021. This will coincide with World Food Day on 16 October.
Global church and network partners include ACT Alliance, Integral Alliance, Lutheran World Federation, Micah Global, Organization of African Instituted Churches, Salvation Army, World Council of Churches, World Evangelical Alliance, World Methodist Council and World Vision International.
It will be a time for us, as followers of Christ, to unite across denominations in solidarity with our sisters and brothers, praying for them and with them, so that they can live their lives without hunger, with dignity, in all life’s fullness, experiencing the grace and love of God.
During the course of the weekend, we invite our members to share a meal with other families and individuals, offer your prayers for those who are hungry, and reflect on the causes and impacts of hunger.
On Sunday, 17 October 2021, we encourage local congregations to focus on this global hunger crisis in their Sunday service.
Click on the resources below.
-
Brokenness into glory
Kintsukuroi, a traditional Japanese technique, involves repairing ceramics with lacquer and gold, embracing damage as part of an object’s history instead of concealing or discarding it.
This process entails identifying broken areas and delicately mending them with precious gold, resulting in unique pieces that blend brokenness with magnificence, elevating its value and beauty.
In the realm of international relations, unfairness and injustice can escalate into conflicts and wars, fracturing families due to lack of respect and consideration. By engaging in dialogue akin to a potter assessing broken angles, and addressing wounds with love, understanding, tolerance, and compassion, relationships can be restored, and peace can prevail.
The transformation of brokenness into glory signifies a shift where imperfections no longer denote flaws but rather symbolize growth and resilience. The incorporation of gold highlights the beauty within brokenness, enhancing its value and significance.
During Peace Sunday, a symbolic act involving a paper tree was carried out, where individuals identified their “potters” whom they would turn to for support during challenging times. This fostered a culture of love and kindness among participants.
Despite the existence of conflicts, divisions and injustices globally, there remains a pathway toward peace and healing by embodying the role of the potter in the hands of the Father, treating others with love and compassion akin to gold filling cracks to enhance beauty and wholeness.
Individuals can contribute to a more harmonious and interconnected world.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Through your gentle touch, we can experience your precious healing. Our imperfections are treated with special honour.
Father, please help us to be sensitive to people’s wounds. Through your grace and gifts, may we embody your love, empathy and compassion.
We are willing to meet the needs of others.
Grant us the courage to embrace our brokenness, receive healing and reveal your glory through our wounds.
Thank you, Father. You are Jehovah Rapha. Your healing brings us unity and peace.
In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
—Wincy Wan is a member of the Peace Commission. She is a pastor of a Mennonite church in Hong Kong.
Clay in God’s hands
Kari Traoré in Burkina Faso. Photo: Siaka Traoré Kintsukuroi, the practice of creating or recreating from broken pottery led my thoughts toward Jeremiah who was sent by the Lord to go to a potter’s house.
When Jeremiah got there, he noticed that “Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.”
Then the message of God was: “Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done? says the LORD. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:4,6 NAB)
The Lord’s message to Jeremiah is that God does whatever God wants, sometimes according to a human’s attitude.
Unfortunately, because of our stubbornness, we often invert roles, considering ourselves God and God the clay.
That’s what we can understand in Isaiah 29:15-17: “Your perversity is as though the potter were taken to be the clay: As though what is made should say of its maker, “He made me not!” Or the vessel should say of the potter, “He does not understand.”
Somehow the apostle Paul shared this idea when he said: “Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for a noble purpose and another for an ignoble one? What if God, wishing to show his wrath and make known his power, has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction?” (Romans 9:21-22).
Let’s give to the Lord the direction of our lives.
Prayer
Oh Lord, break in me what is not yours and rebuild me according to what you want me to be, in order to glorify your name!
—Kari Traoré is a member of the Peace Commission. He is a pastor of a Mennonite church in Burkina Faso.
-
Peace Sunday 2024 Teaching resource
Reading Scripture has always been at the heart of the church’s life, but from early on, different ways of reading and understanding have led to conflict and division.
What is Scripture?
Already in the early centuries several movements arose with differing claims about the meaning of the Gospel and how to understand Scripture. In the 2nd century, Marcion (c. 85-160 CE) refused to recognize the Scripture of the Jewish people, writings which Christians had used from the beginning. He founded a new and large church which used only Marcion’s edited canon of Paul’s epistles and the Gospel of Luke. During this same period, Gnosticism was making headway, denying the Incarnation and claiming the true knowledge came from the “secrets” of “those who know”, and composing their own Gospels.
Irenaeus was born around 140 in Asia Minor, moved to Lyon (in today’s France) where he became bishop. As part of his ministry, he wrote to argue against Marcion and the Gnostics. Irenaeus recognized the challenge represented in trying to make sense of the many narratives in Jewish Scripture, which the church interpreted in the light of our Gospels and many epistles that were also commonly accepted as Scripture during this time, since the New Testament as we now know it was not yet finalized.
A king or a fox?
One way that Ireneaus dealt with this question was to describe Scripture as a mosaic. He used the image of the Bible as a beautiful image of a king, constructed by a skillful artist out of precious jewels. What happened with other readings such as those of Marcion or the Gnostics was to take the mosaic apart, reshuffling the pieces so that the final image was no longer a king, but something else, such as a fox.
In Irenaeus’s mind, the king was of course Jesus. The bishop of Lyon was part of the church when it was still a persecuted minority and had not aligned itself with the political power of the Roman empire. In this context, king Jesus was not like the Roman Caeser, but the nonviolent Christ of the Gospels, much the same as in the Anabaptist tradition.
Along with other theologians of this period, Irenaeus understood the incarnation as a profound reflection of God’s nature, the God whose self-giving love on the cross and resurrection redeemed humanity from captivity to Satan who used violence to keep humanity imprisoned. For Irenaeus, the mosaic of Scripture, i.e., its proper reading, was to point to this Jesus and not to another; not to change the king into a fox. His theology has continued to influence the church up until today. In 2022, for example, Pope Francis attributed to Irenaeus the title of “doctor of unity.”
Irenaeus’s solution of course did not solve the problem. Differing readings of Scripture persisted. During this same period the early church recognized that guideposts were necessary for this kind of reading of Scripture.
Rules to guide
These guideposts were called “rules of faith,” and Scripture was to be interpreted in line with the guideposts. They left a lot of room for discussion, but also set limits beyond which the king would become a fox. The first rules of faith were formulated in reaction to Marcion and Gnosticism, and the process has gone on ever since.
Mennonite World Conference’s understanding of the “king” in the mosaic is close to that of Irenaeus. Jesus, who announced God’s kingdom and was crucified as the “king of the Jews”, taught and lived nonviolence. His acceptance of death on a cross corresponded to his rejection of hatred and vengeance, his resurrection signaled the defeat of death and evil.
Unfortunately, throughout her history, the church has sometimes turned the “king” into a “fox,” using Scripture to construe a Jesus who called Christians to fight and to make war. The Anabaptist movement reacted to these restructurings of the mosaic.
Shared Convictions
In more recent times, MWC member churches together produced guideposts to the reading of Scripture which are called “Shared Convictions.” The fourth of these seven convictions recognizes the importance of Scripture.
As a faith community, we accept the Bible as our authority for faith and life, interpreting it together under Holy Spirit guidance, in the light of Jesus Christ to discern God’s will for our obedience.
The fifth conviction depicts an understanding of Jesus close to that of the early church.
The Spirit of Jesus empowers us to trust God in all areas of life so we become peacemakers who renounce violence, love our enemies, seek justice, and share our possessions with those in need.
Ireneaus described the mosaic of Scripture as a “collection of jewels”. But the narratives that come to us in the Bible tell of much brokenness. Brokenness of relationships, between humanity and God, between humans, as well as humanity’s relationship with nature. The “jewels” of Scripture tell stories of a broken world, of violence, of rejection and abuse.
But the real jewel is the narrative of God’s faithfulness, God’s determination to make things right, through self-giving love. God, in Christ, is taking the broken aspects of our lives and of the world and working to make things right, to reconcile. To that, we are called to witness, through deed and word and through our common life as a global fellowship.
The seventh shared conviction reflects this project of reconciliation and healing and incorporates it into the life of our communities.
As a world-wide community of faith and life we transcend boundaries of nationality, race, class, gender and language. We seek to live in the world without conforming to the powers of evil, witnessing to God’s grace by serving others, caring for creation, and inviting all people to know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
To transcend these boundaries, we must be aware of the narratives of brokenness in Scripture and in our lives that God is redeeming through self-giving love. Then the mosaic of the world-wide fellowship is comprised of brokenness turned into jewels.
—Neil Blough is former director of the Paris Mennonite Centre and professor emeritus of church history at Faculté Libre de Théologie Évangélique Vaux-sur-Seine, France.
-
2 Corinthians 4:7 describes the gospel as a “treasure” in “clay jars.”
These humble vessels bring to mind the Japanese tradition of kintsukuroi that creates (or recreates) pottery from broken pieces. Damaged vessels are put back together, often with gold binding, to create a useful object once again.
The new piece tells a story about the past and is infused with glory that is greater than the former, as in Haggai 2:9.
As a community, try out this form of art.
- Go throughout your neighbourhood, collecting rubbish, and cleaning up.
- Find broken vessels (e.g., dishes or vases).
- Clean the broken items that can be reused.
- Work together to piece them back together, not into what they were but to create (or recreate) something new and beautiful.
Photo: Andrew Suderman For example, see the pictured cross constructed from broken clay jars. Iglesia Cristiana Menonita Centre de Fe, Anolaima, built this park “Igleparque” in their town about 2 hours’ drive from Bogotá. It is open to the public. Church members guide visitors through to view its many features and to share the message of the gospel.
With permission, send your story and photo to photo@mwc-cmm.org to share with the global Anabaptist family.
Peace Sunday 2024 – worship resource
