Prayers of gratitude and intercession

On the morning of 7 November 2013, Regina Mondez, along with most people of the Philippines, was anxiously tracking the radar images of a massive storm heading directly toward them. Even before super typhoon Haiyan slammed into the islands of the central Philippines, with wind speeds approaching 200 miles per hour, she and other members of Peace Church, a small house fellowship in Manila supported by Mennonite Church Canada Witness, were thinking about how they would need to respond.

When the typhoon made landfall several hours later, the destruction of the storm’s wind, rain, and tidal surge defied description. In addition to the 6,000 reported fatalities, an estimated 14 million people, including 1.8 million children, were displaced by the storm, with hundreds of villages devastated and a major city, Tacloban, nearly completely destroyed. As the Filipino government struggled to respond, millions of people in the region – living without power, shelter, food, water or security – grew increasingly desperate.

By all objective measures, the Mennonite presence in the Philippines is tiny. As the world’s twelfth most populated country, the Philippines is home to nearly 100 million citizens – 80% of them Catholic. Mennonites, by contrast, number a mere 1,000 souls: around 200 from the Church of God in Christ, Mennonites; another 150 affiliated with various conservative or plain fellowships; and the rest associated with the Integrated Mennonite Churches (IMC), whose 21 congregations are scattered around the central island of Luzon, a region not directly affected by the recent storm.

Yet Regina and the volunteers from Peace Church were undeterred. Within a few days, they joined a team organized by PeaceBuilders Community, and headed for the city of Ormoc on Leyte island. There, working closely with local pastors, they helped to establish a network for the efficient distribution of relief assistance that was just beginning to arrive.

Regina Mondez is the face of a new generation of Mennonites in the global church. In the early 1980s, her parents joined the Conservative Mennonite church in Lumban, attracted by its biblical emphasis on peace and a strong sense of community. Though the family eventually left that congregation, frustrated by its restrictions on education, Regina recalls the church as her “second home – it was my family.”

During her studies at the University of the Philippines, Regina became more aware of the deep-seated realities of poverty and injustice in her country, and dedicated herself to working for social and political reforms. Immediately after completing a degree in Development Communication, she moved to the island of Mindanao, a region devastated by poverty and decades of guerilla warfare and inter-religious violence.

For the next two years, she worked as a volunteer with PeaceBuilders Community, an organization supported by Mennonite Church Canada Witness, that has trained hundreds of local pastors and village leaders in the basic principles of conflict transformation and restorative justice.

That experience restored in Regina a deep appreciation for the Mennonite church and the theological roots of her peacemaking activities. “I had a weak grasp of Anabaptist teachings growing up,” Regina said. “But as I heard peace advocates, government workers, and even military officers express appreciation for the Mennonite witness to peace, my understandings of faith began to deepen.”

For the past three years, Regina has served as IMC’s national coordinator, supporting the work of the Board of Trustees and Board of Bishops. She is a charter member of Peace Church, a newly established congregation in Global City, Manila that is bringing a vigorous peace witness to the heart of Manila’s military and political establishment. In 2010, Regina wrote a history of the Mennonite church in the Philippines as a chapter in the Asia volume of the MWC Global Mennonite History series; and she currently is serving as the Research Associate for the MWC Global Anabaptist Profile in her country. Regina, who also has a full-time job, is 23-years-old!

In recent decades, the Mennonite church in the Philippines has suffered a number of divisions that have left some of the young people disillusioned. “I want to help our church become a family that is not divided by culture or ethnicity,” Regina reflected. “I want to help our church live out its understanding of the gospel in a more powerful way.” She dreams one day of helping to establish an Anabaptist school in the Philippines “that would enable IMC to develop more leaders who are reliant, efficient and successful without losing the particularity of their cultural or ethnic identity.”

The magnitude of the challenges facing the small Mennonite churches in the Philippines – whether that be disaster relief, peacebuilding, or church renewal – can seem overwhelming. But I am inspired by the witness of Regina Mondez. Pray for her, and the community she represents. Pray for Darnell and Christina Barkman, pastors of Peace Church; pray for the leaders of the Integrated Mennonite Church; pray for the work of PeaceBuilders Community in Mindanao; and pray for the people of the Philippines, devastated by typhoon Haiyan, who are searching for hope and a future amidst the rubble.

Article by John D. Roth of Goshen, Indiana. Roth teaches history at Goshen College and is also secretary of the Mennonite World Conference Faith and Life Commission. This article was first published in The Mennonite, 1 January, 2014.

YABs take the stage at PA 2015 and set plans for their future

They have a relatively short history, but their voices at PA 2015 were arresting and incisive.

In fact, the Young Anabaptists’ presentations throughout the morning worship at the Assembly caused some of the most spirited conversation at the Farm Show Complex (FSC) and were shared and discussed extensively on social media and beyond.

Known as YABs, these representatives of young people in Mennonite World Conference (MWC) member churches told the truth in unmistakably clear language. They asked strong questions. They were inspirational in their convictions.

This was not by chance. The members of the YABs Committee, who provide leadership for YABs activities and their mission, are a disciplined, seasoned group. Average age: 28½.

The YABs started in 2003 just before the MWC Assembly in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. More than 220 young people (ages 18–30+) from 28 countries gathered for the first Global Youth Summit (GYS), designed for fellowship and networking.

The get-together was so satisfying and so stretching for those who came that the young leaders asked that a second GYS be planned.

Elina Ciptadi-Perkins of Indonesia says, “While we were together in Bulawayo, we called for ongoing representation within MWC. We wanted to create a leadership group of five young people to initiate and implement our presence, with one representative each from Latin America, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.”

Ciptadi-Perkins, a delegate in 2003 from the GKMI national Mennonite conference in Indonesia, was appointed leader of the group, known then as the Amigos.

The third GYS, which more than 400 attended, was held at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, USA, 17–19 July 2015, just before the MWC Assembly in Harrisburg. Following the events, Ciptadi-Perkins, still a strong advocate for the YABs, reflected with two current members of the YABs leadership committee, Rodrigo Pedroza of Mexico and Marc Pasqués of Spain and Australia, about the YABs today.

“We came more prepared than ever to the 2015 GYS. We had surveyed young adults in our individual countries. Their requests and wishes guided our worship, our seminars, our games and our down time while we were together,” says Pedroza.

But the YABs also came prepared to the Assembly which followed at the FSC. “In Zimbabwe in 2003, we young people were given a verse to read in the main sessions. In the past, people saw us youngs as ‘creative’ and ‘full of energy…. Maybe they could do some music.’ But here at PA 2015, YABs had a key part in every single morning of the Assembly,” says Ciptadi-Perkins.

“People now see we have the gift of discernment and critical thinking. We want to work together with our older sisters and brothers. Now it’s becoming a dialogue,” she says.

In some countries, YABs carry major church responsibilities. “Half of the ministers in Mexico are young people,” says Pedroza, chair of the YABs Committee and one of the morning speakers at PA 2015. “The Mennonite churches in Mexico have abandoned bureaucracy, so young people are quite involved.

“In my country, Anabaptism’s ideals have been lost generation by generation. Our older leaders haven’t been teaching it, favouring instead a charismatic approach and Pentecostalism,” says Pedroza. We’re helping to put Anabaptism into practice and discovering its freshness.”

Marc Pasqués was first invited to be a YABs delegate at the second GYS held in Paraguay in 2009. “Marc’s national church conference was affirmed as a member of MWC just before the Assembly in Paraguay,” remembers Ciptadi-Perkins. “In addition to Marc’s evident skills, we invited him as encouragement to his conference to immediately be connected to the global church.”

The YABs Committee includes one representative from each of the five continents, plus the MWC staff mentor. Members who completed a term at PA 2015 are Rodrigo Pedroza, Mexico; Tigist Tesfaye Gelagle, Ethiopia; Sumana Basumata, India; Marc Pasqués, Spain/Australia; Lani Prunés, US; and Ayub Omondi, Kenya, as mentor.

YABs leaders have had unusual vision from the group’s very beginning. “Our first team planted the seeds about how we young people could contribute to MWC,” says Ciptadi-Perkins.

“Our second team met with different official groups within MWC, explained who we are and what our gifts are, and asked for greater collaboration. This was our penetration stage. We wanted to go beyond token participation. “Since Paraguay, we’ve been putting together our blueprint.”

“We’ve always had a strong desire to network and fellowship. Many of us had email, but back then, not many in the Global South had regular access. This past reality is changing now.”

Pedroza continues, “Now we are threading those deep interests through the projects we are creating since they are a key part of our blueprint.”

“Our projects are for the people we represent, but also for younger people who want to be connected. In smaller churches around the world, age distinctions aren’t as important,” says Tigist Gelagle. “We are designing specific activities for them to do, while at the same time, exposing them to each other’s worlds. And through it all will be the great reminder: ‘You belong to a bigger family. You are not alone.’

“We’re preparing teaching materials for the book of Acts. It will be a Bible study that examines the text. But it will also weave in an explanation of Anabaptism. And it will show how to integrate Anabaptist understandings of the Bible into one’s culture.”

The YABs Committee has also been giving careful attention to its own growth as leaders. Ciptadi-Perkins says, “When we began, we needed a lot of ‘envisioning.’ We didn’t have experience being part of multicultural groups and settings. We had tensions that could

have been avoided had we been forewarned. Some MWC leaders helped us, but none was specifically assigned to give us this kind of guidance.

“So after the GYS in Paraguay, we decided to bring two members from the previous committee to the new team to talk about personal communication styles, and to help us understand each other better so we could avoid wasting time and energy in conflict.

“We also named a mentor from an earlier YABs Committee who would give us tools for organizing ourselves and our work. We have learned that the mentor role is very important.”

“We do not want to be the future of the church anymore,” says Pedroza emphatically. “We want to be the present church. They finally believe in us. They trust us. We need to use this opportunity to be listened to – wisely.

“We need to continue to be respectful of each other. We are different. We think differently. But we need each other. For example, we must keep our peace convictions alive, especially when we’re at home and not together.”

“My prayer,” says Ciptadi-Perkins, “is that young people don’t become complacent. Things could now seem easy since we were taken seriously at PA 2015. I hope this doesn’t become ‘expected without work and effort.’”

– Phyllis Pellman Good is a writer and editor from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA.

This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier October 2015

Young Anabaptists-to-be had their own programming during Assembly to explore the theme “walking with God” in sessions for children and teenagers. Photo: Jonathan Charles

Click on the photo to see the high resolution version.

New York, USA – Juan Sebastián Pacheco Lozano is uniquely qualified for his position as the International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP) participant serving as the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) intern at Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) United Nations Office this year.

From 2011 to 2013, Pacheco Lozano learned about how to address issues of violence, poverty and oppression as one of 10 national and international participants in MCC’s Seed program in Colombia.

Twenty-six year-old Pacheco Lozano, a member of Teusaquillo Mennonite Church in Bogotá, partnered with Mennonite Brethren churches in Colombia and with grassroots, nonprofit organizations.

Pacheco Lozano says the Seed program enabled him to learn from and collaborate with people from diverse political, theological and cultural backgrounds and taught him how church communities can be positive forces for change in their local contexts.

Now he’s bringing all that experience he gained at the local level to the global arena.

At the UN, Pacheco Lozano is working on issues that directly impact his fellow Colombians, including mining safety, water quality and sanitation, as well as issues that reflect the priorities of MCC’s global partners in other regions of the world.

“Our IVEPers help bring the voice of the Global South to our work at the UN,” says Doug Hostetter, director of the MCC UN office. “They bring a passion for peace and justice work rooted in their local contexts.”

UN office interns are drawn from congregations of MWC member churches in Latin America, Africa and Asia. MCC is currently accepting applications for an intern from Asia for the 2017–2018 term.

Pacheco Lozano said one highlight of his work at the UN so far was the chance to hear Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos speak at the UN General Assembly in September 2015 about the peace process between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group.

Pacheco Lozano listened with a renewed sense of hope as his country’s president described new advances in the process and declared, “Colombia is on the path to peace.”

For IVEP participant (2008–2009) Tigist Tesfaye Gelagle, serving at MCC’s UN office helped shape her career and encouraged her to pursue leadership roles in the MWC community.

Returning home to Ethiopia, she has served with international nonprofit organizations, including Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). Inspired by her experience at the UN, she earned a master’s degree in economic development in 2013 and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in biblical studies and theology.

She served as the African representative for MWC’s Young Anabaptists committee (2011–2015) and is now a mentor for the current committee. She was a featured Young Anabaptist speaker at Pennsylvania 2015.

Article by Rachel Sommer, MCC

A Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee joint release.

South American Mennonite youth build friendships across borders

Cartagena, Chile – When talking about the sea and border problems between Chile and Bolivia, it is common to hear derogatory and xenophobic comments that mirror patriotic ideas, and which appeal to conflicts that have existed for more than a hundred years. The 19th-century War of the Pacific resulted in Bolivia becoming a landlocked nation and losing their seaport to Chile.

This situation is also promoted by the attitude of governments that, far from encouraging peace, make political use of it. As a consequence, we see a sense of hatred emerging toward the Bolivian people. This hatred takes control over the relations in which people enter in Chile, a country receiving an increasing number of immigrants.

As Chilean Mennonite youth leaders shared their experiences meeting other Mennonites at Mennonite World Conference Assembly in Paraguay and Southern Cone meetings in Bolivia, this led to the idea of organizing a camp to give Paraguayan and Bolivian youth the chance to visit the sea for the first time in their lives. Paraguay and Bolivia are both landlocked countries. With that idea in their hearts and minds, people worked in different ways for more than a year in order to achieve this objective which they called Proyecto A-Mar. In Spanish, the word “amar” means “to love,” and “a mar” means “to the sea.” This double meaning was fulfilled by hosting the retreat near the sea while focusing on the theme of love. As a tangible expression of love, Chilean youth raised funds to cover some of the costs for international participants.

Organizer Fabián Díaz, youth pastor at Iglesia Evangélica Menonita de Chile (Evangelical Mennonite Church of Chile), was invited to participate in the Global Youth Summit (GYS) in July 2015. What he shared motivated participants from Colombia to join the retreat as well. Every night, the youth from different countries would share about their churches and cultures in creative ways.

“Through our lived experiences, we had the opportunity to make friendships with young adult brothers and sisters and pastors from different countries,” says Diaz. “There are such different realities even though we are from nearby countries; that is why we decided to travel and meet on location.”

Proyecto: A-Mar was finally carried out at Lyon’s School in Cartagena, Chile, 25–31 January 2016, with Mennonite youth coming from Bolivia, Paraguay and Colombia, as well as Linda Shelly from Mennonite Mission Network, and Chilean-Canadian pastor Jorge Vallejos, who assists the church in Chile.

Proyecto: A-Mar was a pleasant and unforgettable experience for the participants, not only because they achieved the goal they initially set, but also because love was the main theme throughout the whole camp, and that was reflected in the friendships and the multicultural environment individuals created, as well as in the empathy shown toward the different experiences and realities of each person.

“We have experienced the love that we have both for Chile and Bolivia, and it has been one of the best experiences that we have had,” said participant Gabriela Hurtado from Bolivia, “to see that neither of us have a border and no limits exist for God’s love.”

After seeing each other as brothers and sisters despite the borders that artificially divide us, and after forgiving each other for the harm produced in our hearts by a war that took place more than a hundred years ago, these Mennonite youth were able to worship God and fellowship with each other as one nation. Youth from the following MWC member churches participated in this reconciliation-building retreat:

• Iglesia Evangélica Menonita de Chile (Evangelical Mennonite Church of Chile)
• Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Boliviana (Evangelical Mennonite Church of Bolivia)
• Iglesia Cristiana Menonita de Colombia (Christian Mennonite Church of Colombia)
• Convención Evangélica Menonita Paraguaya (Evangelical Mennonite Convention of Paraguay)
• Convención Evangélica de Iglesias Paraguayas Hermanos Menonitas (Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Churches Convention of Paraguay).

Learning to love the way God expects from us is the teaching and challenge received in hearts at Proyecto: A-Mar 2016.

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7 NRSV)

Daniela Solis is a young adult from Evangelical Mennonite Church of Chile who participated in the Proyecto A-Mar retreat to build relationships between youth from South American countries that have a history of political hostility. A joint release of Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite World Conference.

Experiencing the sea on a boat. Photo: Einar Cavero, Bolivia. Photo: Linda Shelly

Click on the photo to see the high resolution version.

Sang-Min Lee freed after 15 months in jail for refusing mandatory military conscription

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – Sang-Min Lee, a South Korean Mennonite conscientious objector (CO) has been released from prison. Lee was sentenced to 18 months in prison for refusing, on the basis of his faith, to complete the government’s mandatory military service.

According to a report from Kyong-Jung Kim, Lee was freed on 30 July 2015, after serving only 15 months of his sentence. Kim is Mennonite World Conference Northeast Asia representative and director of the Korea Anabaptist Center, a ministry of the Anabaptist churches of South Korea.

“It was the power of our prayers that enabled Sang-Min to endure the hardship of his prison life,” said Kim in an email correspondence announcing Lee’s release.

Kim explained that Lee was released three months early because of his service work while in prison. “He worked as a barber,” Kim said. “He was relatively well treated by others because of his work but, more importantly, he was in our prayers all the time.”

Robert (Jack) Suderman, secretary of the MWC Peace Commission, expressed gratitude for Lee’s faithful witness in the midst of a difficult situation. “His story was an inspiration at the MWC Assembly in Pennsylvania this year,” Suderman said.

Global Youth Summit participants were particularly inspired and reportedly filled a book of encouragement notes for Lee.

Kim notes that although Lee is no longer imprisoned, his refusal to accept the South Korean government’s military service will have lingering consequences. Lee now has a criminal record, which will prevent him from finding employment at many businesses and in government-related offices.

In addition, he faces the challenge of rejection by those who do not support conscientious objection, which includes many Korean Christians, who do not see military service as incompatible with their faith.

Because of its strictly enforced mandatory military service with no option for alternate service for COs, South Korea has the highest CO imprisonment rate in the world. In 2013, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council reported that 92.5 percent of the world’s imprisoned COs are in South Korea.

Most South Korean COs are Jehovah’s Witnesses; Lee is the first Mennonite CO in the country.

“Please continue to remember the rest of COs who are in prison,” urged Kim, “and pray for the Korean churches’ active participation in non-violence and the peace movement.”

– Devin Manzullo-Thomas

GOSHEN, Indiana, USA — When 27-year-old SangMin Lee, a Mennonite conscientious objector from South Korea, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, the global Mennonite church community provided support in the form of letters and prayers. In early December 2015, Lee spoke with supporters at the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism and Goshen College and at College Mennonite Church, Goshen, Indiana, USA.

Lee, who was released from prison in July, said being a conscientious objector in South Korea helped him to understand and practice peace “in a more concrete and tangible way.”

Lee spoke in Korean, with translation by Goshen resident SeongHan Kim.

After growing up in a Christian home and attending a Christian college, Lee came across conscientious objection in an article in 2007.

“The article talked about how God so loved the world,” said Lee, “but then I asked myself, ‘How can we care for each other in the name of God?’

“I began to ask myself, ‘Can I kill someone?’

“In South Korea, it’s military or prison,” says Lee. The only alternative service option requires weeks of military training and service in the reserves.

Some 660 conscientious objectors– nearly 93 percent of imprisoned COs worldwide – are jailed each year in South Korea.

It took seven years for Lee to go through the conviction process after refusing military service. He needed Christian support to continue in his struggle, so in 2009, Lee transferred to Grace and Peace Mennonite Church, Seoul, South Korea, who eventually reached out to the global community for support.

MWC Commission members John D. Roth (Faith & Life) and Jenny Neme (Peace), directors of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism (which runs the Bearing Witness Stories Project) and Justapaz (a Colombian Mennonite peace and human rights organization), respectively, organized a letter-writing campaign.

In the months leading up to his trial, Mennonite World Conference circulated Lee’s story, and letters came rushing in.

The letters that meant the most to Lee were the ones sent to him through Justapaz from conscientious objectors in Colombia.

“Receiving their support and encouragement was very moving,” Lee said.

A ‘simple answer’

On 30 July 2015, Lee was released three months earlier than planned. However, his prison conviction has closed off professional pathways. Lee studied childhood education but will not be able to find work as a teacher. He hopes to find work as a mechanic at a bike shop in Seoul.

“The relationship with my parents has been the most difficult,”?Lee said. “In Korean culture, the relationship between kids and parents is very strong. My parents expressed anger and harsh words at first, but they have come to better understand and appreciate my view on what it means to follow Christ.”

“I’m trying to live a normal life, find a more simple answer to how to live,” he said. “I try to be thankful for every day and make each day as important as the last.”

—by Madeline Birky, originally published in the Mennonite World Review. Used with permission.

Bogota, Colombia – Five new young adults have been appointed to represent young people from their continental regions in Mennonite World Conference (MWC) on the Young AnaBaptists (YABs) Committee.

Makadunyiswe Doublejoy Ngulube (Zimbabwe), Ebenezer Mondez (Philippines), Jantine Huisman (Netherlands), Dominik Bergen Klassen (Paraguay), and Larissa Swartz (USA) will have their first meeting as the new YABs committee from 12-19 February 2016 alongside the MWC Executive Committee meeting in Indonesia.

The YABs Committee consists of five continental representatives chosen primarily from the most recent GYS delegates. The committee member terms start after the Global Youth Summit (GYS) 2015 and go until the next GYS in 2021 with the possibility of midway replacement due to relocation, study, family or work commitments.

The previous YABs committee, who finished their term after GYS 2015, consisted of Tigist Tesfaye Gelagle (Ethiopia), Sumana Basumata (India), Marc Pasqués (Spain), Rodrigo Pedroza García (Mexico), Lani Prunés (United States), and Ayub Omondi (Kenya) as the YABs mentor.

Tigist Gelagle will be transitioning to the role of YABs mentor, guiding the new committee as they begin their service. “I’m looking forward to work with the new YABs committee,” says Gelagle. She’s excited “to help them by sharing my YABs experience and also to support them in their work of the Kingdom of God by making the blueprint (the YABs guiding document) reality.”

The YABs committee represents the YABs Network, which includes all young people in Anabaptist churches. The committee works to strengthen Anabaptist identity among young people and to build and develop connections among youth and young adult groups in the global family through social media. The YABs committee will also plan GYS 2021 in Indonesia.

The YABs committee and network build on the work of an earlier MWC youth committee called AMIGOS, which worked from 2004 to 2009 and planned the 2009 Global Youth Summit. Based on this experience, a Youth Task Force was formed to develop a blueprint for formal youth involvement in MWC. This was adopted by the MWC Executive Committee in 2010 and the Youth Task Force was replaced by the first Young Anabaptist (YABs) Committee.

Click here to see the Blueprint for Young Anabaptist Network in MWC.

—MWC Release

 

A glimpse of Assembly 2015, a glimpse of God’s intention to bring peoples together, a calling for one multicultural congregation

“We should do this again!” commented a Hmong young adult, a sentiment heard often after Kitchener First Mennonite Church’s Assembly Scattered weekend in early October 2015.

Nearly 60 youth, children and adults from the congregation were privileged to gather with almost 8,000 Anabaptist believers from 77 countries in July at the Mennonite World Conference assembly in Harrisburg, Pa. Those who went wanted to share the experience with the home crowd.

With the support of many volunteers and a generous estate gift, the rest of the congregation got to experience a bit of that multicultural worship, service, play and sharing food together with guests from other congregations, including Hmong, Eritrean and South Sudanese brothers and sisters in Christ.

During the afternoon of Oct. 3, First’s space buzzed with Hmong and Swiss and Russian Mennonite men and women comforter-knotting together. South Asian women did henna artistry on the hands of Colombian girls. Eritrean girls served Hmong spring rolls. Central Americans and long-time Canadians of European heritage packed 406 hygiene kits for Mennonite Central Committee. A diversity of children enjoyed craft activities. At a nearby school, players braved the rain for a local version of the “Anabaptist World Cup.” A world feast included main dishes prepared by Hmong, Eritrean, Colombian and South Sudanese participants, accompanied by potluck sharing by all. As at the precedent-setting “green” assembly, meals were served on fully compostable dinnerware.

The assembly experience was also shared at First Mennonite through photos and videos, well-attended story-telling sessions from a variety of ages and perspectives, and singing.

After the potluck supper, the worship space filled with music from around the world and people from at least a half-dozen countries joined in heartfelt praise to God in a variety of languages and took up an offering for Mennonite World Conference.

The morning worship on Oct. 4 echoed the assembly format by including music from the global church, greetings from other denominations (Mennonite Brethren and Brethren in Christ), and a pairing of older and younger adults of two different cultures for the message on community and autonomy, one of the assembly’s themes.

This originally appeared in Canadian Mennonite, and was posted here on 18 November 2015: http://www.canadianmennonite.org/stories/%E2%80%98we-should-do-again%E2%…

By Rebecca Yoder Neufeld, First Mennonite Church, Ontario, Canada

*Join with the global Anabaptist family as we continue to celebrate the PA 2015 theme, Walking with God, through World Fellowship Sunday in January, 2016. Click here to see resources for your congregation.

Noramy Gonzalía, right, paints the face of Yiseth Sierra at Kitchener First Mennonite Church’s Assembly Scattered celebration on Oct. 3. (Photo by Dennis Burkhardt)

GYS hears the challenges of the Mennonite church in Ukraine

More than a year ago, Crimea – a Russian-speaking province on the south of Ukraine – was taken over by Russia through some military actions and a referendum. The conflict has since expanded to parts of eastern Ukraine, where more than 6,000 people have been killed after a year of fighting.

One of the Anabaptist churches in Ukraine is Molochansk Mennonite Church, located just three hours’ drive away from the battle region. Four members of this church were in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, to attend Mennonite World Conference’s Assembly 16.

Molochansk Mennonite Church has been doing what they can to ease the burdens of the affected people. They regularly send food to people near the battlefront and provide counselling to people traumatized by the violence.

However, while the Mennonites are now safe from harm, this conflict has politically divided the nation where Russian speakers and Ukrainian speakers used to live harmoniously.

“We have seen churches where the pro-Russian and the anti-Russian members won’t have communion with each other,” Utkin said. “Pastors are facing challenges in leading their divided members.”

“It has been amazing to directly see the support we are getting from the global community represented in GYS. Please continue to pray for our country. For us, to live is to establish the Kingdom of God, and your prayer mean a great deal to us,” Molochansk Mennonite Church pastor Alexey Makaiov stated.

How you can pray for Ukraine:

• Pray for God-inspired wisdom for Ukrainian pastors so they continue to speak truth and peace
• Pray for protection for the people displaced by the conflict.
• Pray for safety and healing in the communities affected by violence.
• Pray for unity among the Christians, so they continue to be salt and light regardless of the challenges they face.

—Elina Ciptadi-Perkins

Update:

Ukrainian Mennonite churches pray that they will continue to serve according to the gospel. “In spite of the fact that it is difficult, our Mennonite brothers and sisters don’t stop. In November, we plan to open a church in the city of Berdiansk [not far from the conflict zone],” says Alexey Makaiov via email. He indicates that New Hope Church in Zaporozhye continues to expand its vocational training opportunities.

“We pray that the family of Mennonites in Ukraine will multiply.”

As winter approaches, the eight Mennonite churches are preparing to offer “Warm Church” for a second time in December and January. Power cuts and fuel shortages leave homes and schools cold during the worst of winter. With support from MB Mission (the Mennonite Brethren mission agency), the churches heat their buildings each day. They invite the community to this warm haven offering food, activities and the hope of the gospel. MB Mission also purchased a van for the church leaders who make regular trips to visit soldiers and bring relief supplies to citizens in the conflict region of Donbass.

Economic hardship in Spain strengthens faith

Judit Menéndez, MWC Global Youth Summit delegate from Spain, shared her church’s story of Walking in Receiving and Giving as her country experiences its worst economic crisis since the civil war in the 1930s.

She belongs to the Comunidades Unidas Anabautistas in Burgos, about two hours north of Madrid. She has a degree in education for children with special needs, but teaches English and helps children with homework in an after-school centre.

“This job is what is available right now, even though it is not exactly what I’m qualified for,” says Judit. “But I’m grateful to be having a job, a house, and a supportive community at church.

“Compared to five years ago, things are improving now. Young people can get a job, even though it may not be what they want or are qualified for,” Judit adds.

As of March 2015, inflation has been kept low for the past 18 months. A new policy with an emphasis on exports and increasing Spain’s competitiveness has helped put the country on the right track for economic rebound.

Her church has been responding to the people affected by the crisis by creating a food bank for church members and neighbours. From the food bank, this initiative grew since 2012 to include a financial reserve to be given to church members who are most in need.

“It has been a challenging time, but one that has been a blessing in disguise,” says Judit. “Family members are taking care of each other, the church is more united and purposeful, and we are stronger in our faith because of it.”

Spain still has a long way to go. Unemployment rate still sits at 23%, wages are stagnant and permanent employment is still almost impossible to find especially for new graduates. But Judit is thankful for a trying time that has pushed the church to be a united community, emulating the church of the first century that “shared whatever they had with those who had needs” (Acts 2:42–47).

Elina Ciptadi-Perkins is a copywriter and communications consultant. She is an Indonesian Mennonite who lives in Singapore with her family.

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To see more stories, pictures and videos like this, visit pa2015.mwc-cmm.org. The site also contains resources for your congregation from workshops at PA 2015, such as downloadable worksheets, PowerPoint slides and information sheets.