Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • We pray for Ecuador, a small and beautiful country located on the equator. We are living through a time of much violence, uncertainty, and deepening poverty. We ask that God may have mercy on us and help all those well-intentioned people working to sow seeds of peace, justice and hope. May these seeds germinate and grow strong so that they overcome all fear and hopelessness to produce a present and a future filled with peace, justice, and bread.

    —Alexandra Meneses, Iglesia Cristiana Menonita de Quito, Ecuador

    Photo: Iglesia Menonita Casa de Oracion, Ecuador

  • From 25-29 November 2024, five MWC leaders, one MC Canada staff member and 17 pastors from Bible Missionary Church, Mennonite in Myanmar met in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a solidarity visit.

    The pastors requested prayer:

    • For courage and skill to preach the gospel of peace.
    • For the pastors to be faithful servants despite the persecution.
    • For the soldiers who are also suffering.
    Yesterday’s martyrs inspire those who suffer today 

  • We live in a world of great beauty, but also in a world under threat.

    Lord, we come to you in our fragility, trusting in your loving care and providence.
    Please receive our prayers…

    • for those impacted by and living in fear of wildfires in California, USA, and in any other regions of the world;
    • for all your creatures threatened and fleeing from fire and destruction;
    • for those who have lost their homes, their places of worship and work.

    —Juliana Morillo, Teusaquillo Mennonite Church in Bogotá.

    Photo: Henrique Malaguti/Unsplash

  • Praise God for the vibrant faith and caring community of Mennonites in DRC. Pray for healthy partnership among churches locally and with international organizations.

    Photo: Siaka Traoré

  • Please pray for the national church leaders of the 10 North American MWC national member church bodies (5 in Canada and 5 in USA). Leaders have the opportunity of forging a path of mutual understanding, collaborative service and reciprocal support. Pray that our leaders will recognize and help their communities to live into the unity we have been given in Christ by the Spirit.

    —submitted by Gerald Hildebrand, MWC regional representative, North America 

    Photo: Brian Davis

  • We pray in remembrance of one another so that God’s love, Jesus’ testimony, and the grace and power of the Holy Spirit help us to work daily toward reconciliation among people and with our creator.
    —submitted by Elkin Márquez Grisales, Iglesia Manantial de Paz de los Hermanos Menonitas de Colombia, Medellín.
    Photo: Rhoda Shirk

  • MWC general secretary César García joined more than 200 global Christian leaders from 40 countries to sign a letter from Churches for Middle East Peace calling for Advent, not Arms.

    We stand with our Christian sisters and brothers in the Middle East and with all people of peace and justice around the world as we pray for peace. We call on governments to work for peace and justice in every region of the world suffering violence.

    At Advent, when we remember Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, we grieve the suffering of people living amid in in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Israel. We pray for the coming of the Prince of Peace in our hearts and in the world.

    Read the letter here

  • Pray for India’s present political situation. Churches be strong in faith as they lead by living out love in their communities despite divisions and polarization.
    —submitted by Vipin Bansiar, Zion Church CG State, India

    Photo: Eve Franklin

  • Let us not forget the atrocities that have been and are still being committed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. O God, open our eyes and ears to suffering. Accompany and inspire us and all those involved in the conflicts, and may we remain prayerful!
    —submitted by Charles-André Broglie, Switzerland
    Photo: Mennonite Action 

  • Pray for world leaders, decision-makers, civil society and all participants who will gather for COP16 on biodiversity “Peace with Nature” in Cali, Colombia, 21 October – 1 November 2024. 
    God’s “gathering up all things in heaven and on earth in Christ” (Eph 1:10) reminds us of our deep unity with the whole of creation, a unity of all things in Christ. We rejoice in creation’s beauty and its bounty. But we also share in God’s grief when creation suffers, especially when it is at our hands. 
    So we confess and repent of our refusal to listen to the suffering of creation and our failure to live up to Jesus‘ mandate to us as disciples, namely, to proclaim the gospel of salvation to all creation (Mark 16:15).  
    Photo: NEOM/Unsplash

  • Flash flooding in and around the capital in Nepal at the end of September did not directly affect congregations of MWC member church Brethren in Christ Nepal. However, due to their reputation after more than 10 years of relief response, serving the community without discrimination on caste or creed, BIC Welfare Society has been called upon by the local government to support flood victims in Jahada Rural Municipality of Morang district, Koshi Province. Pray that they would be equipped for the task and that the love of God would shine through their every action. 
    Photo: BIC Nepal

  • Please pray for the national church leaders of the 10 North American MWC national member church bodies (5 in Canada and 5 in USA). Leaders have the opportunity of forging a path of mutual understanding, collaborative service and reciprocal support. Pray that our leaders will recognize and help their communities to live into the unity we have been given in Christ by the Spirit.
    —submitted by Gerald Hildebrand, MWC regional representative, North America
    Photo: Irma Sulistyorini