We thank you, God, for sending Jesus, our light. We rejoice that “the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light” (Matthew 4:16, NRSV). May the Holy Spirit continue to guide our way.
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Pray for the upcoming Assembly in Indonesia. Pray for the planners as they adjust to a new gathering date and create protocols for a safe and enjoyable event that welcomes thousands of people to Semarang. Pray that the Spirit will be at work in the hearts and minds of all participants bringing unity in the Spirit.
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Pray for the 23 member and associate member churches in Asia (Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam). Christianity is a minority in many of these countries. Pray that MWC member churches who are suffering persecution and hardship may have courage and hope to persevere.
Praise God for the Asian churches: members of the Body of Christ. May they always be united and connected to us and to each other through the bonds of the love of Jesus and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. May they care for one another, accept one another and equip one another to witness to God’s glory in this world.
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- Give thanks that Anabaptists around the world are united in faith in God’s kingdom across language and cultural differences.
- Give thanks for the growing networks in the MWC family: mission, service, health, peace and education.
- Pray for sisters and brothers everywhere who are struggling with weakness due to illness, violence, disaster or injustice. May we embrace them. May God’s power change everything for us all.
- Pray for MWC General Secretary César Garc”a, and MWC Asian Representatives Agus Mayanto (Southeast Asia), Cynthia Peacock (South Asia) and Jeremiah Choi (Northeast Asia), as they lead and minister to the churches in Asia and around the world.
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“At present, our hope is in God alone.” Leaders of MWC national member church Meserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia call the global Anabaptist family to pray with them. “We need peace to continue bringing the good news of Jesus Christ.” MKC has four congregations and almost two dozen church planting centres in the Tigray region where the federal and regional government have been in armed conflict for two weeks. Reports of 10,000-25,000 people have fled to neighbouring Sudan and Eritrea. Join MKC in fasting and prayer for peace, individually and collectively.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
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Death has touched families and churches. Health care workers are worn out. The lack of personal contact and the loss of income due to the significant risk of contagion cause significant stress and misery in Anabaptist churches. Those who are not able to connect online – due to lack of knowledge or lack of tools – are extra isolated. “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit,” (Psalm 34:18).
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Mennonite World Conference and Anabaptists around the world are commemorating 500 years since this renewal movement began in 1525. We acknowledge moral failures of our faith predecessor in the past. Nevertheless, we also celebrate that God has raised up a global Anabaptist people whose highest loyalty is to Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Like early Anabaptists, may we be energetic missionaries, reaching across national and cultural barriers to call for repentance and teach the peacemaking way of Jesus.
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Lord, may we abide under the shadow of your strength. In the midst of this pandemic, may we take shelter in you, placing our trust in your deliverance. Lord, address our fears; help us face the threats of job losses, hunger and disease with courage and hope. In your love, deliver us.
(Inspired by Psalm 91)
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Lord, have mercy!
As a world-wide community of faith and life, we transcend boundaries of nationality, race, class, gender and language.
Empower us 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.
We seek to walk in peace by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we confidently await Christ’s return and the final fulfillment of God’s kingdom.
Amen
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“How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” To allow both MWC staff and attendees to properly plan for the event, MWC has chosen to postpone Assembly 17 until 2022. Pray for wisdom as the Assembly planning teams adjust to the new date. Please continue to pray for the healing of the world, and for the Assembly.
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“But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.‘” (Exodus 14:13-14) Bahati Safari Mutabesha, leader of the Mennonite Brethren church in Malawi, takes courage from this verse and calls for prayer for the church to reach its mission of bringing hope, peace and reconciliation.
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“O God, who will roll away the stone from the hearts of wounded Beirut and its affected citizens!” The Middle East Council of Churches raises a call to prayer for Lebanon.
The 4 August 2020 explosion damaged 85 percent of the country’s grain stores, left 300 000 people homeless, injured more than 5 000 people and killed almost 200 people. Three Christian hospitals and many churches and Christian schools were damaged. Many people have lost hope; this trauma adds to economic and health care challenges. Lebanon also hosts a large number of refugees. Mennonite Central Committee serves refugees in Lebanon with education, food and psychosocial care. In this crisis, MCC is working with Lebanese Popular Aid for Relief and Development (PARD) to provide food for the most vulnerable people. Pray for the churches who struggle to respond to the physical and spiritual well being of their neighbours when all have lost so much.
