Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday 2026
On a table at the front, place five candles of different colours for each continent on top of a map of the world (or beside a globe) along with a white candle as the Christ candle in the middle.
At the start of the worship service, name each continent as its candle is lit, acknowledging brothers and sisters in each continent.
Light the Christ candle last (or first) as the source of light for the church everywhere.
During the service or at the end of the service there could be prayers for blessing the sisters and brothers in different regions of the world.
Additional resources to show the connection with the global Anabaptist family:
- use the invocation and benediction for candle lighting under “celebration ideas”
- watch greeting videos found in the multimedia resources section
- display the MWC map (as a poster or the interactive online version).
Gathering prayer
Based on Psalm 40:1-11
Oh Lord, we wait patiently for you,
preparing our spirits to make space for you,
knowing you hear our cry.
You have lifted us out of the mud and mire;
and set our feet on a rock, giving us a firm place to stand.
You have put a new song in our mouths,
a hymn of praise to you, our God.
You have called us to point others to you
Those who see your care for us will marvel and put their trust in you.
Oh Lord, you are faithful to those who put their trust in you.
You have done wonders; and you have wondrous plans for us.
Our retelling of your deeds will never end;
they are too many to declare.
Oh Lord, it is not sacrifice or burnt offerings which you demand of us
but our spirits tuned to you:
our desire to do your will,
your law written upon our hearts.
Oh Lord, as we gather, we proclaim your saving acts,
your boundless love and your unending faithfulness.
You are our helper and saviour.
To you we worship, we serve, we pray.
Amen.
Welcome to you…
Welcome to you who are poor in spirit!
Welcome to you who mourn!
Welcome to you who hunger and thirst for justice!
Welcome to you who are peacemakers!
Welcome to you who suffer and bear what is unbearable in the name of Jesus Christ!
God, in Jesus, welcomes each one of you.
It is he who wants to bear with us the burdens of these days.
Let us open ourselves to his presence, and may his joy grip us this morning
By the grace of his Spirit!
—Nathalie Werner in “Words and prayers for worship” (Editions Mennonites)
Repentance – Forgiveness
Lord, we worship and praise you, we stand humbly before you.
We recognize that you accomplish your plans for the world.
We confess our refusal to see the promise of a new humanity.
We are overwhelmed by the matters of this world.
We are distracted from our commitments by other appeals.
We are victims of our prejudices, our fears, and our short-term vision.
We ask you to transform us in the image of Christ.
We ask you to take us into your service and use us in order that all peoples, all races, and all nations might grow together in peace and mutual understanding.
We ask these things in the name of Christ, who is the only one that can make our peoplehood a reality.
—Michel Sommer in “Words and prayers for worship” (Editions Mennonites)
Confession of faith – Commitment – Consecration
To be shared with those who live in insecurity
All who are born of God have received the gifts of the Spirit of the Lord, are called to be one body loving each other in Jesus Christ, are well prepared by such a love to help their neighbors, not only with money and goods, but also by following the example of their Lord in accordance with the gospel through their blood and their lives. As much as possible they demonstrate mercy and piety. They take to heart the needs of others. They welcome the stranger in their homes. They comfort the afflicted, assist the needy, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and do not look away from the poor…
—From Menno Simons (1496 – 1561) in “Words and prayers for worship” (Editions Mennonites)
A prayer for the offering
Our God, our Father, the Father of Light in whom there is no greed… teach us to build up a treasure for ourselves in heaven and not on this earth. Teach us to place our faith in you alone, and not in these passing material possessions. As you have taught us, we pray that your will be done on this earth as it is in heaven. We now bring you a portion of the riches you have entrusted to us. We pray that you will permit this offering to contribute to the manifestation of your will on this earth. Amen.
—Nicolas Widmer, de Paroles et prières pour le culte (Éditions Mennonites)
Intercessory prayer
Give us the power
God,
Give us the power to trust each other
and to choose the sustainable way
that frees your creation from distress.
Give us the power to share knowledge
and to seek for sustainable solutions
that allow future generations to live on
Give us the power to cooperate
to take decisions and actions
that bear fruit sustainably.
Give us the power
through your Holy Spirit
You who saw that it was good.
On the day after tomorrow as in the beginning.
For your kingdom come
and your glory shine
for ever.
Amen
—This prayer is taken from the book Dancing with the Golden Frog: Global Warming and the Lord’s Prayer, by Herman Heijn, pastor at Doopsgezinde Gemeente Haarlem, Netherlands.
A poem for spiritual reflection
I would love to start a mourning brigade
to share the loneliness of grief together
not to say anything that doesn’t really matter
but just to mourn together
for what is no longer there
I would love to start a mourning brigade:
a group, a club or just one person
who can stay and remain regardless of the clock
but just for as long as it takes
Even if it lasts and lasts.
I would love to start a mourning brigade;
then I will come, if I may
with extra handkerchiefs and silent nods
and here and there a deep, dark sigh
For perhaps a moment of calm and breath.
By Annegreet van der Wijk, from Bij Eb & Bij Vloed: negentig gedichten/gebeden en meer (At high tide and low tide: poems, prayers and more), published by Doopsgezind Bruderschapshuis Dopersduin. Annegreet van der Wijk is pastor at Doopsgezind Bussum-Naarden, the Netherlands.
Benediction
God, we pray, let nothing be lost, but seek us out,
see us,
that we may be found.
God, we pray,
inspire us with your Spirit,
that it is time to rediscover, to tidy up, to cleanse.
Breathe us in and out, set us in motion,
that we may commit ourselves anew to living and dare to live with and through you and to be a word of peace.
By Hans Marseille, from Bij Eb & Bij Vloed: negentig gedichten/gebeden en meer (At high tide and low tide: poems, prayers and more), published by Doopsgezind Bruderschapshuis Dopersduin.