• English

Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • The pandemic has forced churches to find different ways to gather. “Urban churches do virtual services. We also encourage older members to watch the livestream. However, in smaller towns, the internet may not be reliable so we organize socially-distanced service with masks on and sanitizing stations,” said MZ Ichsanuddin from GITJ, MWC executive committee member.

    Click below to read full PDF

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  • Latest Update on Assembly on-site

    MWC Assembly in Indonesia is welcoming 700 on-site participants with the option of additional Indonesian guests at the opening and closing services based on local government guidelines.

    The Assembly will take place in Salatiga, Central Java. Lodging will be possible in the hotels at the Assembly site. Some parts of the program will be streamed from satellite locations and held online for participants to get to know more about Indonesia. Global Youth Summit (GYS) participation will be limited to a maximum of 120 participants, including official delegates from each church, and will not have a virtual component.

    Assembly Gathered daily themes

    • Tuesday (opening): Following Jesus together across barriers
    • Wednesday: following Jesus, learning together
    • Thursday: following Jesus, living together
    • Friday: following Jesus, caring together
    • Saturday: following Jesus, celebrating together
    • Sunday (closing): following Jesus together

    For more information and updates, please visit the A17 event website.

    Click the PDF image below to read more.

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  • Click the PDF image below to read more.

    Join the MWC Assembly Online!

    Host a “watch party” with your congregation, family or friends.

    Register to enter Assembly Hub:

    • access live streams of the daily plenaries sessions,
    • participate in hybrid and online workshops and discussions,
    • follow Assembly on-site through vlogs,
    • participate in mixed online and on-site small groups.

    Recorded sessions will stay in the Assembly Hub until 30 September 2022, so you can re-visit the sessions at another time.

    The Hub is a virtual platform where people can participate in different spaces that enrich the virtual experience.

    Indonesia2022.mwc-cmm.org

    Carried by the love of God

    “When Jesus came to the world he loved everyone. We are all created in one image, so we need to treat everyone as children of God. When people take their MWC bags with them, they will be able to remember who the people were that made the bags, and that they are beloved by God,” says Pastor Yeanny. Even if you aren’t able to attend Assembly in person, you can find these bags available as souvenirs in the near future.

    For more information and updates, please visit the registration site: indonesia2022.mwc-cmm.org

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  • Member List
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  • More than just gathering: Taste & see the LORD is good

    MWC Assemblies are reunions of the Anabaptist-Mennonite family worldwide that take place every six years. They began in 1925, when a small group of Mennonite pastors from seven countries gathered in Basel, Switzerland, for several days of worship and conversation. Praise the Lord, after almost a century we continue to gather at Assemblies: a time to share in fellowship, worship, service and witness.

    The forthcoming Assembly will be held in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. This will be the second Assembly held in Asia (after Calcutta, India, in January 1997), and the first in South-East Asia.

    Come to Indonesia, to Semarang City, where all attendees will taste and see how good the Lord is. Save the date, pray, come, experience the Lord’s goodness!

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  • GYS: Global Youth Summit 2021

    Life in the Spirit: Learn. Serve. Worship.

    GYS is a gathering of Young Anabaptists (age 18+) from all over the world. The fourth Global Youth Summit will be held just before Assembly Gathered of Mennonite World Conference, on 2Ð5 July 2021 in Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia (about 50 km south of Semarang, location of Assembly Gathered, 6–11 July 2021).

    Who will your church send to participate in this once-every-six-years opportunity to learn, serve and worship in one spirit along with youth from around the world?

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  • Assembly Gathered Program

    Music

    We will sing different styles of music from Indonesia and around the world. An international team will lead the singing. We will hear special music from different parts of the globe in plenary sessions and at the Global Church Village. We will learn new songs to take home & share with our communities.

    Morning program

    We will come together each morning to sing, listen to speakers and get to know each other in small groups.

    Afternoon activities

    In the afternoon we can attend workshops, participate in service opportunities, go on local tours, play sports, enjoy music and exhibits at the Global Church Village or participate in the Anabaptist World Cup.

    Evening Worship

    After supper, we will gather again for an inspiring and creative worship service where we will sing, listen, share gifts, hear speakers, pray and encourage each other.

    English

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    Bahasa Indonesia

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    Español

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    Français

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  • Mennonite World Conference (MWC) gathers and equips member churches and local congregations to be the body of Christ together.

    Here are some blessings leaders and congregations receive through MWC:

    1.    A mosaic of a growing church: As we meet international Anabaptist sisters and brothers from other traditions and locations, we are inspired by their maturity and energy, and reminded of the scope and strength of God’s kingdom. We see the fruit of those who plant seeds of the gospel far from home Ð in the past and today. Revelation 7:9Ð10.

    • Read Courier magazine for perspectives and teaching on how faithful expressions of Anabaptist Christian discipleship (baptism, ordination, membership, relationship to the state, etc.) are carried out differently in local contexts. mwc-cmm.org/courier
    • Be encouraged that Anabaptist churches are thriving around the world. 
    • Collaborate in MWC’s international networks to have a bigger impact by building God’s kingdom together around the world: Global Mission Fellowship, Global Anabaptist Service Network, Women Theologians and emerging networks for peace, education, health and more.

    2.    Sharing gifts in the global family of faith: Every church has gifts to share, and every church has gifts to receive, whether biblical perspectives, faith experiences, witness, music, practical skills or money. MWC provides a structure for a post-colonial global community of faith where Western and Southern churches are brother and sisters in the faith with relational and financial resources to share. Hebrews 10:24Ð25.

    • Develop a mutual support relationship with a congregation in another country.
    • Share in the financial support of MWC on an equitable basis with other congregations around the world. It gives us perspective on congregational budget decisions.
    • Read Sharing Gifts in the Global Family of Faith to learn how to receive as well as how to give. 

    3.    MWC Prayer Network (six times a year): Stories/news from other Anabaptists around the world help us remember that our struggles and successes are not unique. MWC members who are struggling with issues of faith and life, ministering to congregations under persecution and serving alongside different groups gives us a larger picture of the kingdom of God. Through prayer, we share each other’s burdens and encourage each other. Colossians 1:9Ð11.

    4.    Global relationships: Churches in the Global South understand their need to cultivate relationship with other parts of the body of Christ. We are enriched by the diversity of gifts from local congregations around the world. 1 Corinthians 12:20Ð23.

    • Use MWC’s resources (like the Peace Sunday package).
    • Meet us in conversations on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or comment on stories at mwc-cmm.org.    
    • Take advantage of opportunities to meet MWC leaders on local visits.
    • Subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter Info to receive news and testimonies from the global family. mwc-cmm.org/signup

    5.    Dialogue with other global Christian groups: Through interactions with Christians from other traditions, we better understand our own identity as Anabaptist Christians. Through MWC, we participate in international interchurch conversations with Lutherans, Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists and other global communions. Ephesians 2:14Ð16.

    6.    Learning opportunities for youth/young adults: Young adults have opportunity to learn and grow skills for church and vocation in cross-cultural settings through the Young Anabaptists (YABs) network, Global Youth Summits and YAMEN! (international exchange program). 1 Timothy 4:12.

    • Participate in a cultural exchange program for a year or to attend a Summit.
    • Join with the YABs network to develop relationships with young people across cultures.
    • Use YABs Fellowship Week resources to celebrate in solidarity with young adults around the world.

    7.    Worshipping with the global church: MWC provides opportunities to worship collectively in person or in spirit. 1 Chronicles 16:23Ð25.

    ÐA Mennonite World Conference release

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  • Perspectives

    Resources

    General Secretary

    Courier magazine cover - A crowd of people sitting in rows

    Inspiration and reflection

    Sharing the food of life

    “Anyone who tasted Jesus is good should tell others what he/she tasted.”

    Evangelism is a scary word for many of us, but this simple advice offered by pastors in Ethiopia helps to simplify the task. Although we each bear responsibility to share the gospel, it is the Holy Spirit that changes hearts. Our job is merely to speak up about how we have experienced the goodness of God.

    In this issue of Courier, we share stories of churches growing in different ways. Bursting at the seams with growing congregations, the leadership team of Meserete Kristos Church shares their 10 step strategy for church growth.

    The local congregation of Anolaima in Colombia is growing trees and grass and birds as they plant seeds of the gospel in the hearts of visitors to their “IgleParque.”

    And in secular Netherlands, a Mennonite retreat centre and associated camping network live out transforming lives in community, running toward the questions and letting God fill in the spaces.

    You will also find testimonies of the church community fostering the growth of faith from the 2024 Renewal event in Curitiba, Brazil: Transformed, together we live Jesus. In our resource section, there is news to pique your interest in the upcoming 500th anniversary of Anabaptism.

    Finally, we need to hear from you!

    How have you been moved by the sharing you read in Courier? How have you shared that with your wider church community? We are seeking your opinion about what you find most valuable in Courier. Please scan the QR code here or visit here to fill out the survey.

    This survey will only take five minutes of your time, but your response will help MWC keep Courier relevant for you and your church. Thank you for your help.

    –Karla Braun is editor, writer and website coordinator for MWC. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

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  • Inspiration and reflection 

    Perspectives

    Resources

    General Secretary

    Word from the editor

    Confession and much humility 

    “God is under the rubble in Gaza… He walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death. If we want to pray, my prayer is that those who are suffering will feel this healing and comforting presence.”  

    Pastor, professor and author Munther Isaac preached these words of lament to his congregation in the West Bank in October. Shared on video and in print, they reverberated with challenge around the world in the months after as the piles of rubble grew higher.  

    This issue of Courier deals with a subject which is controversial at any time. As this issue goes to press, death has been rained down on two peoples in land called Israel, Palestine, the Holy Land, the Middle East, the Levant.  

    The subject “calls for confession and much humility,” says J. Daryl Byler, former Mennonite Central Committee service worker in Jordan.  

    Through Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonites have been contributing the education among Palestinian people since the 1940s. In a land steeped with churches, some Mennonite groups have chosen to leave an impression through service rather than church planting.  

    Mennonites also have a history with Jewish peoples. Early Anabaptists recognized the insights Judaism offers for our understanding of Jesus as a Jewish man and for resisting empire to pursue the reign of God. However, Mennonite and Jewish coexistence in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries were often not harmonious. In Nazi Germany, Mennonites were as likely to support the state as resist it.  

    “Christians have used the Bible to support both anti-Jewish and Christian Zionist positions. One position suggests that Jewish people are less than fully human and the other suggests that they are specially chosen and favoured,” says J. Daryl Byler. “Neither of these positions is consistent with the core biblical themes: 

    • God loves the world 
    • All people are created in God’s image 
    • God calls us to act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly 
    • Jesus calls us to love our neighbour as self 
    • “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).  

    This issue takes a step away from the horror unfolding through our screens every day to consider those biblical themes and to share stories.  

    In our feature, scholars and practitioners share their readings of the Bible regarding the land and the peoples on it.  

    Our Perspectives authors share how their sojourn in this land has shaped their faith.  

    “We have to unlearn myths,” says Jonathan Kuttab, a Palestinian Christian with many points of intersection with Mennonites. 

    There are myths about Palestinian people to be unlearned and there are myths about Mennonite innocence with Jewish people that require humility and confession.  

    Holding power over other people, dehumanizing them does not build a world where anyone can flourish. It is certainly not the way of Jesus. Whether experiencing oppression, experiencing wealth, we all face temptations to blame others and destroy others for our own benefit – Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish, Mennonite or any other identity.  

    But as followers of Jesus, as we read our Bibles, may it call us to speak for those who are suffering, no matter which “side” they identify with. Let us walk through the valley with those in the shadow of death. Let us stand against injustice, no matter who is perpetuating it. And let us repent of how often we fail to discern injustice, speak with courage and act with love.  

    —Karla Braun is editor, writer and website coordinator for MWC. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

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  • Inspiration and reflection

    Perspectives

    Country Profile

    Resources

    General Secretary

    Word from the editor

    Making space and time for conflict

    We don’t like to talk about it.

    The unity of Christ seems to be easier to maintain separately.

    Our tradition as Mennonite peacemakers results from a split from the wider church, and our plurality today – with its strengths and weaknesses – was the result in many cases of a disagreement that was not resolved. Our personal histories may also contain memories of ill-managed conflict: relationships broken; leaders ostracized; churches divided.

    This issue of Courier attempts to talk about it.

    In our feature article, Daniel Schipani enters into the story of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15. It’s a multicultural context for a disagreement on matters of spiritual importance. This was more than a question of whether to sing old songs or new!

    But they sat down to talk.

    Early in the formation of the church, in the face of a crucially important matter, the leaders – and the factions – faced their fears and discerned together. The unity of the church could persist despite diversity because it is a gift of God.

    “The unity in Christ that God is creating reaches to the edges of space and time and beyond – and includes us all even when we don’t include each other!” says Larry Miller, former general secretary of MWC.

    In his address to MWC’s General Council, Larry Miller offered three practices that could help us approach conflict in the church and come out with unity on the other side, without necessarily being uniform.

    • a. Recognize Christ in one another. Even when the other seems wrong on points of theology and practice, can we acknowledge each other’s love for Christ and desire to follow him?
    • b. Learning receptively from each other. Just as I think I have something to teach you about what Jesus really meant, so you may have something to teach me about faithfulness.
    • c. Coming together as local congregation. In some cases, this is where the conflict lies! But can we remember even in conflict that no one has everything; but everyone has something? Swiss Mennonite theologian Hanspeter Jecker says “This recognition requires that the gifts of the individual contribute to the wellbeing of the whole…. Mutual encouragement and admonition are the foundations for…becoming a forgiving – as well as a forgiven – community.”

    It won’t be comfortable, it won’t be quick and it will take courage. But instead of walking away from conflict, could we use these principles to walk toward conflict carrying the gift of unity, so that righteousness and peace may kiss?

    —Karla Braun is editor of Courier and writer for Mennonite World Conference. She lives in Winnipeg, Canada.

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