Mennonite World Conference
Declaration of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
In the Christian Scriptures, we encounter God who hears the cries of the dispossessed and suffering, feels deep concern for their welfare, and moves to save. In the Gospels, Jesus Christ, the living example for the church, embodies God’s preferred presence with the neighbor who is excluded, oppressed, ignored, rejected or treated as alien. Jesus associated with people on the margins, listened to and respected their experiences, and collaboratively sought justice.
Mennonite World Conference desires to follow Jesus’ example to respond to the cries of Indigenous Peoples worldwide. This response is not concerned only with caring for people suffering within unjust structures. It also includes efforts to disarm (Colossians2:15) the structures of oppression themselves, in order that all of God’s People and Creation might experience the Psalmist’s hope that truth and mercy will meet, and justice and peace will kiss each other (Psalm 85:10).
Date Approved: April 2018
Approved By: MWC General Council