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The Global Mennonite History Series consists of five volumes of history, one from each continental region. Writers from each region trace the origins, development and mission of the Anabaptist-related churches there, reflecting the experiences, understandings and perspectives of these churches.
This fresh offering of history is the first time some of these churches have cooperated in telling their story in their own voice. Themes in one book differ from those in another. This telling of the story of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches is intended “to stimulate the renewal and extension of Anabaptist Christianity worldwide.” This series helps readers to understand what the North American religious magazine Christian Century calls “the shift in church energy, leadership and numbers from North to South, from developed to developing nations.”
The Global Mennonite History Series was initiated by Mennonite World Conference at its thirteenth global assembly in Calcutta, India in January 1997. The series was guided by an international organizing committee whose members represent all five continental regions. General editors are John A. Lapp and C. Arnold Snyder.
The series includes the following five volumes:
(All volumes in English, with translations of some into selected languages)
1. Anabaptist Songs in African Hearts,
released in 2003 at the 14th global assembly in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (also available in Spanish and French).
3. Mission and Migration,
the volume from Latin America, released in 2010 (also available in Spanish and French)
4. Seeking Places of Peace,
the volume from North America, released in 2012.
5. Churches Engage Asian Traditions,
the volume from Asia, released in 2011.English-language books are available at Mennonite Life (formerly Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society) (USA) and Pandora Press (Canada)
Dutch translation of Volume II, Geloof en Traditie beproefd, available at http://www.mennosimonsshop.nl
German translation of Volume II, Glaube und Tradition in der Bewährungsprobe, available at http://www.neufeld-verlag.de -
MWC selects books that help member churches nurture a common Christian faith. See French or Spanish version of this page for books in those languages.
2018
God’s People in Mission: An Anabaptist Perspective, edited by Stanley W. Green & Rafael Zaracho, MWC Mission Commission.
PDF here. Also available on Amazon/Kindle.
2015
Life Together in the Spirit: A Radical Spirituality for the Twenty-First Century, by John Driver; Plough Publishing House, Walden, NY, USA, http://www.plough.com/en/ebooks/l/life-together-in-the-spirit. Available for download or online reading: https://archive.org/details/LifeTogetherintheSpirit
Indonesian: Hidup Bersama dalam Roh: Spiritualitas Radikal untuk Abad Kedua Puluh Satu; by John Driver;
Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism/MWC, Goshen, Indiana, USA, https://archive.org/details/NindyoLifeTogetherintheSpirit04092018
Portuguese: Vida No Espírito Em Comunidade: Uma Espiritualidade Radical para o Século XXI; by John Driver;
Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism/MWC, Goshen, Indiana, USA, https://archive.org/details/VidaNoEspritoEmComunidade/page/n0
Korean: 성령과 함께 하는 삶: 21세기의 급진적 영성
https://www.plough.com/ko/topics/community/life-together-in-the-spirit
2007
What We Believe Together, by Alfred Neufeld Friesen,
Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, Lancaster, PA, USA, http://www.lmhs.org/shop/books/new-books/
PDF hereNow available in 7 languages: English, Spanish, German, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian.
German: Was wir gemeinsam glauben
Neufeld Verlag: http://www.neufeld-verlag.de/
Korean: 우리가 함께 믿는 것
Korea Anabaptist Press: https://www.commonword.ca/ResourceView/16/17457
Chinese: https://www.commonword.ca/ResourceView/16/15669
Vietnamese: https://www.commonword.ca/ResourceView/16/12386
Indonesian: Keyakinan kita bersama : mengungkap butir-butir keyakinan bersama gereja-gereja Anabaptis
Semarang: Penerbit Pustaka Muria
2006
Stewardship for All?, by Bedru Hussein and Lynn Miller;
Good Books, Intercourse, PA, GoodBooks.com and Pandora Press, Kitchener, ON, www.pandorapress.com
2005
A Culture of Peace, by Alan Krieder, Eleanor Krieder, Paulus Widjaja; Good Books, Intercourse, PA, GoodBooks.com and Pandora Press, Kitchener, ON, www.pandorapress.com
Now available in 2 languages: English and German.
German: Ein Kultur des Friedens Neufeld Verlag : http://www.neufeld-verlag.de/
2004
God’s Shalom Project, by Bernhard Ott;
Good Books, Intercourse, PA, GoodBooks.com and Pandora Press, Kitchener, ON, www.pandorapress.com
Now available in 5 languages: English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
German: Schalom – das Projekt Gottes;
Neufeld Verlag : http://www.neufeld-verlag.de/ and Agape Verlag Auslieferung, c/o Atempause, Borken, Germany E-mail: atempause@pioteam.de)
Japanese: シャーローム 神のプロジェクト ; Word of Life Press Ministries, Japan. The Japanese book can be purchased on Word of Life’s website and through Amazon.
2003
Sharing Gifts in the Global Family of Faith, by Pakisa Tshimika and Tim Lind;
Good Books, Intercourse, PA, GoodBooks.com and Pandora Press, Kitchener, ON, www.pandorapress.com
Now available in 4 languages: English, French, Spanish and German.
German : Teilen, was wir sind und haben; Neufeld Verlag/ http://www.neufeld-verlag.de/, VdK-Str. 21, D-92521 Schwarzenfeld, phone ++49/94 35/50 24 49, E-Mail info@neufeld-verlag.de
2002
Anabaptist Seed, by C. Arnold Snyder,
Good Books, Intercourse, PA, GoodBooks.com and Pandora Press, Kitchener, ON, www.pandorapress.com
PDF hereNow available in 16 languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Hindi, Italian, Telugu, Amharic, Vietnamese and Swedish.
German: Täuferische Saat – Weltweites Wachstum,
Neufeld Verlag : http://www.neufeld-verlag.de/ and Agape Verlag Auslieferung, c/o Atempause, Borken, Germany E-mail: atempause@pioteam.de)
Korean: 재세례신앙의 씨앗으로 부터
Korea Anabaptist Press: https://www.commonword.ca/ResourceView/2/5936
Vietnamese: Từ hạt giống Anabaptist
Mennonite Church Canada: https://www.commonword.ca/FileDownload/6915/From_anabaptist_seed_-_Vietnamese.pdf?t=1
Simplified Chinese: 重洗派的根源
Conference of Mennonite Churches in Taiwan: https://www.commonword.ca/ResourceView/2/14454
Traditional Chinese
Conference of Mennonite Churches in Taiwan: https://www.commonword.ca/ResourceView/16/9266
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Inspiration and reflection
Perspectives
- Is this climate change?
- Equipping our church to care for creation
- Lessons enter through different doors
- Love in a time of climate change
- Cleanliness is next to godliness
Country profile
Resources
- Resources on creation care
- YABs Fellowship Week 2023
- Annual report: 2022
- A prayer for frugal life
- Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday
General Secretary
Word from the editor
In crisis, a community of hope
More with Less is the title of a Mennonite-famous cookbook. Home economist and former MCC service worker Doris Longacre Janzen crafted this countercultural cookbook in the 1970s. It exemplifies Mennonite ideals of simplicity and takes inspiration from ways of being in parts of the world where time and treasure are valued differently.
“More with less” may seem like a promise destined to be broken. It may seem like a burden: asking for greater effort with reduced output.
Yet is not “more with less” what Jesus urges toward as he calls us to consider the lilies of the field (Luke 12:27)?
When Jesus urges us to love God above all and our neighbours as ourselves (Luke 10:26-28), is that not a call to find more community with less things? And might our neighbours include all living things?
After years of warnings, people in all parts of the world are beginning to see the fruition of climate change. We move from one record breaking season to another.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says: “our world needs action in all fronts – everything, everywhere, all at once.”
This issue of Courier shares some stories of how our “more with less” communities are acting.
We read about a congregation in Colombia calling members to examine their daily habits and choose ways of less waste. We see their efforts to motivate a community.
We read how creativity and beauty can be a motivator for young people in France to choose a simple life of following Jesus.
We read of communities affected by weather events in Indonesia and Zimbabwe – where people pull together to support each other.
We read how creation care, dignity and hope can be intertwined in Africa for flourishing communities where the gospel is shared in words and actions.
In Jesus, we have a model for “more with less.” We also have a framework for both individual and community action. God calls each of us to repentance and change of life – and equips us with the Holy Spirit and with a community of faith to journey together.
As we turn away from consuming, the church community can offer accountability in our choices. Together we can seek to find joy in actions that protect God’s creation – human, vegetable, animal and mineral – both near to us and around the world.
In our faith, we can find also the language of confession and repentance for this challenge to personal change and systemic revolution. As our faith communities, we can raise a collective voice to transform the systems of greed and consumption that make the better choices so hard.
The climate crisis is for many a cause for despair. Living more with less, Jesus Christ shows us a path to walk together with hope and Spirit.
— Karla Braun is editor of Courier and writer for Mennonite World Conference. She lives in Winnipeg, Canada.
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Inspiration and Reflection
Perspectives
- How should the church think about mental health?
- Churches and psychiatry: Òit’s complicatedÓ
- Churches as healing communities
- Health of a whole person
Country Profile
- Thailand
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Click below to download PDF.
Stories include:
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Click the image below to view the magazine as PDF.
Stories in this issue
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Perspectives
- COVID-19 in the Global South
- Ambitious dreams for a more just world
- New ways of learning for a new time
- Grieving in a time of COVID-19
MWC leaders
Assembly Update
Country profile
- Nepal
Resources
- MWC charts course for future operations
- Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday
- Meet your YABs Committee
- Renewal 2027
- MWC financial update 2020
