Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday 2026
Here are some of the ways the churches in Europe worship together, with symbolic actions to demonstrate solidarity.
In the service
In doopsgezinde (Mennonite) congregations in the Netherlands, the worship leader lights a candle on a table at the front at the beginning of the service and blows it out as part of the closing of the service.
With those actions, the worship leader speaks a version of these words:
We light the candle as a reminder of the light that carries and comforts us. Let us live in the light of eternity
OR
We light the candle as a sign of our bond with each other, with God, with ourselves and with the world.
We blow out the candle but we take the light with us in hearts into the world.
After the service
Potlucks
Once a month, we celebrate Gemeinschaftssonntag (fellowship Sunday). Everyone brings something to eat (e.g., a salad, cake, dessert, or stew), and we put together a large buffet. After the service, we move the chairs out of the worship hall and set up tables.
Everyone is invited to eat, including guests, and so far, everyone has always had enough to eat! There are usually plenty of leftovers, and many people take some home with them.
After the meal, some people spend the whole afternoon at the church. Children and adults play outside on the lawn or sit together.
Sometimes we also open a café in the afternoon for people who live around our church building or who are hiking in the area. This creates a colourful community of strangers, families, locals, and churchgoers. There are many opportunities for conversations and encounters in which God’s Spirit can work.
—Joel Driedger, Mennonitengemeinde Karlsruhe-Thomashof e.V., Karlsruhe, Germany
For several years now, we have been meeting for a potluck lunch after the service at the Mennonite church in Regensburg. Anyone who fancies a delicious meal in great company is welcome to join us.
The lunch is organized very informally via a WhatsApp group.
The group consists of people who regularly attend the lunch and are happy to contribute something. Three to four days before the service, we decide together what we want to eat. There might be a soup Sunday, for example, or pasta/rice with various sauces, or simply hot dogs with salads. Of course, dessert is a must.
Anyone can join us for lunch, even on the spur of the moment. We especially like to invite new visitors to the service.
Although this means that the number of people eating together varies, everyone has always been satisfied so far.
We find these communal lunches very valuable for our congregation. They provide an opportunity to get to know each other better and have good conversations. The exchange between the generations is particularly nice. Delicious food brings people together – from kindergarteners to senior citizens.
—Lena Schmutz, Mennonitengemeinde Regensburg, Germany
Recipes
Germany
Sunken apple cake
- Mix 125 g margarine and 125 g sugar, add 3 eggs and continue mixing.
- Mix 200 g flour and 2 teaspoons baking powder and fold into the batter.
- Stir in 2 tablespoons milk.
- Peel and halve 5 apples, remove the cores and carve them with a fork.
- Grease a round baking pan and pour in the batter, place apple halves on the dough.
- Bake 40 to 50 min at 200C or 390F.
Portugal
Lavadas (gazpacho)
Ingredients
- 3 tomatoes
- 3 bell peppers – green and red (no spicy ones)
- 3 garlic cloves
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (preferably either from Portugal, Spain, Italy or Greece)
- 200 grams of prosciutto
- 1 loaf of hard bread (the older the better…)
- Water
- ice cubes
Instructions
- Start in a large salad bowl. Smash the 3 garlic cloves, then add olive oil. (I would use 2 or 3 Tbsp.)
- Cut the tomatoes in small pieces. Cut the bell peppers in strips (remove the seeds). Cut the prosciutto in cubes. Put it all in the the bowl.
- Cut the bread in medium-sized cubes.
- Before adding the bread, pour cold water into the bowl and mix all together with a large spoon.
- When everything is well mixed, add the bread to soak.
- Add some ice cubes to keep it fresh.
This is an excellent and fresh summer meal. I learned this recipe from my beloved mother. She was from the interior of Alentejo, Portugal. There they didn’t call it gazpacho but “Lavadas.” In those days, ingredients were sparse, so people ate what was available.
—José Arrais, MWC regional representative, Europe