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The family speaks together
Friendship groups at PA 2015 facilitate small group conversation By Karla Braun Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – “You can witness young to very old people [talking with each other]. And we’ve become intimate friends,” says Omondi Samson from Kenya as he takes a picture of his new “mom and dad” from the USA. Samson participated in…
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An agricultural host for a global Assembly
After considering an extensive feasibility study, the MWC Executive Committee elected in May 2011 to hold the 16th Assembly in the USA, specifically at the Farm Show Complex. The venue, built in the 1930s, was created to showcase agriculture.
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“A holy moment”
Ordination blessing conferred at European women theologians meeting By Harriet Sider Bicksler What was intended as a forum for European women theologians to discuss how they can network with each other and others in the MWC family ended as a time of special blessing for one woman. The group was small. Only five women attended in…
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Iron sharpens iron
Assembly 16: PA 2015 Faith and Life commission engages in ecumenical dialogue and discovers own convictions By Karla Braun Why is the Mennonite World Conference Faith and Life Commission spending time with Catholics? At the workshop “Beyond the Shared Convictions: The Work of the MWC Faith and Life Commission,” chair Alfred Neufeld explained the commission’s…
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Stories of faithfulness for the 21st century
Bearing Witness Stories Project carries on work of Martyr’s Mirror “Anabaptist witness in the face of suffering did not end in Europe in the 16th century,” explained John D. Roth, secretary of the Mennonite World Conference Faith and Life Commission and professor of history at Goshen College, during a workshop at PA 2015, the MWC…
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Shuttles bring people together
Transportation network makes friends from strangers By Karla Braun Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – “All I see is smiles,” says Brenda Burkholder, volunteer at the homestay shuttle information table. Many of the more than 7,200 guests from 56 countries registered for Pennsylvania 2015 travel between their overnight lodging and the Farm Show Complex each day via…
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Build each other up on the foundation of Christ
Speakers on walking in conflict and reconciliation focus on our hope in Jesus Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – “We are thankful that indeed God walks with us as we experience both conflict and reconciliation,” said Patricia Shelly, moderator of Mennonite Church USA, introducing the theme of the 23 July 2015 morning plenary of PA 2015. Elizabeth…
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MWC and trees – 2007
MWC Executive plants four trees For the past 10 years, Mennonite World Conference has planted a tree in the community in which its Executive Committee meets. This year they planted four. One was in the Chaco at the Instituto Bíblico Indígena in Yalve Sanga, where musicians sang and played prior to the planting. Another was…
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MWC and trees – 2005
MWC’s tree-planting tradition continues Since 1998, at each of its meetings, the Executive Committee plants a tree “to honour God’s creation and the church universal.” This year the trees planted were two. Executive Committee members planted the first, a native Ontario red maple, at Conrad Grebel University College, site of August meetings. The Sunday afternoon…
