God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. This is what Genesis tells us when God had created heaven and earth.
God is celebrating the goodness of all creation. Is this still true?
Is this “very good” still there in these troubled times? Where is it in the horror when a mother has to watch her children being killed by soldiers?
When women are raped, when terrorists attack villages? Sometimes this “very good” seems to sink back and disappear into deep darkness.
In Mennonite World Conference, I serve as a deacon. We visit people to stand with them to say that the global body of the church is here with you. We visit where the church celebrates in joy, like when a new church building is opened. We visit people in suffering, like in DR Congo, in Burkina Faso. And I have discovered: Yes, the beauty of God is still there dwelling here among us in these dark hours.
In DR Congo, an MWC Deacons delegation visited some of the churches that had opened their homes to displaced people fleeing from the war zones in the east. The visitors listened to stories of unimaginable horror, to women who had been forced to watch their husbands and children killed, to women who been raped and had barely survived. Many of them just sat silent, unable to tell what had happened to them.
As a visitor, what words can you find to comfort? The visitors often just sat, wept, helpless, left without words to respond.
And it was these women who found the strength and words to comfort their visitors left speechless when faced with these horrors. These women were standing alongside, comforting those who came to comfort them. I see the beauty of God the Creator in them in this deep embrace. The “very good” of God shines up out of all this darkness.
We visit each other like the friends of Job came to visit him in his sorrow. They came and sat in silence with him for seven days and seven nights. Sat with him in his darkness. They sat with Job who struggled to find the justice of God, struggled to find a God he can love.
The word deacon originally means ‘acting in the place of the one who sends you.’ A deacon is the presence of the one who sends the deacon. Close to those special envoys are the angels who bring with them the presence of God, bringing to light the “very good” of creation. Yes, there were angels present in these visits in the Congo. I hope sometimes they entered with the deacons. But in those moments of speechless tears, as they who had suffered terrible violence comforted their visitors – these women were the angels. In their faces, I saw the goodness of God shining out of darkness. We had been visiting in houses of angels.
So let us enter these houses of angels in this broken world, sit with them in sorrow, silently, sometimes with tears, and then, maybe much later, even with shouts of joy. Let us celebrate the goodness of God visiting among us.
—Jürg Bräker serves as general secretary of Konferenz der Mennoniten der Schweiz/Conférence Mennonite Suisse (the Swiss Mennonite conference) and as elder and theologian for Mennoniten Gemeinde Bern (Alttäufer). He also serves on the MWC Deacons Commission (2015-2022).
“I believe in the unlimited power of prayer,” writes the leader of a Mennonite World Conference member church in Myanmar. He was announced as a special guest for Online Prayer Hour in January 2023. However, he was unable to share about the situation of his church due to a countrywide internet outage. His name is withheld for security reasons.
The church leader asks for prayer for Myanmar.
“People are suffering hunger and even death due to the war. Youth are embittered; they become avid to take up arms.
“Yet, thanks to God’s grace, our church is living out the gospel. The Body of Christ is growing.”
Online Prayer Hour is a bimonthly, one-hour prayer meeting on Zoom open to all Anabaptist-Mennonites to intercede together. After a brief focus on Scripture and prayer points, participants join small groups by language (English, Spanish, French, Hindi, Indonesian). At the end, group leaders share items raised in their rooms.
At January’s meeting, group leaders called for prayer…
That the church would walk with those who are marginalized and seek justice; for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada and the USA, and for churches in Mexico who are asked to provide refuge for migrants;
For de-escalation of political polarization, income inequality, homelessness and food security;
For de-escalation of political violence in Bolivia, Peru, Brazil and Colombia; for those affected by war, particularly in Ukraine, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia; for churches to act wisely in the spirit of peace in violent times;
For Indonesia’s general election in 2024;
For Indian Christians: those attacked by mobs in Chhattisgarh, India, those at Emmanuel Hospital Association in Fatehpur which was vandalized, and for organizations struggling to operate without FCRA documentation;
For the loved ones and students of Christian leaders killed in a Nepali plane crash;
For sanitation measures and health care in Malawi where a cholera epidemic is rising;
For resources to show God’s love; and for the missionary efforts of Kenya Mennonite Church in Somalia;
For unity amid diversity, especially for those who are a minority.
The prayer hour ends with joyful pandemonium as friends from around the world call out greetings from screen to screen in many languages.
“The unity on the conference was more important than each position,” says Paul Duck, church leader in MWC member church Convenção das Igrejas Irmãos Menonitas (COBIM) in Brazil. “We agreed to create a path or a highway, not too narrow but also not too wide where both groups could live peacefully.”
During online General Council resourcing sessions with former Mennonite World Conference (MWC) general secretary Larry Miller, Paul Duck shared about how the Mennonite Brethren church in Brazil learned to be one.
Each 109 MWC member church has 1-3 representatives on the General Council (based on church size). Their meetings in Indonesia were cut short due to COVID-19 infections among participants. So, General Council delegates gathered on Zoom for equipping and sharing 1-2 December 2022.
“Our consensus-based decision making is not practical with a large group on a medium such as Zoom,” says César García. “However, we can use Zoom to learn and pray together, to keep nurturing our worldwide communion.”
To illustrate “receptive listening,” Paul Duck told a story from his church’s experience.
Some COBIM congregations were historically Anabaptist and predominantly Germanic. Others were Brazilian with strong influences from Pentecostalism. The sharp differences between the groups seemed to be headed toward a split.
“We started with the definitions of what the Bible teaches about the topic. Each group had the opportunity to share about their understanding and the practical living of the explained topics,” says Paul Duck.
As a result of the conversations, “those in the traditional group agreed to be more open to the moving of the Spirit while those in the charismatic group agreed that they could be more focussed on the Word,” says Paul Duck.
Unity within the church was maintained peacefully, with openness to continually revising understandings.
“It should be emphasized that God’s Word should be the reference for unity,” says Paul Duck.
“According to [the apostle] Paul, God’s unity plan is immeasurably bigger than the plan we might have in mind,” says Larry Miller.
New staff join MWC
“Anabaptism is a global movement. But how do we create channels for relationship within a global body, and how do we allow the diversity of this body to shape understandings of “Anabaptist” identity and theology?” says Anicka Fast.
A new era begins for the Faith and Life Commission in 2023 with Anicka Fast as secretary starting in April.
She is seconded to Mennonite Mission Network as a Specialist in church history and missiology for francophone Africa. In that role, she teaches courses in church history at francophone theological institutions in West and Central Africa, and mentors and trains African Mennonite historians. Currently MCC co-representative to Burkina Faso, as of April she will be seconded to MWC while remaining an MCC service worker.
Holding Canadian and Dutch citizenship, she lives in Burkina Faso with her husband and two daughters.
“The Faith and Life Commission offers space to hear stories of how Anabaptists around the world have contributed to the church’s mission and have worked out questions of theology and practice in their contexts,” says Anicka Fast. “With other Commission members, I look forward to exploring how these powerful stories can transform our identity and can renew us in our relationships with each other and with the universal church.”
John Roth has resigned as secretary of the Faith & Life Commission to serve the Anabaptism at 500 project, although he will continue to co-organize events for Renewal 2028.
Ashisha Lal comes to the Kitchener office as bookkeeper and development assistant after completing a post-graduate certificate of global business management at Conestoga College. Originally from Katghora Mennonite Church, BGCMC, India, she first lived in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, on Mennonite Central Committee’s International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP) to serve at Thrift on Kent (2017-2018).
“I have always wanted to be part of spreading and giving the gift of love and peace, helping people see hope through Christ. Working with MWC gives me a chance to do that in the global community,” says Ashisha Lal.
Serving as network coordinator and logistics liaison (GAPN, GAEN, GASN, GMF, GAHN*), Magali Moreno returns to MWC in December 2022. Rebekah Doerksen resigned as GASN, GMF and GAEN coordinator in November, and Andrés Pacheco Lozano resigned from GAPN to become chair of the Peace Commission. From Paraguay, Magali Moreno first served with MWC as office manager in the MWC Asuncion office before the 2009 Assembly followed by a year in the Strasbourg office in an administrative role, and she assisted with the transition of the general secretariat from Strasbourg, France, to Bogotá, Colombia. She served as registration manager for PA 2015.
In the past, I was blessed in many respects by connecting with my large family of faith, and reconnecting with them once again is just a privilege,” says Magali Moreno.
“Changes bring fresh opportunities. We welcome the tremendous gifts these women bring to our staff team,” says César García, MWC general secretary. “John Roth dedicated many years to the global family through MWC. We know we will continue to learn from him through the Anabaptism at 500 project. And we are grateful to continue to work with Andrés in his new capacity as Peace Commission chair.”
Timo Doetsch, youth pastor at Evangelisch Mennonitsche Freikirche, Dresden, Germany, and General Council member for Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Brudergemeinden in Deutschland (AMBD), interviewed former Deacon Commission secretary and new MWC president Henk Stenvers.
How was it for you to lead the Deacons Commission?
I’ve been in secretary of the Deacon Commission for 10 years. It was an inspiration and I always enjoyed the work. Although it sometimes was a lot, it is wonderful to be able to visit so many churches, sometimes very small, sometimes in very rural areas.
Not only do you do the work of the Deacons Commission, you don’t only bring, let’s say, greetings from Mennonite World Conference, you also let people feel that they are part of the family.
But also for me personally, it was enriching. It changed my faith in good ways. I guess I’ve gotten more faithful.
How did Online Prayer Hour begin?
The Deacons Commission came together with MWC Communications in the first period of the lockdown in 2020. So many people were affected by this. We thought, it might be good to organize an online prayer just to pray for coping. The first time, there were immediately 60, 70 people. And it got such a positive response that we said we’ll do it again in September.
Then we got 90 people. Okay, then we’ll do it in November again. And all the time it was done by Arli Klassen coordinator of the regional reps, and by me (for the Deacons) and by Karla Braun of the communications team.
Then, MWC decided to make it an official international event. We had a wonderful time organizing this with the whole Assembly tech team with Liesa (Unger) and everybody. So, it became a steady event every two months.
After the Assembly, the tech team will not be there anymore, but we have already decided that we will go on.
Could you describe some of the Deacons Commission projects?
Well, the first thing that comes to mind is of course the COVID-19 task force.
The Deacon’s Commission is responsible for the Global Church Sharing Fund together with the general secretary. This is for member churches in the Global South to apply for money for projects. We decided in 2020 to turn it into a COVID-19 task force, in cooperation with Mennonite Central Committee. And that was really, really successful.
We supported something like 54 COVID-related projects in many countries. We disbursed more than $500,000, while we never gave one project more than $10,000 US.
And the response from churches, from individuals, from funds was really encouraging.
So in the end, we could support all projects that fulfilled the criteria.
And it was a great cooperation. That task force brought together all the different Mennonite relief organizations in Zoom meetings just to inform each other what they were doing in relation to COVID-19 so they could also coordinate some of their projects.
I think it was wonderful how MWC can be the connecting organization between all those organizations that do all those projects.
Do you see a connection to the other Commissions?
Well, that is strong, especially to the Peace Commission. In the course of the years, we have done several projects together. Two times we did [solidarity] visits together. We have written letters together when a national church is having problems, especially with wars or conflicts.
Every month, we have a meeting between the secretaries of the Commissions. We discuss very openly and have very good cooperation.
You’re stepping back from the Deacons Commission. What do you think are future challenges and key issues for the Deacons?
The shepherd’s staff was gifted to J. Nelson Kraybill in Pennsylvania by Calvin Greiner, a charismatic preacher who walked around the Assembly 16 host city praying. “After a number of trips, Calvin Greiner learned that the Mennonites were about to have an Assembly there, and that a Pennsylvania native would be installed as president. Then it made sense to him why God sent him to Harrisburg so often!” says J. Nelson Kraybill. Pictured: Hens Roesita Sara Dewi (Interpreter: EnglishIndonesian), Maria Hoffscholte Spoelder, Henk Stenvers, J. Nelson Kraybill. Photo: Nelson Okanya
Well, of course the creation care challenge.
Also you see in more and more countries there is either violence or division or polarization. In the coming years, there will be more work for the Deacons Commission, especially with delegation visits to encourage and just let the member churches know that they are part of the global church.
For example, we visited the Wounaan, an Indigenous people living in the forest between Panama and Colombia. Many of them are Mennonite Brethren. They have problems with illegal logging on their land. They asked us to come, but they said, very seriously, ‘we don’t ask you to solve our problems, because you can’t. We ask you to pray for us and to tell the world what is happening.’ That’s exactly what it’s about.
Can you share one of your most favourite Scripture passages?
Well, that’s always a difficult question because it depends on the situation. 1 Corinthians 12 – about the body of Christ – for me at the moment, that’s one of the most important.
Also Sermon on the Mount because those are key passages about trying to be a peacemaker, to work for peace, reconciliation, to have attention for the ones who are having less chances.
And Philippians 4:7: there is a peace that we cannot understand and don’t need to understand, but it guards our hearts and minds.
Can you recommend a book, a song or a movie?
Jonathan Sachs, former chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, has written wonderful books about the books of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. It was really an eye opener to read how from the Jewish tradition he looks at all those stories that sometimes we find confusing.
You will be in the new president of MWC. What thoughts on your mind about it?
It feels like a big responsibility; however, after four years of being president elect, I don’t know if I’m ready, but let’s begin. In MWC, we work as a team: the officers, Executive Committee, staff – we all work together.
I feel honoured and humbled to stand in that line of presidents.
You come from the Netherlands and among the MWC churches, the European church is tiny. What is your take on this?
In MWC, it is typical that it is not important where you come from. The people don’t choose you because of your country. They choose you because they know you.
I think people chose me because they know me. I’ve been in global life since 2003. Being a General Council member, I became secretary of Deacons Commission in 2012. I have been Europe representative at the same time from 2014 to 2020. So I have been in many places and met many people in the global church.
MWC is a platform where we should be able to talk about anything. If not in official dialogue, then person to person, with respect, without judging, without splitting. That’s important, I think, if our desire to be a peace church is real, then we should not solve problems by splitting. Accepting that people are coming from different contexts and start reading the Bible together and try to explain what you read and what they read, and then maybe you could come to better understanding.
What will be important for you during your presidency?
Well, I think one of the things we see more is problems with leadership in churches. And I think that MWC can play a role in trying to resource people for church leadership. We want to foster leaders who are not glued to their chairs, but ready to give over to somebody else without a conflict. Those things will be important.
You’ve used the image of the Sagrada Familia cathedral for the church. Can you explain more?
I like the idea of a cathedral as the house of God.
The people that started to build a cathedral never saw it ready. So you have to have a lot of trust to start building. It is said that architect Antoni Gaud√≠ really didn’t want to finish it. He wanted to keep building all the time.
I think that’s a wonderful parallel. The house of God is never finished. It’s solid, but you have to keep building.
But then the other thing is that when you walk around the Sagrada Familia, you see first a part that was designed by Gaud√≠. It’s wild with all kinds of interesting images. You go around and then you see the part that was designed after his death. Totally different. And there are more parts that are designed by other architects.
This is a very diverse building; still, it is one. It reaches up to God and it’s never finished.
“We trust it is a joy to serve the global Anabaptist family, but recognize it takes effort. We are grateful for the officers, Executive Committee and Commission members who dedicate volunteer time and care to this work,” says César García, MWC general secretary.
“Thank you to J. Nelson Kraybill and Rebecca Osiro who have finished their terms as president and vice president. Thank you to departing Executive Committee members (Alexander Neufeld, Juan Veron Aquino, Paul Phinehas) and to Commission chairs Joji Pantoja (Peace), Siaka Traoré (Deacons) and Stanley Green (Mission) who have completed their service.”
After several years of meeting on Zoom, the Executive Committee (EC) gathered in person 12-14 December 2022 in Schoorl, the Netherlands, enabling new and existing members to meet face to face.
Due to truncated meetings in Indonesia (see “General Council learns about unity”), the Executive Committee made decisions on outstanding items from the General Council agenda.
The Executive Committee approved financial projections and Fair Share proposals for 2022-2025.
They approved the Peace Commission’s statement “Declaration on Conscientious Objection”.
Emerging networks have been operating for several years, however, the EC now approved their placement within MWC’s structure:
Global Anabaptist Peace Network (GAPN) under the Peace Commission.
The EC confirmed new General Council representatives on Commissions and Andrés Pacheco Lozano as Peace Commission chair. Formerly GAPN coordinator, Andrés Pacheco Lozano is research assistant to the Chair of Peace Theology and Ethics at the VU University Amsterdam and lecturer in the Doopsgezind Seminarium (Dutch Mennonite Seminary). Andrés Pacheco Lozano is co-director of the Amsterdam Center for Religion, Peace & Justice Studies and a post-doctoral researcher in the Center for Peace Church Theology at the University of Hamburg (Germany). A member of Iglesia Menonita de Colombia, he lives in the Netherlands.
Jorge Morales (Iglesias Hermanos Menonitas de Colombia)
MWC staff continue to approach candidates to complete the Deacons and Peace Commissions. The Executive Committee will decide by email on the final candidates.
The following members were affirmed to terms on theYABs Committee:
Asia: Kkot-Ip Bae (Mennonite Church South Korea)
Africa: Isaac Nii Torgbor Gborbitey (Ghana Mennonite Church)
Europe: Gaëlle Oesch (Association des Églises Évangéliques Mennonites de France)
Latin America: Valentina Kunze (Konferenz der Mennonitengemeinden in Uruguay)
North America: Felix Diener Perez (MC USA)
Ebenezer Mondez is the staff mentor (2022-2028).
Kkot-Ip Bae, Isaac Nii Torgbor Gborbitey, Gaëlle Oesch, Valentina Kunze, Felix Diener Perez
Introducing the global family:
Consejo de las Congregaciones de los Hermanos Menonitas en Uruguay
ICOMB conference & MWC national member church
The Mennonite Brethren church in Uruguay has culminated the year with much joy. We held united worship services and began the activities of the Institute of Ministerial Formation (CEHM).
During the year 2022, we supported the activities of the churches on their anniversaries, received new members, and performed baptisms; for this, we give glory to God. In all these instances we sought to foster unity among the members and support the leaders.
We ended the year with gratitude to God by preparing the children, youth, and ladies camp activities to be held in January-February 2023 in Villa Maranatha.
As a challenge for next year we see with joy and hope the culmination of the group “Timothy Project,” which is already in its third year of leadership training. The desire to open a new work in Villa Maranatha is also a reason for prayer, in view of the growth of the resort, with a stable population, and the lack of churches in the area. We ask that you remember us in prayer to achieve these goals.
—Amelia Consentino, ICOMB Update
The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 22 national churches in 19 countries. ICOMB also has associate members in more than 20 countries, all at different points along the pathway to full membership. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding.
Friday night
Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30).
Jesus’ message in this passage is so relevant and necessary today since, one way or another, we all suffer from pain, death and consternation. This message from our Lord is true and generous for all of us who are carrying sorrow, pain, anxiety, fear, guilt and so many other accusations. Now more than ever, life circumstances exhaust us as they weigh on our hearts and prevent us from living the abundant life that Christ offers us in his Word.
This is a universal promise of rest, full of grace and open to all who approach the well that is Jesus Christ, the one who is able to free us from the unbearableness of our situations. The rest Jesus offers is hidden from the wise and intelligent, and revealed to infants, according to Matthew 11:25, to those who are like children in their ability to hope, who are innocent and vulnerable. It is for those who have understood the good news, redemption, reconciliation with God, ourselves and others. We are expected to share this charismatic gift of rest composed of comfort, restoration and rebirth with others as a sign of God’s protection.
The passage invites us to put on Christ’s yoke, a crossbar that joins us to Jesus but also to those who need support to make their burden light and easy to bear. This yoke unites us in love that is free of pretense, showing a true interest, empathy and willingness to share with others, thus becoming God-made-flesh once again.
Bring healing and relief
As a church, we are called to present to the Lord those who have been surprised by fear, guilt and shame so that they might receive healing and relief. We are not to be like those who were filled with rage and took the sinful woman before Jesus that he might condemn her to death by stoning in which they planned to gleefully participate (John 8:1-11). Jesus makes them face their own sin and recall their fallen human nature and they withdraw, overcome.
Today, we are not to be informants who judge and exclude; we are to be therapists who bring rest and relief to those who are trapped in spiritual prisons, recalling the moments in our own lives when we traversed the valley of the shadow of death, trapped by yokes of various kinds of slavery that were destroying us. However, Jesus stood before us, looked us in the eyes with understanding, stooped down and untied our shame, thus releasing us to salvation.
That historic salvation offered to us at that precise moment is the same salvation that starts here with Jesus’ Word and Spirit. That presence is alive and well among us, and all who are part of the body of Christ, as a tangible sign of the kingdom of God and God’s shalom.
Following two years of pandemic, spiced with wars, ethnic and racial conflict, mass migrations and human protests, there are many survivors (some less scathed than others), but many of whom have lost almost all their material possessions in the fight for survival. They walk in grief for their lost fathers, mothers, siblings and children. They have lost their stability – mental, emotional and even spiritual. Entire towns have been razed and destroyed. Human greed incessantly consumes, sowing hopelessness wherever it goes.
The church was also shaken to the core, jolted out of its passivity that kept it at a distance from many sad and painful truths; it was forced to redefine its mission, re-read the Word of God through new eyes, and work beyond its walls.
Break the paradigms
Now continues to be a perfect moment and opportunity to break the paradigms that accuse, build walls and keep us apart. May we allow the God of patience and consolation to give us this same sentiment of Christ so that we may unanimously give the glory to God (Romans 15:5-13) knowing that it means nothing more and nothing less than loving our brothers and sisters, receiving them as Christ received us.
Through friendship, hospitality and applying a balm to the wounds, shifting the gravestone where death once lay and untying the bandages, we can stabilize and affirm all those whom we should receive with open arms filled with the hope and promises of long ago that are made manifest here and now through men and women who do the will of God.
May we rejoice with praise, singing out God’s name in the midst of all the people present, that we may be filled with joy and peace while we wait.
Clothed with new energy
Cindy Alpízar
Yes, it is time for rest to be restored. We should proclaim this today in spite of what we see and experience because for a long while now we do not walk by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) but by faith in what Jesus, our Sabbath, has proclaimed. Jesus calls us to stop, surrender our anxiety and pain to him, knowing that Jesus is able to care for us. Let us not continue wearily along our way; rather, let us be clothed with new energy so that we may also offer relief to those who have no idea how to continue. Let us pray that the Lord’s peace reign in our heart (Colossians 3:15-17), being one body that is grateful for the presence Jesus left with us.
May we not abandon the little ones, the most vulnerable, those who have been left along the wayside. Oh Lord, may your Word abundantly abide in us, that we may be motivated to wisely care for one another while giving thanks, because we can say “Ebenezer, you have helped us.”
In this beautiful country and this meeting of brothers and sisters from so many different backgrounds, let us celebrate life, our faith, our Anabaptist and Mennonite traditions, while not forgetting the point of this meeting: crossing barriers means going out to meet the other, discover who they are, and meet them in their otherness with love, just like the father who waited full of hope, day and night, for his son to return no matter his condition when he arrived home.
To conclude, in this Assembly, more than ever, may we stop and examine our faith and how we live. May God help us to promote life, justice, mercy and lots of compassion. May our faith communities, our ministries and our own lives provide rest to those who are weary and burdened so that their burdens may be light and bearable. Amen.
— Cindy Alpízar Alpízar serves as a pastor and administrator at Discípulos de Jesús los Lagos, Heredia, Costa Rica, and with the national church (Asociación de Iglesias Cristianas Menonitas). She is passionate about serving people who live on the streets.
When we think of older generations, we think of those who came before us, the ones whose shoulders we stand on. However, when we think about the solidarity of our relationship with those generations, there seems to be a gap.
Intergenerational relationships are of utmost importance. There is immense value in passing on wisdom from one generation to the other. We can learn from the mistakes of those who came before us, but that can only happen if we choose to stay connected. A strong connection allows for mentorship, advice and direction. Older people have lived through experiences and circumstances that younger people have not. This is the surest way to share wisdom.
Bridging the gap between one generation and the next is also a vital way of preserving the core values of the church and of passing on the baton to the next generation.
From a biblical perspective, intergenerational solidarity can bring about blessings or curses. In Deuteronomy 28, there is a list of blessings and curses.
“But if you will not obey the Lord your God by diligently observing all his commandments and decrees, which I am commanding you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you…. The Lord will send upon you disaster, panic, and frustration in everything you attempt to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.” (Deuteronomy 28:1-6) “But if you will not obey the Lord your God by diligently observing all his commandments and decrees, which I am commanding you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you…. The Lord will send upon you disaster, panic, and frustration in everything you attempt to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.” (Deuteronomy 28:15, 20)
“All these curses shall come upon you, pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God, by observing the commandments and the decrees that he commanded you. They shall be among you and your descendants as a sign and a portent forever.
Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and with gladness of heart for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and lack of everything. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.” (Deuteronomy 28:45-48)
In Deuteronomy 28, we can see how both blessings and curses can be passed on from one generation to the next. Examples today include but are not limited to remnants of colonialism, racism, injustices, wars, violence, the merciless killings of minority groups or innocent people and jealousy.
We can see the negative impacts all these acts have had on different generations and different races. All these sins bring about curses which can destroy intergenerational relationships.
One generation may ask the other: Why didn’t you stand up for what is right? When black men or women were being killed, why did you remain silent? During the time of the Holocaust, why didn’t you stand up for what is right? When war was erupting, why didn’t you speak up?
To this day, my question to older generations concerning injustices of the past is still: Why didn’t you stand up for what is right?
How can we be sure that God will bless us and bless the ones who will come after us? By living the life of obedience that God has called us to.
What are actions we can take to create, nurture or repair intergenerational relationships?
1. Repent
We can ask God to forgive our forefathers and -mothers for the sins they committed knowingly or unknowingly. Sins that have brought upon curses on their generation, and the generations to come.
According to 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We must confess our sins and that includes confessing the sins of the generations that came before us.
God will release a blessing over our lives and our future generations. It is one thing to ask for forgiveness, however it is important not to continue in those old ways or continue living in sin. If we have chosen to follow the way of Christ, then there is no room for malice, violence, racism or injustices.
2. Pray
We can seek God’s face concerning the future of the church. We can pray that God will bridge the gap between generations and for meaningful relationships to be created. We can also pray that God reveals God’s divine will and purpose for our lives. The Bible encourages us to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17,NIV)
3. Act
We can be intentional about creating spaces for different generations and age groups to interact. We can find ways to build intergenerational relationships through our families, the church and our communities. We can also create mentorship programs between young people and older adults. “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead” (James 2:26).
Intergenerational solidarity can also strengthen our relationship with God. “One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendour of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness. They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness (Psalm 145:4-7).
Faith can be passed on from one generation to the other. When we reflect on the wonderful acts of God in our lives, we can trace it back to generations before us. We can only have a strong appreciation for God’s work when there is good relation between one generation and the other. Sharing our testimonies with each other can strengthen our faith in God.
— Makadunyiswe Doublejoy Ngulube is the YABs (Young AnaBaptists) Committee Africa representative (2015-2022) and a member of the Brethren in Christ Church Zimbabwe. She currently lives in Canada where she pursues her passion for environmental science the God-given responsibly to steward the earth’s resources well.
“And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.” (2 Samuel 6:5 ESV).
Even though I had only a short time to prepare for this, the idea comes from my heart that I was thinking about for a very long time.
I am tired of war, conflict, hunger, poverty, division, hatred, gun violence, black and white class difference, the oppression of women, slaughter of children and women, fake news, liars and unjust authorities and leaders and so many, many issues that you all are aware of.
COVID-19… during the high point of it in the news: we were counting numbers and when the number goes down, we feel happy that it’s getting down. Yet, we missed that those are not just numbers, but people, Humans, created in the image of God. It’s sad!
In the middle of all of this turmoil around me, around the globe, how can I celebrate in a situation like this? When I am told that I can’t cross over because I am black from a poor country? when I am interrogated like a criminal in most of the immigrations in most countries? when I am treated as burden and a problem? when I am treated as a terrorist? My uniqueness is being treated as a threat, my choices have been rejected: when I live in the mercy of my superiors, how can I celebrate?! Where there is no hope, why and how do I need to celebrate! How can I enjoy?
I paused and asked myself what do we mean when we say celebrate? So, I decided to consult my dictionary.
Celebrate: in one of the definitions, it is an acknowledgement with a social gathering or enjoyable activity a significant or happy day or an event.
Okay! So, Celebration is an acknowledgment!
It’s being together.
It’s to see significance in others.
Unless you are significant to me and I am significant for you, there is no celebration of togetherness.
Seeing significance in others crosses barriers. It helps you and me to celebrate our togetherness regardless of what.
I can forget my pain if I am significant to you.
I can pass the storm if I am significant to you.
I leave my superiority if I am significant to you.
I learn from my mistakes if I am significant to you.
My being rich or poor won’t be a hindrance anymore if I am significant to you.
If I am significant for you and you for me, I can celebrate at any time and any place.
As David celebrated before the Lord with songs and shouts of joy, let us celebrate our togetherness in a time like this. As we celebrate our togetherness … let us do it with the understanding of our significance to each other, with exuberance came from the heart, doing it in a genuine act of celebration and without exhibitionism or despising.
One way of the many we can celebrate our togetherness always in MWC is through the Deacon Commission work.
— Tigist Tesfaye Gelagle is a youth leader with Debub Meserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia. She is completing her term as YABs mentor (2015-2022) and will take the role of secretary of the Deacons Commission.
Once the laws became progressively more flexible during the lockdown we all experienced in 2020, I was able to cycle through the mountains in my home city. Although we were not allowed to mill about on the street, we were allowed to go out and do sports for a few hours at a time.
During the pandemic that so radically changed our lives, the best thing I could do to remain grounded was go cycling. I enjoyed every outing, not only for the physical activity but also for the opportunity to take in marvellous views hidden within the mountains of the beautiful city where I was born, Ibagué, Colombia.
Each morning, despite sometimes feeling sleepy, I got ready to go for a ride, anticipating discovering more of the beautiful work of our Creator. I was looking for a new, colourful scene to photograph, a new view from the top of the mountains, simple peasant families waving and urging me on along the route, and of course, a new physical challenge. I realized that, more than the physical exercise, it was like therapy, giving me peace of mind.
Each outing confirmed for me what the superlative emphasizes in Genesis 1:31: “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good”. God’s creation is perfect! He put everything in its place, including us as human beings. This verse is included in the account of the sixth day on which God created humanity
The scenery that I was able to take in, the vegetation, the animals and also the humans are all part of God’s creation. All of it together is included within the adjective used only at the end of the sixth day “God saw that it was good”
After seeing these great wonders, I asked myself: Why do we want to destroy God’s perfect work? Why do we, as humans, expend so much effort in destroying it? Is this a reflection of our sinful nature?
I am convinced that a large part of the damage is due to the ambitions of powerful people. And yes, ambition and envy are what prompt them to ride roughshod over others and creation itself without considering the damage being caused for the benefit of only a few.
I have already told you that my city is surrounded by majestic mountains that harbour beautiful views and a wealth of natural diversity for all to see. Well, almost, but not quite all. In addition to peasants, indigenous communities and cyclists, a multinational company has discovered the wealth hidden beneath the soil.
They requested a licence to explore and then exploit open pit gold mines. This spectacular place – brimming with diversity – is a source of life not only because of the water that springs up there, but also because it produces a great quantity of food for the region. This is being put at risk, all for the sake of gold.
Naturally, the peasant, indigenous and civil society communities joined together to put a stop to this unprecedented ecocide in the region. My church community did not stand by idly on this problem. The Ibagué Mennonite Church joined the movement that slowly but surely turned into a symbol of resistance and love of creation. As part of our commitment to steward creation, we joined with other movements and expressions of faith that diverge from our own. We joined because of our love of the natural beauty and life itself.
In his book, Anabaptist Essentials, Palmer Becker reminds us of three core values that he says define us as Anabaptists. We are probably all familiar with them.
Can you recall them?
Jesus is the centre of our faith.
Community is the centre of our life.
Reconciliation is the centre of our work.
I can see these three values reflected in the Ibagué Mennonite Church’s experience I just told you about.
Jesus is the centre of our faith, guiding us in love for one another and for Creation.
Community is the centre of our lives, reflected in who we care about and as we help one another to defend our territory.
And, reconciliation is the centre of our work, bringing together people around a shared problem in spite of their divergent thoughts and beliefs.
Beyond this, though, is the task of not only being reconciled to God and our neighbour, but also with nature – our sister and the work of our Father; Pacha Mama (Mother Earth); the source of life.
Thanks to God, and the unity of the people, a public consultation managed to stop the exploration and the exploitation of gold in our mountains. The project tried to sell the idea of development for the region, but the people came out on the side of water and life in place of gold.
I am aware that this does not make up for the suffering of our planet at this moment, but it is an example of the change that can be achieved when we work together as a community, caring for creation. Of course, small actions are also valuable and count, and even more so if each one of us practices caring for the environment.
So, I would like to conclude with a question.
If all of us have heard of reduce, reuse, recycle, what are we doing to leave a small mark for the better in our environment?
What changes are we bringing about in our communities?
Are we impacting our contexts with the Anabaptist value of reconciliation with God, our neighbours and nature with the utmost of love?
—Oscar Suárez is the YABs (Young AnaBaptists) Committee representative for Latin America and the Caribbean (2017-2022). He serves as a teacher in Colegio Americano Menno (a Mennonite school in Colombia) and youth leader for Iglesia Menonita de Teusaquillo in Bogotá. He is a member of Iglesia Menonita de Ibague, Colombia.
Ephesians 2:14-17 “For he is our peace, in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near…”
The varied global contexts characterized by polarized ideologies, culture, ethnicities, religions, technologies and economies – with their power structures that oppress societies – are what lead to war and all kinds of human rights violations. The hope of creating more just societies is frustrated, making reconciliation with God, nature and ourselves more difficult. In such circumstance it becomes possible to see the deep resentment in all its daily forms that occupies our human realities.
This reality demands that the Anabaptist church and other confessions and religious expressions urgently reconsider the importance of Christ’s gospel. The kingdom of God needs to be built in such contexts through reconciliation strategies that cross ethnic, economic, technological, religious, and cultural boundaries.
The apostle Paul was able to read the socio-political and religious situation between Jews and other first century societies well. He did so by virtue of his Judeo-Christian worldview informed by an understanding of Jesus’ ministry as the Son of God: breaking down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us… thus making peace.
Social dialogue becomes an essential tool for transforming society that has been forced to put up with incomprehensible wars for decades. The intentional and thoughtless practice of war has destroyed the social fabric and placed people’s ethnic and cultural identities at risk. War leaves ethnic, cultural and faunistic genocide in its wake that primarily affects the most vulnerable communities.
For instance, in Colombia, the groups most affected by the armed conflict have been Black and Indigenous communities in ethnic and collective territories. They have been coerced into abandoning their amicable relationship with their environment and social context. When this happened, the conflict led to drastic changes in how differences are resolved between people. The use of weapons became the context has forced sectors of society to use develop a shared vision for building peace through the use of social dialogue.
Social dialogue entails finding common ground that allows for finding practical solutions for living together peacefully, with the goal of embracing the humanity and reciprocity in each other. This idea flows from the Bantu word used in southern Africa and popularised by Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu: ubuntu, which means “I am because you are”. We exist because of a community.
In Colombia, we have a strategy that seeks to respond to these challenges. We have begun interethnic and ecumenical work from a collective worldview that is more than a theological and religious posture. We start with various processes that are community-based, using local know-how and capacity, with a respect for autonomy. In this way, we work toward concrete actions.
We serve as a space where inter-ethnic organizations and churches can connect and be strengthened as we support them in building and making their life-giving plans for peace visible in their territories.
Our work is centred around reconciliation processes, ethnic peace and local development, through strategic alliances between churches, government bodies, the private sector, regional peace platforms and international organizations.
Core strategy
Work in favour of holistic and sustainable ethnic community development in ethnic regions that facilitate linkages between base communities and regional organizations and peace agendas through dialogue that focuses on resolving conflict in local areas.
We use the following lines of action:
Victims’ rights: Life, dignity and justice. Holistic reparation for victims of the armed conflict (includes truth, justice, reparation, assurances of non-repetition), full enjoyment of their rights, safe return to their local communities with dignity (education, health, shelter, security).
Peace education: Spiritualities, cultures and territories. Training in citizenship, human rights, cultural identity and democratic participation, development of shared visions for the region, and nonviolent social and political conflict transformation.
Citizenship participation guarantees. Local autonomy and self government. Strengthening direct, participative and representative democracy; consolidating multi sectoral citizen pacts and moving towards an inclusive political climate that respect the ethnic, social and cultural pluralities present in the nation.
Production: Ethnic development and creation care. Guarantee food security and sovereignty from an ethnic and environmental sustainability perspective.
Reconciliation: Spirit of dialogue and social collaboration. Reach agreements based on justice and social inclusion; open a path to the future through building relational networks of trust amongst diverse social actors, the private sector and government bodies. Justice, peace, development and reconciliation all require space for transforming conflict through dialogue, participation and social agreement with respect to policies that deliver well-being to communities
Peaceful communication: This proposal is oriented toward strengthening the network of popular communicators so that they share, build and strengthen processes and communication skills rooted in afro, indigenous and mestizo communities that inhabit subregions of the country. Also, these communicators make actions related to peace building, historical memory, resistance, forgiveness, reconciliation and protection of the regions and their development visible.
— José Rutilio Rivas Domínguez is a Mennonite Brethren pastor, theologian, social enterprise entrepreneur and peacebuilder in Colombia, and a member of the MWC Mission Commission.
