Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • In this issue, we have examples of how members of the Anabaptist Mennonite family are making a place for children in their local churches around the world.

    “Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy?6:7).

    This was a direct command to the Israelites from God to teach children God’s Word thousands of years ago, because children are important to God. God created children, loves them and, most importantly, does not want them to perish. This command to teach applies to us even today in the 21st–century.

    Many churches realize this and involve children in different ways. Some have Sunday school for the children. Others involve children in their regular Sunday services through giving them responsibility: take up the offering, read Scripture, help in leading worship, play a musical instrument, distribute and pick up song books.

    Sunday school teachers’ training

    One of the important aspects of conducting Sunday school is training teachers.

    Often, individuals begin teaching Sunday school because of their love for children, even though they may not be particularly trained for it. Also, after many years, there is a need to upgrade oneself as the world is changing.

    Children are becoming more advanced than they were earlier. Technology has taken up almost every aspect of our lives. So, churches organize trainings/capacity building workshops for them, or send them for trainings/workshops elsewhere. It is a blessing to learn new, creative teaching innovations and uses of technology to reach out to children.

    Our Mennonite church conference has realized the importance of this and has begun organizing Sunday School teacher trainings in different areas. Two trainings in two areas were conducted this fiscal year with external resource persons, and two more will be conducted in the following year.

    Challenges in Sunday school

    One of the challenges in conducting/organizing Sunday school is the lack of individuals to take up the responsibility. Reasons include not feeling equipped, not being confident enough to handle children, or not having the time to prepare and deliver lessons.

    When there are not enough teachers, children cannot be divided according to age groups. Thus, the Sunday school is not able to cater to the needs of each age. One or the other group invariably gets neglected.

    Additional activities for children in the church

    In 2015, our church joined with two other churches to have a combined VBS, where the theme was “Jesus is our Friend”. It was a great opportunity for the children to interact and get to know each other. We taught stories from the Bible that emphasized this theme, and encouraged the children to forge new friendships. On the last day, children made friendship bracelets for each other.

    Here are some other ways children can participate in church community life:

    • Christmas program where children perform songs, skits, choreography, recite Scripture portions while parents watch,
    • Children’s day celebration or a picnic,
    • visit to a children’s home or an old age home,
    • distribute gifts to parents on Mother’s and Father’s Day.

    Child protection

    An area where we are lacking in is protecting children in case of abuse or neglect. It is still a hushed topic in many parts of India and churches need to work on this aspect. Some of our Mennonite churches have a partnership with organizations who have strict measures of child protection. Every individual working with children had to sign a Child Protection Pledge and follow a strict policy. We are instructed to help children who are abused to make a complaint to the police and follow up.

    This is a national issue that has to be taken seriously by the churches.

    Future

    Overall, most churches understand the importance of children in the church. Children need to be given opportunities to grow and develop to take up leadership in different spheres and activities in the church. In this way, second–line leadership will be developed.

    While a lot is being done, there is a need for much more to reach out to them adequately.

    My prayer is for ministry with and toward children to increase and that more people be willing to take up the responsibility of ministry among children in their respective churches.

    —Mrs. Jessica Mondal is a church leader from Emmanuel Chapel, Calcutta, India. The congregation is part of Mennonite World Conference national member church Bharatiya Jukta Christa Prachar Mandali

    This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier April 2019.

  • “The global church works best when all her parts are engaged in sharing their stories,” said Patrick Obonde, director of missions at the Anabaptist Leadership Education Centre in Kenya.

    On 17–19 June 2019, historians, pastors and archivists did just that at “Power and Preservation: Enabling Access to the Sources Behind Our Stories,” at Goshen College, Indiana, USA. An initiative of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism (ISGA), the conference had 16 presentations on the state of the historical sources and storytelling in African, Asian, North American, and Latin American Anabaptist churches and organizations.

    Presenters addressed resources, access and commitment to preserving history in their contexts.

    Although each raised unique concerns, common themes emerged.

    • Oral history is a priority. Digitizing sources has great potential for preservation and increased accessibility, but it also requires significant financial resources.
    • The love of power or fear of its loss can make access to historical documents difficult.
    • A tradition of localism is a barrier to preservation. “Everyone feels comfortable with how things are,” said Ursula Giesbrecht, archivist of the Menno Colony in Loma Plata, Paraguay. “It is always difficult to move away from your customs.”

    At the end of the symposium, the group drafted a statement that synthesized the themes addressed at the gathering.

    Laura Miller“As followers of Jesus Christ our history connects us, reminds us of the Spirit’s activity among us, and calls us forward into the future,” it declares. “Archives play a crucial role in helping us to understand the inseparability of the stories of church and mission.”

    This statement declares the importance of historical identity, the urgency of recording stories, and the necessity of access to sources in a healthy church community. The statement also recognizes barriers churches face in preserving and providing access to historical sources, and concludes with a list of commitments signed by 29 participants from 12 countries.

    According to Roth, the idea for the symposium was born in conversations with Anicka Fast, a doctoral student whose research on Mennonite mission in DR Congo was inhibited by limited or restricted access to archives, and by the precarious condition of documents. The organizers sought to broaden the discussion regarding preservation and access, and address how historical narratives shape the identity of the global church.

    Pamela Sari, whose PhD research examined Jemaat Kristen Indonesia (MWC member church in Indonesia), is hopeful about the future of Mennonite archives. “The church is truly gifted with leaders, missionaries, members, scholars, archivists who care deeply about its history. I pray that God will continue to increase our capacity to stay planted in the love and truth of Christ and his Word.”

    —An MWC release by Laura Miller / Goshen College

     

    Click here to read the statement.

  • As I was getting ready to move to another country, I found this letter that my youngest daughter wrote to me when she was seven years old. Now, she is 23. What wonderful memories of her childhood!

    This letter brought back other memorable moments, like when she was four and said to me, “Jesus is really stretched, isn’t He? He streeeeeetches and streeeeeetches himself.” This was her fist profession of faith! When I asked her why Jesus was stretched, she told me that this is so because he is everywhere.

    This was her way of understanding the idea of God’s presence in all of creation.

    Girls and boys are a beautiful gift from God. They bring joy, strength, hope – and also big challenges (like how to explain the idea of Jesus always being in our midst to a little girl).

    Infants come into our lives like guests that require our attention, care and affection. Like guests, they also leave us and continue on their journey after visiting us in our home.

    My daughters no longer live with us, but we continue to talk about faith issues even now that they have gone.

    Sometimes, I ask myself whether we would be able to continue these conversations about God now without having had the foundation of these great conversations during their childhood. What would our relationship be like today if they had not felt welcome and safe in our home?

    The way that we treat those guests that we call descendants will, in good measure, determine what our relationship will be like with them when they go their own way.

    The same thing happens at church. Children’s ministry at each congregation is an important way in which we welcome and bless the girls and boys that come as guests to our communities. The way in which we treat them can have a great effect on how they will relate to the church once they have grown and continue on their journey as adults. Unfortunately, there are many people who have fallen victim to indifference, rejection and even physical and emotional abuse in church contexts.

    Children’s ministry has been the focus of this edition of the Courier in the interest of ensuring that our global church continues through the local congregations to be a place of refuge and hospitality for the girls and boys of society. Careful preparation of leaders and teachers, environments free of abuse, and the active participation of children in the life of the church are some of the aspects that this Courier invites us to take into account as we perform this important ministry.

    It is my prayer that our congregations continue to be places that bring pleasant recollections to our girls and boys the world over, that they are places where the presence of Jesus is palpable to each guest that we receive.

    —César García, MWC general secretary, works out of the general secretariat office in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

    This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier April 2019.

  • Colombia is in the early stages of a peace process signed in late 2016 between the largest guerilla group and the national government. Even though many of us had high hopes that the peace agreements would bring a turnaround in the country’s history of violence, many armed actors remain and proliferate cases of political corruption and assassinations of social leaders and human rights defenders – all of which hinder our human rights and divine calling to peace. Colombia’s context of violence impacts our whole society, including church communities, especially those in rural areas caught in the crossfire of armed groups (legal and illegal) and abandoned by the state.

    The passage in Philippians 4:7 encourages us to trust in the promise of the peace of God, a peace that transcends all understanding. One church community I visited in the southwestern region of the country during this post-agreement stage embodies trusting in God’s peace. The town’s residents have been witness to armed clashes since the 1960s. The latest clash between two insurgent armed groups lasted six days. When I got to the community, about three days after the clashes had ended, I met various church leaders of the area. Some of these leaders included an indigenous campesino (peasant farmer) couple who had come from the side of the mountain where the clashes had occurred. I greeted them and asked them how their week had been, they responded “Very well because of the grace of God.”

    Upon further discussion they shared that the clashes were deeply affecting their community. Many people were afraid to leave their homes since curfews had been installed by the armed groups. Several members of the community were being asked to leave their land. That land is what the armed groups fight to have control over: rich and fertile soil perfect for illicit crop cultivation.

    Yes, this couple’s church community up in the mountain was facing the real effects of war once again, yet they remained faithful and trusting in the peace of God. They organized community prayer nights from seven at night until three in the morning several nights that week, trusting God with their fates. They also kept encouraging the members of their community to keep growing food and vegetable crops and not to submit to illicit crop cultivation. They were also organizing with other church leaders in the area to plan nonviolent methods of resistance. They were not going to be displaced; this was their land.

    The couple shared with me that they were very thankful for God’s protection that week since no one from the church community or the general community had been caught in the crossfire (although there were some deaths from either side of the armed groups). “All we can do,” they said, “is to share the message of God through Jesus so that this violence and war may end.”

    This is exactly what they do. This community embodies the promise of God’s peace, which surpasses all understanding. It does not make sense to pray, to take care of the land, or to organize to keep a community rooted when there is a war that is seeking to tear people apart, to destroy crops, and to displace communities, yet these are the actions of peace this community understands as following the way of Christ.

    The clashes between the two insurgent armed groups have ceased for now, but the armed groups and their dispute over control of the territory remains. The church community also remains, demonstrating that God’s peace is active and alive even in the middle of strife and uncertainty, even in the crossfire.

    —Andrea Moya 

     

    This testimony is part of the Peace Sunday worship resource for 2019. Click here to see more.

     

    Klicken Sie hier, um diese Geschichte auf Deutsch zu lesen.

     

  • Renewal 2027 testimony: Anabaptists today

    Renewal 2027 is a 10-year series of events organized by Mennonite World Conference’s Faith and Life Commission to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement. This series highlights leaders in the movement from history to the present.

    In the structure of the Brethren in Christ Church of Zimbabwe, most leadership positions are filled by men. However, there are many women who have great leadership skills and have been pastors and effective leaders in the church.

    At the annual Brethren in Christ Church (BICC) Council meetings of Matopo District on 10–12 May 2019, overseer Reverend Siphetho Dube publicly thanked Catherine Ndlovu, popularly known as Mama nakaPeninnah (mother of Peninnah). For 46 years, Mama nakaPeninnah served voluntarily as pastor at BICC Bezha in Matopo District.

    People kept asking her to lead, and “God has greatly sustained me,” she says. Now, in her 80s, she is stepping back to retire.

    Sichelesile Similo Ndlovu

    Catherine Ndolovu was born at Nyumbane in Matopo 17 October 1939 and married Absalom Ndlovu in 1961. They were blessed with six children. She was saved in the early 1950s and was baptized in 1957 at BICC Nsezi. 

    The district council meeting was graced by Bishop Sindah Ngulube, who expressed deep appreciation for the work done by women who devote their time to serve the church on a voluntary basis. He prayed for Mama nakaPeninnah together with Mrs. Suzen Ngulube, Mrs. Sikhanyisiwe Dube and Mrs. Besilina Ziduli.

    After she was prayed for, Mama nakaPeninnah narrated the joys she enjoyed in serving the Lord all these years. She is proud to say she has worked hard to teach the Word of God to many great leaders in the church today. She also strongly encouraged marriage, hence she has seen many young people wed in her congregation, including her biological children.

    Mama nakaPeninnah also recalls being an example of giving cattle to the church. She is thankful to the church that was supportive and faithful not only to her, but mostly to the Lord. She encourages the church to continue with the same spirit toward the newly elected pastor. She encourages other women ministers to be faithful to the Lord, and they too will see the hand of God in their lives.

    —Mennonite World Conference release by Mrs Sichelesile Similo Ndlovu. She is the Pastor’s wife at Matopo Mission.

     
     
     
     
     
     

  • Renewal 2027 testimony: historical profile

    Renewal 2027 is a 10-year series of events organized by Mennonite World Conference’s Faith and Life Commission to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement. This series highlights leaders in the movement from history to the present.

    Everyone in the Mennonite Christian group that started in Kudus, Indonesia, in the 1920s cooperated in preaching the gospel. They met, discussed God’s Word and praised God with songs and prayers. “This church really reminds us of the Jerusalem church,” wrote Johann Fast in a report to his mission board. Johann Fast was a Russian Mennonite serving among the Dutch Mennonite mission in Indonesia.

    In the nearby village of Majong, “For the sake of the congregation meetings, traders close their shops. They start with prayer meetings. Not only the father prays but also the mother and children…. They thank God for diverting them from idols made of stone and wood to the living God.”

    They carried out evangelism not only on certain days and times, but every day and in various relationships.

    Church members going to the service in the early 1970s. Photo courtesy of GKMIThis participation contributed to rapid church growth in the Kudus region, writes Lawrence Yoder in Tunas Yang Tumbuh, Sejarah Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia (The Growing Plant: A History of the Muria Christian Churches of Indonesia).

    In 1922, Chinese Christians in Tanjung talked about their faith to the Javanese who came to their city even though their permission from the government was only to preach the gospel to Chinese people. As a result, a group of Javanese from Karangrowo came asking to be baptized.

    This growing Mennonite church in Kudus with branches in Majong and Tanjung was truly vibrant and active, even beyond tribal boundaries.

    Evangelistic fervour

    What became the GKMI synod was a group of churches originally centred around Mount Muria (Kudus, Jepara, Pati, and surrounding areas). Their evangelistic fervour began crossing to Semarang, the capital of Central Java, about 50 kilometers from Kudus, some three decades later.

    The church in Semarang, which began meeting at the house of Sie Tiang Djwan 23 February 1958 was declared an independent congregation by the GKMI Synod in 1960.

    From the beginning, GKMI Semarang congregation had a high enthusiasm for preaching the gospel and planting new churches. Now, they have eight branch churches.

    Sunday service at GKMI Lamper Mijen in the old church building. Photo courtesy of GKMI

    In 1967, Rev. Samuel Setianto (pastor of the GKMI Semarang church) took several young people – including Yesaya Abdi, Agus Suwantoro, Rina, Giok Hwie, Esther Djajadihardja, and Han Fie – to evangelize in the Jeruk and Lamper Mijen area. They preached the gospel from house to house and also through revival and healing services.

    At first, they held a fellowship in the house of the church members, including Jaelani, Kusnan, Sukiran, and Robin Mukiyi.

    Interestingly, almost all members of the evangelism team in Jeruk and Lamper Mijen area were of Chinese ethnicity, while those who were evangelized were mostly Javanese.

    More church plants

    In 1972, the GKMI Semarang congregation sent Andreas Parwadi to become a full-time evangelistic worker in GKMI Jeruk Branch. Two years later, GKMI Jeruk Branch began to carry out the construction of church building on the land they had bought in Lamper Mijen.

    On 19 May 1977, Andreas Parwadi was ordained as a Guru Injil (literally: gospel teacher) and was confirmed as the pastor of the GKMI Semarang Church, Lamper Mijen Branch.

    The group continued to grow and develop. On 1 April 1981, GKMI Semarang Lamper Mijen Branch was established as a GKMI congregation and Andreas Parwadi was ordained as a pastor. The members of the congregation’s first board were Lemuel Muhadi (chairman), Brotodiharjo (secretary I), Nurwiyono (secretary II), Timothy Marimin (treasurer).

    —a Mennonite World Conference news release by Paul Gunawan, GKMI historian. Translated from Bahasa Indonesian by Mark Ryan, editor of Berita GKMI magazine. 

    Watch for Installment #2 of this history of GKMI: Indigenizing the church in Lamper Mijen.

  • Renewal 2027 testimony: Anabaptists today

    Renewal 2027 is a 10-year series of events organized by Mennonite World Conference’s Faith and Life Commission to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement. This series highlights leaders in the movement from history to the present.

    See also installment #1: A Jerusalem church in Indonesia.

    A series of pastors succeeded Reverend Andreas Parwadi who resigned as long-serving pastor of the GKMI Lamper Mijen Church in 1984 (Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia, an MWC member church). The vibrant church plant in the Semarang area was part of a movement of ethnically Chinese Mennonite Christians from the Muria area sharing the gospel with mainly Javanese Indonesians.  

    Javanese pastor Budi Santoso was accepted by the congregation in 1996, ordained as a young pastor of GKMI Lamper Mijen on 24 January 1999, then as pastor 6 December 2000.

    The members of the GKMI Lamper Mijen congregation are mostly from Javanese ethnic groups. Many are former traditional Javanese artists.

    Presenting Javanese art and culture

    Reverend Budi Santoso wanted to present traditional Javanese art and culture, especially Karawitan (traditional Indonesian music) in the church. He began to develop contextual services at GKMI Lamper Mijen.

    Starting in 2000, Reverend Budi began to include traditional Javanese art in public worship on Sunday.

    Traditional Indonesian theatre Wayang Orang Punakawan teaches Bible stories and Mennonite values. Photos courtesy of GKMI.Every fifth week, the congregational songs are accompanied by gamelan (an ensemble of percussion instruments in the traditional Indonesian style).

    Gamelan and punakawan, (traditional Javanese shadow puppet theatre) are also used for special events (church birthdays, Christmas celebrations, Easter celebrations, etc.). These tell special stories from the Bible or stories which represent Christian, especially Mennonite, values.

    The presence of the GKMI Lamper Mijen is accepted by the surrounding community. Their vision is “Becoming a Growing, Healthy and Strong Church.”

    Sunday’s general assembly is held Sundays at 7:00 a.m. Some 115 people attend Sunday services.

    A new building with Javanese architecture was built October 2006 and dedicated 11 April 2007. Currently, GKMI Lamper Mijen is pioneering a new church plant in the Ungaran area, about 18 kilometers from Semarang.

    GKMI Lamper Mijen is the 16th church member of the GKMI Synod, which currently has 61 independent churches.

    —a Mennonite World Conference news release by Paul Gunawan, GKMI historian. Translated from Bahasa Indonesian by Mark Ryan, editor of Berita GKMI magazine.

    See also installment #1: A Jerusalem church in Indonesia.

     

  • “Never has the world needed our message more…. Now is the time to risk everything for our belief that Jesus is the way to peace;… now is the time to live what we have spoken.”

    Ron Sider’s words to the Mennonite World Conference Assembly 11 gathered in Strasbourg France in 1984 famously launched Christian Peacemaker Teams, an organization that uses nonviolent direct action to confront systems of violence and oppression.

    Assemblies take place every six years. Although they only represent one facet of the work of MWC, these gatherings “provide the primary vehicle for interaction with Anabaptists on other continents,” says MWC general secretary César García.

    Meeting old and new friends from around the world while participating in workshops, service activities, and some local tourism makes for an unforgettable experience.

    “Assemblies facilitate a sense of global interconnectedness and mutual learning that has the potential of transforming lives, congregations and even national churches,” says César García.

    Over the past 16 Assemblies, plenary speakers have left participants with life-altering challenges.

    “Do we have the courage to move from the backlines of isolationist pacifism to the frontlines of nonviolent peacemaking?” Ron Sider prayed “that with our eyes fixed on the crucified one, the church will dare to pay the cost of being God’s reconciling people in a broken world.”

    At the Assembly before that, in Wichita, Kansas, USA, in 1978, Albert Widjaja from Indonesia gave a call to economic and climate justice that rings true even today.

    “The kingdom of God is not a static entity but a dynamic movement of new visible social order in which the members see God’s call to share his love with others, to look after the afflicted, to defend the powerless, and to bring about this justice in the world political and economic system, and to let his lordship be known in world history,” Alberta Widjaja said.

    “We cannot afford to remain neutral” in the face of oppressive systems and the global ecological crisis, he said. “We should participate in the action of God to manifest his kingdom as a living reality of God’s presence in the church.”

    In Paraguay in 2009, Nzuzi Mukawa from DRC continued this prophetic vein. “The prophet Micah tells us we cannot worship God and forget about social justice.”

    “In a world that is very similar to Micah’s Judah, the church must respond to the same call for repentance, for loving mercy and for walking humbly before God,” Nzuzi Mukawa said. “Following Jesus clearly means we have to follow his path of justice. Proclaiming God’s justice must be a part of our worship, our discipleship and our mission.”

    “[We] often fail to see how it [justice] is falling short within our own structures,” said Nzuzi Mukawa as he went on to urge the church to ordain women, accept minority group leadership, “rise up and defend” children, support women suffering from sexual violence and act on behalf of poor countries by eliminating their international debt, granting more access to trade and by rich countries paying damages for pollution.

    Also calling the church to look at the condition of its own house, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, in 2015, Young AnaBaptist (YAB) Remilyn Mondez from the Philippines framed her call to unity with a heart-rending story of church schism.

    “God must be smiling from up above as God savours the sweet aroma of worship, rising to his throne, offered by his children all over the globe,” she said. “Thus, I wonder: does God weep when the very same children cannot walk together in peace? What does God think when he sees us walking in conflict, struggling for reconciliation, and too often, choosing to part ways because it is the best option?”

    The upcoming Assembly 17 in Semarang, Indonesia, 6–11 July 2021 can be anticipated to present more prophetic calls from around the world under the theme “following Jesus together across barriers.”

    —Mennonite World Conference release

  • Is Christian peacemaking different from other forms of reconciliation? Do Anabaptists work at peacebuilding in ways that set them apart? Several of 223 persons from 36 countries at the 2nd Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference in the Netherlands (27–29 June 2019) responded to those questions.

    Prakash Thankachan“Many people around the world do reconciliation,” said Prakash Thankachan of India, “but Christians have a different motivation. Jesus said, ‘my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives’ (John 14:27).”

    An ordained deacon in the Church of North India, Prakash works with Mennonite Central Committee to train others in peacebuilding skills. He cites the 1569 Dirk Willems prison break story from the Netherlands and 2006 Amish school shooting forgiveness as examples of Anabaptist peace witness that particularly inspire him.

    Marcus Weiand, of the Free Evangelical church, director of the Institute for Conflict Transformation at Bienenberg, Switzerland, points to Jesus. “What I learned from Anabaptism is strong emphasis on God coming down to humanity in Jesus Christ to care for the hungry and needy. We are called to follow Jesus now so closely that we get dusty from his feet.”

    Katherine TorresCivil war is the context of incarnational peacebuilding by Anabaptists in Colombia. Mennonite attorney Katherine Torres, coordinator of Puentes para la Paz (Bridges for Peace), spoke of her efforts to draw Christians from many denominations into the peace process near the end of Colombia’s 60 years of civil war. They initiated risky dialogue with the militia groups. “At one point we were in the middle of a fire fight,” she says.

    “Nonviolence is the gift of Anabaptists,” Torres says. “Anabaptists work at peacemaking out of a strong sense of community.”

    Tewodros BeyeneEthiopia is an example of Anabaptist peace witness grounded in community. “Christ himself is our peace (Ephesians 2),” says Tewodros Beyene, president of Meserete Kristos (MK) church, an Anabaptist denomination. “It’s because of Christ that we come together as a church.”

    To break a cycle of retribution, MK church members provide vocational training so prison inmates can function productively when released. “If you kill someone in Ethiopia,” he explains, “even if you serve a long prison term, you will die from revenge killing as soon as you are released.” The church works to prepare prisoners’ home communities to receive them.

    Church members are quick to tell others they do this work because Christ came to reconcile us. “Some 1,200 persons commit their lives to Christ each year through this ministry,” Tewodros says.

    “The church’s peace work should have a vision of mission. We have a gospel of peace and need to be evangelists who call others to peaceful relationship with God.”

    Grace Carhart & Hector Acero Ferrer

    Grace Carhart, graduate student at the Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto, Canada, sees the church’s potential “to allow ourselves to be shaped in positive ways by community. With a solid base of positive identity, people of the church don’t have to be afraid to interact with those who are different.”

    Not Mennonite herself, Grace Carhart sees Mennonites as being open to diverse groups and perspectives. Hector Acero Ferrer of Colombia, who jointly led a workshop with her, said, “The church is a place where people again and again can tell the story of being a victim – or a perpetrator.”

    Derek SudermanFor Anabaptists to sustain the hard work of peacebuilding, Derek Suderman of Conrad Grebel University College in Canada underscores that we must keep our primary language of biblical/theological understanding central. Out of that base emerges our secondary language of human rights and international law. “The survival of the Mennonite peace position depends upon our ability to articulate the primary reasons we do peacemaking,” he asserts. “Peacemaking should be byproduct of our faith, not the thing itself.”

    —J. Nelson Kraybill is president of MWC (2015–2021). He lives in Indiana, USA. 

  • “Why would you help us? Who are you Mennonites?” A family from Colombia asked this of their friends at Grantham Mennonite Brethren (MB) Church in St. Catharines, Ont., Canada. With bureaucratic assistance from Mennonite Central Committee and linguistic support from neighbouring Scott Street MB Church, Grantham sponsored this family who fled their home in Colombia for a new start in Canada.

    The family wanted to learn more about what drove these Christians to help them settle in Canada. Pastor Michael VandenEnden turned to Mennonite World Conference (MWC) for Spanish resources from the global Anabaptist family.

    The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Shelf of Literature title God’s Shalom Project provides “the basic concepts of Anabaptism: peace, community and discipleship,” says Hironori Minamino who translated the book into Japanese.

    Written in clear, explanatory language, God’s Shalom Project covers a comprehensive range of teaching from the tradition. VandenEnden wanted to study the book with his friends but discovered it was not yet translated into Spanish.

    Grantham and Scott Street churches took a special Good Friday offering to raise funds for translation. With this contribution, MWC cooperated with CEMTA (Centro Evangélica Mennonita de Teología Asunción), a Mennonite theological school in Paraguay to translate the book from the original German into Spanish.

    Shalom – El Proyecto de Dios now joins the German, English, French and Japanese (Word of Life Press ministries 2017) versions of the book.

    “The Global Anabaptist/Mennonite Shelf of Literature invites our members to participate in a global conversation about matters of faith and practice from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective,” says John D Roth, secretary of the Faith and Life Commission. “Many of the books are co-authored by leaders from different cultural contexts; most of the books include study questions, which aid small group discussion; and all of them are deeply rooted in Scripture.”

    The Commissions are committed to ongoing translation of these volumes. “This is a living series,” says John D. Roth. “We are always open to suggestions or proposals for new titles.”

    Click here for links to all eight titles in the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Shelf of Literature.

    —Mennonite World Conference release 

     

    Global Anabaptist Mennonite Shelf of Literature:
    Anabaptist Seed
    De Semilla Anabautista (Spanish)
    Graines d’anabaptisme (French)
    重洗派的根源 (Chinese)
    Täuferische Saat – Weltweites Wachstum (German)
    Anabaptist Beej se (Hindi)
    „Ç¢„Éä„Éê„Éó„ÉÜ„Çπ„Éà„ÅÆÁ®Æ„Åã„Çâ   (Japanese)
    재세례신앙의 씨앗으로 부터 (Korean)
    Từ Hạt Giống Anabaptist (Vietnamese)
     
    Sharing Gifts in the Global Family of Faith
    Compartiendo Dones en la Familia Global de la Fe (Spanish)
    Dons de chacun au service de tous (French)
    Teilen, was wir sind und haben (German)
     
    God’s Shalom Project
    Shalom – un proyecto de Dios (Spanish)
    Shalom, le projet de Dieu (French)
    Schalom – das Projekt Gottes (German)
    シャローム 神のプロジェクト (Japanese)
     
    A Culture of Peace
    Ein Kultur des Friedens (German)
     
    Stewardship for All?
     
    What we Believe Together
    Lo que juntos creemos (Spanish)
    Was wir gemeinsam glauben (German)
    Keyakinan kita bersama: mengungkap butir-butir keyakinan bersama gereja-gereja Anabaptist (Indonesia)
    우리가 함께 믿는 것 (Korean)
     
    Life Together in the Spirit
    Convivencia Radical (Spanish)
    Vivre ensemble, unis dans Esprit (French)
    Hidup Bersama dalam Roh: Spiritualitas Radikal untuk Abad Kedua Pubu Satu (Indonesian)
    성령과 함께 하는 삶: 21세기의 급진적 영성 (Korean)
    Vida no Espírito em Comunidade : Uma Espiritualidade Radical para o Século XXI (Portuguese)
     
    God’s People in Mission: An Anabaptist Perspective
    Forthcoming: El Pueblo de Dios en MisioÃÅn: una Perspectiva Anabautista (Spanish)
    Forthcoming: Le peuple de Dieu dans la mission : une perspective anabaptiste (French)

    If you know of a translated version that is not listed here, please let us know. Email info@mwc-cmm.org

     

  • “Although each congregation has its own history and social and cultural background, it is common to experience the same sorts of conflicts, troubles, and situations,” says Ellul Yongha Bae, a Mennonite church leader and publisher in South Korea.

    “MWC Communications is very helpful to show that as Mennonite churches, we have raised similar questions and tried to figure out solutions with a focus on community, discipleship and peace issues.”

    Daejanggan publishing company has been translating Mennonite books into Korean since 2010, including the 2015 Global Anabaptist Mennonite Shelf of Literature book Life in the Spirit by John Driver.

    “It is not easy to find a good model about radical movements in Korean Christian history,” says Ellul Yongha Bae. Teaching on peace is crucial in Korea because of the continuing wound created by the split between North and South Korea.

    “We believe that Mennonite peace theology can be a good way to teach Christian ethics and a practical way of life,” says Ellul Yongha Bae.

    Daejanggan pays translators a small stipend to work on these books to help the Korean Anabaptist churches learn alongside other MWC churches. “It guides us to see there are other possible ways that we can see other than Christendom,” says Ellul Yongha Bae.

    The publisher is part of an organization that includes a web design firm and small farm. Donations – some from international Anabaptist partners like Hutterites and Bruderhof communities – help finance the translations.

    The Mennonite books are mostly read by seminarians and lay leaders in Anabaptist house churches. But they also appeal to other Christians in Korea who seek alternative ways of living out a Christian life, says Ellul Yongha Bae.

    “Although we are small, it is very meaningful to confess that we are followers of Jesus Christ in the context of Anabaptist ways of discipleship,” says Ellul Yongha Bae.

    “The Global Anabaptist/Mennonite Shelf of Literature invites our members to participate in a global conversation about matters of faith and practice from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective,” says John D Roth, secretary of the Faith and Life Commission. “Many of the books are co-authored by leaders from different cultural contexts; most of the books include study questions, which aid small group discussion; and all of them are deeply rooted in Scripture.”

    Click here for links to all eight titles in the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Shelf of Literature.

    —Mennonite World Conference release 

     

    Global Anabaptist Mennonite Shelf of Literature:

    Anabaptist Seed

    De Semilla Anabautista (Spanish)

    Graines d’anabaptisme (French)

    重洗派的根源 (Chinese)

    Täuferische Saat – Weltweites Wachstum (German)

    Anabaptist Beej se (Hindi)

    „Ç¢„Éä„Éê„Éó„ÉÜ„Çπ„Éà„ÅÆÁ®Æ„Åã„Çâ  (Japanese)

    재세례신앙의 씨앗으로 부터 (Korean)

    Từ Hạt Giống Anabaptist (Vietnamese)

     

    Sharing Gifts in the Global Family of Faith

    Compartiendo Dones en la Familia Global de la Fe (Spanish)

    Dons de chacun au service de tous (French)

    Teilen, was wir sind und haben (German)

     

    God’s Shalom Project

    Shalom – un proyecto de Dios (Spanish)

    Shalom, le projet de Dieu (French)

    Schalom – das Projekt Gottes (German)

    シャローム 神のプロジェクト (Japanese)

     

    A Culture of Peace

    Ein Kultur des Friedens (German)

     

    Stewardship for All?

     

    What we Believe Together

    Lo que juntos creemos (Spanish)

    Was wir gemeinsam glauben (German)

    Keyakinan kita bersama: mengungkap butir-butir keyakinan bersama gereja-gereja Anabaptist (Indonesia)

    우리가 함께 믿는 것 (Korean)

     

    Life Together in the Spirit

    Convivencia Radical (Spanish)

    Vivre ensemble, unis dans Esprit (French)

    Hidup Bersama dalam Roh: Spiritualitas Radikal untuk Abad Kedua Pubu Satu (Indonesian)

    성령과 함께 하는 삶: 21세기의 급진적 영성 (Korean)

    Vida no Espírito em Comunidade : Uma Espiritualidade Radical para o Século XXI (Portuguese)

     

    God’s People in Mission: An Anabaptist Perspective

    El Pueblo de Dios en Misio?n: una Perspectiva Anabautista – forthcoming (Spanish)

    Le peuple de Dieu dans la mission : une perspective anabaptiste – forthcoming (French)

     

    If you know of a translated version that is not listed here, please let us know.
    Email     info@mwc-cmm.org

     

     

  • The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding.

    Summit report
    Delegates reported on many positive things that are happening within their national conferences. It is obvious that God is moving around the globe; the number of overall baptisms numbered in the hundreds! Great growth is occurring in the newest context, Malawi, where new MB churches have been birthed in Malawi Refugee Camps. It was reported that as many as 8,000 believers are now a part of those refugee churches. In La*s, many new churches continue to be born among the Khmu, and there is growth in the churches in Bavaria and Germany.

    Although much of the reporting was about the good things taking place in many of the conferences, some delegates asked for prayer for difficulties being experienced. In Japan, the church is aging and there is a real concern that young people are not engaging. In some countries there is simply not enough financial resources to do all the things pastors and leaders would like to incorporate in order to reach more people.

    The Matthew Training Center (MTC), directed by long-term MB missionaries, Trever and Joan Godard, does a great job of training prospective young leaders from several countries. After completing the year-long training, these young people fill leadership needs throughout ICOMB conferences and beyond. The MTC hosted the Summit and these young students provided much of the preparing and serving of food and setting up the facility for meetings.

    Click to read the full report on the USMB website.

    —Excerpt from a summit report by Don Morris, USMB national director