Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • Less than a year ago, I hadn’t the faintest idea that I would be in Indonesia this February, let alone have four new friends from four different continents. But that’s what happens when you engage in your global faith community: you end up in places you never expected –physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally.

    The five of us – Jantine Huisman, Makadunyiswe Ngulube, Dominik Bergen, Ebenezer Mondez and me – weren’t sure what to expect at the MWC executive board meetings in Indonesia as part of our new roles on the Young Anabaptists (YABs) Committee. Thankfully, we have previous YABs committee member Tigist Tesfaye Gelagle as our guide and mentor on this journey.

    Our first meetings in Indonesia can be summed up as orientation and planning.

    The first two days, we learned a lot about the history and vision of Mennonite World Conference and how YABs fits. We valued the history lessons on how our identity as Anabaptists has been shaped by the past. We learned about the recent development of YABs and how it has evolved since beginning as a Global Youth Summit planning committee in 2001.

    Not only did we learn about MWC and YABs, we also learned to know each other and how to work together cross-culturally, something that we will be continually growing in over the next five years.

    Once we were somewhat oriented to our role as the young adult arm of MWC, we started planning and making a rough task blueprint for the next five years. We tweaked the previous YABs committee’s blueprint to match our vision and goals, but five main focus points of the YABs committee remain the same: networking, fellowship, capacity building, decision-making and Anabaptist identity.

    One major initiative to cultivate and promote fellowship among young Anabaptists is our first annual YABs Fellowship Week, which will take place June 19–26, 2016. Patterned after World Fellowship Sunday, the purpose is to foster a greater sense of koinonia (fellowship) among young Anabaptists around the world through prayer and the sharing of stories, songs and Scripture. Materials are available online for youth and young adult groups to utilize for YABs Fellowship Week.* Our vision is for young Anabaptists to share prayer requests and pray specifically for their brothers and sisters in different countries, as well as connect through worshipping with the same resources, and utilizing social media as a platform and means of communication.

    What’s exciting about being a part of the YABs committee at this stage is that we have a good structure in place, but it’s still in the formative years when we have the opportunity to shape it and continue to widen the sphere of influence for young adults in the global Anabaptist community.

    Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@younganabaptists) as we work to strengthen the network of young Anabaptists around the globe!

    Larissa Swartz, North American YABs representative

    *For more information about YABs Fellowship Week, how you can be involved or for any other questions about the work we do, please click here or email yabs@mwc-cmm.org.

     

  • When I attended my first Mennonite World Conference assembly in Kitchener, Ontario, in 1962, I remember sitting cross-legged on a gymnasium floor with other youth. I’d just come from Ethiopia—where I had been surrounded by brown faces at the Bible Academy, a high school begun by the Mennonite Mission in Ethiopia.

    Here at the assembly I was surrounded by white faces—primarily North American and European. Yet we leapt to our feet to shout out the countries we represented. There was a smattering of international reps, but no Ethiopians—so I decided to be the Ethiopian rep. This was to be a world conference.

    Today the Meserete Kristos Church of Ethiopia, with more than 218,000 baptized members, is the largest single MWC member body. MKC also sends and supports 335 local and international missionaries.

    That MKC now sends almost triple the number of missionaries as Eastern Mennonite Missions, the organization that first sent missionaries to Ethiopia in 1948, is just one example of the growth that is driving the changes in MWC leadership and office location.

    The MKC story is multiplied throughout the Global South where vibrant young churches are changing the face of global Anabaptism.

    What does this shift in the center of gravity among Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches mean—in the North and in the South? How does it feel?

    In 2011 César García, a first generation Mennonite, was named the new General Secretary for MWC, and in early 2012 the MWC head office relocated from Strasburg, France, to Bogotá, Colombia. What does this symbolize? What is it heralding?

    For historian John Roth, secretary of MWC’s Faith and Life Commission, it only makes sense that MWC, the most visible expression of the global Anabaptist family, relocates its headquarters to the southern hemisphere.

    “From the perspective of a 500-year- old tradition,” Roth said, “we are witnessing—in our lifetimes—an amazing renewal movement in which the centre of gravity for the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition is shifting from North to South. Indeed, during the past 30 years, the global Anabaptist-Mennonite family has nearly tripled in size, with virtually all of that growth coming from groups in the Global South.”

    South now giving back

    “For many years,” commented Peter Stucky, a Mennonite pastor in Bogotá, “the Global South has received so much, for example the work of missionaries. Now we are grateful for the opportunity to give back.” Stucky considers the commissioning of César García as a primary example of the South’s “giving back.”

    He noted how the southern world has been seen by many with disdain and on the periphery. Colombia, he said, has been “not only on the periphery but a source of shame” with its history of violence and drug trade.

    Then with tears welling up, he opened his well worn Bible and recalled how God became known in places considered insignificant—such as Bethlehem and Nazareth. He pointed to a number of texts about God’s vindication of those who suffer but remain faithful (such as Luke 1:46ff, Isaiah 54 and Revelation 3:8ff ).

    MWC president Danisa Ndlovu acknowledged that the transition to southern leadership and a southern office comes with some uncertainties. For example, what will happen with the support base from churches in the Global North? “I don’t have anxieties about that,” he was quick to add, “given the MWC culture with its strong desire to see ourselves as a family sharing our joys and sorrows.”

    When asked about further changes and challenges, Ndlovu suggested that the transition could mean a different leadership style, “and perhaps a different pace of how things are done.” He also noted that often a change of leadership also opens the door for new issues to emerge.

    Yet with the challenges come an invigorating sense of energy. Liesa Unger, 2012 MWC Events Coordinator noted, “It’s a natural step in a journey that we are travelling together as a world-wide community.” Unger, who with her husband pastors a church in Germany, loves the blend of the local church that keeps her grounded, and the global community that helps her see?beyond her own horizon.

    From India, Cynthia Peacock, Chair of MWC Deacons Commission, believes this is a time for the MWC community to watch, wait, and build on the relationships with the new leadership for new directions—but directions that continue the work already begun.

    The foundation of MWC will stay the same, says Markus Rediger, quoting Menno Simons’ favorite Scripture, 1 Corinthians. 3:11. The Swiss journalist and member of the MWC Executive Committee is excited to see the South and the North serving and strengthening one another with their gifts. The North is rich in history, education, institutions, and leadership training. While the South brings youth, energy, church planting, and mission gifts.

    Foundation is the same

    Roth noted that under Larry Miller’s leadership the MWC has helped cultivate a strong network of personal and institutional relationships that has nurtured a deeper awareness that we are part of a “global body.” And this has happened without the creation of a strong hierarchical centre or a lot of bureaucratic machinery.

    Peacock thinks that the changes in MWC leadership will bring a more youthful outlook. She observed that the South values relationship-building and connecting with one another for learning and sharing. This models a different perspective and way of working than is typical in the North’s efficiency-valuing bureaucracies.

    Even so, MWC leaders expect continuity and growth from the current structures. Rebecca Osiro, Kenyan church leader and vice-chair of the MWC General Council Faith and Life Commission, is confident that “the personalities elected in leadership positions are strong enough to take MWC to greater heights .” The shifting geography of the administration, she says, “should not deter the global faith community from achieving its set goals and objectives. “The one potential challenge she envisions is a temptation to allow a “regional economy to find room in our minds.” ?

    As Roth observes, García shares? a vision of patient growth, based on sturdy relationships built up over time. Like Miller, he is deeply rooted in Anabaptist-Mennonite theology, yet eager to build bridges with other religious traditions. He also exemplifies servant leadership, with an ability to combine strong listening skills with a clear vision.

    Roth thinks that the basic theological and organizational trajectory of MWC will not change dramatically. At the same time, he hopes that locating the head office in the Global South signals even greater levels of participation and ownership of MWC by member churches outside of Europe and North America.

    Rediger is glad to see MWC standing with its member churches wherever they are all over the world. He believes MWC is enriched by the decision to change locations and to work in a variety of contexts, languages, and cultures. Member churches have been on the move around the globe during the past 500 years helping to birth what we see today. The last three MWC global gatherings were in the South (India, Zimbabwe, Paraguay) so it’s time to move south with the administrative office, too.

    Roth is encouraged by the recent formation of the MWC General Council Commissions. With clearer mandates and broader, more energized bases of support, the commissions should help MWC’s work become more visible and tangible “on the ground.”?While much of this work is still developing Roth believes that it will provide MWC with better ways of responding to specific needs in the global church. The work that went into the “Shared Convictions of Global Anabaptists,” for example, provides a useful framework for ongoing conversations about how our various, particular identities can be nurtured within a larger Anabaptist-Mennonite theological framework.

    But Roth notes that many challenges remain for the global Anabaptist body. For the rapidly growing churches of the Global South there is the happy challenge of leadership development— nurturing spiritual gifts, providing new leaders with adequate training using appropriate materials, and then allowing a new generation of leaders to find their rightful place in the life of the church.

    Roth says that both North and South have a responsibility to cultivate more creatively the gifts offered by young people and women. This means paying more careful attention to education and curriculum development rooted in Anabaptist-Mennonite theology.

    Some Anabaptist groups also face the challenge of responding appropriately to the growing, sometimes aggressive, presence of Islam, Roth said.

    “All of us need to grow in our openness to giving and receiving gifts in the global body, including the gifts of mutual encouragement and admonition,” Roth said.

    Rediger added, “Let all of us in MWC be aware of our rich spiritual and financial resources. Now with the General Secretary’s office located in the South, it’s important for us in the North to stay deeply involved—and welcome the revitalizing winds of the new southern leadership.”

    ?Jewel Showalter is a staff writer for Eastern Mennonite Missions

  • In early December 2011, Irene and I worshipped in the Haarlem Mennonite Church, just outside of Amsterdam, Netherlands. This congregation began as a “hidden church” in 1530, six years before Menno Simons’ conversion to Anabaptism. Worshipping there was a moving experience. One reason that made it so was the note on a door indicating that this had been the congregation that nurtured Thieleman J. van Braght, the Dutch Mennonite who gifted the world with the compilation of the Martyrs Mirror, first published in 1660. This is where he worshipped.

    His significant work has inspired many throughout the world, and has provided a glimpse, a “mirror” of identity for Anabaptists around the world. I wondered whether he might have sat in the same place I was sitting, listening to a sermon that would culminate in meaningful sharing of the Lord’s Supper with those of us worshipping there.

    I was struck by how this experience in the Netherlands gave life to what we had seen and heard during the three weeks before arriving there. We had just come from India, where we had worked with Mennonite and Brethren in Christ leaders from nine Asian countries. These leaders wanted to strengthen their understandings of Anabaptism and its potential contribution to their contexts today. After this workshop with Asian leaders, we engaged the leaders of the ten Mennonite World Conference-member churches from India and Nepal, also on the theme of “Anabaptism in a Multi-Cultural Society.”

    Among the many things we experienced in these settings were the testimonies of our brothers and sisters from India, Nepal, Myanmar, South Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, and others. Often these testimonies included references to the ongoing struggle of the church, the suffering of its leadership for the sake of the gospel of peace, the burning of houses of worship, the capture and release of church leaders by various revolutionary and/or government forces. We heard one horrendous story from India of a pastor (not MWC-related), who was taken back to his own home, and in the midst of the obligated audience of his twelve children and wife, was beheaded in their living room by the mob that had captured him.

    In his report of the trip, Bert Lobe wrote: “Anti-conversion bills are pending in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu states [in India]. We were told at least three times that anyone 18 or older desiring baptism is required to submit an affidavit to the District Commissioner requesting permission.”

    These testimonies remind me of other testimonies I’ve heard: from Latin America, Africa, the former USSR, and the Middle-East. These stories, in turn, remind me of stories of my own child-hood: the stories of my grandparents and grandparents-in-law, and the suffering of Mennonites that often led to migration and to the separation of families.

    They remind me too of Van Braght, and his faithful ministry to document and tell the stories of the martyrs. Has the time now come to document and make the ongoing stories of Anabaptist experience of suffering and persecution accessible to the life of the church and world?

    MWC is just finishing the ambitious “Global History Project,” a significant effort to tell our church’s story from the perspective of every continent. This is an important resource.

    Yet, there are still many stories untold, and many of the stories told that have yet to be deeply heard. Especially there are the mirrors of contemporary martyrs of faith.

    Van Braght’s work focused largely on the 16th and early 17th century. Is it time to start now from the other end—beginning with the 21st century, and move back as far as funding and capacity would allow? Perhaps we could at least tell the stories of the 20th and 21st centuries? If we did, such a project would still leave a 350-year gap, but it would allow us to understand the experience of our church, especially as it has moved into other languages, cultures, continents, and countries. These stories deserve to be documented and told. They need to be heard and digested. We need to understand them and struggle with what they teach us for our continued faithfulness as an Anabaptist church in the world.

    Robert J. Suderman

  • “As long as the wind is in its sails. . .”

    Strasbourg, France–Larry Miller remembers one moment clearly when, as a 38-year-old, he was weighing whether or not to accept the nomination to lead Mennonite World Conference. The year was 1988, 23 years ago, and he was sitting in a university library in Strasbourg, France, where he lived.

    “I was working on my dissertation, and I looked up and noticed a book by one of my professors on a shelf. I pulled it down. It was dusty, and no one had ever checked it out. I suddenly realized that I was poised to write those kinds of books!”

    Miller was finishing his doctorate in New Testament and was under consideration for a graduate-level teaching position in that field in the Protestant faculty at the University of Strasbourg. But something unexpected had come his way. The European Mennonite churches had together nominated him to be Executive Secretary of Mennonite World Conference.

    Larry and his wife, Eleanor, had worked with international students in Paris (for European Mennonites and Mennonite Board of Missions of North America) and in peace activities and inter-church relations (for Mennonite Central Committee). “I was working internationally and ecumenically, and my interest and experience in those areas was growing. But did Mennonite World Conference—which most people understood to be those spectacular, once-every-six-year assemblies—fit my gifts and personality?

    “My growing interest in MWC surprised people who knew me, including Eleanor! I sensed, however, that this might be a call to receive life through the global church.”

    Miller became Executive Secretary during the closing event of the Winnipeg MWC assembly in 1990. The setting, the music, the ceremony had a touch of the spectacular, but Miller and the organization faced a frightening deficit as the week-long meeting ended.

    Today, Miller reflects, “while MWC needed to deal with that reality, and we were able to, I never felt pressure to ‘succeed’ by building a large institution. Instead, the focus was on helping this little boat—MWC—to catch the wind in its sails. The wind was clearly blowing, so the task was to adjust the sails to catch the wind.”

    Miller senses that he has served Anabaptists around the world during a time of fundamental change. “My primary calling has been to amplify the voice of the Global South and its rising. That voice, that capacity, needs more room and opportunity. I’ve often felt like John the Baptist, that something greater is coming.”

    A big risk

    In January 1997, the first Mennonite World Conference assembly under Larry Miller’s leadership took place in central Kolkata, inside tents on a sprawling school campus. The daring move stood in stark contrast to the just-prior assembly which had been held in a well-appointed convention center in Winnipeg.

    “We had potential disasters everywhere,” Miller reflects about the Kokata event. “Before I joined MWC, groundwork had been laid for the assembly to go the diplomatic, aristocratic quarter of New Delhi. That location didn’t seem right to me.

    “There was no model for holding a global assembly in Kolkata. It was counter-cultural. No other world communion had ever gone to Kolkata for its world gathering. So we had to create ours from scratch.

    “Would people come? Could we pull off such a complex event there? Would it work financially? Would attendees be overwhelmed by the city itself?”

    The national Indian churches who are members of MWC, along with national MWC staff, worked diligently and with extraordinary perseverance to host a world gathering of some 4,500 Mennonites and Brethren in Christ.

    The bold decision and the stark contrast to past gatherings cleared a path for new aspects to be born as part of the assembly program. For the first time there was a Global Church Village, a venue where delegates learned about the life of churches in each continental region through food and cultural displays, and Assembly Gathered/Assembly Scattered. In fact, these elements worked so well that they have continued in subsequent MWC assemblies.

    “My surprise,” says Miller now, “is that no part of the Kolkata gathering ended in disaster. And because we had a good, positive experience, the event allowed Mennonite World Conference to turn a corner. It permitted the reorientation of MWC. I view it as a watershed, make-or-break moment.”

    The second assembly that Miller and his team shepherded was held in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Despite the country’s tremulously uncertain political, economic, and food situations, the Brethren in Christ churches provided extraordinary hospitality.

    “Zimbabwe raised many of the same questions as Kolkata did. Was it courageous or stupid to bring thousands of people there? But we had survived Kolkata, so even a modest failure in Zimbabwe wouldn’t have wrecked MWC.”

    “The church is both local and global”

    Perhaps one of Larry Miller’s greatest gifts to Mennonites and Brethren in Christ around the world has been his belief, and consequent actions, that the church is never just the local congregation, or the denomination, or the world body.

    “The church is both local and ‘global.’ It always has been and will always be. The special foundational task for MWC during these years has been to recover this New Testament view of the church. MWC needs to continue to make the global church real, to have it be seen, felt, touched, experienced.”

    Gradually but persistently, Miller has created ways to make this daily reality apparent. He helped to conceive of, and then create, the Global Church Sharing Fund. (MWC member churches in the South apply for and receive funds for their ministries, as an expression of Jubilee redistribution.) He guided the development of MWC’s statement of “Shared Convictions,” brief paragraphs documenting the core beliefs that the scattered Anabaptist churches and fellowships claim. He has overseen the establishment of four commissions under the General Council of MWC, each composed of members from the five continental regions, each pledged to fostering greater faithfulness by MWC member churches and their support of each other. (The four are the Deacons, Faith and Life, Mission, and Peace Commissions.)

    “At the same time,” he states emphatically, “the global church without the local church is not fully the church either. One without the other is heresy.”

    Miller quickly moves to another theme which has characterized his leadership of MWC. “Even as we’ve begun to grasp the wonder of what it means to belong to our particular global family of faith, we are still a fragment by ourselves. What is emerging is our increasing connectedness to other Christian world communions. We must see other global Christian churches as part of the whole church universal to which we also belong. We must live within this whole church, or we won’t live.

    “While the giftedness of our Anabaptist community is being acknowledged by other world communions, the limitedness of it is also. The same is true of these other churches. Together, we’re recognizing our need of each other,” says Miller.

    The struggles and the gifts

    What difficulties did Larry experience as MWC General Secretary?

    “I’ve lived a constant series of good-byes,” he says. “And while I’ve had so many points of contact, they are almost all distant.” The MWC office in Strasbourg, where Miller is based, includes an average of only four administrative staff. All other staff and executive leadership are scattered around the world.

    “The work is sometimes heavy and lonely,” he reflects. “But it is always invigorating! This has been a place of life for me, a gift of life.”

    What anxieties does Miller have for Mennonite World Conference, which he acknowledges is an organization with uncertainty, heaviness, and fragility?

    “We are in a historic transition moment,” offers Miller. “There is decline in the churches of the North. But when you belong to a global body of faith, there’s always a part that’s experiencing new life and a vision that can draw all of us forward. The center of gravity of the global church has shifted South. We must continue to adjust our sails accordingly to catch this new wind of the Spirit.

    “With gratitude and joy, I imagine C√©sar Garc√≠a (MWC’s new General Secretary-elect), and those with him, picking up the vision for the future. I look forward to seeing how they incarnate it. My experience of working with C√©sar has been among my top joys, among my very best MWC experiences. He and his team will live into the future from their own worlds and contexts, going forward with the Spirit. It is for them to imagine.”

    On August 1, 2011, the officers of Mennonite World Conference, plus a few staff and representatives of the four North American MWC member churches, gathered around a big table in Grantham, Pennsylvania. It was the kick-off for organizing the planning of the Assembly 16 to be held in 2015 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

    Danisa Ndlovu, president of MWC, opened the meeting with a devotional, acknowledging two reasons for anxiety that day: the start of planning for a new assembly, and C√©sar Garc√≠a’s first official day as General Secretary-Elect.

    When it was Larry Miller’s turn to address the group, he said, “I can attest, after 22 years with Mennonite World Conference, that it is not a place of anxiety, but a place that gives life!”

    – Phyllis Pellman Good, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is a communications consultant with Mennonite World Conference.

    PHOTOS AND SIDEBARS

    Photos:

    Larry Miller’s tenure as General Secretary was marked by his gift of encouragement among other global leaders. Here, in 1991, he stands behind his “big brothers”— Mesach Krisetya (l) of Indonesia, who was to become MWC President in 1997, and Reg Toews of Canada, then serving as Treasurer. Photo: Eleanor Miller

    Ecumenical dialogue was a passion of Miller’s. Here, Msgr. John A.of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity leads a meeting of the Mennonite-Catholic Dialogue (1998‚Äì2003), of which he was co-secretary with Miller. To his left are Bishop Joseph Martino and Larry Miller. Photo credit not available

    The Millers and their children (now married) in Kolkata in 1997, with the parents-in-law of Indian church leader Menno Joel (r). Left to right: Anne-Marie Miller Blaise; Elisabeth Miller Sommers; Menno’s parents-in-law, Larry, Alexandre Miller, Eleanor, and Menno. Photo courtesy of Eleanor Miller

    Miller speaks at the 2009 Executive Committee meetings in Paraguay. To his left are Danisa Ndlovu, incoming MWC president that year, and Nancy Heisey, who was completing her term as president. Photo: Merle Good

    SIDEBAR ONE

    Calendar of MWC leadership transition

    When a scattered global faith community experiences a leadership transition, how does one say good bye to the old and welcome the new? For Mennonite World Conference’s current change of general secretaries, the passing of the torch on January 1 is part of a months-long series of transition events.

    • Last May in Taiwan, the MWC Executive Committee named C√©sar Garc√≠a of Colombia as General Secretary-elect, to replace Larry Miller of France, who will have served in the position for almost 22 years. Garc√≠a joined MWC staff on August 1 for a time of overlap with Miller.
    • On October 23, local MWC supporters gathered in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada—the North American office location—for an evening celebration. Garc√≠a, unable to be present because of travel complications, joined the meeting via Internet video connection. The evening included words of greeting and vision from Garc√≠a, a heartfelt thank you from Miller to the many key supporters, staff, and former MWC staff and leaders in the Kitchener area, and prayers and commendations from the group for both Garc√≠a and for Miller and his spouse, Eleanor.
    • On December 29, while MWC officers and several staff meet in Bogot√°, Colombia, to formalize the transition to new MWC headquarters in that city, congregations of the three MWC member churches in Colombia will host a farewell event for the Millers. On January 1 they will officially welcome Garc√≠a.
    • On January 22, Mennonite World Conference and the Mennonite congregation in Strasbourg, France, where the Millers are members, will commission Miller for his new role as Secretary of the Global Christian Forum, an initiative that seeks to bring leaders of all Christian churches in the world together to foster mutual respect and to address common challenges.
    • In May, at the triennial gathering of MWC’s General Council, between two and three hundred delegates are expected to be present to thank Miller for his years of MWC leadership and to bless C√©sar as he settles into the role.

    SIDEBAR TWO

    Words of appreciation for Miller

    Blessings, prayers, and well-wishes for Larry Miller have flowed freely at transition events and in publications during recent months. The following is only a selection:

    I remember the difficult days in early 1996 when you had no visa to India. It was your attitude and faith in the possibilities, your spirit and vision, that kept things moving. —Margaret Devadason, coordinator for the 1997 assembly

    After Marlin [Miller] passed away, Larry nominated me as his big brother. Thanks for helping MWC administration in a way that made MWC flourish in the world. God bless you. —Mesach Krisetya, MWC President, 1997‚Äì2003

    One of Larry’s greatest accomplishments was taking the assemblies into the global South in ways that really energized the host churches. Larry, may the spark you gave the global church light C√©sar’s torch as he leads us into the future. —Ray Brubacher, organizer for Zimbabwe (2003) and Paraguay (2009) assemblies

    “Keep the Faith” have been the words that you, Larry, have frequently shared with me during the last months. You have taught the meaning of finishing a race in a good way. —C√©sar Garc√≠a, incoming MWC General Secretary

    [Under Larry’s leadership] no corner was left on the planet where Anabaptist-oriented communities were not welcomed to explore joining MWC as equals. —Milka Rindzinski, MWC editor, translator 1992‚Äì2008

    One of the things I admire about Larry is his discernment in his contacts with the Mennonite church all around the world. —Ra√∫l Garc√≠a, MWC President 1990‚Äì1997

    I remember the reconciliation worship with the Protestant/Reformed church in Zurich in 2004 when Larry preached in Zwingli’s pulpit that we belong to one body, despite all of what had happened in history. —Markus Rediger, Executive Committee member

    [Larry] understood very early on that in the church we live by virtue of the gifts we exchange, that giftedness has nothing to do with geography or wealth and everything to do with exchanging gifts, with mutual generosity. —Bert Lobe, MWC North American Representative

    Larry, you are the most diligent and dedicated person I have ever seen in the Mennonite World Conference. You work hard and fast. Nothing escapes you in remembering details. —Bedru Hussein, MWC Vice President, 1997‚Äì2000

    Among general secretaries of Christian world communions, Larry has been a great colleague and source of inspiration. —Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, General Secretary, World Communion of Reformed Churches

    For Lutherans, the reconciliation with Mennonites was a moving moment at our 2010 international Assembly. My own favourite interpretation [of its significance] was Larry Miller’s Courier article, “What Happened in Heaven on July 22” As characterizes Larry himself, theological depth combined there with generous vision. —Kathryn L. Johnson, Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs, the Lutheran World Federation

    Larry, it has been a privilege to work with you in the Mennonite-Catholic dialogue. I appreciate your deep ecumenical commitment and friendship in that work. —Msgr. John A. Radano, former staff member, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Catholic Church.

    I am grateful for Larry’s friendly, no-nonsense, insightful presence [at Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions]. As the two representatives of the historic peace churches, we share many values and approaches. —Nancy Irving, General Secretary, Friends World Committee for Consultation

    Larry’s grace-filled approach in engaging with others has led to the building of relationships that are honoring to Christ and the gospel. — Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, Secretary General, World Evangelical Alliance

    You have shown deep ecumenical commitment, the capacity to communicate and to build new relationships, theological competence and wisdom as General Secretary of the Mennonite World Conference. You have always been an important and very constructive partner for the WCC. —Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary, World Council of Churches

  • Sindy Novoa Caro lives in Bogotá, Colombia, where she belongs to the Casa de Oración church, a Mennonite Brethren congregation. In 2010–2011, Sindy served with YAMEN in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, as a teacher´s assistant in a school for children living near the garbage dump. Since her return to Colombia, Sindy has been helping to coordinate a local support network of former, current and new YAMEN participants and people who have been part of MCC’s International Volunteer Exchange Program. Sindy works for Corporación Belcorp as a zone leader for catalogue saleswomen.  Earlier this year, she spoke with Jana Meyer, an MCC worker in Colombia about her experience.

    How did the YAMEN experience affect your outlook on the world and on the church?

    To know people who live on what they find on the street and yet continue to smile on life made me recognize how privileged [I was] to have water, three meals a day, the embrace of a mother or father, family time during the weekend and shelter at night. I got to know the value of someone who hasn´t been able to bathe but who wants your hug and who needs you to tell them that there is a supreme being who loves them and wants to care for them. Back in Colombia, I work in a different way with the people around me. Before. I might have only cared about someone´s economic situation.  Now in my current work where I have to interact with a lot of people, I´m more interested in who they are as a person, how they are doing. 

    How might life have been different if you had not done YAMEN?

    I would be going about my life with the same lack of awareness that many in the world have. Many think that the world owes them something, that the world should be grateful for their existence, that daily blessings are a result of their efforts—not as a result of God´s mercy.

    How did you grow in your relationship with God?

    Although I was in a place far from my country, not knowing anyone, I never felt alone. I always felt God´s support and guidance. Every day was an opportunity to learn from God, to understand what God wanted from me during this time.

    How did you grow in your vision for the church in Colombia?

    I learned that the work of taking the gospel to others needs to be done in a holistic way. It’s not possible for people to hear that God loves them and seeks them, if they have not eaten for days, if there is no education for them or if an entire society rejects them.  How can I presume to talk to them for 15 minutes and then leave?  God wants us to come as Jesus did: giving up our blessings and offering them to the world, teaching by example and supplying physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

    What is your vision for YAMEN?

    I would like to see different young people from Colombia take on this program, motivating themselves to do something for their brother or sister without worrying about the sacrifice, letting themselves be led by God.  I would like to see us building relationships with our Latin American sisters and brothers and those in countries we might not be inclined to go to otherwise.

     

    2012-2013 YAMEN Participants

    Patricia Calvimontes Arevalo, of Bolivia, serving in Guatemala;
    Vichara Chum of Cambodia, serving in South Africa;
    Fang Deng of China, serving in Indonesia;
    Glenda Aracely, of Guatemala serving in Bolivia,
    Humberto Lagos Martinez of Honduras, serving in Cambodia;
    MeiLing Dueñas of  Honduras, serving in Nicaragua;
    Prashant Nand of India, serving in Indonesia;
    Cindy Tristiantari of Indonesia, serving in South Korea;
    Galuh Florentina of Indonesia, serving in Cambodia;
    Heri Purwanto of Indonesia, serving in Bolivia;
    Youa Xiong of Laos, serving in Bolivia;
    Maria Aranda of Nicaragua, serving in Honduras;
    Paola Duarte of Paraguay, serving in Mexico;
    Shammah NakawesI of Uganda, serving in Indonesia;
    Festus Musamba of Zambia, serving in South Africa;
    Olivia Muzyamba o Zambia, serving in Indonesia.

     

    Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN!) is a joint exchange program of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Mennonite World Conference (MWC). The purpose of the program is to foster cross-cultural learning and service for young adults from the Global South.

  • We estimate that there are 9,500 congregations throughout the world that are part of the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) family. These congregations are found in every continent and in every imaginable context. This means that there are, potentially, thousands of active communities of the peace of Christ functioning in many contexts in need of reconciliation. The vision of the MWC Peace Commission is to encourage, nourish and resource these agents of peace.

    With this vision in mind, we wanted to hear from the member-churches of MWC. We asked them to answer a simple question: “How is your church doing in its desire to be a Peace Church?”

    What did we learn? It was encouraging and very moving to read the responses. They were vulnerable and provided profound and intimate windows into the lives of MWC member-churches. They put us in touch with the challenges faced and the efforts engaged by the churches in their desire to be effective ambassadors of peace in our broken world. Here’s what we learned:

    1. All respondents expressed a deep desire to be a “Peace Church.” They understood that as being communities of Jesus’ disciples and actively nonviolent in their contexts.

    2. All respondents talked about important and creative ways that they are working at strengthening their identity as Peace Churches.

    3. Most respondents pointed to important “official” statements that identified them as churches with a Peace Church vision.

    4. All respondents indicated that there is a gap (some wider than others) that separates the official statements of the church from the life of the church and congregations.

    5. All respondents identified important and daunting challenges they face in their efforts at being a Peace Church.

    6. Respondents indicated that the understanding of peace is shifting from reaction (do no harm to others) to action (do good for others).

    7. All respondents said that they need more resources and resourcing to strengthen their identity as Peace Churches.

    What are the challenges? The most moving parts of the responses were those that talked about their contextual challenges to being a Peace Church. (To read the full report, visit www. mwc-cmm.org/article/peace-commission) It is clear that our vision for 9,500 effective communal peace ambassadors at work in each context is a very high calling. Two things are very evident: the peace vocation is extremely important and necessary, and pursuing that vocation is exceptionally complex.

    Space does not permit me to delve into all the details. But let me give a taste of the challenges that we face:

    From Canada: The numbing impact of individualistic materialism, affluence and comfort shield us from the broken worlds of poverty, revolution and violence.

    From Honduras: The continuing influence of machoism in gender and social relationships eclipses the peace of Christ.

    From Taiwan: The militarized atmosphere generated by thousands of Chinese missiles aimed at every part of Taiwan makes it difficult to love our enemies as Christ commanded.

    From Indonesia: We stumble in forming a peace-church identity because the pastors of our churches graduate from seminaries that do not teach peace.

    From Spain: We share a “basket of love” with each other, but we need to do much more.

    Any one of these challenges is formidable enough. When all are put together, we can see the enormity of our vocation. Peace is badly needed in our world, but practicing it is complex. Perhaps the clearest lesson we can learn from the responses is that we will not be “unpremeditated” Peace Churches. We’ll need to work at it – intentionally, overtly, and strategically.

    A pressing question I remember a visit we had with the leaders of a semi-rural congregation in central India. They told us that their children and grand- children no longer know what it means to be “Mennonite.” They were sad about this, and asked: “What is MWC going to do about that?”

    The question from India is profound. It identifies a preferred theological identity. It also says that this identity must be accompanied by congregational and church behaviours that deliberately stimulate and strengthen this identity.

    What is MWC doing about it? MWC is responding in several ways. First, we are continuing to promote our “Shared Convictions,” prepared by MWC in 2006. They provide a common foundation for our desire to be an Anabaptist Peace Church. They are there to be studied, shared and used.

    Second, MWC has approved a number of resources for member-churches looking to strengthen their Anabaptist-Mennonite identity. Books like Alfred Neufeld’s What We Believe Together, Paulus Widijaia’s and Alan and Eleanor Kreider’s A Culture of Peace and C. Arnold Snyder’s From Anabaptist Seed, are all good resources on Anabaptist identity from a variety of angles (historical, theological, etc.). (For a complete list of books, visit www. mwc-cmm.org/article/books) The final reports from the Mennonite- Lutheran and Mennonite-Catholic international dialogues are very helpful documents that could be adapted to the teaching ministry of the church. And the three papers recently discussed and approved by the MWC General Council are another instructive and useful set of resources. (To read the papers, visit www. mwc-cmm.org/article/faith-andlife- commission)

    Third, the MWC Faith and Life Commission plans to offer “identity workshops” to churches requesting such resourcing. The Commission hopes that these seminars can be face-to-face, dynamic and stimulating, as questions of Anabaptist identity are explored together with key resource teachers.

    Fourth, MWC plans to place regional representatives in each continent. Such individuals can encourage member-churches in that region to work together at the peace-related questions and challenges.

    Fifth, the MWC Peace Commission has designed an attractive “Peace Poster” that will helpfully remind us of the centrality of peace in the gospel of Christ. (The poster is included as an insert in this issue of the magazine.) We hope that this visual resource can find a prominent place in the worship spaces of MWC congregations. Additionally, the Peace Commission is working to produce some guidelines for conflict assessment and management.

    Finally, and perhaps most importantly, MWC provides an opportunity and a real-life structure that enables member-churches from all over the world to say, “We belong together.” Someone will surely ask: What do you belong to? Why do you belong? Why is it important to belong? These questions are excellent opportunities to clarify our identity and vocation as a Peace Church.

    -Robert J. Suderman is Secretary of the MWC Peace Commission.

    PEACE POSTER

    Click here to see the peace poster. This poster, developed by the MWC Peace Commission and designed by Glenn Fretz, is intended to remind MWC member-churches of the centrality of peace in the gospel of Christ.

    SIDEBAR

    Who Responded to the Peace Audit?

    When the MWC Peace Commission asked, “How is your church doing in its desire to be a Peace Church?”, 21 (out of 100) member-churches from four continents responded.

    The participants were:

    Asia and the Pacific
    1. Brethren in Christ Church Orissa, India
    2. Bihar Mennonite Mandli, India
    3. Gilgal Mission Trust, India
    4. Fellowship of Mennonite Churches in Taiwan
    5. Persatuan Gereja-Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia
    6. Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa (oral), Indonesia
    South America, Latin America and the Caribbean
    1. Hermandad en Cristo, Colombia
    2. Convención Iglesias Evangélicas Hermanos Menonitas Nivacle, Paraguay
    3. Iglesia Evangélica Menonita de El Salvador
    4. Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Hondureña, Honduras
    5. Konferenz der Mennonitengemeinden in Uruguay
    6. The Mennonite Church of Trinidad and Tobago
    Europe
    1. British Conference of Mennonites, United Kingdom
    2. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Gemeinden in Deutschland, Germany
    3. Asociación de Menonitas y Hermanos en Cristo en Espa√±a, Spain
    North America
    1. Evangelical Mennonite Conference, Canada
    2. Mennonite Church Canada
    3. Conservative Mennonite Conference, USA
    4. Mennonite Church USA
    5. U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
    6. Brethren in Christ General Conference, North America
    Africa
    Unfortunately, we received no responses

  • “The winds of Anabaptism are blowing!” These enthusiastic words from Chilean Mennonite church member, Felipe Elgueta, are an apt description of the dynamic life of emerging Mennonite churches in different regions of Chile. While most Mennonite churches in Latin America originated either by migration or mission, the Chilean Mennonite churches arose as a result of members’ own ingenuity, much like the Pentecostal churches did throughout the 20th century. As Jaime Prieto concluded in Mission and Migration (Global Mennonite History Series – Latin America, 2010), “Chile is an example of a country where Anabaptist initiatives have developed and grown internally as Chileans have embraced Anabaptist faith and practice.”

    How did Anabaptism catch on in Chile? Some credit is due to Chilean-Canadian Jorge Vallejos, a church planter and pastor who, in the 1980s, suggested to his Chilean church friends that they adopt the name “Mennonite.” Early on, Daniel Delgado, now president of the Iglesia Evangélica Menonita de Chile (IEMCH), was moved when he heard the story of Dirk Willems, a 16th-century Dutch Anabaptist martyr. He was also impressed by the holistic service of Mennonite Central Committee workers in neighbouring Bolivia, who showed no partiality with regard to religion, ethnicity, social class or gender. Carlos Gallardo and Mónica Parada, upon learning about Anabaptist ecclesiology in a course on the Radical Reformation taught by Titus Guenther, suddenly felt a kinship between their own understanding of the life of the church and the historic vision of the Anabaptists.

    The Chilean Mennonite congregations, some almost 25 years old, emerged from quite different backgrounds. Most grew out of a Pentecostal background. One congregation, Iglesia Menonita Puerta del Rebaño (The Door of the Sheepfold Mennonite Church), arose in the context of a university community in Concepción, developing its Mennonite identity as a result of influence from visiting Mennonite teachers like John Driver, César Moya and Delbert Erb. As mentioned above, this group is led by Carlos Gallardo and Mónica Parada, two former seminary students. Importantly, these churches arose some distance from each other, within different social contexts. These differences made for difficulties in relating to each other. However, recent developments – including joint involvement in the staging of the 2013 Southern Cone conference, a gathering of Anabaptists from six South American nations – has helped to reduce the “distance” between the groups.

    All these churches minister in situations of chronic poverty. Their community outreach focuses on family, women’s and youth issues. Women carry the bulk of the responsibility for these ministries – as much as 70% of the workload, according to one male leader. They prepare food, visit the sick, support families in need and walk alongside people with addictions. A vivid illustration of this point comes from Gladys Delgado (Daniel’s wife). One day, an abandoned youth – the child of alcoholic parents – showed up at the Delgados’ church. Gladys invited him into their home. Four years later, he still lives with them, and is now actively involved in the life and ministry of the church.

    These Mennonite churches also demonstrated their care for the suffering in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Chile. Though of limited means themselves, these believers nevertheless loaded up three vans of supplies and delivered them to the people hardest hit by this natural disaster – not just the Mennonites, but those from other evangelical churches as well.

    The identity of these Chilean Mennonites is captured well in this brief anecdote from Daniel Delgado. When asked by a police officer, “What does the Mennonite church do anyway?”, Daniel replied, “We are doing the work you are hired to do, but we do it for free.”

    In addition to their social service work, the Mennonites of Chile show a keen awareness of the need to share the gospel with their neighbours. Samuel Tripainao, pastor of the Peñaflor church and secretary of IEMCH, captures well the sentiment shared by most Mennonites in this country: “When we go out on the street, our witness is accompanied by a sandwich and a cup of coffee.” And their service is not limited to their immediate communities only. From time to time, pastors travel to more distant places, including neighbouring Argentina, to fellowship with and strengthen sister congregations and to lend a hand in local evangelism. When Samuel heard about the conflict over land ownership in the region where many Mapuche (aboriginal) people live, he declared that “this would be a good place to start a church,” as an effort to bring peace and healing to this community.

    A report on Mennonites in Chile would be lacking without a reference to the Anabaptist renewal occurring within the sizeable Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Chile (UBACH). Omar Cortés – a worker in both the Mennonite Church Canada Witness and Mennonite Mission Network U.S. programs, as well as a Baptist seminary professor – has played a central role in this movement. Through his teaching on the Radical Reformation, Omar has helped the Baptist Church to rediscover its Peace Church roots. In 2008, UBACH and Mennonite Church Canada entered into a sister church relationship. Whether this will continue under UBACH’s new leadership, remains to be seen.

    Our personal experience visiting a new church community, started by two Baptist seminary professors, suggests that there is much vitality in this renewal movement. These Christians are vitally interested in Anabaptist ecclesiology and practice, and are very inclusive, emphasizing the themes of peace, justice and compassion in their songs and liturgy.

    Two further church initiatives in the south of Chile should be mentioned. One was started in Valdivia by three women – Wanda Sieber, Marlene Dorigoni and Waleska Villa – from the Argentine (Patagonia) Mennonite Church. The other, also in the Valdivia region, is led by Eastern Mennonite Mission workers Mike and Nancy Hostetter.

    Until recently, the Mennonites of Chile often felt isolated from the larger Anabaptist movement, but such sentiments are starting to change through the visits of Mennonite Mission administrators and teachers from North America and neighbouring countries. Members’ participation in the biannual Southern Cone conferences and the 2009 Mennonite World Conference assembly has also significantly combated these feelings of isolation. As a result of these connections, IEMCH recently became the one hundredth member-church in the MWC family.

    Another milestone in the life of the Chilean Mennonite churches occurred this year, when they hosted the Southern Cone conference for the first time. This event brought together men, women and youth in the daily tasks of cooking, serving and cleaning, as well as in organizing and presiding over the program.

    Given their multifaceted, holistic ministry, the Mennonites of Chile face a number of challenges. First, there is a need to prepare new and younger people for leadership roles. Most current church leaders are older; a new generation will soon need to arise to take up their mantle. However, at present, most young peoples’ preparation for future service is limited to helping in the ministry with children and youth.

    There is also a lack of biblical and theological knowledge and training among the leaders. What’s worse, there is little evidence that the emerging generation has access to further formation in this regard. La Puerta (Concepción), with one student enrolled in a seminary theology program, is the exception.

    A third challenge relates to the retention of members and individual congregations. Currently, almost as many members leave as are gained. A fourth issue is gender equality, which continues to be a challenge for many of these congregations, especially in the area of pastoral leadership. Participation in the wider church helps to overcome their isolation and open them up to the larger Mennonite family. This will hopefully result in greater openness to other faith families.

    Nevertheless, the winds of Anabaptism continue to blow through the Mennonite churches of Chile. These Chilean believers are strengthened through the support of Mennonites from around the globe, and in turn the Chileans are opening other Mennonites’ eyes to what it means to be Anabaptist. These encounters are a wonderful opportunity for the sharing of diverse gifts that complement each other. The older churches, grounded in a more biblical-theological formation, can share their wisdom and experience, while the younger Chilean churches offer their brothers and sisters the benefit of fresh insights derived from reading the Bible with new eyes.

    -Titus Guenther, Associate Professor of Theology and Missions at Canadian Mennonite University (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), and Karen Loewen Guenther, a retired ESL teacher and freelance writer, are currently in Chile on special assignment with Mennonite Church Canada Witness.

  • In 2012, MWC partnered with the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism (ISGA) at Goshen College (Goshen, Indiana, USA) to launch a multi-year, multi-part research initiative. The goal? To develop a more nuanced picture of the MWC constituency specifically, and the global Anabaptist church generally.

    The project has two components. The first, the Global Anabaptist Profile (GAP), is a survey structured around MWC’s “Shared Convictions” that aims to collect demographic data as well as information on beliefs and practices. The second component, the Bearing Witness Stories (BWS) Project, will seek to gather personal stories of discipleship and suffering, in the spirit of the Martyrs Mirror.

    Recently, Courier/Correo/Courrier connected with project personnel to discuss the initiative, its impetus and its progress thus far.

    What was the impetus for this research initiative on global Anabaptism?

    John D. Roth (JR): The global Anabaptist church has been undergoing a dramatic transformation in the past 30 years or so, growing from approximately 600,000 members in 1980 to nearly 1.7 million today. Although MWC has worked hard to facilitate exchanges among its member groups, we are still very much in a process of learning to know each other better. The project is one step in helping to clarify a better sense of the basic demographical information, while also gathering much more detailed information about the beliefs and practices, hopes and dreams of MWC member churches.

    Have there been other such efforts to study the beliefs and practices of the international Anabaptist-Mennonite community?

    Conrad Kanagy (CK): Not many. Several years ago, Richard Showalter – then-president of Eastern Mennonite Missions and chair of the MWC Missions Commission – and I inaugurated the Multi- Nation Anabaptist (MNA) Profile. Ours was an effort to learn more about the beliefs and practices of the international Anabaptist community, and specifically those national churches connected to EMM. The results of that study were recently published in the book Winds of the Spirit (Herald Press, 2012).

    Alfred Neufeld (AN): Winds of the Spirit is excellent proof of how a profile study can stimulate theological work and contribute to renewal of identity. We expect that the GAP will similarly help our Commission in its efforts.

    CK: The GAP will be broader in scope than the MNA, and we hope it will yield even greater insights.

    How do you plan to gather stories for the “Bearing Witness” project?

    JR: One aspect of the project will focus on pulling together stories in a more intentional fashion from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries (i.e., from the completion of the Martyrs Mirror in 1685 to the present). But we also want to gather stories from the contemporary church, and especially from Anabaptist-Mennonite churches in the Global South.

    In August 2012, some 40 people from nine countries (and representing at least six different Anabaptist groups) met at Goshen College to develop a framework for the BWS. The consultation made it clear that gathering stories is never a simple process. We hope that a combination of active personal solicitation, the Internet, public appeals and the use of existing networks (like MWC) will slowly generate interest.

    What progress has been made thus far on the project?

    JR: Following nearly a year of conversations with MWC leadership, mission agency executives, representatives from Mennonite Central Committee and a host of interested individuals, the ISGA received preliminary approval for the project by the MWC Executive Committee at its May 2011 meeting, with final approval confirmed at the meeting of the General Council in May 2012.

    In August 2012, a sub-group of the MWC Faith and Life Commission met to review the logistics of the GAP. Also in August, Conrad organized a consultation with several other Mennonite sociologists, each with extensive experience in crosscultural surveys, for counsel regarding methodological questions. In late October we finalized our sample, and in November the MWC office in Bogotá sent out official letters to a representative sample of 25 member-churches, inviting them to participate. Right now we are responding to questions and confirming which groups wish to take part in the project. We hope to complete the survey in 2013-2014.

    It’s common these days to find North American researchers going to the Global South to conduct these kinds of studies. I’m sure that you’re sensitive to this perception with the current project. What steps have you taken to address this perception?

    JR: Yes, some might have the perception that this is a purely North American academic project that is “extracting” information from the global church. That is a false impression, though I do understand the concern. Clearly, the ISGA – which is located in the USA – is a catalyst for the project, and all of the funding comes from North America. But we see this as a project owned jointly by all the member-churches in the MWC family. The survey itself is based on the MWC Shared Convictions that resulted from a long process of discernment that included input from groups around the world. Each participating group will have a chance to add to the GAP questions that are specific to its setting. And the results of each participating group’s survey will be made available in an accessible form to the leadership of each church.

    Gathering information is not an end in itself; the information is clearly intended to help the church – both locally and in its global/MWC expression – to be more faithful followers of Jesus.

    How do you think the data gathered in this project will help MWC in its work of linking the global Anabaptist community?

    AN: In the 16th century there was a “multigenesis” of Anabaptist beginnings: the Dutch-North German group, led by Menno Simons, was quite different in culture, history, spirituality and political setting to the Swiss-South German group that began 1525 in Zurich. And both groups had considerable differences from the movement led by Hans Hut and Thomas Müntzer, and from the later “Heavenly Kingdom” at the city of Münster.

    Today, young Anabaptist churches – those within an Islamic context in Indonesia or Nigeria, within a Spanish Conquistarooted Catholic context in Latin America, or within the “underground church” movement in China – have quite different spiritual lives and day-to-day struggles than our Mennonite church members in Holland or Switzerland, in the USA or Canada. But we need each other and we need to understand each other.

    CK: In the Book of Revelation, Jesus Christ has a message or word for the seven churches of Asia. I like to imagine that the work of MWC in this project will be one more way of hearing – partially, of course – Christ’s word to us in these early years of the 21st century.

    Participants
    John Roth (JR) Director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism (ISGA) at Goshen College and Secretary of the MWC Faith and Life Commission
    Alfred Neufeld (AN) Chair of the MWC Faith and Life Commission
    Conrad Kanagy (CK) Associate Director of the Global Anabaptist Profile project

  • Exploring our shared commitment to worship

    As a global communion of Anabaptist-related churches, we share a common commitment to gathering regularly for worship. Yet our tremendous diversity means that we carry out this commitment in very different ways. In the October 2013 issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier, leaders from across our fellowship write about different ways in which Anabaptists approach worship – the sights and sounds, the challenges and the blessings.

    Resisting North American “Magic Kingdom” Worship

    Writing in his book Unfinished: Believing Is Only the Beginning (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2013), Rich Stearns asks the question, “What would people be like if they had been born and raised inside Magic Kingdom park and had never seen the outside world?” By “Magic Kingdom,” Stearns is referring to the Disneyland amusement park in the USA built by the Walt Disney Corporation – a place that is associated, for many people, with perfect conditions, make-believe characters and whimsical imagination.  

    This “Magic Kingdom” vision, he says, is exactly how we could describe much of the church living in the “First-World” (or Global North). Many of us live in a kind of fantasy- land, very distant from and largely unaware of the day-to-day struggles impacting the lives of those living in what Stearns calls the “Tragic Kingdom” (or Global South) across the rest of the world.  

    Despite the disparity in our circumstances, God’s kingdom is the common denominator between the Magic and Tragic kingdoms. As Christ-followers, no matter where we find ourselves geographically, politically, culturally or economically, our loyalty is to the Kingdom of God. We share similar goals as disciples of Christ. We want to speak of hope and grace to those in our cultural context. We desire to build bridges to show that Jesus is transcultural and relevant. In his kingdom, worship flows out of our image and understanding of who God is. In the worldly kingdom, humanity’s actions evoke response from their gods. In the heavenly kingdom, God’s actions evoke a response of worship and wonder from his creation.  

    As believers, we may come from different places, but we stand on the common ground of citizenship in God’s kingdom. Therefore, there should be unity among believers – locally, nationally and globally.  

    This is the vision of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:4-6. These three verses contain seven “ones” of Christian unity, and they have integrity both vertically and horizon- tally. There is only one body, one hope, one faith and one baptism (horizontal unity) because there is only one God – Father, Son and Spirit – to whom we all belong (vertical unity).  

    But how does this play out in worship, especially as we think about our global church community?  

    Christian unity is expressed across time, space and culture. Although our worship style, location and leadership may vary, we should be able to discern unity among our diversity in the common threads of our theology. The act of meeting together, for example, is a common expression of our unity, no matter what the cultural differences.  

    Christian unity is also expressed in the way we live out our citizenship in the Kingdom of God, challenging oppression and injustice and working to transform the patterns of self and wealth into care of the poor and the earth – another expression of our worship.  

    Unfortunately, today, in North America, we live in a highly individualistic culture. Oblivious to their surroundings, young and old walk, drive, eat and even sleep plugged into their own conversations and personalized mixes of entertainment. Our “Magic Kingdom” culture even leads us to commoditize worship. As Tom Kraeutner states in his 1992 article, “Worship is a Verb,” “We can become so interested in doing things ‘right’ to get the ‘right’ response from people that we miss the whole point – worship- ping God.”  

    Our Anabaptist theology can provide a helpful lens as we think about this tendency. Worship is our response to God’s Word and his creation. Worship is life-encompassing, and this worldview informs our choices as followers of Jesus. Our emphasis on com- munity and the value of diverse gifting that each person brings to the body, is inclusive and participatory.  

    The reality is, many of us who live in the “Magic Kingdom” need to recognize that our “stuff” distracts us from worship. We need to work a lot harder at walking our talk. This was highlighted for me as I overheard two conversations following a worship service: in Africa, I heard, “I wish we could stay and worship for another hour. It is so good to be together”; in North America, I heard, “I loved worship today – the worship leader was awesome and the sound was great. I just wish they would keep more closely to the time. I am late for lunch.”  

    I know these comments are generalizations, and I am thankful that many North Americans work diligently to be counter- cultural. There are many resources available to help us think about whom we worship and how we worship. Here are some questions I ask myself as I think about Anabaptist worship in North America:  

    1. Is our stated theology reflected in the form and function of our worship? For example, given our diversity, style should not be an important criterion in evaluating worship (form). And yet, one of the ways our theology is expressed is in the style we choose.  
    2. As we reflect on our corporate worship genre, style or themes over the past year, do we incorporate the full range of human emotion in our worship experiences? Do we only sing happy songs, or is there room for refection and lament in our worship? Are we so focused on a single dimension of worship that we fail to minister holistically?  
    3. Do we endeavour to have our corporate worship be an expression of our community rather than cater to the cultural trend of individualism?  
    4. Whenever particular activities and experiences are included as we gather to worship, do we creatively make space for significant congregational involvement? Inclusivity is multilayered. How are we intentionally inclusive?  
    5. In planning our worship “experiences,” do we sometimes overthink the detail of how we will “do” it and under-think how this choice informs our understanding of God?   

    Perhaps, like me, you have experienced some “special moments” as a worshipper, at Mennonite World Conference assemblies. Unified voices, lifted in multi-cultural worship that responds to the greatness of our Creator, Saviour and Lord, gives me a snapshot of worship as pictured in the book of Revelation. I look forward to sharing that glimpse of eternity with many of my sisters and brothers from around the world as we gather for Assembly 16 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, in 2015.  

    Don McNiven (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) serves as the executive director of the International Brethren In Christ Association (IBICA), an associate member of MWC. He is a member of the Program Oversight Committee for Assembly 16, heading up the Music and Worship planning section.

     

  •  Exploring our shared commitment to worship

    As a global communion of Anabaptist-related churches, we share a common commitment to gathering regularly for worship. Yet our tremendous diversity means that we carry out this commitment in very different ways. In the October 2013 issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier, leaders from across our fellowship write about different ways in which Anabaptists approach worship – the sights and sounds, the challenges and the blessings.  

    The Book or the Wall?

    If you were to attend a Sunday service in a European Mennonite congregation, you would probably encounter two different styles of worship. In one kind of service, the congregation sings from a book. This style is fond of four-part harmony, and often uses an organ, a harmonium or a piano as an accompanying instrument.

    In the other kind of service, the congregation relies on a video projector to display the lyrics of the hymns on the wall. This style is more into “contemporary worship”: its melodies and rhythms have a distinctive pop favor and are usually supported by electric guitars, bass and drums.

    Of course, distinctions are not always this neatly made. For instance, in my congregation, which is a member of the French Mennonite conference, old revivalist hymnals are used along with contemporary Evangelical – if not charismatic – songs projected on the wall. We departed from our harmonium long ago, and the drums are doing well. Some brothers and sisters – most of them elderly – are still able to sing four-part harmony, but the skill is vanishing among their younger counterparts. This seems like a transition process: how long will we continue singing from those dusty books? How long will it take before a technological change erases another part of our memories, practices and spirituality?

    My tone may sound a bit nostalgic, but I do not think it is. Neither is it technophobic: video projectors can be convenient tools. Yet we have to reflect on how we use them, for objects play an important role in our worship. They are instruments that shape our spirituality. Sometimes, we are aware of this fact. Most of the time, we are not. And when we are not, technology is left unchecked and becomes a silent master whom we obey without noticing.

    There is a cultural contrast among European Mennonite worship styles, and it impacts the different ways in which we cultivate spirituality. The objects we use as we congregate to celebrate our faith, Sun- day after Sunday, play an important part in those differences. And the tools we employ to sing together are telling of the kind of Christians we might become in the long run.

    Singing is a powerful activity that profoundly shapes what we believe. Our minds might wander as we listen to a sermon that we will probably hear only once. It is quite another thing with psalms, hymns and songs of praise, for they belong to a repertoire that our community – which includes each one of us – will often sing. Theological ideas expressed in a sermon may come and go, no matter how fancy, interesting and profound they sound. Communicated by a song, the same ideas probably have longevity. They settle somewhere in our subconscious.

    Once again, Mennonite European churches are interesting in this regard. As mentioned before, some of them sing from a book – by which I mean a Mennonite hymnal that exists in the language of a conference, and that communities use for their worship.

    Northern Europe has a tradition of Mennonite hymnals: Dutch Doopsgezinden have theirs, and German-speaking Mennonites from Germany and Switzerland share one. Of course, Anabaptists did not compose all the hymns enclosed in those books. Many of those songs come from a Reformed, Catholic or ecumenical background. How- ever, the repertoire enclosed between the covers of those hymnals is in tune with an Anabaptist theology and spirituality. In that sense, as they worship, these believers and their communities voice a distinctive way of being a Christian.

    The matter is different in Southern Europe. Spaniards or French-speaking Mennonites (think Belgium, France or Switzerland) do not enjoy the privilege of having a “book.” They tend to sing what gets projected on the wall. Most of the time, their repertoire borrows from more Evangelical and charismatic sources. The distinctive- ness of Anabaptism tends to get blurred, especially as those songs emphasize the “powerfulness” of God, and often downplay the fact that, in Jesus, God emptied himself and became weak in order to reach for us.

    Over the last decade, Anabaptist scholarship has moved in a tremendous way to remind we European Mennonites of our historical roots. It has given us a sense of identity. Nevertheless, to convert that in- sight into a deeper spirituality, we may need a generation of authors, composers and theologians who offer us, here in Southern Europe, a “book” in tune with our beliefs. And if that book is compatible with a video projector or a tablet, that sounds even better.  

    Philippe Gonzalez is lay minister in a French Mennonite Church (Saint- Genis-Pouilly) and a lecturer at a Swiss University.

     

  • Reflections on being a disciple of Christ

    As I reflect on my Christian journey, one inheritance from my church, the Brethren in Christ, that I treasure is the simple teaching to be obedient as a disciple of Christ. It is a teaching that is life-changing, in that it calls for sacrificial commitment and dedication to Christ and his cause.

    Obedience simply means “submission to authority.” It requires a willingness to carry out that authority’s instructions. This is how the early Anabaptists understood Christian discipleship. Run through the pages of history of the early Anabaptists – furnish yourself with the stories of the sacrifices they made – and you will not fail to appreciate that their underlying motivation was to be obedient and faithful to Christ, to the church and to the scriptures as they understood them.

    Confessing and embracing Christ as Lord is a call to view Him as the highest authority in our lives. Therefore, whatever he says must be carefully and painstakingly followed by his disciples. In that spirit, the early Anabaptists took the words of Christ – especially the Sermon on the Mount – seriously, as failure to do so could result in “a great crash,” as indicated in the last verses of Jesus’ sermon (Matthew 7: 24 – 27).

    So what does it mean to practice Christian discipleship? Put another way, what is obedience to Christ?

    Trust that sometimes leads to suffering

    The need for obedience is fundamentally the need to trust in God and God’s son, Jesus Christ. Failure to put one’s trust in God potentially leads to idolatry. It displeases God. Both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are dotted with stories that emphasize the need and importance of obedience to God and to His Word.

    Amazingly, obedience to God – although commended and blessed – does not necessarily lead to a life of bliss. Indeed, for many Christians around the world now and in the past, it often leads to suffering. The early Anabaptists found in this truth their source of strength, and persevered. These disciples, due to their obedience to God, suffered at the hands of those who were opposed to God’s will. In the midst of their suffering they found encouragement in the biblical stories of people like Moses, Elijah, Daniel, Jeremiah, and Shadrack, Meshack and Abednigo – and especially in the life and teachings of Christ.

    Our forbearers would have shouted “amen!” to the words of American pastor and writer Chuck Swindoll, who once wrote, “When you suffer and lose, that does not mean you are being disobedient to God. In fact, it might mean you’re right in the centre of His will. The path of obedience is often marked by times of suffering and loss.”

    To lead a life of obedience is a choice that one makes. God does not coerce us to obey him. We willingly obey God in all circumstances, knowing that God always knows what is best for us and what best can be accomplished through us as we journey together through life’s trials and triumphs. In the words of missionary Elisabeth Elliot, “God is God. Because he is God, he is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in his holy will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what he is up to.”

    It is in this lifestyle of trust in God that one can confidently sing with the faithful: “Where he leads me I will follow / I go with Him all the way.” As disciples of Christ, we must understand that suffering is unavoidable. And though we should not blindly embrace it, it is nevertheless a mark of true discipleship – of our trust in God.

    Reliance on God in poverty and plenty

    The call for obedience in the church has always been understood as a call for faithfulness to the scriptures. For this reason, Anabaptists view the Sermon on the Mount as a normative guide to conducting their lives in relation to God, one another, their enemies and earthly institutions such as the state.

    Consider the lives of the early Anabaptists. The majority were poor, and some were forced into poverty as a result of persecution that came upon them because of their faith in Christ and understanding of the scriptures. It is not surprising that these believers were drawn to passages such as Matthew 6:25-34, which calls for reliance on God for provisions of life. Day-to-day survival was indeed in God’s hands. For them, God was indeed all in all.

    Such passages have the same draw for our communities today that experience situations of oppression, conflict or injustice. For those brothers and sisters around the world whose daily bread is the uncertainty of life, obedience to such words as Christ spoke in this passage is not an option – it is a mark of faithfulness, a necessity for perseverance.

    On the other hand, those privileged to assist the needy in obedience to the scriptures are challenged to give in ways that will not make their “left hand know what their right hand is doing”; they are thus rewarded by the Father who sees in secret (Matthew 6:1-4). Obedience in this respect means faithfulness to words of Christ in addressing questions that are ethical in nature. It means constantly checking our motivation for the decisions we make and the resultant actions we take, so that we can say with Paul: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

    Living in truth without need for oaths

    True disciples of Christ live in truth and by the Truth. There is never an excuse for living a wishy-washy life. Truth must be the signature of their being.

    Early Anabaptists modeled this kind of truthful living. For instance, these believers refrained from swearing oaths. In that time, swearing oaths was perceived as an admission that there were times when one’s “yes” was not a “yes” and one’s “no” not a “no” (Matthew 5:33-37). Shouldn’t true Christians live lives of truthfulness all the time – not just when speaking to government officials or doing business?

    Obedience to Christ in this respect – in a world which glorified taking oaths – meant refusal to engage in such acts and living up to the consequences that followed.

    The path of obedience to Christ is infested with practices that are diverse – some national and others cultural, some which may appear innocent yet are cancerous to one’s faith. As Christians, we should never be naïve and fail to carefully study our contexts together, in the light of the scriptures, letting go of practices that inhibit us from living the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” be “no”! Our obedience to Christ must be seen in how we address ourselves to both ethical and moral questions of our time.

    A spirit of love and humility, not fear

    One cannot talk of Christian obedience without looking at Christ as our model. Jesus, when expressing his obedience to God the Father, said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and finish his work” (John 4:34). Jesus subjected himself to the authority of God the Father because he loved him. In the priestly prayer in John 17:20-26, we get many glimpses of the intimate relationship between Jesus and God. Phrases like “Father, just as you are in me and I in you” and “as we are one,” give us great insight into the relationship between the two. A concluding remark – “I know you, and they know you sent me, I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them” – shows how that intimacy manifest itself in Jesus’ earthly ministry.

    The point I want to make here is that Jesus had an intimate relationship with God the Father and that the love between the two was intense. Most significantly for our discussion of obedience, we note that Jesus obeyed God out of love rather than out of fear and coercion.

    We, in turn, obey Christ out of love – the same intense love we have for him, as articulated for us in this powerful prayer. Jesus was willing to go all the way and pay the ultimate prize – death on the cross – because he knew God and unconditionally loved him. The church of Jesus Christ today can only stand out by reflecting the glory of Christ as it gives unqualified submission and love for Him.

    The life of obedience as demonstrated by Christ not only flows out of a loving heart but also calls us to embrace a very important virtue – humility. The New Testament hymn in Philippians 2:5-11 enables us to see how humility relates to true obedience. There was on the part of Christ a willingness to shed off his God-nature for the less glamorous human/servant nature. He willingly submitted his authority to that of God. Christ willingly listened to that higher authority in order to effectively carry out the mission for which he had come. He was willing to lose that which in the present would be viewed as valuable and important, in order to gain what was not yet seen – but of greater cosmic importance.

    Therefore, obedience as exemplified by Christ – to put it in romantic terms – is where love and humility kiss! Genuine obedience as taught by the church is the willingness for one to submit to the Lordship of Christ and out of love for him and in humble submission to him be willing to do whatsoever the Lord has commanded us to do.

    Loving and praying for enemies

    Jesus was not apologetic when he said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Therefore, we need to take seriously one of the important – yet sometimes difficult – commands given to every true follower of Christ: “You have heard that it it is said, ‚ÄòLove your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you‚Ķ If you love those who love you what reward will you get? … And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others?” (Matthew 5:43-44, 46, 47)

     These verses are intimidating, but very profound. Today’s church cannot afford to read such scriptures without engaging in some soul-searching; the church of yester-years did the same. It is no wonder, therefore, that our theology of nonviolence as Anabaptists is based on such passages.

    One cannot obey Jesus’ command to love one’s enemy and then by the same token go out and take the so-called enemy’s life. Paul writes, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners [his enemies!] Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). In other words, God loved his enemies – us – such that instead of annihilating us, he gave us life through Christ! Obedience to Christ means we must love those who persecute us and, like God, wish them life instead of death.

    We are commanded to pray for those who persecute us. Many Christians believe in the power of prayer. Many are able to say without much thought: “Prayer changes things.” Many times Christians are not willing or are reluctant to pray for their enemies. Let me propose a few reasons why this is true. First, they know that prayer changes things. They are afraid that God will show mercy to their enemy. They would rather see their enemy suffer or die! Second, they do not want God to open their enemy’s eyes to the truth and thus accept God’s salvation. They do not want to share with their enemy the glorious inheritance of God’s kingdom.

    When we pray for our enemies, God usually and certainly deals with the negative attitudes that we hold against our enemies. These attitudes cultivate and nurse the spirit of revenge. Therefore, harbouring them derives from a rebellious spirit that says, “God, leave me alone! I will deal with my problems my way.”

    It should not surprise us that Christ, at the conclusion of his teaching on prayer (Matthew 6:5-13), makes a strong statement about forgiveness: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). This teaching goes hand in hand with the teaching on loving our enemies and praying for our persecutors.

    Those who love and follow God through Christ will love their enemies to the bitter end – even when it is at the cost of their very lives. They will pray for them with anticipation of seeing them accept the Christ as Lord and Saviour. In so doing, they will qualify to be “invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).

    Conclusion

    This is the teaching I call my inheritance. It is my treasure, and I seek to pass it on to the next generation so that they might do the same.

    The world is better served with an obedient church – disciples of Christ committed to surrender all to him in order to gain all from him. Such is our church when it realizes it has all the resources it needs to be an effective transformative force in today’s world.

    by Danisa Ndlovu

     

    Danisa Ndlovu is president of Mennonite World Conference and bishop of Ibandia Labazalwane kuKristu eZimbabwe (Brethren in Christ Church of Zimbabwe).

    This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier October 2013, Vol 28.4

  • On the morning of 7 November 2013, Regina Mondez, along with most people of the Philippines, was anxiously tracking the radar images of a massive storm heading directly toward them. Even before super typhoon Haiyan slammed into the islands of the central Philippines, with wind speeds approaching 200 miles per hour, she and other members of Peace Church, a small house fellowship in Manila supported by Mennonite Church Canada Witness, were thinking about how they would need to respond.

    When the typhoon made landfall several hours later, the destruction of the storm’s wind, rain, and tidal surge defied description. In addition to the 6,000 reported fatalities, an estimated 14 million people, including 1.8 million children, were displaced by the storm, with hundreds of villages devastated and a major city, Tacloban, nearly completely destroyed. As the Filipino government struggled to respond, millions of people in the region – living without power, shelter, food, water or security – grew increasingly desperate.

    By all objective measures, the Mennonite presence in the Philippines is tiny. As the world’s twelfth most populated country, the Philippines is home to nearly 100 million citizens – 80% of them Catholic. Mennonites, by contrast, number a mere 1,000 souls: around 200 from the Church of God in Christ, Mennonites; another 150 affiliated with various conservative or plain fellowships; and the rest associated with the Integrated Mennonite Churches (IMC), whose 21 congregations are scattered around the central island of Luzon, a region not directly affected by the recent storm.

    Yet Regina and the volunteers from Peace Church were undeterred. Within a few days, they joined a team organized by PeaceBuilders Community, and headed for the city of Ormoc on Leyte island. There, working closely with local pastors, they helped to establish a network for the efficient distribution of relief assistance that was just beginning to arrive.

    Regina Mondez is the face of a new generation of Mennonites in the global church. In the early 1980s, her parents joined the Conservative Mennonite church in Lumban, attracted by its biblical emphasis on peace and a strong sense of community. Though the family eventually left that congregation, frustrated by its restrictions on education, Regina recalls the church as her “second home – it was my family.”

    During her studies at the University of the Philippines, Regina became more aware of the deep-seated realities of poverty and injustice in her country, and dedicated herself to working for social and political reforms. Immediately after completing a degree in Development Communication, she moved to the island of Mindanao, a region devastated by poverty and decades of guerilla warfare and inter-religious violence.

    For the next two years, she worked as a volunteer with PeaceBuilders Community, an organization supported by Mennonite Church Canada Witness, that has trained hundreds of local pastors and village leaders in the basic principles of conflict transformation and restorative justice.

    That experience restored in Regina a deep appreciation for the Mennonite church and the theological roots of her peacemaking activities. “I had a weak grasp of Anabaptist teachings growing up,” Regina said. “But as I heard peace advocates, government workers, and even military officers express appreciation for the Mennonite witness to peace, my understandings of faith began to deepen.”

    For the past three years, Regina has served as IMC’s national coordinator, supporting the work of the Board of Trustees and Board of Bishops. She is a charter member of Peace Church, a newly established congregation in Global City, Manila that is bringing a vigorous peace witness to the heart of Manila’s military and political establishment. In 2010, Regina wrote a history of the Mennonite church in the Philippines as a chapter in the Asia volume of the MWC Global Mennonite History series; and she currently is serving as the Research Associate for the MWC Global Anabaptist Profile in her country. Regina, who also has a full-time job, is 23-years-old!

    In recent decades, the Mennonite church in the Philippines has suffered a number of divisions that have left some of the young people disillusioned. “I want to help our church become a family that is not divided by culture or ethnicity,” Regina reflected. “I want to help our church live out its understanding of the gospel in a more powerful way.” She dreams one day of helping to establish an Anabaptist school in the Philippines “that would enable IMC to develop more leaders who are reliant, efficient and successful without losing the particularity of their cultural or ethnic identity.”

    The magnitude of the challenges facing the small Mennonite churches in the Philippines – whether that be disaster relief, peacebuilding, or church renewal – can seem overwhelming. But I am inspired by the witness of Regina Mondez. Pray for her, and the community she represents. Pray for Darnell and Christina Barkman, pastors of Peace Church; pray for the leaders of the Integrated Mennonite Church; pray for the work of PeaceBuilders Community in Mindanao; and pray for the people of the Philippines, devastated by typhoon Haiyan, who are searching for hope and a future amidst the rubble.

    Article by John D. Roth of Goshen, Indiana. Roth teaches history at Goshen College and is also secretary of the Mennonite World Conference Faith and Life Commission. This article was first published in The Mennonite, 1 January, 2014.