Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • GYS hears the challenges of the Mennonite church in Ukraine

    More than a year ago, Crimea – a Russian-speaking province on the south of Ukraine – was taken over by Russia through some military actions and a referendum. The conflict has since expanded to parts of eastern Ukraine, where more than 6,000 people have been killed after a year of fighting.

    One of the Anabaptist churches in Ukraine is Molochansk Mennonite Church, located just three hours’ drive away from the battle region. Four members of this church were in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, to attend Mennonite World Conference’s Assembly 16.

    Molochansk Mennonite Church has been doing what they can to ease the burdens of the affected people. They regularly send food to people near the battlefront and provide counselling to people traumatized by the violence.

    However, while the Mennonites are now safe from harm, this conflict has politically divided the nation where Russian speakers and Ukrainian speakers used to live harmoniously.

    “We have seen churches where the pro-Russian and the anti-Russian members won’t have communion with each other,” Utkin said. “Pastors are facing challenges in leading their divided members.”

    “It has been amazing to directly see the support we are getting from the global community represented in GYS. Please continue to pray for our country. For us, to live is to establish the Kingdom of God, and your prayer mean a great deal to us,” Molochansk Mennonite Church pastor Alexey Makaiov stated.

    How you can pray for Ukraine:

    • Pray for God-inspired wisdom for Ukrainian pastors so they continue to speak truth and peace
    • Pray for protection for the people displaced by the conflict.
    • Pray for safety and healing in the communities affected by violence.
    • Pray for unity among the Christians, so they continue to be salt and light regardless of the challenges they face.

    —Elina Ciptadi-Perkins

    Update:

    Ukrainian Mennonite churches pray that they will continue to serve according to the gospel. “In spite of the fact that it is difficult, our Mennonite brothers and sisters don’t stop. In November, we plan to open a church in the city of Berdiansk [not far from the conflict zone],” says Alexey Makaiov via email. He indicates that New Hope Church in Zaporozhye continues to expand its vocational training opportunities.

    “We pray that the family of Mennonites in Ukraine will multiply.”

    As winter approaches, the eight Mennonite churches are preparing to offer “Warm Church” for a second time in December and January. Power cuts and fuel shortages leave homes and schools cold during the worst of winter. With support from MB Mission (the Mennonite Brethren mission agency), the churches heat their buildings each day. They invite the community to this warm haven offering food, activities and the hope of the gospel. MB Mission also purchased a van for the church leaders who make regular trips to visit soldiers and bring relief supplies to citizens in the conflict region of Donbass.

    “We continue to pray for Ukraine – and for the world – for a repentance and humility of the people before God,” says Makaiov.—Karla Braun

  • By all accounts, the 16th Mennonite World Conference Assembly 21–26 July 2015 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, was a resounding success. Memories of worshiping with more than 8,000 people from 65 countries; unexpected encounters with old and new friends; the beautiful profusion of sights and sounds of a truly global church; workshops on challenging topics and creative forms of witness; and the fragments of soul-transporting music that still linger in my memory – all this, and more, made the gathering a truly joyful experience.

    Oddly enough perhaps, the highlight of the assembly for me was not anything generated by the global Mennonite and Brethren in Christ participants. Rather it was the ecumenical greetings brought to our gathering by Martin Junge, the Chilean general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation.

    In his brief presentation, Junge celebrated “the gift of reconciliation and forgiveness” that took place between Mennonites and Lutherans in 2010 at the LWF assembly in Stuttgart, Germany. But then, Junge argued that reconciliation among members of the body of Christ can never be an end in itself. “Reconciliation had to unfold its full meaning,” he said, “by becoming a witness of God’s good intentions to the entire world.”

    He noted a significant financial contribution Mennonites had recently made to support the needs of some 500,000 Somalians temporarily housed in a refugee camp administered by the LWF. This shared support for refugees “helped us come down from the top of the mountain, where we Mennonites and Lutherans were enjoying Christ’s presence,… to realize that the glory of Christ that shone to us needed to speak to the people in the valleys – to their struggles, to their pain, to their sufferings. Only thus does reconciliation become complete.”

    “More than ever before,” Junge continued, “I have become aware that steadfastness in Christ today means to offer unity as a prophetic witness in our fragmented and wounded world.”

    So why were these brief words, shared in a context of so many wonderful events, such a highlight for me?

    First, in the context of a family reunion where we can easily become self-absorbed in the celebration of our distinctive gifts as an Anabaptist-Mennonite body, Junge’s words reminded us that we are also part of a much larger body of Christian believers. Although many in our circles remain deeply skeptical about “ecumenism,” the body of Christ nonetheless extends far beyond our membership in MWC. On our own, our witness to the world is incomplete; we need the gifts of every member of the Christian body.

    Junge’s brief presentation also served as an important reminder to Mennonites that we are not imprisoned by our past – history is not destiny. To be sure, the shadow cast by the legacy of persecution in the 16th century did not simply disappear with the Lutheran-Mennonite service of reconciliation in 2010. But the story of our reconciliation is as much a historical fact today as the more familiar martyr narratives of Anneken Jans and Dirk Willems.

    Our commitment to reconciliation is an announcement to the world that change is possible: former enemies can become friends; painful memories can be reframed; transformation in the direction of God’s shalom is possible.

    Finally, I keep returning to the words of Martin Junge because I know that our faith and our fate as Anabaptist-Mennonites is inextricably linked to the question of unity in the body of Christ.

    There are so many reasons to divide. Often, our first impulse is to assume that faithfulness to Christ is in tension with the goal of unity, as if faithfulness and unity were at opposite ends of some spiritual scale. But what if Christian faithfulness – as Jesus suggested in John 17 – were actually impossible without unity?

    In her plenary presentation, Wieteke van der Molen, a Mennonite pastor from the Netherlands, invited MWC members to consider the space between us as “sacred space” – a space that could be bridged only by the living presence of the Spirit. What if we looked on our differences not as a source of fear or anxiety but as sacred spaces that only God can fill?

    – John D. Roth, MWC Faith and Life Commission, secretary

    A fuller version of this article appeared in The Mennonite. Originally posted at https://themennonite.org/opinion/is-christian-faithfulness-possible-without-unity/ on 27 August 2015.

     

     

  • How to be independent together

    In the beginning, man was alone. Even though God created all animals and brought them to man to be named, man was alone. And it didn’t suit him at all. God could see that, and so he whispered a deep, deep sleep unto man and while he slept, God took his rib and from it created the other part of man: woman.

    From that very early day on, humanity was community.

    From the day we are born, we are part of a community. Whether it be a family, tribe, orphanage or school, we are never alone. The community feeds us, cleans us, teaches us right from wrong, raises us.

    It makes us stronger than we are, because in it we are more than just one person. We are many. It makes us weaker than we are, because we have to bend our will to the rules of the community, give up our autonomy.

    Within a community, we cannot stand alone. The interest of the group will collide with that of the individual. And that will cause friction and pain and frustration. But we have no other way. To be human is to be part of a community. We cannot survive on our own.

    Still, we crave autonomy, every one of us. Growing up, we test the rules and boundaries of our communities. You can see it in small toddlers, pushing the “no!” just a bit further to see where it will go. You can see it in rebellious young adults designing their own way in life, making their own choices. And yes, autonomy literally means making your own rules. But the modern interpretation lies more in the way of carving your own path through life, being independent.

    We desperately want to have a say in everything that concerns us, we want to make our own decisions, to do and be our best. In these modern times, we take pride in our autonomy, in being able to fend for ourselves, in living by our own rules and standing up for them.

    Struggling against community

    But autonomy is no party. In fact, it is a constant struggle. And so it has always been, even in Old Testament times, as in the well-known story of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham.

    Even before he is born, Jacob is in community. And even as an unborn child he doesn’t take it too well. He and his twin brother fight so fiercely inside the womb that their mother Rebecca wonders why she is still alive. When he is born, he is still grabbing his older brother’s heel.

    In Jacob’s book, Jacob comes first. Always. No rules but his own. And he bends community around it.

    Easily, with nothing more than a hot meal, he swindles his brother Esau out of his birthright. Next, Jacob deceives his father. Isaac, blind from old age, lies on his deathbed, waiting for Esau to turn up to give him his blessing. Jacob comes in, pretending to be his older brother. He ruthlessly steals the patriarchal blessing.

    Jacob now has everything that should rightfully be Esau’s. He has won all, and at the same time, he lost all. For he cannot stay in the community he so despised. He has to flee for his life.

    Living by your own set of rules and living in a community do not go well together.

    Calling his own shots

    In fleeing the scene of the crime, Jacob leaves everything. Or so he thinks. But just before he enters the great unknown, he has a dream. In that dream, God promises to go with Jacob wherever he may go. God will protect him, God will bring him back, God will not leave Jacob until God has fulfilled God’s promise.

    Typically, Jacob is not sure. He calls the place Beth-el, the house of God, but he immediately starts negotiating. If God will really be with me, if God really will protect me, if God really will provide for me, well, then, yes, in that case, God will be my God.

    Jacob does not give in easily. Oh no. If God wants to stay with him, fine. But Jacob is calling the shots. That’s what autonomy is all about, right?

    And the story continues. Jacob’s love for his Rachel is famous. But in trying to marry her before her older sister Leah is married, Jacob once again tries to make community bend to his own rules. Funnily, he is no match for the tricks up Laban’s sleeve and he ends up with four women in all.

    After some 20 years of hard labour, God calls Jacob back to Canaan. Jacob takes up his wives, his children (11 sons and a daughter at that time) and the herds he gathered and he sneaks off when Laban is busy shearing sheep.

    Again, Jacob is making choices without considering the effect on other people. Living by his own rules, his own fears, his own assumptions. In sneaking off with his wives and children, he overlooks the fact that they are part of Laban’s life too: daughters, grandchildren, future.

    Of course, it is his right as an autonomous person. He lives by his own law. No consideration for any kind of community.

    Offering it all up

    Surprisingly, on the brink of coming home, the leopard changes his spots. Jacob realizes that Esau might not be very happy to welcome him home, considering the way Jacob deceived him before. Jacob tries to secure the peace, by sending messengers ahead. But they return, saying Esau is coming their way with at least 400 men. Jacob (impressed, worried, scared) is now confronted with the consequences of his earlier choices: what if Esau takes it all: wives, children, herds, riches? What if Esau wants retribution, revenge?

    What if community pays it all back to autonomy?

    And so, Jacob takes a bold decision: he offers it all up to Esau, of his own free will. In doing so, he tries to make amends for what he has done. He acknowledges his wrongdoing, and the consequences his choices had on Esau’s life.

    In offering up everything his autonomy has gained him, Jacob in fact offers his autonomy itself to Esau.

    And so, we enter that epic scene, where Jacob brings his wives and children, all he owns, to the other side of the river and then returns. Now, he is totally and truly alone. He has nothing left. Not even autonomy.

    And then somebody comes and wrestles him. All night long. Somebody. No name. No identification, except the ominous Why do you ask me for my name? (32:29). Is it God himself? One of his messengers? Or do we have to understand this all in a more metaphorical way? Is Jacob in fact wrestling himself?

    Maybe. After all, the life of Jacob is one big struggle with the people around him and their rules and expectations, with himself and his own choices, his own way through life. Maybe in the end, he does wrestle God. Or himself. Or another metaphorical person. It does not matter.

    What matters is that he comes out winning. With a new blessing. With a new name. No longer Jacob: “heelgrabber,” but Israel: “wrestles with God.”

    Jacob no longer seeks to enrich himself by grabbing the heel of others, causing them to fall and fail. Instead, he struggles for the rest of his life, every day anew. With the people around him, with God, and far most…with himself.

    And you know what? Most of the time, he comes out winning. Slightly limping, but winning nevertheless. And as he crosses the river, a new dawn rises. A patriarch is born.

    What a story.

    A lesson in consequences

    But the truly amazing thing about the story of Jacob is that it doesn’t explicitly condemn Jacob or his actions. There is not one point where the story, or even God himself explicitly disapproves of what Jacob does.

    You can feel it is not all good and beautiful, but the story itself keeps quiet about it. It just shows the consequences, shows you the effect of Jacob’s actions: he has to flee and leave everything behind. He lives in constant fear, of Esau, of Laban, of Esau again. He has to start all over again, many times.

    The story tells you all that. But the story never tells you that Jacob did wrong.

    You can feel it. You can read it between the lines, but it is all in your imagination, really. The story never says so.

    And that’s what makes it such an intriguing story. Jacob is no holy, immanently good or pious wonder of a human being. He makes a great example because he is not exemplary at all. He is just like any of us. And so in our heads and hearts, we easily fill in the blanks. We feel how utterly wrong some of his decisions are as if they are our own. We shiver, thinking of the consequences. We wait, anxiously, for the story to go sour.

    And it never does. Despite living by his own rules and never quite recognizing the rights of other people, there is no judgment for Jacob except that which he issues himself. Fundamentally, that is what this story is all about. Autonomy. Living by your own rules. Making your own law.

    For autonomy doesn’t just mean you make your own choices and live by your own rules. It means you have to judge yourself too. There is no one else. Not even God, according to this story. You have to figure it out by yourself. God merely walks with you, whatever the outcome. It is Jacob who makes demands and utters conditions, not God.

    And that is an Old Testament lesson for all of us modern people, craving autonomy.

    Autonomy comes with the acknowledgment that the people around you (your community) limit your freedom to make your own decisions, your own rules. Autonomy in this modern sense is not about making your own rules no matter what, but about realizing, accepting and acknowledging the other people in your life. It is about willingly respecting these, because together you form a community.

    So the question is: are we capable, am I capable of sculpting my own life within these boundaries? Can I live my life free and independently (autonomously) within community?

    Am I mature enough to acknowledge the fact that I am not totally in charge of my own life? Can I accept that I am bound by the people I love, by the community around me, and by God who walks with me wherever I go?

    Or, in a broader sense, will it be possible for various churches to keep their autonomy within the wider Anabaptist community? Are we prepared to wrestle?

    The story of Jacob teaches us that it is not wrong to follow your own way through life. It is not wrong to try to test your own strength and to strive for autonomy. It is not about being wrong or being right. It is about making your own choices, and at the same time acknowledging those of the community around you. It is about recognizing the hurt and pain and frustration on both sides. It is about taking responsibility. For your actions, for those of the community. For yourself. And, if necessary, making amends.

    That kind of autonomy, the grown-up, modern kind, doesn’t come easily. Growing up is not easy. To keep some sense of autonomy within community is like constantly wrestling with people and God and most of all yourself.

    And even if you win, it leaves you slightly limping.

    Wieteke van der Molen of the Netherlands spoke on Friday evening, 24 July 2015, at Assembly 16. Wieteke, who pastors a small rural Mennonite congregation north of Amsterdam, loves to read and tell stories.

     

  • Bogotá, Colombia – “Walking with God finds its total meaning in fellowship – in the breaking of bread, serving, and meeting the needs of others,” says César García, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference. “It does not mean the absence of challenges, but recognizing we are assured of victory with and through God.”

    World Fellowship Sunday, January 24, 2016, calls world Anabaptists to this journey. For six days at Assembly in Pennsylvania in July 2015, more than 8,000 Anabaptists sojourned together; on this Sunday, though divided by time zones and location, García invites MWC member churches to gather together in spirit in their local congregations.

    On World Fellowship Sunday, Mennonite and Brethren in Christ believers remember the first Anabaptist baptism performed in Switzerland in 1525. “That act of obedience and courage continues to shape our understanding of what it means to be disciples today,” says García.

    World Fellowship Sunday is a reminder that “we belong to each other as sisters and brothers in God’s household,” says García. “We support each other, uphold those who are suffering and being persecuted, and learn from one another.”

    A resource package downloadable from mwc-cmm.org contains preaching texts, music suggestions from the PA 2015 songbook, prayer requests and sermon resources for World Fellowship Sunday. The October issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier is also a tool, containing plenary addresses on “Walking with God,” from Assembly 16 in Pennsylvania.

    García also invites churches to take a special offering that Sunday in support of the global Anabaptist communion. This offering will be counted toward the national church body’s Fair Share contribution.

    Each member might contribute the cost of one lunch. Congregations may follow the service with a fellowship meal or a time of prayer and fasting.

    Local Anabaptist congregations held a joint service in Bogota, Colombia, on World Fellowship Sunday in the last few years. “It was a blessing to see how differences are overcome when we look for the presence of the Lamb as the centre of our gatherings,” says García. “We recognized the work of God in our brothers and sisters and our need of them to reach maturity in our faith together.”

    —MWC release

     

  • Delegates reappoint Wiebe, discuss “global elders”

    Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, USA — Representatives from 21 national Mennonite Brethren conferences from around the globe met for the International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) annual summit 26–29 July 2015 at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

    The 2015 summit highlighted ways in which the 25-year-old organization has grown and is shifting beyond fellowship to providing guidance and accountability to its member conferences.

    The country reports that punctuated each session remain a highpoint. The mutual support leaders derive from each other was evident as they huddled to pray after sharing the pain of ministering to war-torn Ukraine or the excitement of turning a brothel into an outreach center for former prostitutes in Brazil.

    The sharing culminated in the closing service of foot washing, prayer and communion, a highlight for many delegates.

    Wiebe affirmed, global elders considered

    ICOMB representatives voted unanimously to appoint David Wiebe of Canada (ICOMB’s first full-time executive director) to a second three-year term. Representatives strongly affirmed Wiebe’s leadership, only cautioning against over-work

    Delegates discussed establishing “global elders” to provide spiritual, theological and practical leadership among member conferences, a conversation begun in 2013. They suggested ICOMB serve as a mediator rather than an authority figure in times of conflict and pursue a biblical model for sharing authority and resolving conflict.

    Authority tested

    ICOMB conferences in Angola, India and Mexico are currently navigating internal conflicts. Wiebe said ICOMB is testing ways it can support and guide the national conferences as they seek to resolve differences.

    “Mission can’t entirely hold us together,” said Wiebe. “Community and identity are also very important, and sometimes ICOMB is asked to have a stronger voice.”

    ICOMB exercised that voice during the 2015 summit. The executive committee determined that, in spite of reconciliation efforts, the current leaders of Igreja Evangélica dos Irmos Menonitas en Angola (the Mennonite Brethren church in Angola) were no longer in good standing with ICOMB. Wiebe emphasized that the problem is with specific leaders and not the Angola conference; he asked delegates to pray for the conference and their leaders.  

    Education extended

    Building on its experience holding education consultations in DR Congo in 2009 and internationally in 2007 and 2011, ICOMB helped to organize a global education conference for primary and secondary educators prior to the MWC assembly.

    The ICOMB summit began with a worship service attended by international Mennonite Brethren participants from the MWC assembly, some of who remained as guests for the meetings.

    MWC general secretary César García, a Mennonite Brethren from Bogotá, Colombia, joined ICOMB for dinner Monday and answered during the evening session.

    The executive committee recommended ICOMB members that are not members of Mennonite World Conference “consider MWC membership on its own merits.”  

    Connie Faber is editor of the Christian Leader, the magazine of the U.S. Mennonite Brethren. 

    *Click here for more information about the situation in Panama.

     

     

  • Global Anabaptist Health Network envisioned by summit participants

    Harrisburg Pennsylvania, USA – More than 90 health care leaders from 18 countries met 19–20 July 2015, preceding PA 2015. They gathered to worship, learn from each other and think creatively about how Anabaptist-related health care organizations and those working in this field might cooperate more fully in the future.

    A major focus was consideration of a draft document calling for development of a Global Anabaptist Health Network. The draft was crafted by a group with strong support from Mennonite World Conference through César Garcia and others.

    Rick Stiffney, a contributor to the document, led consideration of the draft. Stiffney is president and CEO of MHS Alliance, a not-for-profit organization that supports Mennonite and other Anabaptist faith-grounded health and human service providers in their leadership and strategic direction.

    Pakisa Tshimika, former associate general secretary of Mennonite World Conference and founder of the Mama Makeka House of Hope, has long championed this idea.

    “For many decades, I dreamed of a space where Anabaptist health professionals and institutions from around the globe could meet to share and exchange on subjects of common interest,” he says.

    “Clearly, there is interest among us to lean into some new kinds of connections,” says Stiffney. Participants share a commitment to engaging in health ministries in a way that is shaped by an Anabaptist Christian perspective.”

    A coordinating group representing the breadth of Mennonite World Conference will advance the summit’s ideas over the next three years, says Stiffney. They will develop a database, facilitate peer-peer exchanges and lay groundwork for a second leadership summit.

    Tshimika hopes this is the first step on a journey toward a space where the North, South, East, and West will meet on a regular basis.

    Summit moderator Karen Baillie, CEO of Menno Place, a community of care in Abbotsford, B.C., Canada, says the summit reaffirmed the mission to serve as Anabaptists who value loving our neighbours, peace and justice. “Our decision to commit to each other and create a global network reinforces our vision of community and allows us to serve others better,” she says.

    “We have long ways to go,” says Tshimika. Yet, Tshimika is excited about what the future holds for the emerging Global Anabaptist Health Network.

    Larry Guengerich lives in East Petersburg, Pennsylvania, USA and serves as director of Communications and Church Relations for Landis Communities.

  • Global Anabaptist Profile surveys and maps Mennonite World Conference

    GOSHEN, Indiana, USA — Sociological surveys may be uncommon evangelistic tools, but at a consultation celebrating the conclusion of the Global Anabaptist Project (GAP), Damien Pelende testified that the survey had drawn new people into his church. The GAP, a joint initiative of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism (ISGA-Goshen College) and Mennonite World Conference (MWC), is a two-year project profiling the demographics, beliefs and practices of 24 church conferences in MWC.

    Pelende, a research associate who implemented the GAP survey in the Communauté des Églises de Frères Mennonites au Congo (DR Congo Mennonite Brethren), said, as news of the survey spread, curious bystanders showed up for the worship service. In one setting, more than 20 onlookers committed themselves to Christ; another time, a Catholic visitor, after reviewing the survey, decided to become a Mennonite.

    At the consultation, hosted by the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pennsylvania) College, 26–30 July 2015, research associates and church leaders from 21 MWC member churches, representing 18 different countries analyzed the data and shared stories that gave crucial context to the numbers.

    The consultation was the culmination of two years of data collection led by ISGA director John D. Roth and Conrad Kanagy, professor of sociology at Elizabethtown College.

    In 2013, the group met at Goshen College in Indiana, USA, to determine the final content of the survey, structured around the MWC’s “Shared Convictions,” and to receive training in methods of survey implementation.

    The survey was translated into 26 languages. Research associates implemented the survey with randomly-selected congregations of their respective national conferences. Kanagy processed and formatted the data prior to the consultation.

    Ground-breaking church profile

    The scope of the project is unprecedented for an ecclesial body, involving national church conferences from Paraguay to Ethiopia to the Philippines to Canada.

    Funded and directed by the ISGA, the GAP is the first systematic attempt to gather quantitative data about Anabaptist groups affiliated with MWC, whose membership has more than tripled in the past three decades.

    “Demographic data has been based largely on estimates,” wrote Roth in a report to research associates. “And we know even less about the theological convictions, worship practices, ethical commitments and forms of witness of many specific Anabaptist-Mennonite groups.”

    Although the process of interpreting the survey results has only begun, the data collected from the groups who have completed the survey paints a complex picture of what MWC member churches hold in common and the ways in which they differ from one another.

    Consultation contextualizes survey results

    Presentations from research associates at the consultation were crucial for giving context to the survey data. “The research associates are the real experts in recognizing the authentic meaning of the results in their churches,” Kanagy said.

    The results from some conferences, for example, suggested strong opposition to political involvement, which many research associates explained as a reaction to the corruption in their political systems.

    Marcos Orozco of Convención de Iglesias Evangélicas Menonitas de Nicaragua (Evangelical Mennonite Conference) referenced his church’s experience during the Sandinista War to explain why CIEMN’s results reflected such a strong opposition to military service. “We recognized that we would be killing other brothers in the church,” Orozco said. “We were clear that we couldn’t do this.”

    Consultation participants noted interesting differences in practices and assumptions regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit, attitudes toward tithing, understandings of church agencies, views on evangelism and the role of women in church leadership.

    Research associates reflect on challenges

    The consultation also provided a forum for research associates to share challenges. Delbert Erb from Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Argentina collected data from participating churches across a distance of 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles). In DR Congo and the Philippines, access to some of the most rural and remote congregations necessitated mountain travel and fording rivers.

    The written format of the survey was challenging in contexts with higher rates of illiteracy. “By the time they hear all the options, they say they don’t know,” said Jethro Dube of the Brethren in Christ Church in Zimbabwe.

    A number of research associates found a lower response rate among women – who are more likely than men to be illiterate. “We know that there are more women [in our churches] than men,” said Pelende, “but they are underrepresented in the survey.”

    Profile suggests unity despite differences

    Although the data has not yet been thoroughly analyzed, conversation at the consultation suggested the results will be significant for congregations, national conferences and global church bodies alike.

    “This helps us see our needs, especially in areas of teaching,” said Reynaldo Vallecillo from Amor Viviente in Honduras.

    In general, greater commonalities were found among churches of the Global South (Latin America, Asia, and Africa) and among the Global North (North America and Europe) than between those two groupings.

    Regina Mondez of the Integrated Mennonite Churches of the Philippines said, “Despite different languages and cultures, the numbers communicate [a unity] across culture in ways that words could not.”

    Roth and Kanagy are still awaiting data from two additional church conferences. When the data is complete, they will release a summary of the aggregate results and regional comparisons. The full data will also be made available to the MWC Executive Committee.

    “This project is only one step toward a richer understanding of who we are as a global fellowship and how our churches are putting the gospel into practice,” said Roth. “My prayer is that the Global Anabaptist Profile will enable us to speak more freely about our weaknesses, to share our gifts more boldly, and to inspire renewal in our Christian faith and life in whatever setting we are in.”

    – Elizabeth Miller is administrative assistant for the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism

     

    Latin American regional caucus (photo provided).  

        Latin American regional caucus (photo provided)                    GAP consultation group members listen to a presentation

                                                                                                                   at Elizabethtown College (photo provided)

      

     

     

     

     

     

         César Montenegro leads a meeting (photo provided)

     

  • Anabaptist Educators from around the world gather for the Global Education Conference 

    Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA — Like a Tree Planted: Anabaptist Spirituality in Education, the Global Education Conference of Mennonite World Conference attracted more than 100 Anabaptist educators and leaders from 13 countries around the world.

    Anabaptist spirituality is “a pedagogy of transformation,” said John D. Roth, director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism. “We are created for intimacy and shalom. Fear and mistrust result in sin and broken relationships, and like the exiles from Eden, we continue to experience God’s patient work of restoration.”

    Anabaptist spirituality is “what you do with that of God in you,” said Hippolyto Tshimanga, Mennonite Church Canada director of Africa, Europe and Latin America ministry. The practices of watchfulness, prayer, community, lectio devina and songs are all transformative exercises that deepen our intoxication with God. “We must be attentive to faith values and practices that open us to God’s Holy Spirit,” said Tshimanga.

    Paulus Widjaja, professor of theology at Duta Wacana Christianity University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, called educators to “view character formation as peace education. We have to intentionally and purposely acquire certain virtues in order to have the character of a peacemaker.”

    Sara Wenger Shenk, president of Anabaptist Mennonite Bible Seminary, said, “Education is primarily about empowering persons to choose a ‘comprehensive vision of the good.’ Any truly Anabaptist education will be shaped by ‘world creating’ and astonishing scriptural visions for God’s shalom.”

    On Friday conference participants visited local Mennonite schools and historical and cultural sites.

    Workshops throughout the four-day conference included practical topics including restorative discipline, child safety, curriculum development, Anabaptist pedagogy and online learning.

    “We are grateful for the information we learned that will strengthen the educational experiences of our children and youth,” said Elaine Moyer, senior director of Mennonite Education Agency of Mennonite Church USA. “We look forward to student and faculty exchanges that will likely emerge from this network of leaders.”

    Florente Muaku Kinana a representative of the Mennonite Brethren Church in Congo said, “This time was wonderful. I plan to share this experience with our school when I return home.”

    Georgiana Giddie said, “Praise be to God for this unique opportunity to be a part of this experience. I will return to India to implement some of the teachings I’ve learned.”

    The summit took place 16–19 July 2015 at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA. Due to challenges in obtaining visas, several participants were unable to attend. They were remembered throughout the conference with prayer and the visual reminder of an empty table and chairs.

    The group of 100 participants has formed a network of Anabaptist education leaders who hope to continue to work together.

    Krista Allen is director of communications for Mennonite Education Agency.Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA — Like a Tree Planted: Anabaptist Spirituality in Education, the Global Education Conference of Mennonite World Conference attracted more than 100 Anabaptist educators and leaders from 13 countries around the world.

    Anabaptist spirituality is “a pedagogy of transformation,” said John D. Roth, director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism. “We are created for intimacy and shalom. Fear and mistrust result in sin and broken relationships, and like the exiles from Eden, we continue to experience God’s patient work of restoration.”

    Anabaptist spirituality is “what you do with that of God in you,” said Hippolyto Tshimanga, Mennonite Church Canada director of Africa, Europe and Latin America ministry. The practices of watchfulness, prayer, community, lectio devina and songs are all transformative exercises that deepen our intoxication with God. “We must be attentive to faith values and practices that open us to God’s Holy Spirit,” said Tshimanga.

    Paulus Widjaja, professor of theology at Duta Wacana Christianity University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, called educators to “view character formation as peace education. We have to intentionally and purposely acquire certain virtues in order to have the character of a peacemaker.”

    Sara Wenger Shenk, president of Anabaptist Mennonite Bible Seminary, said, “Education is primarily about empowering persons to choose a ‘comprehensive vision of the good.’ Any truly Anabaptist education will be shaped by ‘world creating’ and astonishing scriptural visions for God’s shalom.”

    On Friday conference participants visited local Mennonite schools and historical and cultural sites.

    Workshops throughout the four-day conference included practical topics including restorative discipline, child safety, curriculum development, Anabaptist pedagogy and online learning.

    “We are grateful for the information we learned that will strengthen the educational experiences of our children and youth,” said Elaine Moyer, senior director of Mennonite Education Agency of Mennonite Church USA. “We look forward to student and faculty exchanges that will likely emerge from this network of leaders.”

    Florente Muaku Kinana a representative of the Mennonite Brethren Church in Congo said, “This time was wonderful. I plan to share this experience with our school when I return home.”

    Georgiana Giddie said, “Praise be to God for this unique opportunity to be a part of this experience. I will return to India to implement some of the teachings I’ve learned.”

    The summit took place 16–19 July 2015 at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA. Due to challenges in obtaining visas, several participants were unable to attend. They were remembered throughout the conference with prayer and the visual reminder of an empty table and chairs.

    The group of 100 participants has formed a network of Anabaptist education leaders who hope to continue to work together.

    Krista Allen is director of communications for Mennonite Education Agency.

     

  • We cry with those whose lands are ravaged from war.

    We cry with those who, because of war and violence, have already lost their home.

    We cry with those who leave behind what they know in search of a better life for their children and families.

    We cry with Abdullah, the father of Aylan and Galip Kurdi, as he now faces life without his beautiful children and his companion in life.

    We cry over Aylan and his brother Galip and their lives having been cut tragically short.

    We cry over Rehan, their mother who wanted a better life for her children.

    We cry over the thousands of children, women, and men who have already lost their lives in search of hope.

     

    We also cry because of our complicity in causing and fueling the ongoing conflict that has displaced thousands around the world.

    We cry because of our complicity as we continue to fool ourselves in thinking that more violence will bring about peace.

    We cry because of our complicity in turning a blind eye, ignoring the suffering and plight of our brothers and sisters.

    We cry because of our complicity in the systems and powers of this world that continue to oppress and dehumanize some for the privilege and comfort of others.

    We cry because of our complicity in the systems and powers of this world that keep people at bay so that our security and comfort are not hampered.

    We cry because of our complicity in not welcoming the foreigner in their time of need.

    We cry because of our complicity in not hearing the cries of the other.

     

    We cry because of the powerlessness and helplessness we feel in not being able to stop the conflicts that persist, the results of which are those who are displaced.

    We cry because of the powerlessness and helplessness we feel in not being able to save those who have fallen into the sea.

    We cry because of the powerlessness and helplessness we feel because we see the suffering of others.

    We cry because we know this is not the way God wants us to treat each other.

    We cry because we know that this is not the dream God has for the world.

    We cry because we do not know what else to do.

     

    God, be with Aylan, Galip, and their mother Rehan.

    God, be with Abdullah, their father.

    God, be with the thousands others who have died in search of peace and refuge.

    God, be with us as we step out of our complicity so that we may embody the warmth, hospitality, and love to others that you have already shown to us.

    God, be with us as we seek your peace in peace.

    God, be with us all.

    by Andrew Suderman, Secretary of the MWC Peace Commission

     

  • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – The first ever Anabaptist World Cup will be played on the afternoons of July 22, 23, 24, and 25, as an optional recreational event during PA 2015, the Mennonite World Conference Assembly.

    The matches will take place at Logan Field, a community soccer field near Dillsburg, PA, about a 25-minute drive from the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, where PA 2015 will be held.

    “Teams will be put together by diversity of age, country, and gender,” explained Howard Good, National Coordinator of PA 2015. No qualifications were requested on the sign-up form, nor were registrants asked about their experience with the game.

    “The goal is to have fun playing soccer,” smiles Good, “more than it is about winning and losing. Soccer is a unifying force around the world. That’s our hope for the Anabaptist World Cup!”

    In order to play and to be a spectator, one must be a full-time registrant for PA 2015. Each team will play either on Wednesday and Friday, or on Thursday and Saturday. “We don’t want soccer to be an all-consuming event that keeps registrants from going to seminars or on tours, or from joining in the Global Church Village,” remarked Good.

    Each afternoon, the first match will be one hour long, followed by a 15-minute break and then a second hour-long match.

    The schedule will accommodate either 16 or 24 teams, each with 15-18 players, depending on the number who sign up.

    Points will be awarded for each match. The team with the most overall points will be declared the winner.

    “We’re going to work hard to keep the Cup fun and not too intense,” he commented. “It’s a bit of a gamble. There won’t be any practices; just some time to warm up and kick the ball around before each game. We’ll have one or two refs on each field to monitor things and keep the game flowing smoothly.

    “We’ll be creating a short video that will explain the rules and regulations of the Anabaptist World Cup, which team members will watch while riding the bus to the game. We’ll be playing for fun, but we’ll be generally adhering to FIFA rules.”

    Andrew Good and Nick Miller Good, two of Howard Good’s sons and longtime soccer players now living in Philadelphia, are organizing the teams and schedule.

    “Each team will have a manager. Part of their job is to help set players’ expectations. These games won’t be professional. They’re for everyone, but we want good aggressive play.

    “People who aren’t in great shape can play in areas on the field where there isn’t as much activity, and they can play for shorter periods of time.

    “When you’ve got players from up to 50 different cultures playing, with different styles and estimations of success, there’s strong potential for misunderstanding. But the organizers who are helping to put this together are committed to making the Cup a success.

    “If this first Anabaptist World Cup works well, I’m sure there will be a second one. César García, MWC’s General Secretary, isn’t a big soccer fan. But Liesa Unger, International Events Coordinator for MWC, is, so she’ll likely make sure it happens again!” said Good.

    Spectators are welcome. Although the field has no bleachers, there’s lots of grass and a few trees.

    Oh – and each player and spectator gets an Anabaptist World Cup T-shirt as a souvenir.

    Article by Phyllis Pellman Good, writer and editor for Mennonite World Conference.

  • Anne Zernike was the first Mennonite woman ordained in the Netherlands, possibly in Europe and “even maybe in the world,” said Christien Duhoux-Rueb. She and Coot Winkler Prins, pastors from the Netherlands, highlighted Zernike at a workshop and with an award at PA 2015.

    Ordained at the Mennonite church in Bovenknijpe in 1911, Zernike was the first woman to attend the Mennonite seminary in Amsterdam, and her first public sermon drew large crowds of “curious people who want to find out if she is real,” Duhoux-Rueb said.

    Today, Zernike is the inspiration – and benefactor – for women theologians through the Anne Zernike Fund, established 2011.

    In an informal ceremony in the Global Church Village, Duhoux-Rueb and Winkler Prins honoured outgoing Deacons Commission chair Cynthia Peacock for her pioneering service. Peacock has been “a source of inspiration for many,” the committee declares on their website.

    “[Peacock] has done extraordinary work in a male-dominated society when she wasn’t always heard,” Duhoux-Rueb said. “She stood her ground, used her voice and was friendly but firm.”

    To the small crowd gathered, Peacock responded, “I don’t deserve this, but I am thankful.”

    The Fund is currently supporting seven women pursuing theological education. “We cannot afford to deny their talents,” said Duhoux-Rueb.

    —From reports by Kelli Yoder (Mennonite World Review) and Connie Faber (Christian Leader).

     

  • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – Organizers for the 21-26 July Mennonite World Conference Assembly announced recently that registration will remain open until Assembly, but only the following options are available online beyond 1 July: full time/shared registration without the meal plan for clusters 1 and 2, and part time registration.

    After 1 July, online registration for clusters 3, 4 and 5 will not be available, to make sure that there is enough time to process visa letters. (Country clusters refer to different groups of countries, https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ereg/newreg.php?eventid=96239&) Registrants travel information is needed, please email the itinerary to registrations@mwc-cmm.org.

    After 1 July, registrations cannot be modified and all unpaid add on options will be removed from registrations so that final arrangements can be made by MWC staff. If add on options are still available by the time of Assembly, tickets will be sold at registration starting Wednesday, 22 July.

    Balances need to be paid before 1 July. Those paying after 1 July, should not send checks which might not arrive in time. If checks are not received in time to process before Assembly, registrants will be asked to issue a new check.

    Those who do not pay their balance before 1 July or who register after 1 July, will enter the “slow” registration line at the beginning of the Assembly.

    Evening walk ups are invited to attend evening worship services if space allows. The MWC website will indicate availability of space for each evening at the time of the event.

    The cost per evening will be $35 US for adults and $15 US for children. One family pays for only up to two children. Payment can be made in cash or by check at the door. Registration for evenings is not possible. The evening schedule can be found here. Schedules can be found here.