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Unexpected placement equips for future service
Stephanie Setiawan from Sidoarjo, Indonesia, had no plan to go to Latin America. She applied for Mennonite Central Committee’s International Volunteer Exchange Program in 2013/2014, but the slot for her synod was already taken. The coordinators offered her a YAMEN placement in Colombia instead. As a result, Stephanie Setiawan discovered a love for Latin culture…
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Young people lead barrier crossing
GKMI Petra-Depok, Indonesia, celebrated being a new creation on Peace Sunday, 18 September 2022, with a special guest. Sadanand Hembrom joined the service from India by video. For the last few years, GKMI Petra-Depok in greater Jakarta has been going beyond their church walls to spread the good news. Before the pandemic, they had several…
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Raúl O. García
Raúl O. García, Mennonite World Conference president 1990-1997 died 30 October 2022. A long-term pastor, teacher and professor, he was born in Argentina 26 August 1930.
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We speak the same language
“I cannot be grateful enough that even though we are a large and diverse group, we speak the same language: the language of love for Christ and his people,” says Daniel Nugroho. He was part of the team that made it possible for all to understand. Up to four interpreters from a team of 21…
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Global Youth Summit (GYS)
Life in the Spirit: Learn, Serve, Worship 34 delegates: 4 from North America, 4 from Europe, 11 from Asia, 6 from Africa, and 9 from Latin America. In delegate sessions, some common challenges for young people that surfaced were loneliness and the need for belonging, the need for good leadership, bridging the generation gap and…
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Learning together to handle diversity
Wednesday morning There have always been two main kinds of learning: academic and experiential. Most of us have an inclination toward one or the other, but the reality is that both are necessary for learning. Knowledge doesn’t do anyone much good if it’s not applied. Alternatively, it’s often counterproductive and wasteful to implement something without…
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Learning together to discern the will of God
Wednesday morning Learning together to discern the will of God”: the first Christians were confronted with this challenge from the beginning. Indeed, “learning together to discern the will of God” is not mere wishful thinking! It is not a comfortable process. In fact, it is the major challenge of Christian life; of our personal lives…
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Practice before the storm
Wednesday night When he was 17, my grandfather was forced to fight in World War II (WWII). When I started talking about my plans to study peace and peace theology, he got a little upset. He said: “You talk about peace and war, but you don’t know what you’re talking about! When war comes, you…
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Puppies and goats are welcome at the table
May we learn from Jesus what God is truly like, crafting a plan to save the world, working in time and space to bring that plan to its glorious fulfillment and pouring out grace on individuals all along the way. May we learn from Jesus what we are called to be, barrier crossers who minister…
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How can Christian values be embodied?
My encounters with Anabaptist-Mennonite brothers and sisters in South Korea shaped me. They demonstrate what it means to be a Christ follower. These believers transform their own trauma into a Christ-like life. They bear passion, peace, love and a heart to welcome strangers in their home. Alongside delicious Korean food, they share the stories of…
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Sermon advances mission
With sermons from Honduras, Canada, Indonesia and more, “the competition was great this time,” says Fernando Enns, jury member for the Menno Simons Sermon Prize, an initiative of Hamburg-Altona Mennonite Church in Germany and the Centre for Peace Church Theology at the University of Hamburg. “It was a real pleasure to read all these inspiring,…
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A conversation about Scripture
“I was inspired by the radical faith of early Anabaptists, but I don’t want us to be stuck in the 16th century… Anabaptism now has a culturally diverse body,” says Hyejung Yum, co-founder of Sowing for Peace, an intercultural peace ministry based in Toronto. She participated in a working conference 26-28 August 2022 to develop…
