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The miracle of unity
How can unity between different nations or communities be achieved? Many methods have been sought since the Tower of Babel times. In that Bible story, the people attempt to achieve unity by having a common vision and a call to work toward the same goal; and as we well know, the endeavour fails. Having a…
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Ministry partner update: ICOMB – October 2016
The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding. Pastor Fujii leads Japanese MB churches in Fresno and Sacramento, California.…
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Coffin maker overcomes evil with good
Tulio Pedraza: persecuted 1949–1964, in Colombia When missionaries arrived in Colombia to establish the country’s first Mennonite congregations, Tulio Pedraza and his wife Sofía became two of their first converts. They were baptized in June of 1949. Only a year earlier, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, a liberal political candidate, had been assassinated; his death ignited a…
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MDS Indonesia: Practical work for spiritual transformation
Indonesia is located on fault lines – geographic and sociological. The island chain at the convergence of 3 tectonic plates is prone to earthquake, tsunamis and volcanoes; its people scattered over thousands of islands speak some 700 languages, and the state recognizes six religions (Islam, Christianity – Protestant and Catholic, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism). In the…
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Celebration and welcome: World Fellowship Sunday and MWC team changes
Bogotá, Colombia – “How will the church respond to the different needs we hear and see around us?” The European Mennonite churches asked this question, especially relating to the refugee crisis, as they prepared the worship materials for Mennonite World Conference’s World Fellowship Sunday (WFS), 22 January 2017. “My Cry is Heard” is the theme…
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We need each other
MWC regional representative KyongJung Kim visits Anabaptist/Mennonite churches in Japan, 1–18 July 2016 It was a great privilege to visit national member churches in Northeast Asia as Mennonite World Conference (MWC) regional representative. As I planned to visit Japan, I prayed that it would happen if this were pleasing to God. As time went by,…
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Unity in the global family
Like the chambers of a heart, the four MWC commissions serve the global community of Anabaptist-related churches, in the areas of deacons, faith and life, peace, mission. Commissions prepare materials for consideration by the General Council, give guidance and propose resources to member churches, and facilitate MWC-related networks or fellowships working together on matters of…
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Ministry partner update: ICOMB – September 2016
The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding. Introducing “The Church on Mission”: an ICOMB consultation on mission and…
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First woman to direct Congo Bible school
Elkhart, Indiana, USA – Holy Spirit fire dances in Bercy Mundedi’s eyes. It sets aflame the ministries to which she has been called – the most recent being to lead the Kalonda Bible Institute in Democratic Republic of Congo. She was named director during the 29 June 29–3 July 2016 general assembly of Communauté Mennonite…
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Peace Sunday 2016
“Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:18). In a world ravaged by violence, it is not easy to be a Peace Church – a church dedicated to the ways of Christ’s peace. These ways require much intentionality, persistence and even sacrifice. It is not always certain that Christ’s ways of peace will be effective. And yet the author of James reminds…
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How should Jesus followers respond to the Marrakesh Declaration?
Over the past three years, my family has enjoyed friendship with an extended family from Iraq who came to the USA as refugees and asylum seekers. We have enjoyed meals together in our homes, picnics, hiking trips, choir concerts and church services. When terrible events happen in the news, we lament together. Occasionally, where there…
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Aguapanela: youth and children drink in curriculum’s “faith vitamins”
“There is no path, Pilgrim. The path is made by walking.” This lovely phrase by the poet Antonio Machado epitomizes my life journey, particularly the two years I sojourned in Colombia. Each person’s identity is marked by their family and social contexts, and other histories. To tell the truth, my identity as Rut Atarama, a…
