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Meet your hosts for Indonesia 2021
In July 2009, Mennonite church leaders from Indonesia found themselves in a conversation outside a dormitory in Asuncíon, Paraguay. Although they were not strangers, their paths rarely crossed. The three groups they represented had complex histories that included separation and division. But there in the relaxed context of the 15th Assembly of Mennonite World Conference,…
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New Young Anabaptists Committee Meets in Indonesia
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…
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Taking stock: With new leadership, new headquarters, what is in store for MWC?
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…
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Is it time to tell contemporary martyr stories?
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…
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Offering our blessings to the world
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…
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Being a Peace Church: How are we doing?
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.…
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The Winds of Anabaptism are Blowing’ Chilean Mennonites celebrate growth and global connections
“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…
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Learning to Know Each Other Better: Researchers embark on a global study of MWC member-churches
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…
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Resisting North American “Magic Kingdom” Worship
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…
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The Book or the Wall?
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…
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Obedience – a treasured inheritance
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…
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The witness of Regina Mondez
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…
