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PA 2015 by the numbers
Bogotá, Colombia – Mennonite World Conference’s (MWC) 16th Assembly in Pennsylvania, USA, connected Anabaptists from around the world, in person and electronically. A new statistics poster released by MWC illustrates the final numbers from PA 2015. There are many interesting facts, for example: 75 percent of visa applications were accepted and 4.25 tons of waste…
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Vietnam Mennonite Church ordains 26
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – After six years of training and preparation, the Vietnam Mennonite Church (VMC), a Mennonite World Conference member, ordained 26 pastors in Ho Chi Minh City on 5 December 2015. Pastor Nguyen Quang Trung, president of VMC, officiated at the ordination service for 26 Mennonite pastors who had come from…
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JUST coffee in the Philippines
At one of the breakout sessions in MWC Assembly Gathered 2015 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, last July, former and present MWC workers exchanged coffee from their respective countries during their reunion. Unbeknownst to many, one special brand traded that day is not just another coffee. Coffee for Peace from the Philippines is JUST coffee. The story…
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South Korean CO asks: “Can I kill?”
GOSHEN, Indiana, USA — When 27-year-old SangMin Lee, a Mennonite conscientious objector from South Korea, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, the global Mennonite church community provided support in the form of letters and prayers. In early December 2015, Lee spoke with supporters at the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism and Goshen…
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New generation of YABs committee members
Bogota, Colombia – Five new young adults have been appointed to represent young people from their continental regions in Mennonite World Conference (MWC) on the Young AnaBaptists (YABs) Committee. Makadunyiswe Doublejoy Ngulube (Zimbabwe), Ebenezer Mondez (Philippines), Jantine Huisman (Netherlands), Dominik Bergen Klassen (Paraguay), and Larissa Swartz (USA) will have their first meeting as the new…
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Healing wounds through art: A YAMEN experience
Bogotá, Colombia – For Keila Viana, seeing how art can heal wounds deepened her understanding of God and his love during her international service in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. “I believe that during this time God worked a lot in my life,” says Viana, a 22-year-old young adult from the Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Camino de Santidad,…
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A prayer for hope
Colombian peace and justice organizations call for prayer for the La Esperanza community Bogotá, Colombia – “We know that in many places throughout the world there is war, violence and hunger.” With this acknowledgement, Mennonite partners working for peace and justice in Colombia call on Anabaptist-related brothers and sisters around the world to pray for…
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Prayer transcends barriers
Assembly prayer network connected Anabaptist body to each other and God Winnipeg, Canada – “When people came together in the prayer room, many times no words were needed,” says Joanne H. Dietzel, Lancaster Mennonite conference coordinator. “A prayer, a touch, offering a tissue for tears, a smile – all transcend language barriers and build up…
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MWC Assembly balances books
Bogota, Colombia – Assembly PA 2015, the once-every-six-years gathering of Mennonite World Conference, closed financially at break-even, that is, without a deficit. The MWC operations team continuously made adjustments, maintaining priorities of environmental sustainability and financial stewardship despite unexpected developments. The net total income of $3,300,000 USD from registrations and donations (adjusted for transfers to…
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World Fellowship Sunday 2015: A testimony of our global family
World Fellowship Sunday is a celebration that brings us close to our roots and allows us to get together with our family of faith to give thanks to God and to worship. This is a date when we encourage Anabaptist related churches around the world to worship around a common theme the closest Sunday to…
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“We should do this again”
A glimpse of Assembly 2015, a glimpse of God’s intention to bring peoples together, a calling for one multicultural congregation “We should do this again!” commented a Hmong young adult, a sentiment heard often after Kitchener First Mennonite Church’s Assembly Scattered weekend in early October 2015. Nearly 60 youth, children and adults from the congregation…
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European leaders release statement on refugees
Bogotá, Colombia – Leaders of Mennonite conferences in Europe and international guests met in Buhl, France, for their annual gathering of planning and fellowship 23-25 October 2015. The assembled leaders drafted a statement to express their concern about the refugee crisis in Europe. “The refugees of our time remind us of biblical stories of power…
