Prayers of gratitude and intercession

Bogota, Colombia – For the second time in four months Mennonite World Conference issued an urgent appeal for prayer, this time for the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria – EYN), who is experiencing horrendous violence and persecution of the Boko Haram organization.

In a letter shared with MWC member churches and networks, MWC calls for its churches to offer a shower of prayer, blessing, solidarity, and financial support for the suffering church in Nigeria.

In a recent news release, Samuel Dali, the President of the EYN, warns of the possibility of ‘genocide’ of Christians in northern Nigeria. He reports that 8 pastors and 3,038 EYN members have been killed, 80 kidnapped and 96,000 displaced. He also writes that, “EYN is severely damaged by the terrorists in many ways. The whole Lardin Gabas, the historical center of EYN, has been almost destroyed. So, continue to pray so that the Lord can increase our faith and give the strength to bear the suffering… The people they have killed are still uncounted and not buried.”

MWC encourages its members to become informed about what our brothers and sisters in Nigeria are experiencing, by using resources and links included in the letter. Member churches are also encouraged to send MWC a cc copy of correspondence and connections made with EYN, so that MWC is aware of all possible initiatives.

In regards to the September urgent appeal for the Middle East, MWC has heard from Middle East church leaders how critically important our solidarity is for them. MWC wants to urge those who have not yet done so, to continue the “shower” with the Middle East churches. The details of how to do so can be seen here. Please do consider giving these, our brothers and sisters, a message of peace, hope, and goodwill during this time of advent and Christmas.

Often in situations such as these, it is the sense of loneliness and lack of evident support from others that is most discouraging. Let us bear these burdens together. Let us assure these brothers and sisters of prayers and actions on their behalf.

MWC Release

 

 

Bogotá, Colombia – “We want to partner with our brothers and sisters in the West and in Ukraine to call for a negotiated diplomatic settlement to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

“This conflict cannot be solved with violence. Both NATO and Russia are too strong to be defeated by military means…. The costs of a military ‘solution’ are way too high for any side to pay.”

This appeal was issued in a 05 February letter from The Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists to “dear friends in Christ primarily in North America.”

The letter expresses particular concern that the 18 December signing of the “Freedom Support Act” by the United States could bring “a serious military escalation.”

“Russian society too is far from perfect,” stated the letter. “Pray for us.”

Mennonite World Conference has sent assurances of prayer and solidarity to the Russian church.

MWC is also sending a letter to its 102 member churches, urging them to pray for the church in Russia and to use whatever opportunities they have to ask political leaders to consider other than military options in Ukraine.

MWC release

 

Musoma, Tanzania – Joram Mbeba, a bishop in Kanisa la Mennonite Tanzania (Tanzania Mennonite Church), died on November 22, 2014 at the age of 84.

He completed undergraduate and graduate studies in the United States and then returned to Tanzania for a career in teaching and education administration until his retirement in 1985. From 1985 to 1990, he served as a general secretary in the South Mara Diocese of Tanzania Mennonite Church and was consecrated as bishop in 1990, retiring from church service in 1999.

From 1990 to 2003, he served on the Mennonite World Conference Executive Committee as a representative of Anglophone Africa.

He is survived by his wife, Ludia Mbeba, two daughters and several grandchildren. 

 

Hokkaido, Japan/Elkhart, Indiana, USA – Reacting to a proposed change in Japan’s ban against making war outside of its borders, Japanese Mennonites issued a statement reaffirming its anti-war stance.

The protest issued in September 2014 was in response to the Japan Cabinet’s decision in July to reinterpret the country’s pacifist postwar 1947 constitution that limits the use of force to defend Japan. The proposed change would allow the East Asian nation to take offensive action outside of its borders to help defend allies “in close relationship.”

A statement sent by the Peace Mission Center of the Nihon Menonaito Kirisuto Kyokai Kyogikai (Japan Mennonite Christian Church Conference), the conference of Mennonite churches of Hokkaido, Japan, protests this governmental change. Addressed to the administration of Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the statement outlines the Christian peace position and urges the government to reconsider its recent decision. The government has not responded to the statement.

Earlier, in May 2013, fourteen Mennonite and Brethren in Christ leaders in Japan issued a call against this same proposed constitutional change.

Within Christian and outside Christian circles, Hokkaido Mennonites are letting their convictions be known and encouraging others to do likewise. Yukari Kaga, pastor of Obihiro Mennonite Church and Peace Mission Center board member, said that unlike large denominations, the small conference is united in the stance that “the peace of Jesus is foundational in our faith.”

As a result of the anti-war controversy, young people are also speaking out, taking a stand, and becoming aware of free-speech issues and the free exchange of ideas. “For the school newspaper, they write about what they perceive as odd, and their comments are read by the whole student body,” said Yasuko Momono, a high school teacher and newspaper advisor, who is a member of Furano Nozomi Mennonite Church and a Peace Mission Center board member.

The Japanese government’s former stance emerges from its decision, after World War II, to no longer initiate war and to support only domestic and narrow military support operations. Some Japanese politicians and citizens want the self-defense limits to be lifted, for fear of aggression from neighboring countries in northeast Asia.

– Adapted from a news release by Mennonite Mission Network by Wil LaVeist

 

Akron, Pennsylvania, USA – Several North American agencies have collaborated to produce a new Sunday school curriculum focused on building bridges between peace churches and military veterans.

 “Returning Veterans, Returning Hope: Seeking Peace Together” was created by Mennonite Central Committee, the Peace and Justice Support Network of Mennonite Church USA (MCUSA) and Mennonite Mission Network (MMN). MCUSA is a Mennonite World Conference member church, while MCC and MMN are linked to MWC through its Mission Commission – MCC through the Commission’s Global Anabaptist Service Network and MNN through the Global Mission Fellowship.

Released in late 2014 on a U.S. holiday that honors military veterans, the free six-week course focuses on biblical reflections and insights about trauma with significant input from a third source.

Evan Knappenberger, an Iraq War veteran studying at Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA) spent part of 2014 researching and writing as part of a nontraditional Ministry Inquiry Program placement.

“I did a lot of coordinating with veterans in the Mennonite world,” he said. “In almost every little Mennonite community there is one or two, if not more. There are a lot more in the Brethren in Christ church in Pennsylvania.”

Curriculum creators see the materials as a relatively new field for North American Mennonites – addressing how Christian pacifists can embrace returning warriors.

“There are a lot of potentially good things that veterans can offer churches,” said Knappenberger. “There are good qualities of soldiers and veterans. Gandhi was a veteran; Tolstoy was a veteran. The people who teach us nonviolence, many of them wore a uniform.”

Click here to see the free Sunday school curriculum “Returning Veterans. Returning hope.”

– Adapted from a Mennonite World Review news release by Tim Huber

Jason Boone	Evan Knappenberger	Titus Peachey

 

Kingston, Jamaica – A consultation held here 08-10 January involved representatives from six different believers baptism church traditions. They shared their understandings and practices of baptism and explored how their thinking has changed in light of the emerging theological convergence on baptism and growing ecumenical encounter over the past 30 years.

This was the first time such a gathering has taken place, and thus represents an historic moment in the life of these traditions.

The traditions included the Baptists, Church of the Brethren, Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Mennonites, and Pentecostals. The 18 participants came from Jamaica, Kenya, Germany, Paraguay, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Mennonite participants were Fernando Enns of Germany, Alfred Neufeld of Paraguay and Rebecca Osiro of Kenya. Click here for a full list of participants.

The initiative for the consultation grew out of the annual meeting of Secretaries of Christian World Communions in 2012, which noted fresh thinking and official agreements around the mutual recognition of baptism between churches who practice “infant baptism” and those who have practiced “believers baptism.”

The agenda of the consultation included presentations from each of the traditions on their past and current teaching and practice of baptism, with attention to how their understandings have changed or developed. A representative of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches was also present to provide input from the wider global discussion on baptism within the ecumenical movement.

The highlights of the consultation, as stated in a report on the meeting, included:

• gratitude for the opportunity to have an open and honest reflection on the meaning, practice and shared understandings of baptism among the participants;

• naming the potential found in the image of “being on a journey” for the Christian life, with different forms and expressions of initiation and confession, while sharing a similar call to discipleship;

• the significance of understanding the Holy Spirit as a source both of our diversity as well as our unity in Christ;

• the need for a re-examination of the language of sacrament, ordinance, sign and symbol as ways to acknowledge that God is the primary actor in baptism;

• the need to recognize the continuity between ecumenical reception of other traditions as church, and the practices that mark each tradition as a unique expression of the body of Christ.

The full text of the report on the meeting will be shared with both the Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions and the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC with the hope that it will move the discussion and work on the mutual recognition of baptism and Christian unity forward.

Almere, Netherlands – Some 30 years ago the Dutch Mennonite Mission Board (DZR), which had been exclusively oriented toward foreign lands, began a missionary project on its own soil. This decision was motivated by an awareness of the increasing secularization of Dutch society.

This led to the start of a project in a new town called Almere, which was originally built to solve the housing problems in and around Amsterdam. The DZR established a house of hospitality in a neighbourhood located close to Almere’s developing city center. This drop-in centre, called Inloophuis de Ruimte, aimed to have an open door and a low threshold.

It was to be a place where people could easily and genuinely meet with one another – no simple task in a new city like Almere, where everyone is a relatively recent “immigrant.” At Inloophuis de Ruimte, these ordinary moments of meeting together are honoured as something holy, something through which the Spirit can and does work.

The DZR intentionally chose to open a drop-in center rather than to pursue more traditional missionary methods.  On one hand, the centre is an outreach program and, on the other hand, it is also a learning experience for the Dutch Mennonites in order to provide tools that enable Mennonite congregations to relate to the “world” around them.

In November 2014 this joyful event was commemorated with a conference meant to cast a thankful but critical eye over the past 25 years and look ahead in hope.

The conference was not just attended by Dutch Mennonites, but also by workers from other Urban Mission centers and workers from local health care  and welfare agencies as well as by members of other denominations.

In presentation, Stuart Murray, an Anabaptist theologian from the United Kingdom drew a picture of the changed position of churches in society – a shift from being at the margins rather than at the centre. He encouraged churches  to show greater readiness to partner with others, rather than acting independently or trying to control everything.

Churches should also be clear about their motivation – social engagement as valuable in itself, not as a cover for trying to convert people. Finally, churches should show greater insistence on being explicit about their Christian basis and the way in which their convictions undergird their activities.

He encouraged local councils and agencies to move beyond suspicion and welcome churches as partners in initiatives that can meet social needs and engage effectively in local communities.

Secular partners, he said, should accept that Christians are motivated by their faith and need not hide or apologize for this, but that this does not mean they will use their activities as a cover for proselytizing.

In the second presentation Andries Baart outlined the “presence approach” practiced in urban mission work in the Netherlands. In this approach, he said, the focus is on cultivating caring relationships rather than on problem-solving. “Try to stay close to people and always focus on people and never write people off,” he maintained.

Baart also pleaded that we acknowledge the apparent vulnerability of women and men in society. And he proposed that the Care System should operate in a reflective and relational manner at all times as care givers and the cared-for remain in dialogue about their care.

The conference attracted mainly two groups of visitors: church-related and non-church related, such as social workers and health care workers.

From an article by Gerrit Jan Romeijn

 

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – “We’re coming together at PA 2015 to talk with each other about our faith-life with open hearts and open minds,” says Liesa Unger, International Coordinator of this summer’s Mennonite World Conference Assembly.

“We’ve invited our speakers to address the creative tensions found in several important topics that we all face daily,” explains Unger, who’s working closely with the Program Planning Committee for the global gathering.

“As Christians, we tend to think we should conquer or resolve these struggles,” she commented. “So we’ve asked a pair of speakers each morning to explore how we live faithfully within these tensions.”

“Walking with God” is the guiding theme for PA 2015, which opens Tuesday evening, July 21, and continues through Sunday, July 26.

Speakers will address these subjects during morning worship services:

• “Walking in Doubt and Conviction,” Wednesday, July 22
• “Walking in Conflict and Reconciliation,” Thursday, July 23
• “Walking in Autonomy and Community,” Friday, July 24
• “Walking in Receiving and Giving,” Saturday, July 25

Confirmed speakers for the mornings include Rebecca Osiro (pastor from Kenya), Tom Yoder Neufeld (professor from Canada), Nancy Heisey (professor from the U.S.), Shant Kunjam (bishop from India), and Hippolyto Tshimanga (mission director from Canada).

“We’ve also invited young adult speakers from around the world to be full members of our platform team at PA 2015,” comments Unger. “A young adult leader will give a response each morning to the presentation.” Confirmed are Tigist Tesfaye Gelagle (Ethiopia), Remilyn Mendez (Philippines), Rodrigo Pedroza (Mexico), and Marc  Pasqués (Spain/Australia).

“God has given us such a rich variety of experiences, cultures, and settings – and we want to learn from our different lives while we’re together in July,” says Unger. “So often we only see a narrow wedge of  God’s Kingdom among us. Each of us, in our particular settings, is up against dilemmas that feel threatening. So why not explore the Bible in the company and support of each other and together commit to greater faithfulness?”

César García, General Secretary of MWC, from Colombia, reflected recently about the idea of  “walking with God”: “I like the idea of understanding the Christian life as a way of living that’s under construction, a process that isn’t static or finished. I really believe that our conversations at PA 2015 will transform us because we’ll be discovering together the implications of following Christ in our home communities.”

An unusual small group experience planned for morning services

“Each morning, international Friendship Groups will gather after the presentations to talk about what’s been said.  We will help the audience form these groups, and the same groups will meet each day, so friendships can develop. This is a fellowship experience, as well as a chance for give-and-take in a fairly intimate setting about matters we care deeply about. We don’t want anyone going home and saying they never talked with anybody except friends they knew before,” smiles Unger.

Additionally, an international music group will lead all who gather each morning in rousing singing.

Programming planned for children and youth

“Children and high-school youth will love their days at PA 2015,” says Unger. “What greater gift can we give our children than 4+ days in the arms of the global church!

“After the morning singing, children ages 4-11 will enjoy a multicultural program and lunch. They’ll rejoin the adults for dinner and evening worship.”

“Youth from ages 12-17 will have their own morning program after the singing, as well as late night events for youth staying at Messiah College. Their afternoons will be filled with workshops geared especially to youth, service projects (including building a house for MDS), tours, kayaking, hiking, sports, and even a Menno World Cup! And the Global Village stage will feature a line-up of not-to-be-missed acts from all over the world throughout the afternoons.”

Evening programs to be filled with music, storytelling, and witness

“Worship planners on the program committee and the music director are just now listening to recordings of groups from many parts of the world who have applied to sing and play during the evening worship services. We’re praying that the choirs, ensembles, and individual musicians will be able to get visas so they can minister in worship at the close of our days together.”

“In addition to singing each evening, the services will include stories and witness, prayer, sharing of gifts, stories, and encouragement.”

For more information about the programming and to register for PA 2015, go to www.mwc-cmm.org/pa2015.

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

 

Photos:

Tom Yoder Neufeld. Photo by Liesa Unger

Rebecca Osiro. Photo by Merle Good                      

Tigist Tesfaye Gelagle. Photo by Liesa Unger