César García (right) interviewed church leaders from other traditions who were present throughout General Council meetings in May 2025. (l-r) Paul Tché, Tim Gee, Neil Vigers, Hanns Lessing (with microphone), Samuel van der Maas, Anne-Cathy Graber (MWC secretary for ecumenical relations).
“Reconciliation is central to our faith as Anabaptists,” said César García, Mennonite World Conference (MWC) general secretary. “We knew that as we commemorate the division and fragmentation that occurred in the body of Christ 500 years ago, we needed to bring together our mother churches – the Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed churches – to bear witness to the healing God is bringing among us and will continue to do in the process of reconciling everything under Jesus’ kingdom.”
Accompanying the General Council
Church leaders from other Christian traditions accompanied MWC General Council (GC) members in their meetings. Each ecumenical guest brought greetings at the beginning of the GC sessions.
“I feel like I’m in a family reunion,” said the Rev. Paul Tché, general secretary of the Disciples of Christ World Communion.
For the final GC session, César García interviewed the ecumenical guests about their connections to Anabaptism and their hopes for the church.
“The best way to learn who you are is to try and work it out with an ecumenical partner. [It’s] a voyage of rich discovery into the mystery of God’s grace,” said the Rev. Neil Vigers, Programme Executive for Unity, Faith & Order for the Anglican Communion.
César García asked each guest to share about their experiences with Mennonites. Prof. Dr. Otniel Bunaciu, vice president of the Baptist World Alliance, said he first heard of Mennonites as a child receiving Christian aid parcels in Eastern Europe. “One of the parcels contained quilts. I learned they were from Mennonites. All the ‘80s and ‘90s during the cold Romanian winters, I had a Mennonite quilt that covered me.”
The Rev. Dr. Hanns Lessing from the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) said conversations with Mennonites are very significant as WCRC discusses how to be God’s church in a world marked by violence. “This is something where the Mennonite history is very important for us…. My hope is that we recover this joint history to something that will serve the kingdom.”
Fellowshipping together
As part of the Anabaptism@500 commemoration day in Zurich, MWC hosted a reception for representatives from 13 global communions and 3 multilateral ecumenical organizations. MWC gifted representatives from the global communions a copy of the Anabaptist Community Bible, which “reflects the distinctive hermeneutic of the Anabaptist tradition,” said César García.
Church leaders from the diverse communions shared greetings and thanksgiving for the ministry of MWC. “Though they were unable to send representatives, the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Orthodox Church) and the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church also sent meaningful written greetings for the commemoration,” said César García.
“The Anabaptist commitment to peace, faithfulness, justice and reconciliation reaches far beyond your own tradition and is a gift beyond measure for the oikoumene. Our hearts are glad for your witness over the centuries and we look to your future with courageous love,” said the Rev. Dr. Casely Essamuah, Secretary of the Global Christian Forum.
“The Lutheran world gives thanks today for the witness of the Anabaptist-Mennonite communion, for its radical and uncompromising commitment to love and to seek peace. We can all learn from your courage to love, a love that continually opens doors toward deeper communion among us,” said the Rev. Dr. Anne Burghardt, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation.
Celebrating worship in confession and hope
Reconciliation guided the planning for the worship service on 29 May 2025. MWC officers, former officers and ecumenical representatives entered the worship service together as part of the procession.
The service included liturgy of reconciliation which incorporated parts of the recent statement, “Restoring our Family to Wholeness: Seeking a Common Witness” that was approved by both MWC and WCRC.
“As Reformed Christians, we are deeply grateful to the Mennonite World Conference for inviting us to journey together toward mutual understanding and reconciliation,” said the Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, general secretary, WCRC. “In Christ we are members of one another, brothers and sisters of the same flesh and the same Spirit.”
Representing newly appointed Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Kurt Koch from the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (Roman Catholic Church) brought a message during the service: “The motto chosen for your celebration, ‘The Courage to Love’, reminds us, above all, of the need for Catholics and Mennonites to make every effort to live out the commandment of love, the call to Christian unity and the mandate to serve others.”
“We are living in a new era: churches who once regarded each other as enemies have found ways to apologize and forgive, to work toward the healing of memories, and to take steps toward reconciliation, even amid our ongoing differences,” said Henk Stenvers, MWC president.
Global Christian Communions and multilateral ecumenical organizations represented:
- Anglican Communion
- Baptist World Alliance
- DECC – Disciples of Christ World Communion
- Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (Roman Catholic Church)
- Friends World Committee for Consultation (Quakers)
- International Old Catholic Bishops’ Conference / Union of Utrecht
- Lutheran World Federation
- Moravian Church Worldwide Unity Board
- Organization of African Instituted Churches
- Pentecostal World Fellowship
- The Salvation Army
- World Communion of Reformed Churches
- World Methodist Council
- Global Christian Forum
- World Council of Churches
- World Evangelical Alliance