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Universally appealing core values
Meet Hiro Katano of Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan Member of the Faith & Life Commission. How do you serve MWC? I have been a General Council member, representing Nihon Menonaito Kirisuto Kyokai Kyogikai (Japan Mennonite Christian Church Conference), since 2016. I serve MWC by connecting it with my church conference through correspondence, information, translation and…
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Sweet fellowship on Discord
Young AnaBaptists build global connection during YABs Fellowship Week Between 18-25 June 2023, young adult groups around the world celebrated the Young AnaBaptist (YABs) Fellowship Week. Themed The family I found in my salvation, young people shared stories, worshipped together, prayed as one, learned from each other’s testimonies, and discussed Luke 15:4-7. A new way…
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Each in their own accent
“I learned that each participant has their own accent; it comforted me to know that having an accent is normal,” says Hens Sita, a member of GITJ Kelet, Indonesia. In advance of the Mennonite World Conference Assembly in Indonesia, IndoMenno (a collaborative of the three Indonesian synods*) facilitated language classes in both English and Indonesian. …
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Renewal: the core of the gospel
Over the past 100 years, the world has changed immensely and at the same time, not so very much, says Henk Stenvers; both then and now, there is nationalism and polarization in church and society, and even war in Ukraine. As we prepare to mark 100 years of MWC and 500 years of Anabaptism in…
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Renewal
In 2017, Mennonite World Conference began a series of events called Renewal. The original vision was organized with a view toward the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Anabaptist movement in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2025. It included several key components: The event should honour the past but focus primarily on the present and the…
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A spirit of repentance and Renewal
“That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:21) With these words from the Gospel of John 17:21, we warmly greet the sisters and brothers of Anabaptist churches…
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It feels like yesterday
“There are so many memories and landmarks for the entire GYS/Assembly period that if I were to mention them all it will need another 11 more days to explain it!” says Peleka Jonathan Mpemba, a Global Youth Summit (GYS) delegate for Kanisa la Mennonite Tanzania. A year has passed since the global Anabaptist-Mennonite family gathered…
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Cleanliness is next to godliness
Climate change has posed many risks to human beings and nature in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is highly affected by extreme high temperatures and high rainfall leading to droughts, veld fires (wildfires) and floods. The church in Zimbabwe is now beginning to play an active role in environment protection and is taking management steps to restore the…
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A declaration for peace
The walls were the trees of the forest, the lights and sound from solar-powered batteries and the waters for baptism were the river itself. The spirit of worship through singing, the fervent prayers and the calls to follow Jesus, our hope, in the way of peace are familiar across cultures. Mennonite young people in Myanmar…
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Ministry partner update: ICOMB – June 2023
This year’s summit of the International Community of Mennonite Brethren Churches (ICOMB), hosted in Abbotsford, B.C., Canada, provided delegates a unique opportunity to experience the rich Mennonite Brethren heritage in that region of Canada. With churches dating back to 1929, a Bible college founded in 1943 and a Mennonite Heritage Museum with exhibits spanning 500…
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In honour of God’s creation and the church universal
The Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford won’t soon forget that Mennonite World Conference guests were there in March 2023. A tree was left behind in remembrance. Mennonite World Conference has a tradition to plant tree on the grounds of a Mennonite institution when the Executive Committee meets: “in honour of God’s creation and the church…
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Peacebuilding after disaster
“Your textbook worked!” Darnell Barkman told his former professor Lisa Schirch after floodwaters overcame his region in November 2021. The pastor at Yarrow United Mennonite Church in B.C., Canada, implemented all his peacebuilding training to coordinate disaster response. For the last several decades, the poorest parts of the global church have been impacted by climate…
