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The power of hospitality and relationships in mission
In December 2023, the Integrated Mennonite Church (IMC) of the Philippines’ Mission Services Department sent a team of pastors for a one-month learning tour in Indonesia with Gereja Injili Tanah Jawa (GITJ) and Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia (GKMI) churches. “We’ve had a partnership with GITJ Mission Commission and PIPKA* (the mission agency) of GKMI since…
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Theologians and laypeople study the Bible together
“The more a congregation gathers all kinds of readers to study and interpret Scripture together, the more equipped its members will be to identify their common values and mission,” says Malinda Berry. She is developing “Anabaptist Thriving Congregations” a five-year program designed to equip Mennonite congregations in the U.S. and Canada to read and interpret…
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Renewal: Awakening to a global family of faith
“Transformation in the Bible is always communal, not individual,” said César García at Renewal 2024* in Curitiba, Brazil. It requires dialogue in the community, where diversity of position enables us to correct mistakes of the past to deepen our relationship with God in the years to come.” In this spirit of dialogue and unity, members of…
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Executive Committee approves theological education and creation care grants
Continues shaping networks, adding membership and supporting learning and action in member churches Funding for theological education and carbon tax small grants was passed at the annual meeting of Mennonite World Conference’s Executive Committee meeting, 8-11 April 2024 in Curitiba, Brazil. Two new funds For many years, MWC member churches have called for more…
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Every church must plan for succession
Jeremiah Choi, MWC regional representative for North Asia, retired as lead pastor of Agape Mennonite Church in Hong Kong in November 2023. Elina Ciptadi (MWC Interim Chief Communications Officer) sat down with him at the Executive Committee meetings in Curitiba, Brazil, in April 2024, to gather his reflections on this transition period. “The calling has…
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A pastoral letter for Anabaptists in Kenya
Beloved sisters and brothers: Our brothers and sisters in Kenya Mennonite Church have asked for prayer that the continuous rain in Kisumu County would subside. Weeks of heavier than usual rains for the season have wreaked havoc in many parts of East Africa, a region vulnerable to climate disasters. The existing flooding was made worse on Sunday…
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MKC promises memorable and inspirational Assembly
The MWC Assembly in Ethiopia in 2028 takes its first steps toward celebration with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and appointment of a national advisory council. From 11-17 January 2024, MWC leaders Liesa Unger (Chief International Events Officer), Sunoko Lin (treasurer), Lisa Carr-Pries (vice president) and Henk Stenvers (president) visited Ethiopia. They…
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One God and Spirit: a bond of peace
“…Making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). A global fellowship, 109 national churches, 58 countries, some 10 000 congregations, 1.4 million members, 45 languages: can that ever be unified? The church is often called the body of Christ. A physical body needs different organs to…
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Not just a tour; a pilgrimage
Indonesia It was 7 October 2023. Husband and wife Simon Setiawan and Sarah Yetty, members of Jemaat Kristen Indonesia (JKI) church from Indonesia, were in Egypt, leading a tour group of more than 40 people from Indonesia and the United States intending to enter Israel-Palestine. They heard about the Hamas attacks on Israel in the…
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A prayer for peace
Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! When, O Lord, will we learn that peace does not come through force? When, O Lord, will we learn that peace does not come through fighting? When, O Lord, will we learn that peace does not come by conquering others? When, O Lord, will we learn…
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In Memoriam: Reverend Bleise Nzamba (1957-2024)
Reverend Bleise Nzamba, legal represntative of Igreja da Comunidade Menonita em Angola (ICMA), died 30 March 2024. He served Mennonite World Conference on the General Council in Indonesia 2022 and Kenya 2018. Reverend Bleise Nzamba studied at Nyanga College in DR Congo, where he was also baptized in the Mennonite church. In 2013, he graduated…
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A moment to relentlessly seek peace
USA I grew up in Guatemala in evangelical and Pentecostal churches. Our songs, Sunday school teachings and sermons were filled with Christian Zionist theology that declares God’s will to be the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The duty of Christians is to support Israel. Some churches even display an Israeli flag in their…
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