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COP 28 blogs by a Dutch Mennonite
Stories in this page: Endgame (13 December 2023) Scandalous (11 December 2023) Human rights (10 December 2023) The Netherlands in the spotlight (9 December 2023) Adaptation (6 December 2023) Time pressure (5 December 2023) Money, money, money (4 December 2023) Balancing act (3 December 2023) High level segment: kings, financiers and residents (1 December 2023)…
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Ambassadors of God’s Kingdom
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). These words of the apostle Paul are part of a letter that addresses a church audience that likely included both Gentiles and Jews. Some were Roman citizens, and others were not. However, Paul…
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How I envy you!
Some years ago, in my local congregation in Colombia, a friend said to me: “Oh! César, how I envy you!” Why? I asked her. “I work in a multinational company. I deal with a lot of stress because of ongoing conflicts and broken relationships with my colleagues and bosses. But you, César, you work with…
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Dealing with difference
Indonesia The churches of GITJ (Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa – Evangelical Church in the Land of Java), Indonesia, had been in conflict for some 22 years. This was largely because one group (with 24 member churches) was recognized by the Indonesian government while the other (with about 50 member churches) was not. All during…
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Desire for renewal leads to split
Canada The Mennonite Brethren church began in the midst of significant change among Mennonites in what was then South Russia. It was in 1860 that some members in the Gnadenfeld Mennonite congregation in the Molotschna settlement petitioned their leaders to meet separately for communion. These members did not want to celebrate communion with those who…
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One new step each year
You are invited! Join us for Climate Pollinators, a webinar series on creation care. See below! On a map of Green Churches in the Netherlands, there is a green dot for the Mennonite congregation in Aalsmeer. Another dot represents Arboretumkerk (previously Doopsgezinde Gemeente Wageningen), located a province over. “Six years ago, the church (in Aalsmeer)…
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Prayer for unity
Switzerland In recent years, the Mennonite theological school Bienenberg Training Centre in Switzerland has offered a “Hot Topics” course, which gives voice to opposing perspectives on current hot topics in the churches. As they hear points they agree or disagree with, the attendees are invited to engage with their own sensibilities and convictions: to listen…
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“We need one another”
Meet Vikal Rao, Rajnandgaon, India. Member of the Deacons Commission. How do you serve MWC? I am serving officially as a member of the Deacons Commission (2018-2025). My journey with MWC started in 1997: I was a youth steward in the Global Church Village (GCV) during the Assembly in India. Then, I was the first GYS representative…
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Mennonites and the state
When we enter God’s kingdom, we receive new citizenship and are freed to experience a new kind of politics. We are not slaves of evil systems anymore. We belong to a new society where, along with other followers of Christ, we project Jesus’ image to the world. But we still live in our countries and human…
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Conflict in the church: Lessons from Acts 15
I grew up in a Mennonite congregation in Argentina. I remember the preaching and teaching on forgiveness and reconciliation both within the church family and also in relating with those outside the faith community. I also remember situations involving tension and even the threat of division. Some of the concerns: diverging views on women’s use…
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Eco-theology reconciles the church with nature
You are invited! Join us for Climate Pollinators, a webinar series on creation care. See below! When human beings were created in Genesis, “This was the first mission of the human… to both enjoy but also to protect and take care of creation,” says Danang Kristiawan. Danang Kristiawan is the pastor of the GITJ (Gereja…
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Meeting Jesus in another culture
Before Esther Aguilar began her Bolivian adventure, she asked God for one thing: to teach her in a deeper sense the commandment where Jesus says, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. (…) A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew…
