At the end of the Global Youth Summit (GYS) in Germany, participants gathered around a bonfire to sing and make bread together. Photo: Irma Sulistyorini
The Officers’ Column
The light of possibility before us is extraordinary: a world where people are healed enough to know their worth, and therefore capable of relationships marked by genuine intimacy, dignity and respect. A world where powerful technologies and global connections bridge divides rather than deepen them, becoming tools for mutual understanding and shared flourishing.
At the same time, we name the truth of our moment. Many across the world are living in fear-filled places – shaped by violence, displacement, economic uncertainty, climate crisis and deep social polarization. Fear is loud. It tempts us to withdraw, to protect what is ours and to imagine that survival is the best we can hope for.
And yet, these are not only challenges to endure. They are also moments that call forth courage.
Across the global Anabaptist family, communities are rediscovering their voices, their agency and their callings to live differently. Solidarity, as Mennonite World Conference understands it, is not passive agreement or distant concern. It is a faithful choice to remain connected: choosing relationship over isolation, accompaniment over control, and hope over fear.
This solidarity is practiced when we listen deeply across cultures, when lived experience shapes our shared discernment and when we stay at the table even when the way forward is uncertain.
It reminds us that healing is possible, that new life can emerge from hard places and that unity is something we practice with patience and care.
As we step into 2026, we are invited to tend what has been entrusted to us – to build spaces of trust, to strengthen bonds of love and to shape a future marked by Christ’s peace.
What we build will not be perfect, but it can be faithful.
May we open ourselves to the grace God has already given and live it through solidarity – walking together in humility, choosing one another with courage and trusting the Spirit who binds us together.
Lisa Carr-Pries is MWC vice-president (2022–2031). She is the Director of Spiritual Care at Parkwood Community (long term care/ retirement community) in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and is a member of Nith Valley Mennonite Church, Ontario, Canada.