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In memoriam: Pope Francis (1936-2025)
Photo: Ashwin Vaswani/Unsplash Mennonite World Conference joins Catholics and other faith communities across the world in mourning the loss of Pope Francis, who died on 21 April 2025, at the age of 88. He had been recovering at his residence Domus Sanctae Marthae after hospitalization for bilateral pneumonia. “With gratitude, we remember the life of…
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Together
A holy day message from the General Secretary Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed for his followers to be one. This Easter, I am pleased to share this message from leaders of Christian communions across twelve distinct traditions. Through my work with various world communion leaders, I…
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Holy Spirit works through Catholic synod
“It was necessary to take courage: it’s another world, another vocabulary, another way of thinking. How was I to bring my own questions and be respectfully present as a guest while being fully Mennonite?” Anne-Cathy Graber asked these questions as she received an invitation to attend the Vatican’s Sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod…
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Sharing of gifts with other church communions
“Being chair at the Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions is a role of service. It is a role where you serve other secretaries by preparing the agenda, logistics and materials for our meeting, and leading and facilitating robust discussions on matters critical to the global Christian church today,” says MWC general secretary César…
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A Theology of Interchurch Hospitality and Denominational Identity
Mennonite World Conference embarked on the first formal dialogue process with the Baptist World Alliance in 1989. Since then, MWC has entered into conversations with Lutheran World Federation, Seventh Day Adventists, Catholics, and, most recently, a five year trilateral dialogue with Lutherans and Catholics. Seeing the value of these dialogues, the Faith and Life Commission…
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Catholic, Lutheran, Mennonite, Trilateral Dialogue Commission on Baptism
Third meeting of the Catholic, Lutheran and Mennonite Trilateral Dialogue Commission on baptism Elspeet, Netherlands – Representatives of the Catholic Church (Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity), the Lutheran World Federation, and Mennonite World Conference met in Elspeet, the Netherlands, 9–13 February 2015, for the third meeting of the Trilateral Dialogue Commission on Baptism. The…
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Dialogues on baptism close with learning and prayer
The commission discussed and developed its final report, entitled “Baptism and Incorporation into the Body of Christ, the Church,” drafted by professors Theo Dieter (Lutheran, France), William Henn (Catholic, US/Vatican) and John Rempel (Mennonite, Canada). The trilateral commission agreed on a further process to finalize the report, which summarizes the rich discussions that have taken…
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Incorporation into the body of Christ
Fourth meeting of the Catholic, Lutheran and Mennonite Trilateral Dialogue Commission on baptism Bogotá, Colombia – Representatives of the Catholic Church (Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity), The Lutheran World Federation, and Mennonite World Conference met in Bogotá, Colombia, 29 February–4 March 2016, for the fourth meeting of the International Trilateral Dialogue Commission. The Commission…
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Mennonites, Catholics and Lutherans hold second round of dialogue on baptism
Second meeting of the Catholic, Lutheran and Mennonite Trilateral Dialogue Commission on baptism Strasbourg, France – “I continue to be inspired by the mutuality of our work,” commented John Rempel of Toronto, Ontario, one of the Mennonite participants in the 26-31 January 2014 second meeting of the Trilateral (Catholic, Lutheran, Mennonite) Dialogue Commission on Baptism.…
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Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace – Reflecting on Mennonite contributions to the Global Ecumenical Movement
Mobility and flexibility are necessary in today’s world for many young people: university in another city, intercultural encounters during travels, broadening one’s own horizons. And somewhere between all of this there is this “Mennoniteness” that shapes part of who you are. These experiences perfectly describe my reality. Coming from a small town, and an even…
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MWC responds to election of Pope Francis
Bogota, Colombia – After the March 13 election of Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis, Mennonite World Conference issued a letter of congratulations and also sent two of its leaders to March 19 and 20 inaugural services in Rome. In a March 14 letter to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity…
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Baptism the focus of trilateral dialogue by Mennonites, Catholics and Lutherans
An international trilateral dialogue between Mennonites, Catholics and Lutherans began in Rome, 9-13 December 2012.
