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How to celebrate 500 years
Faith and Life Commission workshop explores how to observe 2025 By Gordon Houser Mennonite World Conference held its first assembly in 1925 – the 400th anniversary of the beginning of the Anabaptist movement. With the 500th anniversary only 10 years away, many people are wondering how MWC plans to commemorate it. A workshop 24 July
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The family speaks together
Friendship groups at PA 2015 facilitate small group conversation By Karla Braun Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – “You can witness young to very old people [talking with each other]. And we’ve become intimate friends,” says Omondi Samson from Kenya as he takes a picture of his new “mom and dad” from the USA. Samson participated in
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Walking with God through art
Images in MWC art exhibit communicate at a deeper level By Byron Rempel-Burkholder Mennonite World Conference assemblies are often remembered as festivals of words: stories, songs, sermons and conversations. But what about visual art? “There has been a surge of interest in art in the Anabaptist world,” says Geoff Isley, PA 2015 visual arts planning
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Global Church Village invites visitors to leave their mark
PA 2015 attendees put personal touch on MWC sculpture By Connie Faber “This seems like an innocent form of community graffiti,” Roland Yoder says with a smile as he watches the hub of activity around the three-dimensional sculpture of the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) logo that Yoder designed for the Global Church Village (GCV) at
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Service projects get stuff done
Afternoon service projects at PA 2015 answer God’s call to serve By Matthew Hahn Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – One of the many afternoon activities at Mennonite World Conference’s PA 2015 is the opportunity to invest in service projects. Side by side, Anabaptists from around the world work together within the Farm Show Complex and out
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Are Mennonites allergic to evangelism?
Tshimanga calls for action in mission and evangelism By Virginia A. Hostetler Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – Energy was still high in the penultimate plenary session of PA 2015, featuring the work of the MWC Mission Commission. Speakers issued sharp challenges to Anabaptists, calling for a more active and evangelistic discipleship. There is an uneasiness regarding
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Our religion is relationship worked out in love
PA 2015 Saturday night worship service By Doreen Martens Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – Love for neighbour is absolutely central to the gospel, speaker Bruxy Cavey said in the final plenary service of PA 2015. This evening saw the passing of leadership from Mennonite World Conference president Danisa Ndlovu to incoming president Nelson Kraybill. In a
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Half-day tours extend the Assembly experience
Bus trips take guests to points of interest throughout central PennsylvaniaBy Matthew Hahn Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – All week, 33 different half-day tours have extended the PA 2015 experience beyond the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg to numerous sites of interest and significance throughout central Pennsylvania. On the busiest days, more than 20 coach buses
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Doing something about faith
MDS house build at Mennonite World Conference Assembly erects homes in 5 days Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – Pounding nails may be the last activity one might expect at an international church convention, but for many at the Mennonite World Conference’s PA 2015, it was a perfect fit. Every afternoon, just outside the air-conditioned halls of
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Children’s program inspires faith, delight
Adults and children walk with God in doubt and conviction at PA 2015 By Laura Kraybill “Okay, Penguins, it’s time to go shear sheep.” This might cause confusion if you were not at the children’s program of MWC. For the 281 children attending PA 2015 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, it caused excitement. Participants hastily finished snacks
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An agricultural host for a global Assembly
Mennonite World Conference Assembly takes place at Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex By Devin Manzullo-Thomas Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – Would the attendees of Pennsylvania 2015 accept “an occasional farm smell” in their meeting space? That’s just one of the many questions PA 2015 National Coordinator Howard Good of the USA asked as he and his team
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Part of a bigger family
Youth program encourages trust-filled interactionsBy Laura Kraybill “But The Lord said to me, ‘Don’t say “I am too young,”’ proclaimed a chorus of young voices 24 July 2015 at the youth program for MWC’s PA 2015. Sprawled across the concrete floor of the youth hall, several hundred teenagers began their morning with this affirmation from
