{"id":113356,"date":"2025-05-19T23:25:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T23:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/?post_type=mwcresource&#038;p=113356"},"modified":"2026-04-22T20:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T20:08:29","slug":"courier-2025-40-1","status":"publish","type":"mwcresource","link":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Courier 2025 \/ 40.1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p class=\"is-style-eyebrow\">In this issue:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/the-courage-to-love\/\">The Courage to Love<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Perspectives: A snapshot of&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/anabaptist-church-beginnings-a-snapshot\/\">Brethren in Christ Church in South Africa<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/hmong-district-20th-of-the-church-of-christ-in-thailand\/\">Hmong District 20th of the Church of Christ in Thailand<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/igreja-dos-irmaos-menonitas-de-portugal\/\">Igreja dos Irm\u00e3os Menonitas de Portugal<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/convencion-evangelica-hermanos-menonitas-nivacle-in-paraguay\/\">Convenci\u00f3n Evang\u00e9lica Hermanos Menonitas Nivacl\u00e9 in Paraguay<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/rosedale-network-of-churches-in-the-usa\/\">Rosedale Network of Churches in the USA<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/40.1-EN-FIN.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:669px\" aria-label=\"Embed of 40.1-EN FIN.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-d660a0ef-260f-4427-bd2b-ec980fb53553\" href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/40.1-EN-FIN.pdf\">40.1-EN FIN<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/40.1-EN-FIN.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-d660a0ef-260f-4427-bd2b-ec980fb53553\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/mwcmm\/docs\/courier_2025_40.1\">New: Read PDF on ISSUU<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A challenge for the ages&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a double \u2013 even triple \u2013 anniversary for Mennonite World Conference this year.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For one hundred years, Anabaptist-related national churches have been meeting together to acknowledge we are one body of Christ together, and to encourage and help each other in fellowship, worship, service and witness.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For five hundred years, people who identify as Anabaptist have been reading Scripture together, affirming that we follow Jesus as an act of will, not mere happenstance of birth, that we hear God\u2019s voice as we serve together in community and that Jesus\u2019 reconciling work extends to us as individuals and worshipping communities to act as peacebuilders who reject violence in its many forms.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And even beyond that, for seventeen hundred years, despite schisms and divisions, Christians have affirmed the Nicene Creed, a summary of Christian belief that is spoken is worship services around the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a moment when differences between people are creating sharp divisions and hostilities, it is a good time to take note of how we have found unifying threads in the past.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The theme MWC has chosen for this year is \u201cThe Courage to Love.\u201d The phrase refers to a famous quote, not by Menno Simons or Pilgram Marpeck, but Ulrich Zwingli, the Reformed Church leader who called on followers of Christ, to \u201cdo something courageous, for God\u2019s sake!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we are calling each other and ourselves to be courageous. Like the first Anabaptists who defied authorities and even traditions to follow the higher law of love, we are challenging ourselves to action.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God\u2019s love for us is transforming us and setting us free from fear. We can courageously forgive those who offend us. We can boldly take a stand against injustice that makes peace impossible. We can valiantly reach across divides that make \u201cothers\u201d of humanity. We can compassionately care for those who have been wounded. We can humbly repent of the times we have missed the mark and been complicit in harm.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This issue of <em>Courier<\/em> contains reflections on this anniversary and its theme by general secretary C\u00e9sar Garc\u00eda, and we share snapshots of member churches who form part of our 100-year-old communion.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We pray you are inspired as you read through this issue. We invite you to share your witness as you think about anniversaries: how is your church living out faithfulness in your context? How are you living out the courage to love in these fractious\u202fdays?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Karla Braun is editor of Courier and writer for Mennonite World Conference. She lives in Winnipeg,\u202fCanada.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":113429,"template":"","network":[1306,302,1307],"resourcetype":[381,308],"language":[165,168,167],"resourcecategory":[1393,161,1394,1375],"resourcetheme":[337,313,322,327,369,315,317,354,328],"eventcategory":[303],"class_list":["post-113356","mwcresource","type-mwcresource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","network-courier-es","network-courier","network-courier-fr","resourcetype-pdf","resourcetype-publication","language-en","language-es","language-fr","resourcecategory-courier-es","resourcecategory-courier","resourcecategory-courier-fr","resourcecategory-publication-2","resourcetheme-discipleship","resourcetheme-ecumenism","resourcetheme-history","resourcetheme-identity","resourcetheme-leadership","resourcetheme-mission","resourcetheme-peace","resourcetheme-service","resourcetheme-unity","eventcategory-500-the-courage-to-love"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Courier 2025 \/ 40.1 - Mennonite World Conference<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Courier 2025 \/ 40.1 - Mennonite World Conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A challenge for the ages&nbsp; It\u2019s a double \u2013 even triple \u2013 anniversary for Mennonite World Conference this year.&nbsp;&nbsp; For one hundred years, Anabaptist-related national churches have been meeting together to acknowledge we are one body of Christ together, and to encourage and help each other in fellowship, worship, service and witness.&nbsp; For five hundred [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mennonite World Conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MennoniteWorldConference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-22T20:08:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Courier-40.1-EN.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"993\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1299\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/resources\\\/courier-2025-40-1\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/resources\\\/courier-2025-40-1\\\/\",\"name\":\"Courier 2025 \\\/ 40.1 - Mennonite World Conference\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/resources\\\/courier-2025-40-1\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/resources\\\/courier-2025-40-1\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Courier-40.1-EN.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-19T23:25:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-22T20:08:29+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/resources\\\/courier-2025-40-1\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/resources\\\/courier-2025-40-1\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/resources\\\/courier-2025-40-1\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Courier-40.1-EN.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Courier-40.1-EN.png\",\"width\":993,\"height\":1299,\"caption\":\"Courier 40.1 EN\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/resources\\\/courier-2025-40-1\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Courier 2025 \\\/ 40.1\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mennonite World Conference\",\"description\":\"A communion of Anabaptist-related churches\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"MWC\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Mennonite World Conference\",\"alternateName\":\"MWC\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/MWC_Sig_Blue_Horiz_webheader1-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/MWC_Sig_Blue_Horiz_webheader1-logo.svg\",\"width\":786,\"height\":82,\"caption\":\"Mennonite World Conference\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mwc-cmm.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MennoniteWorldConference\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/mennonite-world-conference-mwc\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/mwcmm\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/mwccmm\",\"https:\\\/\\\/bsky.app\\\/profile\\\/mwcmm.bsky.social\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Courier 2025 \/ 40.1 - Mennonite World Conference","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Courier 2025 \/ 40.1 - Mennonite World Conference","og_description":"A challenge for the ages&nbsp; It\u2019s a double \u2013 even triple \u2013 anniversary for Mennonite World Conference this year.&nbsp;&nbsp; For one hundred years, Anabaptist-related national churches have been meeting together to acknowledge we are one body of Christ together, and to encourage and help each other in fellowship, worship, service and witness.&nbsp; For five hundred [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/","og_site_name":"Mennonite World Conference","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MennoniteWorldConference","article_modified_time":"2026-04-22T20:08:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":993,"height":1299,"url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Courier-40.1-EN.png","type":"image\/png"}],"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/","url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/","name":"Courier 2025 \/ 40.1 - Mennonite World Conference","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Courier-40.1-EN.png","datePublished":"2025-05-19T23:25:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-22T20:08:29+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Courier-40.1-EN.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Courier-40.1-EN.png","width":993,"height":1299,"caption":"Courier 40.1 EN"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2025-40-1\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Courier 2025 \/ 40.1"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/","name":"Mennonite World Conference","description":"A communion of Anabaptist-related churches","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#organization"},"alternateName":"MWC","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#organization","name":"Mennonite World Conference","alternateName":"MWC","url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MWC_Sig_Blue_Horiz_webheader1-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MWC_Sig_Blue_Horiz_webheader1-logo.svg","width":786,"height":82,"caption":"Mennonite World Conference"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MennoniteWorldConference","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/mennonite-world-conference-mwc\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mwcmm\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/mwccmm","https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/mwcmm.bsky.social"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mwcresource\/113356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mwcresource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/mwcresource"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"network","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/network?post=113356"},{"taxonomy":"resourcetype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resourcetype?post=113356"},{"taxonomy":"language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/language?post=113356"},{"taxonomy":"resourcecategory","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resourcecategory?post=113356"},{"taxonomy":"resourcetheme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resourcetheme?post=113356"},{"taxonomy":"eventcategory","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/eventcategory?post=113356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}