{"id":114438,"date":"2025-06-25T08:21:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T08:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/?p=114438"},"modified":"2025-10-06T22:38:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T22:38:15","slug":"pastoral-letter-regarding-war-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/pastoral-letter-regarding-war-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"A pastoral letter regarding war in the Middle East\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Beloved sisters and brothers:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The escalation of war in the Middle East today is a source of fear and grief for our Anabaptist family around the world. For some, this is a new reality, for others it adds to the burden of violence carried for years or decades from local conflict. We see all of those who are being crushed under the machinations of the mighty; we mourn and we ask for God\u2019s merciful presence among them. We condemn any justification of war as part of God\u2019s will.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We invite our prayers to move us to action. And we invite our actions to be our prayers.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our allegiance is not to presidents or kings but to the Prince of Peace. As members of a Historic Peace Church \u2013 that is, a church dedicated to the ways of peace \u2013 we follow Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who calls us to radical love of enemy.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This love trains our hearts to see God in the human \u201cother\u201d whether enemy or friend.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This love gives us the courage to seek justice.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This love calls us to pursue right relationships interpersonally, at the level of organizations, among states and peoples, and with the rest of creation \u2013 all of which suffer harm amid conflict.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The power of Christ\u2019s love rallies us not to pride that defends nations or ideological purity but to compassion for those who are suffering \u2013 regardless of national identity or political affiliation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The teachings of Jesus remind us that the enemy is not the other person but our own instinct to create barriers and fall victim to enmity itself. We pray that as we find the courage to love, God\u2019s transformative power would break cycles of violence that divide, oppress and kill.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Justice must accompany peace. Indeed, peace can only be present when justice that is restorative, truth-seeking and reparation-oriented is embodied. We confess our failure to seek a just peace. We ask the Holy Spirit to teach us humility and equip us with the courage to love. We ask for the wisdom to recognize and speak truth with prophetic clarity and self-giving love. We ask for the boldness to confront injustice despite risk to ourselves.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We resolve to speak out \u2013 whether to governments or fellow citizens \u2013 to question uncritical support to sources of ongoing violence and death.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a global Anabaptist communion, we renounce violence \u2013 as Jesus did. We commit ourselves \u2013 as Jesus followers \u2013 to transforming unjust systems through active nonviolence. We call for states to cease investing in war and instead to begin the hard work of seeking the ways of peace \u2013 a peace that does not come through guns, missiles, or violent force \u2013 so that all may flourish.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our words seem small and inadequate in the face of the crisis, yet we reaffirm our conviction that&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-soft-blue-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-soft-blue-background-color has-background\">\u201c<em>The Spirit of Jesus empowers us to trust God in all areas of life so we become peacemakers who renounce violence, love our enemies, seek justice, and share our possessions with those in need<\/em>.\u201d <br><em>(Shared Conviction 5)<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/shared-convictions\/\">shared convictions<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.<br>In the name of Jesus, Prince of Peace, amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\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<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/general-council\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"480\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Henk-Stenvers-1-Small.png\" alt=\"Henk Stenvers\" class=\"wp-image-108562 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 480px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 480\/480;width:200px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Henk-Stenvers-1-Small.png 480w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Henk-Stenvers-1-Small-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Henk-Stenvers-1-Small-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Henk-Stenvers-1-Small-400x400.png 400w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\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<p><em>Henk Stenvers, <\/em><br><em>president, <\/em><br><em>Mennonite World Conference<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Previous comments from MWC&nbsp;<\/summary>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-mennonite-world-conference wp-block-embed-mennonite-world-conference\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"v5MRUeDXph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/mwc-general-secretary-joins-urgent-call-peace\/\">MWC general secretary joins urgent call for peace<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content lazyload\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;MWC general secretary joins urgent call for peace&#8221; &#8212; Mennonite World Conference\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/mwc-general-secretary-joins-urgent-call-peace\/embed\/#?secret=WhDDcPCS9S#?secret=v5MRUeDXph\" data-secret=\"v5MRUeDXph\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-mennonite-world-conference wp-block-embed-mennonite-world-conference\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"NZ6FSgrbHD\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/grieving-year-increasing-violence-middle-east\/\">Grieving a year of increasing violence in the Middle East<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content lazyload\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Grieving a year of increasing violence in the Middle East&#8221; &#8212; Mennonite World Conference\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/grieving-year-increasing-violence-middle-east\/embed\/#?secret=mPdIOq5TXh#?secret=NZ6FSgrbHD\" data-secret=\"NZ6FSgrbHD\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-mennonite-world-conference wp-block-embed-mennonite-world-conference\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"kdVUEP9yjn\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/reconciling-response-war-middle-east\/\">A reconciling response to war in the Middle East<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content lazyload\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;A reconciling response to war in the Middle East&#8221; &#8212; Mennonite World Conference\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/reconciling-response-war-middle-east\/embed\/#?secret=zZYPGIhj1H#?secret=kdVUEP9yjn\" data-secret=\"kdVUEP9yjn\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-mennonite-world-conference wp-block-embed-mennonite-world-conference\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"BHefAmyKRj\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/pastoral-letter-peace-holy-land\/\">A pastoral letter for peace in the Holy Land<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content lazyload\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;A pastoral letter for peace in the Holy Land&#8221; &#8212; Mennonite World Conference\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/pastoral-letter-peace-holy-land\/embed\/#?secret=9lQmRjlo0N#?secret=BHefAmyKRj\" data-secret=\"BHefAmyKRj\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Other MWC resources&nbsp;<\/summary>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-mennonite-world-conference wp-block-embed-mennonite-world-conference\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"KdeIPc5CkB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2024-391\/\">Courier 2024 \/ 39.1<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content lazyload\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Courier 2024 \/ 39.1&#8221; &#8212; Mennonite World Conference\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2024-391\/embed\/#?secret=IVzBbJG635#?secret=KdeIPc5CkB\" data-secret=\"KdeIPc5CkB\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-mennonite-world-conference wp-block-embed-mennonite-world-conference\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"53q5AD1djU\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/further-reading-ccc-391\/\">Further reading on CCC 39.1<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content lazyload\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Further reading on CCC 39.1&#8221; &#8212; Mennonite World Conference\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/further-reading-ccc-391\/embed\/#?secret=xiZhLrgOuO#?secret=53q5AD1djU\" data-secret=\"53q5AD1djU\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Other resources&nbsp;<\/summary>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-churches-for-middle-east-peace wp-block-embed-churches-for-middle-east-peace\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"5X9ZwvnC1D\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cmep.org\/\">Home<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content lazyload\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Home&#8221; &#8212; Churches for Middle East Peace\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cmep.org\/embed\/#?secret=NMv662ZlKm#?secret=5X9ZwvnC1D\" data-secret=\"5X9ZwvnC1D\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sabeel.org\/category\/wave-of-prayers\">https:\/\/sabeel.org\/category\/wave-of-prayers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mcc.org\/what-we-do\/where-we-work\/palestine-and-israel\">https:\/\/mcc.org\/what-we-do\/where-we-work\/palestine-and-israel<\/a><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"taxonomy-post_tag has-link-color wp-elements-4795dccc25dd561b10d5c166c095ced0 wp-block-post-terms has-text-color has-gray-color has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/tag\/israel-palestine\/\" rel=\"tag\">Israel &amp; Palestine<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/tag\/pastoral-letter\/\" rel=\"tag\">pastoral letter<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/tag\/peace\/\" rel=\"tag\">peace<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/tag\/prayer\/\" rel=\"tag\">prayer<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beloved sisters and brothers:&nbsp; The escalation of war in the Middle East today is a source of fear and grief for our Anabaptist family around the world. For some, this is a new reality, for others it adds to the burden of violence carried for years or decades from local conflict. We see all of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":114424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[525,294],"tags":[244,250,268,270],"network":[360,144],"eventcategory":[343],"class_list":["post-114438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-our-leaders","category-urgent-prayers","tag-israel-palestine","tag-pastoral-letter","tag-peace","tag-prayer","network-commissions","network-deacons-commission","eventcategory-online-prayer-hour"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A pastoral letter regarding war in the Middle East\u00a0 - Mennonite World Conference<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The escalation of war in the Middle East today is a source of fear and grief for our Anabaptist family around the world. 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