Robert J. Suderman was invited for the main presentations dedicated to the topic \u201cEncarnando ahora vistazos del futuro: Fundamentos b\u00edblicos del Shalom<\/em>\u201d (Incarnating now glimpses of the future: Biblical foundations of Shalom<\/em>). Former General Secretary of Mennonite Church Canada, Suderman worked with Mennonite churches in Latin America for a decade. Citing Ephesians 6:12, he noted that a Shalom<\/em> church must understand the nature of the evil it faces: it is not a struggle against \u201cflesh and blood\u201d, but against \u201cprincipalities and powers,\u201d understanding the latter ones as oppressive ideologies that perpetuate injustice in our world. In this scenario, noted Suderman, \u201cthe fundamental vocation of a Shalom community is pedagogical.\u201d This vocation becomes real through the practice of loving the enemies, which transforms each congregation in \u201cthe demonstrative argument of the Shalom<\/em> Kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n A shocking example of this transforming practice was the one shared by pastor Alfred Klassen (Paraguay), who was assaulted and stabbed in his home in 2009. When one of his assailants turned himself in to justice, Klassen forgave him and was with him throughout the whole judicial process, which turned into a bond of friendship and trust between them.<\/p>\n MWC Officers Danisa Ndlovu (Zimbabwe) and Janet Plenert (Canada) shared experiences from a service of repentance and forgiveness that took place in Stuttgart, Germany in 2010 which marked the reconciliation of Lutherans and Mennonites. Another reconciliation story was shared by Titus Guenther: the story of Christ of the Andes, a statue made of bronze cannons cast and placed on top of the Andes in 1904 to commemorate a peaceful solution to a border dispute between Chile and Argentina.<\/p>\n Other theological reflections were provided by pastors M\u00f3nica Parada and Carlos Gallardo, from Iglesia Anabautista-Menonita \u201cPuerta del Reba\u00f1o\u201d from the city of Concepci\u00f3n (Chile). Both called attention to making the commitment to a Mennonite peace start inside their own faith communities and their families. According to Gallardo, \u201cthe true following of Christ is found on equity, in building up a community in which we can look at each other face to face as equals\u201d.<\/p>\n Especially invited by the network of Te\u00f3logas Anabautistas de Latinoam\u00e9rica (Anabaptist Women Theologians of Latin America), was M\u00f3nica Parada who provided keys to unmask the symbolic violence that is exercised in the most subtle and everyday life, especially against women. She also traced an historical account through different views about women: although Jesus\u2019 practice revealed in the Gospels makes clear the intrinsic dignity of women, many male theologians \u2013 from patristic to modern days \u2013 strove to keep women in a lower status<\/em>. They constructed an image of a woman as an incomplete and defective being, a \u201csocial and religious construct\u201d that the church must begin to overcome for both men and women to achieve full life in God. \u201cWe should remove the stones from the rivers of living waters\u201d, noted the pastor.<\/p>\n During the five days of this gathering, several moving testimonies were shared. In a session led by the Anabaptist Women Theologians of Latin America, Aurora Rinaldi (Argentina) and Valeria Alvarenga (Brazil) talked about the long road that led to the pastorate. Meanwhile, Freddy Barr\u00f3n (Bolivia) narrated the ups and down he faced as a pastor\u2019s child, as a way of calling attention to the risks and deprivations the pastoral family can go through if it does not receive proper care.<\/p>\n C\u00e9sar Garc\u00eda, General Secretary of MWC, and Rodrigo Pedroza, representative of the Young Anabaptists (YABs) network, presented the work of their organizations to strengthen the ties of the global Anabaptist family of faith.<\/p>\n The Southern Cone gathering was also an opportunity to share through praise and art. With typical costumes and instruments of the farmers of Central Chile, the group \u201cLos del Huerto\u201d sang and danced lively traditional music such as cuecas and guarachas. Also, the IEMCH youth presented a tour through images and typical dances of the different regions of continental Chile and Easter Island, and representatives from Argentina offered an evening of praise songs with Latin American rhythms and lyrics that exalted the commitment to peace and justice, and young Salomao Taumaturgo did the same with Brazilian music.<\/p>\n On the last day, filled with emotions, the attendees thanked the hospitality of IEMCH. \u201cThey took care of every single detail to make us feel well\u201d, said Rub\u00e9n Darino (Argentina). After sharing the Lord\u2019s Supper and officially ending the gathering, IEMCH went to a swimming pool nearby to baptize three of its members, accompanied by Anabaptists of ten different countries: a visible demonstration of what was said by host pastor, Daniel Delgado: \u201cNow we know that we are not alone, that we are part of an universal family\u201d.<\/p>\n
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