Bogot\u00e1, Colombia – \u201cWalking with God finds its total meaning in fellowship \u2013 in the breaking of bread, serving, and meeting the needs of others,\u201d says C\u00e9sar Garc\u00eda, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference. \u201cIt does not mean the absence of challenges, but recognizing we are assured of victory with and through God.\u201d<\/p>\n
World Fellowship Sunday, January 24, 2016, calls world Anabaptists to this journey. For six days at Assembly in Pennsylvania in July 2015, more than 8,000 Anabaptists sojourned together; on this Sunday, though divided by time zones and location, Garc\u00eda invites MWC member churches to gather together in spirit in their local congregations.<\/p>\n
On World Fellowship Sunday, Mennonite and Brethren in Christ believers remember the first Anabaptist baptism performed in Switzerland in 1525. \u201cThat act of obedience and courage continues to shape our understanding of what it means to be disciples today,\u201d says Garc\u00eda.<\/p>\n
World Fellowship Sunday is a reminder that \u201cwe belong to each other as sisters and brothers in God\u2019s household,\u201d says Garc\u00eda. \u201cWe support each other, uphold those who are suffering and being persecuted, and learn from one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
A resource package downloadable from mwc-cmm.org contains preaching texts, music suggestions from the PA 2015 songbook, prayer requests and sermon resources for World Fellowship Sunday. The October issue of Courier\/Correo\/Courrier is also a tool, containing plenary addresses on \u201cWalking with God,\u201d from Assembly 16 in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Garc\u00eda also invites churches to take a special offering that Sunday in support of the global Anabaptist communion. This offering will be counted toward the national church body\u2019s Fair Share contribution.<\/p>\n
Each member might contribute the cost of one lunch. Congregations may follow the service with a fellowship meal or a time of prayer and fasting.<\/p>\n
Local Anabaptist congregations held a joint service in Bogota, Colombia, on World Fellowship Sunday in the last few years. \u201cIt was a blessing to see how differences are overcome when we look for the presence of the Lamb as the centre of our gatherings,\u201d says Garc\u00eda. \u201cWe recognized the work of God in our brothers and sisters and our need of them to reach maturity in our faith together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014MWC <\/em>release<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bogot\u00e1, Colombia – \u201cWalking with God finds its total meaning in fellowship \u2013 in the breaking of bread, serving, and meeting the needs of others,\u201d says C\u00e9sar Garc\u00eda, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference. \u201cIt does not mean the absence of challenges, but recognizing we are assured of victory with and through God.\u201d World Fellowship […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":87197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"network":[],"eventcategory":[300],"class_list":["post-6515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","eventcategory-anabaptist-world-fellowship-sunday"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n