{"id":6794,"date":"2019-02-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/messengers-of-hope\/"},"modified":"2024-12-10T18:40:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T18:40:46","slug":"messengers-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/messengers-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Messengers of hope"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mennonite pastor J\u00fcrg Br\u00e4ker stopped at Messenger Fountain [<em>L\u00e4uferbrunnen<\/em>] in his home city of Bern, Switzerland. He wet his hands in the flowing spout, and declared, \u201cThis water turned blood-red on the day Hans Haslibacher was beheaded in 1571.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Today, Amish still sing from the <em>Ausbund <\/em>[hymnal] about Haslibacher, the last Anabaptist executed in Bern.<\/p>\n<p>Haslibacher had foretold that his severed head would <em>laugh<\/em> when it fell from the executioner\u2019s sword: \u201cThe sun will, like my blood, be red,\u2026 the town well likewise blood will shed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All three predictions came to pass.<\/p>\n<p>I am not certain I believe all details of that story, but the symbolism rings true: when there is war or corrupt government, messengers of hope sometimes die. The light of truth turns dim, and waters that should give life turn red with blood.<\/p>\n<p>I am grateful for the courageous witness of our 16th-century forebears. We should honour them, but then get on with the day-to-day task of laying down our lives in living sacrifice for others in the name of Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>Anabaptists today can collaborate with Christians of other traditions to include peacemaking as part of inviting others to know and follow our Lord.<\/p>\n<p>While in Switzerland, I represented Mennonite World Conference at World Council of Churches (WCC) meetings. In that global body representing 500 million Christians, Mennonite Fernando Enns has been a messenger of hope as a leader in the WCC Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2011) initiated by Historic Peace Churches within the WCC, we had built up a consensus on the understanding of Just Peace within the WCC,\u201d says Enns. \u201cThe Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace builds on this consensus, adding the spiritual dimension to the churches\u2019 engagement in peace with justice. As we walk together within the ecumenical family, we realize how important it is that Just Peace is rooted in our Christian confession of faith, in our prayers, in our spiritual lives. It is much more than a political strategy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe pilgrimage metaphor teaches us that unless Just Peace becomes an identity marker of our discipleship, our witness \u2013 as individuals, local communities, and a global Christian family \u2013 will hardly be credible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/jnelsonkraybill2018.jpg\" style=\"--smush-image-width: 1331px; --smush-image-aspect-ratio: 1331\/1763;width: 70px; height: 93px; float: left; margin: 5px 10px;\" width=\"1331\" class=\"smush-dimensions lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This project helps Christians of many traditions follow Jesus toward \u201cjust peace\u201d in the world.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014J. Nelson Kraybill, MWC president (2015\u20132021), lives in Indiana, USA.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This article first appeared in <a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/article\/courier\">Courier\/Correo\/Courrier October 2018.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mennonite pastor J\u00fcrg Br\u00e4ker stopped at Messenger Fountain [L\u00e4uferbrunnen] in his home city of Bern, Switzerland. He wet his hands in the flowing spout, and declared, \u201cThis water turned blood-red on the day Hans Haslibacher was beheaded in 1571.\u201d Today, Amish still sing from the Ausbund [hymnal] about Haslibacher, the last Anabaptist executed in Bern. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"network":[],"eventcategory":[],"class_list":["post-6794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Messengers of hope - 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\/stories\/messengers-hope\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Messengers of hope - Mennonite World Conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mennonite pastor J\u00fcrg Br\u00e4ker stopped at Messenger Fountain [L\u00e4uferbrunnen] in his home city of Bern, Switzerland. He wet his hands in the flowing spout, and declared, \u201cThis water turned blood-red on the day Hans Haslibacher was beheaded in 1571.\u201d Today, Amish still sing from the Ausbund [hymnal] about Haslibacher, the last Anabaptist executed in Bern. 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