The celebration of reconciliation between Mennonites and government officials concerned persecution of Anabaptists in the region \u2013 including 40 executions recorded in Martyrs Mirror \u2013 that took place from the 16th to 18th centuries.<\/p>\n
Bern canton state councillor and director of church affairs Christoph Neuhaus surprised Mennonites 11 November 2017 when he offered an apology and asked for forgiveness at an event in Bern\u2019s city hall organized by Evangelische Mennoniten-Gemeinde Bern and the local Reformed Church parish.<\/p>\n
\u201cI apologize tonight for all that has been done to the Anabaptists in our canton,\u201d said Neuhaus, who at the time represented the state side of the Reformed Church\u2019s close relationship to the canton government. \u201cNo one can undo what was once done. But we can see what has been.\u201d<\/p>\n
KMS\/CMS?general secretary J\u00fcrg Br\u00e4ker said the action followed the mayor of Zurich identifying past persecutions as wrong in 2004 and asking for forgiveness.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were delighted with the request for forgiveness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
SMC?discussed internally how to respond to a matter that predominantly affected people centuries earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are aware that we cannot really speak for those who suffered under persecution,\u201d Br\u00e4ker said. \u201cBut we know they followed Christ, and we can trust that they would have answered, \u2018Yes, we forgive.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSwiss Mennonites express hope that these steps to reconciliation might free up cooperative energies for peace and justice, which will bring benefit to our land and beyond its borders,\u201d says SMC\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n The statement draws parallels between past persecution of Anabaptist nonconformists and marginalized groups on the fringes of today\u2019s society. It calls on the state to respect and protect space where faith communities function peacefully.<\/p>\n \u201cWe confess that our search for forms of life and community that are oriented to Jesus\u2019 life has at times led to a smug knowing-better and unjustified claims to moral superiority,\u201d it states. \u201cThe striving for a life consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ has not always sought for peaceable relations with everyone living in the land.\u201d<\/p>\n While the act of forgiveness is an opportunity to remind the government such oppression should never happen again, it also requires a commitment by the Mennonite community to peaceful coexistence.<\/p>\n In addition to representatives signing the declaration and speeches from KMS\/CMS?officials and canton dignitaries such as Neuhaus, both parties picked up shovels to plant a tree together.<\/p>\n \u201cThe emphasis of the celebration was to look into the future and what we both can contribute to living together that is oriented toward just peace,\u201d he said. \u201cA tree has to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n By Tim Huber, Mennonite World Review, used with permission<\/em><\/p>\n Click here to read the Statement of the Swiss Mennonite Conference in English<\/a>, German<\/a>, French<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It took about 490 years for government officials in Bern, Switzerland, to ask for forgiveness for persecution of Anabaptists in the region. It took less than two to get a response from Swiss Mennonites. Delegates from every congregation in Konferenz der Mennoniten der Schweiz [Altt\u00e4ufer]\/Conf\u00e9rence Mennonite Suisse [Anabaptiste] (KMS\/CMS) gathered to offer forgiveness to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"network":[],"eventcategory":[],"class_list":["post-6821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Delegates](\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/photo_2_delegierte_unterzeichnen2.jpg\")
Cooperative energies<\/strong><\/p>\n