{"id":7976,"date":"2022-07-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/assembly-small-but-full-of-joy\/"},"modified":"2025-06-06T10:41:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T10:41:31","slug":"assembly-small-full-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/assembly-small-full-joy\/","title":{"rendered":"Assembly small but full of joy"},"content":{"rendered":"
With its national motto of \u201cunity in diversity,\u201d Indonesia proved a fitting host for the 17th Assembly of Mennonite World Conference \u2013 downsized by COVID-19 restrictions but full of joy, beauty and fellowship. <\/p>\n
In an outdoor venue at a Mennonite Bible college (JKI) on a mountaintop in the city of Salatiga on the island of Java, Anabaptists from 44 countries gathered 5\u201310 July 2022 for the global church reunion that\u2019s held every six years \u2014 or seven, in this case, after a postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic. <\/p>\n
A Christian celebration in a nation that is 87 percent Muslim, the event concluded with Sunday morning worship at the 12 000-seat Holy Stadium \u2013 home of JKI Injil Kerajaan, a Mennonite congregation that is one of Indonesia\u2019s largest churches \u2013 in nearby Semarang. <\/p>\n
The pandemic long ago dashed hopes to fill the Anabaptist megachurch. MWC capped attendance at 1 000 because \u201cwe didn\u2019t see how we could follow all the government\u2019s rules that came with over 1 000,\u201d said Liesa Unger, MWC chief international events officer. \u201cOur biggest fear was not COVID itself but being shut down by the government.\u201d <\/p>\n
On-site registration was 1 144 \u2014 594 for the entire week and 550 for a day. Sixty-four came from the United States and 31 from Canada. At least 789 registered to watch the livestream individually or in groups around the world. <\/p>\n
The lack of MWC\u2019s usual throng \u2013 the average daily attendance of 700 was about 10 percent of a typical Assembly \u2013 did not diminish the significance of getting a taste of what God is doing through about 107,000 Anabaptist Christians (from three synods: GKMI, GITJ and JKI)* in a Muslim-dominant and diversity-affirming nation. <\/p>\n
Religious harmony <\/strong><\/h4>\nGKMI Winong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Didik Hartono, pastor of the GKMI congregation in Winong Village, told how his church and a neighbouring mosque live out Indonesia\u2019s vision of religious harmony. <\/p>\n
The meeting places of the two faiths \u201cseem to be as one,\u201d he said, because a canopy extends across the street, connecting them. <\/p>\n
A video featured church and mosque members describing their friendship and cooperation as an example of \u201cthe ideals of Indonesia.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cMay we all keep on building the brotherhood values and live in peace with everyone and also with ones who are not the same religion as us,\u201d Hartono said. <\/p>\n
In one evening service, Sufi Muslim dervishes, or semazens, demonstrated the spiritual ritual of whirling. Wearing floor-length white frocks, long-sleeved white jackets and black felt hats, five men from Jepara\u2019s Sufi Islamic community spun in circles, with arms raised, while women from the church sang and a band played. Sufism is a mystical form of Islam. Whirling is a meditative practice to draw closer to God. <\/p>\n
The Sufi religious dance was livestreamed from the Jepara GITJ congregation. Because the congregation works closely with the local Sufi community, the pastor wanted to invite Sufi participation, and MWC officials agreed, Unger said. <\/p>\n
The fact that the Sufi dancers were not present in Salatiga reflected the hybrid character of the assembly. Even on site, conference-goers became livestream watchers. To involve four congregations in Central Java that had expected to host visitors, MWC arranged for them to host parts of four evening services. Projected on a screen behind the stage, speakers and musicians at the remote sites reached local audiences and the main conference crowd. <\/p>\n
Disappointments <\/strong><\/h4>\n
Some conference-goers got COVID-19 and had to miss part of the Assembly. Everyone took a rapid test upon arrival. About 5 percent tested positive, but no one got seriously ill, Unger said. Everyone was asked to wear a mask at all times. <\/p>\n
C\u00e9sar Garc\u00eda, MWC general secretary, tested positive and had to quarantine for part of the week. Substitutes read the messages of two speakers, Salom\u00e9 Haldemann of France and Willi Hugo Per\u00e8z of Guatemala. <\/p>\n
After more than two years of uncertainty and changing plans, organizers were relieved to pull the event off. <\/p>\n
At times, the Assembly itself seemed in doubt, said Paulus Widjaja, who chairs MWC\u2019s national advisory committee in Indonesia. He\u2019s grateful it wasn\u2019t cancelled, but downsizing was a disappointment. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were planning to have about 10 000 people,\u201d Widjaja said. \u201cWe had hoped the president of Indonesia might come to the opening ceremony. We believed that if we invited him, he would come. Then corona came, and everything \u2013 poof!\u201d <\/p>\n
Unger said: \u201cI\u2019m happy that we moved it by a year, because last year was the worst COVID time. India was in the media, but Indonesia was suffering even more.\u201d <\/p>\n
On Assembly\u2019s four full days, conference-goers worshipped both morning and evening, with workshops and tours in the afternoon. An international ensemble led 45 minutes of singing to start the morning service and half an hour to open the evening meeting. <\/p>\n
Singers from around the world contributed diverse styles. On opening night, the worship team from the 18 000-member Jakarta Praise Community Church \u2013 one of several JKI congregations that are among the largest churches in all of Indonesia \u2013 brought high energy and rock-concert volume. <\/p>\n
Worshipers heard two featured speakers each morning and one each evening, plus other stories and testimonies, building on the assembly theme, \u201cFollowing Jesus Together Across Barriers.\u201d <\/p>\n
Each of the four full days focused on a different continent, and speakers addressed different aspects of what Anabaptists can do together: Europe, learning; Asia, living; Latin America, caring; Africa, celebrating. North America was featured in the opening service. <\/p>\n
Peace under consideration <\/strong><\/h4>\n
Many speakers offered personal views of events and situations in their countries and described how Anabaptists are seeking to bring peace and ease suffering. <\/p>\n
Jeremiah Choi, a pastor in Hong Kong, told of demonstrations and violence in recent years in response to the Chinese government\u2019s crackdown on Hong Kong\u2019s freedom. <\/p>\n
Many people are leaving Hong Kong for the United Kingdom, including 10 percent of his congregation, Agape Mennonite Church, \u201cto seek a place of freedom and hope,\u201d Choi said. But he has vowed to stay, to build the church and work for peace. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are facing an unpredictable tomorrow,\u201d Choi said, \u201clook up to God, and look to your calling.\u201d <\/p>\n
Tigist Tesfaye Gelagle, a leader from Ethiopia, addressed the theme of celebration by asking how it was possible to celebrate amid the sins of war, hunger, racism, oppression of women and \u201cwhen I am treated like a criminal at immigration in most countries. When I am treated as a terrorist. When I am at the mercy of my superiors. How can I enjoy and dance and worship?\u201d <\/p>\n
Celebration is possible, she said, when we treat each other as significant. <\/p>\n
\u201cUnless we are significant to each other, there is no celebration of togetherness,\u201d she said. \u201cSeeing significance in others crosses barriers. I can forget my pain if I am significant to you.\u201d <\/p>\n
Salom\u00e9 Haldemann of France suggested Europeans needed to be trained in peacemaking by those in the global church with experience resisting war. \u201cSuddenly our theology and beliefs feel obsolete. A storm took over Europe, and our convictions collapsed.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe affirmed nonviolence when our context was peaceful, but in the face of war we see nonviolent resistance as na\u00efve and unrealistic,\u201d said Salom\u00e9 Haldemann, a graduate of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Anne Hansen of Germany read her address. <\/p>\n
Citing the tradition of calls to action at MWC Assemblies, she noted that in 1967 in Amsterdam, USA civil rights leader Vincent Harding called on Mennonites to \u201ccome alongside Black sisters and brothers in the freedom struggle.\u201d <\/p>\n
In 1984 in Strasbourg, USA writer and professor Ron Sider encouraged starting a nonviolent peace force, which sparked the creation of Community Peacemaker Teams. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it look like to practice love of the enemy on a collective level in our time and place?\u201d Salom\u00e9 Haldemann said. <\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe Mennonites could prepare for war resistance with an anti-military service, like a nonviolent resistance boot camp. It might be time for us to create a widespread training for church people to learn and practice the basics of civil resistance.\u201d <\/p>\nGamelan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
YAB (Young AnaBaptist) Committee member Ebenezer Mondez of the Philippines cited persecution in India and political violence in Myanmar as places where Christians are suffering but getting less attention than Ukraine. <\/p>\n
After praising Mennonites in Ukraine who are helping their neighbours through the hardships caused by Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 and commending those who have sent aid to Ukraine \u2013 he said: \u201cI challenge us to do the same for our brothers and sisters in India and Myanmar. Let us learn more about their situation and how we can be the hands and feet of Christ in times of need.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIn times of trouble, we are the extension of God\u2019s hand,\u201d Ebenezer Mondez said. \u201cThe miracles of God come through us. This is what living together in times of crisis looks like. We forget about our differences and disagreements, and we find our common goal for peace. Truly, crisis and hardship bring out the best in us.\u201d <\/p>\n
Desalegn Abebe, president of the Meserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia \u2013 whose 370 000 members make it the world\u2019s largest Anabaptist denomination \u2013 invited everyone to the next assembly, in Ethiopia in 2028. <\/p>\n
At the closing worship service on Sunday morning at Holy Stadium, more than 1 000 attended, sitting in every other seat for social distancing. H. Ganjar Pranowo, governor of Central Java, a region of 36 million people, greeted the crowd with references to peacemaking and Anabaptist history. <\/p>\n
He said Indonesia\u2019s president, Joko Widodo, was seeking to mediate between Russia and Ukraine to stop the war. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen there is bloodshed between countries, it is our duty to seek peace between them,\u201d he said. \u201cWhatever the reason for war, it can never be justified.\u201d <\/p>\n
H. Ganjar Pranowo cited a story that many Anabaptists would recognize as the Martyrs Mirror account of 16th-century martyr Dirk Willems. He spoke in Indonesian, with the English translation projected on a screen. <\/p>\n
He said he would not need to tell others to \u201cimitate the Mennonites in practicing and spreading peacefulness\u201d \u2013 as Willems did \u2013 because the principles of peace and truth are \u201cembedded in every human soul.\u201d <\/p>\n
In the week\u2019s final message, Nindyo Sasongko, an Indonesian GKMI pastor who teaches at Fordham University and lives in New York City, USA, wrapped up the theme of crossing barriers by linking it to the biblical story of Ruth, a Moabite woman who vowed to follow her Israelite mother-in-law wherever she went. <\/p>\nHenk Stenvers and H. Ganjar Pranowo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
An even stronger communion <\/strong><\/h4>\n
In her loyalty to Naomi, Ruth showed profound courage, breaking boundaries of nationality and religion, Sasongko said. When we follow Jesus across barriers, he said, we also follow the example of Ruth. <\/p>\n
\u201cReconciliation cannot be achieved when there is no commitment to cross boundaries,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The presidency of MWC passed from J. Nelson Kraybill of the United States to Henk Stenvers of the Netherlands. A medical doctor, Stenvers has served on the MWC Deacons Commission for 10 years. <\/p>\n
At the closing ceremony, Henk Stenvers, the new MWC president, looked toward the future. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow at the end of this great gathering, we look ahead with energy and hope,\u201d he said. \u201cIn 2025, we hope to commemorate the birth of Anabaptism in Zurich and, God willing, in six years another assembly in Ethiopia. We all will work hard to make Mennonite World Conference an even stronger communion of faithful followers of Christ.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2014written by Paul Schrag, editor of Anabaptist World, a USA-based magazine. Reprinted with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n
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