{"id":872,"date":"2015-07-25T05:52:06","date_gmt":"2015-07-25T05:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pa2015.mwc-cmm.org\/?p=872"},"modified":"2026-03-28T00:35:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T00:35:14","slug":"iron-sharpens-iron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/iron-sharpens-iron\/","title":{"rendered":"Iron sharpens iron"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Faith and Life commission engages in ecumenical dialogue and discovers own convictions<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Karla Braun<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is the Mennonite World Conference Faith and Life Commission spending time with Catholics? At the workshop \u201cBeyond the Shared Convictions: The Work of the MWC Faith and Life Commission,\u201d chair Alfred Neufeld explained the commission\u2019s mandate: to promote theological conversation, learn how members understand and describe Anabaptist faith and life, receive and give counsel and hold each other accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the ways the commission has engaged this work has been \u201creceptive ecumenism [with other denominations]: listening to each other\u2019s struggles,\u201d says Neufeld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to significant conversations with the Lutheran World Federation that culminated in a service of reconciliation in 2010, the commission has dialogued with the Seventh Day Adventist church and is now engaged in an ongoing \u201ctrialogue\u201d on baptism with the Lutheran World Federation and Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis work needs lots of sensitivity and wisdom,\u201d says Neufeld, asking for prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These conversations have challenged Anabaptist humility (\u201cThe Seventh Day Adventists kept talking about their problems, not their accomplishments\u201d) and called for an examination of grace (\u201cWe are people of the law; how do we become people of grace?\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neufeld urged Anabaptists to use the opportunity of approaching anniversaries (Reformation 2017 and Anabaptism 2025) to reclaim identity, by describing who we are and who we aspire to be, rather than by what we are not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every generation needs to renew what it means to be Anabaptist, said commission secretary John D. Roth. Neufeld suggested the 500th anniversary be framed as \u201cRenewal 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Faith and Life Commission also oversees several groups including the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online, and is exploring closer connections with the educators network and women theologians networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agenda items for the coming years include reporting the results of the Global Anabaptist Profile, a study around the MWC Shared Convictions, and doing theological work on understandings of \u201cjust peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commission members conducted 16 workshops during PA 2015, including ones on the Seventh Day Adventist dialogue and trilateral dialogues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karla Braun has been associate editor the <\/em>MB Herald(magazine of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches) and will become editor of <\/em>Courrier-Correo-Courierafter Assembly.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faith and Life commission engages in ecumenical dialogue and discovers own convictions By Karla Braun Why is the Mennonite World Conference Faith and Life Commission spending time with Catholics? At the workshop \u201cBeyond the Shared Convictions: The Work of the MWC Faith and Life Commission,\u201d chair Alfred Neufeld explained the commission\u2019s mandate: to promote theological […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":126194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1561,1712],"tags":[468,189,195,1795,218,1876,228,1798,253,1718,1783,268,1877,1878,1879,1568,1801],"network":[],"eventcategory":[299],"class_list":["post-872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","category-tomigrate","tag-alfred-neufeld","tag-assembly","tag-baptism","tag-ecumenical-dialogue","tag-faith-life-commission","tag-global-anabaptist-mennonite-encyclopedia-online","tag-global-anabaptist-profile","tag-john-d-roth","tag-lutheran-world-federation","tag-pa2015","tag-pa2015-workshops","tag-peace","tag-pontifical-council-for-promoting-christian-unity","tag-seventh-day-adventist","tag-shared-convictions","tag-tomigrate","tag-workshop","eventcategory-assembly"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIron sharpens iron - 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\/iron-sharpens-iron\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iron sharpens iron - Mennonite World Conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Faith and Life commission engages in ecumenical dialogue and discovers own convictions By Karla Braun Why is the Mennonite World Conference Faith and Life Commission spending time with Catholics? 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