Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday 2026
Solidarity on Lesbos
“And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.”—1 Corinthians 13:13)
What do these three things look like when we put them into practice? They look like loyalty, anticipation and solidarity. And the greatest of these is solidarity.
And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.
Faith is sometimes understood as a thing you can simply believe. But what Paul means by faith is a relationship that goes much deeper. It means that people trust each other and remain loyal. It is a relation of trust between people, or between people and God.
Faith really means loyalty.
Hope is directed to something we don’t possess, but which we try to grasp. Sadly, some people lose it, because they don’t know what to hope for. Or they are disappointed because the thing they hope for seems to evade their grasp.
But anticipation is hope that has a strategy.
We have a plan for where we can go with our hope. It’s not grasping at straws, but reaching towards a ready-made plan whose fulfillment we are anticipating.
And love?
Love outlasts everything else. When we dream our most outrageous dreams – the healing of all relationships, the renewal of trust in society, the presence of God among us in joy – when all these dreams have been accomplished, we will no longer need faith/trust or hope/anticipation. But love will endure.
Even in a perfect society, if ever there were one, we would still need love.
And the practical side of love is solidarity.
Standing together with those who are both near and far from us. Yes, even those who believe differently, who act and look and sound and eat differently, will receive our solidarity. And we receive theirs, because love also means mutual aid.
The greatest of these is solidarity.
On the Greek island of Lesbos German and Dutch Mennonites have developed a deep solidarity with migrants and Greeks who are searching for a better world. A world that overcomes barriers and walls. Where people care for each other and respect each other’s dignity. In cooperation with Community Peacemaker Teams, the German Mennonite Peace Committee (DMFK) has been sending volunteers and delegations to Lesbos for more than 10 years now. We now help to fund a team of four Greek “solidarians”.
The work has gotten harder. Although it is no longer in the news, the work of these solidarians is so important. Migrants who were forced to steer a boat arrive in Europe with the label “human smuggler” and are regularly given prison sentences of more than 100 years. Our team visits them, connects them to their families, provides lawyers, organizes demonstrations, documents abuses. Our team shows love and solidarity.
—J. Jakob Fehr is a member of the Deutsches Mennonitisches Friedenskomitee (DMFK), the German Mennonite Peace Committee.
Solidarity in local community
In June 2023, I was diagnosed with an aneurysm near my spleen. I had surgery, but six months later, I woke up with almost unbearable abdominal pain. Astrid (my wife) and I are very grateful to live in a house where solidarity is a reality.
Our neighbors were there.
Benny, a former firefighter, slapped me to keep me from falling into a coma.
Josiane helped Astrid call the urgency.
I spent two and a half days between life and death as internal bleeding and infections spread throughout my abdomen.
The situation was heard by friends, members of our church, those in our church body, and beyond. A chain of prayer and solidarity was formed without my even knowing it!
Astrid, for her part, was well aware of the seriousness of the situation. She testifies: “What strength and power these prayers had! They enabled our family to endure this ordeal and keep hope alive. Every word, every breath, every plea was heard by our almighty Lord, and by God’s grace, God responded positively. Our prayer is that this ordeal will not end with one name, Max, but that the almighty power of the Lord will be revealed.”
Looking back, I can say how precious it is to have a community and friends who lovingly committed themselves to my recovery. The surgeons call it a miracle, and we agree! Josiane left Astrid with the words of Lamentations 3:22-23: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
God’s solidarity is the greatest.
—Max Wiedmer, Église Mennonite d’Altkirch, France