Perspective — Switzerland
My local church in Switzerland is the fruit of a Mennonite church plant. When cars and tractors were still rare, Mennonites gathered in the rural hills all over the region, in farmhouses and meeting places that offered education, shelter and a simple chapel for communal worship.
After some years, these communities stepped down from the remote mountain tops where they had once received asylum and increasingly joined village life in the valleys. Their language changed too: Mennonites were known for their German schools and churches, but now everything had to be in French.
This move from a rural mindset to a more suburban way of life was an intentional choice of two Mennonite congregations who recognized the need for a paradigm shift. They went down from the mostly Mennonite-populated mountains to meet new neighbours, encounter other Christian denominations, and discover new perspectives. Sharing the burdens of one’s neighbour gained new depth when the neighbour was no longer a close relative, but perhaps a complete stranger.
The community widened, the perspectives broadened, but the Anabaptist identity remained. To illustrate this, let me share one story that encourages us today to carry one another’s burdens.
The community responds
A young mother in our town recently received the devastating news that she suffered from a serious heart disease. Her illness caused her energy levels to drop so low that she struggled to care for her household; even cooking became difficult. She decided to share this burden with a woman from our church – and the community responded.
In our church, a group of women and men provides a food delivery service for anyone in need. Whether or not they belong to our congregation, they can receive meals. Elderly widows, men who never learned to cook for themselves, families with a new baby, and people who are grieving a painful loss all seek help from this network of care.
This food delivery service is a small solidarity taskforce that helps lift heavy burdens from people’s shoulders. The young mother with the heart disease was deeply moved; she had never imagined that women she did not even know, from her own town, would cook for her every day, providing a meal – and even dessert – for her and her family.
My church continues to offer this food service to anyone in the community who is in need. It supports families after joyful events such as the birth of a child, as well as during difficult times when strength or finances are lacking to prepare meals. Women and some men prepare food for those in need and seek to remove at least a part of the weight from their neighbours’ shoulders.
This practice has deep roots in our tradition. In rural Mennonite communities, large families with many children often cooked and ate together, sharing life in practical ways. Helping one another through pain and trial, joy and happiness, has long been a common thread in the church – and it remains a living sign of our Anabaptist identity today that reaches the hand to the neighbour.
—Raphaël Burkhalter is a member of Konferenz der Mennoniten der Schweiz/Conférence mennonite Suisse. He is the Europe representative on the YABs Committee (2025–2028). He spoke this reflection at the Renewal 2026 event in the Philippines in March 2026 “Solidarity in the family of Christ: Sharing burdens, sharing hope.”
