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MWC update – December 2021
The relationships in Mennonite World Conference are always growing. From the member churches that make up MWC to the emerging networks linking church-supported agencies, MWC facilitates connections between Anabaptist organizations. Stephanie Setiawan joins MWC’s team as web communications assistant. A member of GKMI Sidoarjo, Indonesia, where she teaches Sunday school, she has experience in social media management…
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Peace amid the storms of life
“As followers of Jesus, we follow his example and work to bring peace in the midst of chaos.” Member churches around the world celebrated Peace Sunday 2021 using Mennonite World Conference’s Peace Sunday worship resource: “Finding hope and healing in crisis.” Amos Ganjboir and Rajendra Masih at Bethel Mennonite Church, Balodgahan, India, worked for three days to paint a backdrop and…
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Assembly tours in Indonesia 2022
How lifelong relationships become real Assembly tours have something for everyone! an adventurous bicycle ride across a rural rice field a deep dive into Indonesia’s Mennonite church history as told in John D. Roth’s new book A Cloud of Witnesses immersion into batik-making or local village life a visit to historical and religious landmarks to hear…
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Registration for MWC Assembly opens for online participation
Starting 24 December 2021, Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is accepting registration for online participants for Indonesia 2022 through its registration site: indonesia2022.mwc-cmm.org “Assembly will focus on accepting online registration first, and starting from the end of February 2022, people will be able to register for on-site participation,” says MWC chief international events officer Liesa Unger. …
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Ministry partner update: ICOMB – December 2021
Introducing the ICOMB Global Family Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Mennonitischen Brüdergemeinden Deutschland (AMBD) – Germany ICOMB Member Conference AMBD is one of the three Conferences in Germany, and it unites 13 congregations and 1568 members. Far from being affected by the pandemic, the Conference strengthened and grew during this time, reaching 1700 people today. AMBD also supports…
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Are our churches and leaders engaged with creation care?
“In Germany environmental care has been on the public agenda already for a very long time, making it a part of our church’s collective conscience for a while. We are trying different ways to make good on the belief that we are to be God’s stewards of creation.” —Dora Schmidt, Mennonitengemeinde Enkenbach Germany What is the…
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Giving and Receiving within the Body of Christ
Following a 5-year conversation with theologians from the Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions, the Faith and Life Committee invited the members of Mennonite World Conference to consider our practices of Anabaptist together at Renewal 2027 in two webinars entitled “Believe and Be Baptized: A Global Conversation on Baptism.” The second webinar examined the report: Baptism…
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“We don’t live by fear”
Mennonites stand in the breach through prayer “And I sought for anyone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land,” writes the prophet Ezekiel (22:30). On 19 November 2021, more than 110 members of Mennonite World Conference from Argentina to Zimbabwe rose to pray for the world. …
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Baptism in a barrel
It is very difficult to go to the northern part of Ethiopia after the war broke out. Despite the security concerns, when I heard that members of our church in western Tigray were in difficult conditions, I organized a team. We would go there to show our love for MKC members in the area. The…
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A pastoral letter for Anabaptists in British Columbia
Let us remember in prayer the people of British Columbia in western Canada. After a summer of heat waves and wildfires, a series of storms is battering the region, causing serious flooding and landslides. Thousands of homes and farms are affected in this region where many Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren church members live and work.…
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Assembly music: “A mountaintop experience”
Mark Wenger, singer, bass Franconia Mennonite Church, Telford, Pennsylvania, USA Assembly 16: PA 2015 “I was the old guy in the worship team. My favorite memory is the exuberance and joy of making music together with songs from all around the world. It was hard work in preparation, but terrific fun in the performance and leading.” “The global Mennonite…
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When the wicked prosper
Take refuge in the Lord This devotional is inspired by the question “What now?” as church leaders assess the changes that have come about due to COVID-19. Psalm 73 reflects the understandable frustration when the expectations of Psalm 1 do not pan out in lived experience. Here the psalmist sees the “prosperity (shalom) of the…
