Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • As I write these words, our world is embroiled in several struggles. First, we have been clutched by a global pandemic which has disrupted any sense of normalcy we may have assumed. Our second struggle is with overt expressions of deeply rooted racism that continues to kill and oppress black and brown brothers and sisters. Both of these – the pandemic and systemic racism – are not isolated struggles. They both highlight the inequality (racial and economic) that continues to cause suffering and pain.

    These struggles highlight the realization that God’s peaceable kingdom is not yet a reality here on earth. If, however, we pay attention to the cries of those who cannot breathe – due to COVID-19 or police brutality – we can learn to respond in solidarity with those who are in pain and/or oppressed.

    The biblical narrative tells us the story of a God who walks with those who are disheartened, disenfranchised and who suffer. It also invites those who believe in this God and who follow his Son Jesus Christ to see how all of humanity is interconnected: when one suffers, creation is not well; things are not as they should be. If we are interested in embodying God’s peace and justice in this world, what happens to one should also matter to others. If we seek to be a Peace Church, we must therefore recognize our interconnectedness and challenge injustice while accompany those who suffer.

    Recognizing our interconnectedness, however, means calling into question the myth of “the individual.” The notion of “the individual” suggests that one is “free” or “separate” from others. It assumes that one can be “independent” from others; pushing against the idea that others may determine or affect one’s actions. Thus, the battle that rages on when we seek to emphasize “the individual” is one that seeks to be free from others.

    One thing that COVID-19 has highlighted in the past few months, however, is how we are all intrinsically bound. And this is a reality that those who are oppressed and exploited could have already told us. Put simply, what we do affects others. What others do affects us. For better or for worse, we are inextricably bound. We only need to see how COVID-19 has spread to understand this reality.

    In South Africa, the notion of ubuntu provides a significant philosophical reminder. Ubuntu has become the short hand for the phrase umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu which means “a person is a person because of other people.”

    In South Africa, ubuntu provided an alternative logic to the history and experience of colonialism and apartheid. Apartheid, which literally manes “apart-hood,” was the rigid structure that was based on racial segregation. It emerged out of European colonization and formed a legal system that was based on and promoted white supremacy and white privilege while suppressing and oppressing those it deemed as “not-white.” Apartheid was a form of social engineering that promoted separation and fear of the “other,” thus justifying oppression and violence against those it deemed as “not-white.” 

    Throughout the struggle against apartheid (which officially came to an end in 1994) and into the early years of South Africa’s democracy, the concept of ubuntu provided motivation and vision. It highlighted how apartheid and its separation and exclusion attacked not only one’s dignity, but one’s humanity! Desmond Tutu, for example, regularly referenced the notion of ubuntu as he challenged the logic and separating practice of apartheid. “My humanity,” he would remind people, “is bound up, is inextricably bound, with yours; and yours with mine.”[1]

    It seems to me that this notion of ubuntu is a concept we might want to embrace at this time (if not from here on in!). It may help us to better understand Philippians 2:3-4:

    Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than [one]self. Let each of you look out not only for [your] own interests, but also for the interests of others.

    When one member suffers, all members suffer. 

    Embracing such a vision of interconnectedness, however, has consequences. What happens to someone else matters to us, and what happens to us matters to others. And this may affect not only who we are, but what we do! It offers, in other words, a social vision, not an individualistic one!

    Embodying such a vision, however, takes a posture of solidarity. It assumes that we are not walking on our own but with others. There are many joys in embracing such a posture. But, it also means that we share in the suffering: when one member suffers, all members suffer.

    Thus, if we want to be healthy, we must also work to ensure that others may be well. If we want a world where everyone is treated with respect and dignity – as human beings and as gifts of God – then we must ensure that the “least of these” (those who might not count in the eyes of the principalities and powers) are front and centre in the quest for dignity and humanity. At the most fundamental level, this is what it means to be in solidarity with others.

    To live in solidarity, however, means that we must understand the struggles others face. In other words, a posture of being in solidarity with others means that we must also be aware of and question our constructed social realities in order to better understand why or how others are suffering.

    Herein lies the significance of lament. To understand lament – someone’s cry, someone’s pain, someone’s time of anguish – is to recognize that things are not as they should be. And this animates us (or should animate us) to investigate why some are suffering and explore how we might confront the issues that cause such suffering. Lament offers an opportunity to shape our social vision; it challenges us to recognize what is not right, where harmony is not yet a reality and what needs to change so that everyone may experience God’s shalom.

    This creates an invitation to be the church –the “called out ones” – today. It offers an opportunity to embody the vocation of the church in solidarity with others: struggling to ensure that everyone has the medical care, food, economic and social security and the dignity they need.

    When we respond to the invitation to be the church, we can participate in a vision of hope: that God is with us, works through us and has not forsaken us. It also stirs us to action to embrace our particular vocation in and for the world and to witness to Christ’s way of peace as we participate in making God’s manifold wisdom known for the world.

    May God help us respond faithfully.

    Amen.

    —Andrew Suderman, secretary of the Peace Commission. He lives in the USA where he teaches at Eastern Mennonite University.

     

    This testimony is part of the Peace Sunday worship resource for 2020. Click here to see more.

    View on YouTube

     

     

    [1] Desmond Tutu, No Future without Forgiveness, 1st ed. (New York: Doubleday, 1999), 31.

  • “The Gospel of John says that our purpose is to know God and experience eternal life with God,” says young Anabaptist Lilia Aranguren from Bogota, Colombia. “As we walk with Jesus in relationship, his peace flows out of us into our relationships with others. It must be based in love.”

    Young people are trying to discern “God’s purpose and ours” as they set upon career paths. The Young AnaBaptists (YABs) Committee choose this theme to explore in their fifth annual fellowship week (14-21 June 2020).

    This year, the event included an online gathering attended by more than a dozen young adults from North America, Latin America and Asia.

    Participants introduced each other, sang along (muted) in their homes as a musician played on screen, then shared reflections on the fellowship week passage (2 Timothy 1:6-14) and theme.

    “God’s purpose is to share the good news of his love to everyone as we are gifted with a spirit of power and love,” says Akansha Milap from Chattisgarh, India. “We can preach the gospel anywhere…. Ministry is not bounded within the church, but everywhere we go and work.”

    Donadim Vasquez from Guatemala overcame obstacles of poverty to become a doctor. “Now I am in a position to serve in difficult times. Sometimes, I feel like Timothy – I don’t have enough wisdom or equipment. But from this verse, I take confidence in Christ: I serve without fear.”

    Each year, YABs produce a worship package of songs, prayers, testimonies and discussion questions for young adult groups to use individually or together during YABs Fellowship Week (3rd week in June) or at any time that is convenient.

    Click here to read and use the YABs Fellowship Week materials.

    If you participated in YABs Fellowship Week with your church, please send us pictures, testimonies, videos or artwork describing or inspired by your celebration.

    Click here to email your story.

    2020 YABs Fellowship Week resource

  • 23 July 1955–24 June 2020  

    Mennonite World Conference (MWC) lost Alfred Neufeld Friesen, a prolific author, theologian, historian and teacher who shaped Anabaptist theology globally. He died 24 June 2020 in Muenster, Germany, after treatment for liver cancer and kidney problems.  

    “Alfred Neufeld had a zest for life, friendship, and for our global church,” says MWC General Secretary César García. “Theologian, pastor, historian, teacher, photographer, music-lover, polyglot, father, grandfather, husband – these are only a few of the words that describe him.” 

    Alfred was born in Colonie Fernheim, Paraguay, on 23 July 1955 to Peter K. Neufeld and Margarete Friesen. He taught primary education in Filadelfia, Paraguay, and at the school for indigenous students at Yalve Sanga, Chaco, after graduating high school, then began his higher education in Fresno, California, USA, and Basel, Switzerland, until he obtained his PhD in theology of missions.  

    A pastor at heart, he served as youth pastor during his first sojourn in Switzerland, as adjunct pastor while in California, and as associate pastor of Iglesia HM del Barrio Clínicas in Asunción. From 1985-2009, he was a member of the pastoral team at Iglesia HM Concordia, Asunción.  

    Alfred served as rector of the Universidad Evangélica del Paraguay since 2005, where he began as professor in 1995, first at its related college CEMTA, then as lecturer from 1998-2009. Additionally, he served as director of Instituto Bíblico Asunción (1995-2003), board chair of the radio station OBEDIRA (1998-) 

    After serving on the General Council of MWC, he became chair of Mennonite World Conference Faith and Life Commission from 2008-2018. He represented MWC in several ecumenical dialogues, and played a major role in bringing together Mennonite churches in Paraguay to plan the MWC Assembly in 2009. He served as co-chair of the Trilateral Dialogue commission on baptism with representatives from MWC, Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He continued to serve as chair of the MWC Renewal 2027 committee.  

    He also served the Mennonite Brethren in Paraguay on national and international boards and was a member of the International Council of the World Evangelical Alliance 

    Alfred recently wrote Becoming a Global Communion, a history of MWC. He was also the author of “What We Believe together,” a book explaining MWC’s Shared Convictions, which has been translated into more than half a dozen languages. He has scores of published articles and has been a sought-after public speaker in English, Spanish and German.  

    A whirlwind force of academic prowess, Alfred also exuded personal warmth. He could often be found holding someone’s baby, and he could comfortably speak with anyone no matter one’s education or background.  

    He is survived by his wife Wilma Elfriede Kaethler (m. 10 January 1981) and their four adult children. Despite hospital precautions and flight restrictions, Wilma and two of their children were able to be by his side in his last days. 

    —Mennonite World Conference release

    Comments from MWC leaders

    “Alfred’s boundless love for family, friendship, faith and life itself reached across the Anabaptist world and far beyond.  With humility and keen wit, he had far-seeing vision for the church, communication ability, and theological understanding.” Nelson Kraybill, president

    “Alfred was an extraordinary leader. With boundless energy, he joined his deep love of Scripture, hymns, theology, and church history, with an equally deep love for the church and the world. The global Anabaptist-Mennonite church has lost a great statesman.”  John D. Roth, Faith and Life Commission secretary 

    “Alfred was a “force of Spirit”, one of God’s generous gifts to us all in the global church. I give thanks for this great friend, and will miss him dearly.” Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld, Faith and Life Commission chair 

    “Alfred’s commitment to truth, to Mennonite identity—especially Mennonite Brethren identity—and to receiving the gifts of all other churches made it possible for him to contribute to and shape the historic trilateral dialogue in ways that will prove beneficial to the three communions as well as to the wider global church.” Larry Miller, member of MWC Trilateral Dialogue delegation 

    “As the chair of Faith and Life commission he took care of individual differences in the members’ academic levels and set conducive atmosphere for fruitful discussions. During trilateral dialogue sessions, he exhibited exemplary prowess in putting historical complex theological debates in context so that harmony, unity and understanding prevailed among the members.

    “I have known Alfred to be a very able leader who was humble, brilliant, relational, resourceful, prolific writer and a faithful follower of Christ Jesus. He has rested with the Lord at a time when he was to be a reservoir of knowledge and wisdom not only to the Anabaptist community but also to global community of faith. As Anabaptist faith community, we live to cherish the functions and life of Alfred.” Rebecca Osiro, MWC vice president

    From the time I knew him in MWC meetings, he always was a towering figure, who spoke with passion whenever he delivered something. I admired the energy and knowledge of MWC convictions and the global church that flowed from him. We shall miss his presence with MWC.

    Barbara C Nkala
    MWC Regional Representative for Southern Africa

    Alfred Neufeld Friesen remembered with sorrow and gratitude

    Faith and Life Commission

    June 26, 2020

    As the Faith and Life Commission of the Mennonite World Conference we wish to express our deep sorrow
    at the passing of our beloved former chair and leader, Alfred Neufeld Friesen. We extend our sincerest condolences to Wilma and her children, offering our prayers for comfort and healing in this time of grief.

    Alfred, and indeed the whole family, served the global MWC family for many years. He was the first chair of the Faith and Life Commission, leading the commission together with John Roth, FLC secretary, from the time of its formation in 2009 through 2018. He also represented MWC in several ecumenical dialogues, most recently as the Mennonite co-chair of the Trilateral Dialogue on Baptism between Mennonites, Catholics, and Lutherans. And, at the time of his passing, he served as chair of MWC’s Renewal 2027.

    Alfred’s boundless curiosity, scholarly enthusiasm, and passionate love for the church, found expression in his writing. He wrote a commentary on the MWC “Shared Convictions” titled What We Believe Together: Exploring the “Shared Convictions” of Anabaptist-Related Churches (2nd edition; Good Books, 2015). In 2018 Alfred published Becoming a Global Communion: Theological Developments in Mennonite World Conference from 1925 to 1975 (Asuncion, Paraguay: Universidad Evangélica del Paraguay, 2018). For many of us his essay describing the four MWC commissions as “four chambers of the heart” was a reminder of the importance of each of our efforts for the well-being of the body of the MWC.

    But it also served as a gentle reminder of the heart Alfred had for the global Anabaptist koinonia (“A heart with four chambers: A theological foundation for the work of MWC’s four commissions,” https://mwc-cmm.org/resourc… .)

    Alfred had a very big heart indeed. No one could miss being challenged, impacted, and inspired by his loving energy for the church and its God-given task. We will miss it now.

    We give God thanks for the great gift we were given in Alfred. And we pray God’s restoring comfort to Wilma and the children in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

    ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you
    in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ (Matthew 25:23)

    Tewodros Beyene
    Rebeca Gonzáles Torres
    Antonio González
    Anne-Cathy Graber
    Nzuzi Mukawa
    Lydia Christina Adi
    John Roth (secretary)
    Thomas Yoder Neufeld (chair)

  • A number of years have passed since the last GYS encounter in 2015. Without question it was a unique experience that radically affected how I see the world.

    GYS provides one with the opportunity to really open our eyes to the fact that behind all those countries that appear on the map there are brothers and sisters in faith living in diverse social, economic and political contexts. These contexts are the backdrop for specific challenges in each region to which God is responding in unique ways.

    GYS has challenged me as a leader in my country to transmit what it really means to be an Anabaptist youth, and how to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our communities by identifying the needs around us rather than looking the other way. We are challenged to be part of the transformation by carrying out projects that contribute to a solution.

    Church volunteers offer to pray for people
    waiting at traffic lights. If desired, they leave an
    informational booklet about
    church and take contact information.

    My prayer life has also been affected by the urgency of the cries of our brothers and sisters around the world. With more fervour than ever, we create spaces in our local churches where we pray for the nations. God has set my heart alight with a passion for the people who have not yet been reached and also for mission in general.

    At the moment, I am actively involved in my local church as a leader to the youth and adolescents. I also serve in outreach to native peoples in my country, and I have a desire to enter the international mission field.

    GYS has been a bridge that has connected me to other people who have been a great blessing in my life. It has also connected me to projects and experiences that have enriched my life and my faith community.

    Thanks to what I learned from being a GYS delegate, I want to motivate churches to encourage and support youth that wish to participate in YABs activities. They really are one of a kind spaces that can mark our lives, enabling us to connect with the richness and diversity present in our global family.

    In this way, we complement one another and become the body of Christ. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:12: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”

    A ministry team working with JAHA,
    led by Dahiana Cornet, participates in a church service
    with people from the Aché Indigenous group

    I also want to leave the youth with a special message: do not grow weary.

    Let us remain united and strong in the midst of this pandemic that we are forced to live through.

    Let’s get involved and work with our communities to respond to today’s challenges to “be the church” now, and also think anew about how we will do this in the future.

    The Young AnaBaptists (YABs) Committee connects with young Anabaptists (ages 18–30) through Bible discussion, worship, prayer and the sharing of stories – and once every six years through the Global Youth Summit (GYS).

    Click here to learn more about GYS.

    The 5th annual YABs Fellowship Week is 14–21 June 2020. During this week, youth and young adult groups from all over the world encourage each other and celebrate as one young adult Anabaptist community. We do this together by sharing prayer requests and praise with each other, as well as discussing Scripture based on our theme: “Purpose: God’s and ours” (2 Timothy 1:6–14).

    Click here to download the worship resource package.

    How did you celebrate YABs Fellowship Week? Click here to submit your story and photos.

    —Karina Bogarin is a member of Iglesia Maranata de los Hermanos Menonitas. She was a delegate for Convencion Evangelica de Iglesias Paraguayas Hermanos Menonitas at the Global Youth Summit in Pennsylvania in 2015.