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The road to peace after the plebiscite in Colombia
A plebiscite was held in Colombia on 2 October 2016, for the citizens to approve or reject the agreements reached between the government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejercito del Pueblo (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army, FARC) after four years of negotiations. A variety of groups participated in this…
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YABs Fellowship Week in Bogot· and around the world
Bogotá, Colombia – In June 2016, the dream of worshipping together as the global family became a reality, when local young people from three denominations celebrated the inaugural YABs Fellowship Week with a joint worship service in Bogotá. “It was another space to feel the connection between us, as young Anabaptists in the world, that…
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Ministry partner update: ICOMB – February 2017
The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding. Rudi Plett began working for ICOMB (half time) on January 10.…
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My spiritual journey
Testimony of the first woman to be ordained to full time-ministry in Brethren in Christ churches in Southern Africa My name is Jessie Francis Kamoto. I was born on 20 November 1975 in a Christian family, members of Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP). I got married in 1993 to Reverend Francis Kamoto. God…
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Canadian renovation builds church in Latin America
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – When Toronto United Mennonite Church (TUMC) decided it was time to renovate and expand their building, the congregation wanted the project to reach beyond their usual sphere of influence. Located in Canada’s largest, multicultural city, TUMC has some 200 people from five continents speaking 10 mother tongues, with a particularly strong…
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Ministry partner update: ICOMB – January 2017
The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding. I travelled by car in a snow storm to visit pastors…
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YAMEN service builds faith
Bogotá, Colombia – Taking a risk and trusting in God are sure ways to grow in faith. For Marisela Dyck and Xavier Chen, serving with the Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN) program in 2015-2016 was a year of lessons in relying on God. “During my service I learned that looking for God every day…
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We cry – together – for God’s mercy
World Fellowship Sunday celebrates koinonia amid suffering Bogotá, Colombia – “We celebrate World Fellowship Sunday because it is a way to remember the origin of our church: clearly, first comes the teachings of Jesus, but we also remember that 500 years ago some brave women and men, motivated by the real teachings of Jesus, decided…
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A joyful noise: international music glorifies God
2nd annual Lancaster international hymn sing Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – Anabaptist Christians in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA, had a taste of Revelation 7:9 worship when they hosted Mennonite World Conference’s Assembly 16 in July 2015. A local committee is building on that experience with an annual sing-along in the spirit of that international gathering. This…
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The next 500 years of Anabaptism
Bogotá, Colombia – Tremendous change rocked the Western church 500 years ago as successive groups discovered new things about God through Scripture and separated from the Roman Catholic church. Renewal 2027 is a framework for a 10-year series of events within the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) global family, commemorating Anabaptism’s role in that period of…
