Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – “PA 2015 will be green,” says Howard Good, National Coordinator of the Mennonite World Conference Assembly, to be held July 21-26 at the massive Farm Show Complex (FSC) in Harrisburg. Good had just received word that expenses for the green endeavour will fit the projected budget for the global event.

    Owned by the state of Pennsylvania, and supervised by the state’s Department of Agriculture, “the Complex and its catering service have been remarkably flexible and open to our ideas and requests,” commented Good.

    “Any time someone comes to the table with ideas about how we can be more sustainable as a department, and as state government, I’m right there,” said Hannah Smith-Brubaker, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and the official directly responsible for the site.

    “I see stewardship as part of the Mennonite commitment, and I’m thrilled that that can play out at the Farm Show Complex. My goal is to be able to apply what we’ve witnessed from the PA 2015 planners to the Annual Farm Show which attracts 500,000 attendees each January, as well as other events we hold here year-round.”

    Good and his team have set down green baselines for PA 2015. No plastic bottles will be sold at the event. Instead, each PA 2015 registrant will receive an aluminum water bottle. Twenty water stations will be set up for refilling within the buildings, which cover 24 acres under roof. Volunteers will handle the restocking. Shuttle buses will be provided to cut down on car traffic to and from hotels and the nearby Mennonite communities. All hotels contracted for the event have been asked to supply recycling bins either in their guest rooms or their lobbies.

    The biggest endeavor is the capturing of all food waste and turning it into compost. The Farm Show buildings use solar collectors, solar panels, water reclamation tanks, vending misers, and low-flow water fixtures, among other energy-saving projects. But the Complex has not focused on capturing food waste, until now.

    Three major players have been engaged to handle the waste related to feeding more than 6,500 attendees twice daily.

    The Environmental Recovery Corporation will bring two empty 30-yard containers to the Complex to collect food waste. Then they’ll show up each night to haul away the filled containers to Oregon Dairy Organics, a composting facility just north of Lancaster.

    At Oregon Dairy Organics, both the pre-consumer food waste (trimmings from food prepping) and post-consumer waste (including compostable tableware) will enter a three-month decomposing process. “It’s all natural,” explains Derrin Ranck, composting site manager, “but it’s sped up.

    “The material brought from PA 2105 will be mixed with cow and horse manure to properly balance the nitrogen and carbon elements in the compost so it isn’t harmful to the ground when it’s put to use. Then it will be periodically lifted into windrows by a composting machine to hasten the process and to make sure the materials are decomposing evenly.” At the end of the three months, the compost will be mixed into potting soil and topsoil, and it will be used in landscaping and erosion control.

    Good calculates that using compostable food service will add several dollars per person per day in costs. “Matt Gebel worked with us to design menus that allowed us to stay within our budget while remaining true to our convictions.”

    “We put out a lot of garbage,” says Gebel. “The process of separating food waste is going to be a challenge, but it’s one we’re ready for. PA 2015 is offering us volunteer staff, and those people will make the difference since we need extra hands to carry this out. But this is not an inconvenience!”

    Gebel expresses gratitude for PA 2015 on another point. “By having this event during our usual summer downtime, our staff will be able to work rather than going on unemployment during these weeks.”

    Sharon Altland, Executive Director of the FSC remarked, “This is a learning experience for us. Yes, it means increased costs, but we want to phase these practices into our future shows here.”

    “It’s important to me that we in the Department of Agriculture are as careful as we ask our farmers and consumers to be,” reflected Smith-Brubaker.

    “All of this fits our Anabaptist value of respecting God’s earth,” says Good. We’re called to be responsible about how much we send to landfills. These choices fit Mennonite World Conference’s convictions, too.”

    Article by Phyllis Pellman Good, writer and editor for Mennonite World Conference.

    Additional photos – high resolution for publication – by Merle Good

    (From left) CJ Filak of Environmental Recovery Corporation of PA; Howard Good, National Coordinator of PA 2015; Derrin Ranck of Oregon Dairy Organics; and Angela Dietzel, MWC liaison to food services at the Farm Show Complex, stand next to one of six composting buildings at Oregon Dairy Organics where PA 2015 food waste will be composted. Click here for photo.

    At Oregon Dairy Organics, food waste is mixed with cow and horse manure in order to balance the composition of the eventual compost. Click here for photo.

    Derrin Ranck, standing at Oregon Dairy Organics in front of the TURN-TEC machine, invented by his father, Merle Ranck, to aerate composting material. Click here for photo.

    (From left) Members of the Green Team for PA 2015 in the Rotunda of the Farm Show Complex (FSC): Matt Gebel, General Manager of Centerplate, the food service supplier at the FSC; Sharon Altland, Executive Director of the FSC, Hannah Smith-Brubaker, PA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture; and Howard Good, National Coordinator of PA 2015. Click here for photo.

  • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – At a dinner event immediately following the 21-26 July 2015 Assembly, Mennonite World Conference general secretary César García expressed appreciation to a number of staff members who are ending their work involvement with MWC.

    Merle and Phyllis Good were recognized for their service as communication consultants and fundraisers. Over the past 31 years – since the 1984 Strasbourg Assembly – they volunteered in a number of areas: writing articles, taking photos, editing Courier, developing the Anabaptist Shelf, publishing and promoting the Global History series, helping with social media and marketing, raising funds for both the core and Assembly budgets and advising on overall strategy. During some of those years, Phyllis also served on the General Council and the Executive Committee.

    Eleanor Miller was recognized for 25 years of service. She served as a volunteer in the MWC Strasbourg office from 1990-1997, assisting in the planning of Executive Committee and General Council meetings and also the 1997 Assembly in India. From 1997-2015 she served as administrative assistant and during this time – until 2014 – she was also a member of the communication team. In addition, from 2003 to 2015 she was responsible for collecting all national church information and statistics for the MWC global census of Anabaptist-related churches.

    Tim Lind was recognized for several key roles with MWC. From 1997 to around 2003 he and Pakisa Tshimika worked on a Global Gift Sharing project and co-authored Sharing Gifts in the Global Family of Faith (Good Books, 2003). After the 2003 Assembly in Zimbabwe and until 2014, Lind served as MWC’s Church to Church Relations Coordinator. In the months leading up to the 2015 Assembly, he provided assistance to individuals from the Democratic Republic of Congo in dealing with visa issues.

    Other departing staff recognized at the dinner event were Robert J Suderman, who served as Peace Commission secretary for the past six years, Devin Manzullo-Thomas, who served as editor of Courier/Correo/Courrier since January 2013, and Ron Rempel, who served as chief communications officer since January 2012.

    Also recognized were two individuals who completed a six year term as commission chairs: Richard Showalter of the Mission Commission and Paulus Widjaja of the Peace Commission.

    At the dinner event, Liesa Unger, chief international events officer, Howard Good, national coordinator for the 2015 Assembly, and Lynn Roth, North America Representative also took the opportunity to thank the many paid and volunteer staff who helped with Assembly planning.

    MWC release 

    Photos: Phyllis Good, Merle Good, Eleanor Miller, Tim Lind, Robert J Suderman, Devin Manzullo-Thomas, Ron Rempel, Richard Showalter, and Paulus Widjaja

     

  • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA  – Applying for a visa to enter the U.S. is serious business for many internationals hoping to attend PA 2015, the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly to be held here July 21-26.

    A Visa Task Force – with two members on the ground in Africa, one who moves between Africa and North America, four in Asia, and two in Latin America – assists visa applicants in completing their paperwork and prepping for their embassy interviews.

    Judy Zimmerman Herr and Bob Herr, who lead the group, are based in the U.S. They organize letters of invitation from MWC, which applicants can use as part of their interview process when applying for a visa, and they maintain a link to the office of Customs and Border Protection, assisting with good communication for people who will be arriving at U.S. borders.

    The U.S. requires visas from 44 countries where members of MWC churches live. The investment for individual visa applicants is substantial – $160 USD in most places. Travel costs to consulates or embassies are on top of that.

    A majority of the applicants are obtaining visas. For example, the word from Latin America is that many are getting visas, including all demographics. In general, throughout the world, those who have traveled outside their countries before are not finding it difficult to receive visas.

    However, Task Force members observe some patterns in visa denials – those who do not own land, who do not have a career or steady work, who do not have a spouse and children in the country issuing their passports, or who have never traveled outside their country, are more likely to be turned down. But there are frequent surprises, as the following stories illustrate.

    • “Mrs. A. had attended the last MWC Assembly in Paraguay as a member of a choir who had sung there. The choir was hoping to sing again at PA 2015. In her embassy interview a few weeks ago, she was asked a series of questions in a local language and answered them in that language. Her visa was denied. She would not accept the denial, quickly switched her language to fluent English, and refused to take back her passport, asking again why she was denied. To avoid creating a scene, the interviewing officer asked her to come back the next day to collect her visa. When I picked up her passport for her the next day, the first thing I checked was whether her visa was present, and it was!” The Herrs note that how applicants present themselves often is quite influential.
    • “It was heartbreaking to watch my own pastor be denied a visa. Twice. In my country, a pastor’s wife is also considered a pastor, although she has no paper credentials to verify this. So she was denied, too.”
    • “Three young women who are currently living in Canada, but come from a country that requires a U.S. visa, traveled to a U.S. consulate in another city in Canada for their visa interviews. When they arrived, they learned that the interviews had mistakenly not been booked. However, the folks at the consulate said, ‘But these women traveled all this way, so we need to give them their interviews.’ They made space in their schedule, and all three were granted their visas.”
    • “A group of 18 women and one man landed at my home one night around 9:00, wanting a place to sleep. The communication had said that they would need a place to “wash their faces.” My wife and I opened up every space we had to accommodate them. In the morning, they turned our home into a church service with song and prayer. It was good. But of the 19, only two women got their visas. I was very sad. I can imagine 17 participants in a hired bus, traveling 440 km back home, having been denied. We had rented space in an Internet Café and assisted them with their DS-160 application forms. Where did we go wrong?”
    • “A particular brother was my partner in the whole process, having volunteered to encourage church members to attend PA 2015. He organized a group of six, including himself and his wife. His pastor was part of the group. Four of the six were interviewed by one officer and were granted their visas. My friend and his wife were interviewed by a different officer, and they were denied. They haven’t decided whether to reapply or not.”
    • “A pastor from a rural area had a lot of interest in attending PA 2015. He went through all of the application steps, and on the day of his interview, security agents at the embassy helped him go through security so he wouldn’t be late for his interview. When the consular officer met with him, he told the pastor that he had no fingerprints, and regretfully, he couldn’t grant him a visa. Without fingerprints, the embassy would not have a digital identity for him on file. This brother had worked in construction since he was very young. During the last seven years, he worked in his family’s brick-making factory. He had worn his fingers down so that he had no fingerprints because of the hard work he had done since his youth in one of those jobs.”
    • “Eleven people from an especially remote and very poor region of one country registered to attend PA 2015. Although I encouraged them to do this, I also really wondered if they would possibly get visas. Most of the people in the group had not traveled outside of the country before, and they were getting their passports for the first time for this occasion, too. They traveled to the capital city (an hour flight, or a 20-hour bus trip) for their visa appointment. I was thrilled when all 11 of them walked into my office with smiles on their faces, all of them having received their visas.”

    Many interviews are yet to be held during the next few weeks leading up to the Assembly.  Because the outcome for many visa applicants is still uncertain, persons and countries are not identified in these stories from the Visa Task Force.

    Challenges remain for many traveling to PA 2015, even after a visa has been granted. Visa Task Force members ask for prayer in these areas:

    1. Continue to pray for all of those who will have their embassy interviews in the next few days and weeks.
    2. Pray for people’s entry into the U.S. This is often a stressful process, because people who rarely cross borders or deal with immigration officials are not used to answering personal questions.
    3. In many cases, it is very difficult for those who have been denied visas to be generous toward those who have been issued a visa. Pray for peace and goodwill for all involved.
    4. Some US Embassies are having technical glitches/problems issuing visas, with a number of visa interviews needing to be rescheduled.  For those still waiting for their visa interview, the schedule may be tight and uncertain. 

    In summary, MWC officials are grateful that the majority of applicants are receiving visas. The biggest challenges remain, as expected, for persons who have never traveled outside their home country before or who are young enough not to have a job, spouse or significant assets to return to.

    MWC release by Phyllis Pellman Good, a writer and editor for Mennonite World Conference

     

  • Economic hardship in Spain strengthens faith

    Judit Menéndez, MWC Global Youth Summit delegate from Spain, shared her church’s story of Walking in Receiving and Giving as her country experiences its worst economic crisis since the civil war in the 1930s.

    She belongs to the Comunidades Unidas Anabautistas in Burgos, about two hours north of Madrid. She has a degree in education for children with special needs, but teaches English and helps children with homework in an after-school centre.

    “This job is what is available right now, even though it is not exactly what I’m qualified for,” says Judit. “But I’m grateful to be having a job, a house, and a supportive community at church.

    “Compared to five years ago, things are improving now. Young people can get a job, even though it may not be what they want or are qualified for,” Judit adds.

    As of March 2015, inflation has been kept low for the past 18 months. A new policy with an emphasis on exports and increasing Spain’s competitiveness has helped put the country on the right track for economic rebound.

    Her church has been responding to the people affected by the crisis by creating a food bank for church members and neighbours. From the food bank, this initiative grew since 2012 to include a financial reserve to be given to church members who are most in need.

    “It has been a challenging time, but one that has been a blessing in disguise,” says Judit. “Family members are taking care of each other, the church is more united and purposeful, and we are stronger in our faith because of it.”

    Spain still has a long way to go. Unemployment rate still sits at 23%, wages are stagnant and permanent employment is still almost impossible to find especially for new graduates. But Judit is thankful for a trying time that has pushed the church to be a united community, emulating the church of the first century that “shared whatever they had with those who had needs” (Acts 2:42–47).

    Elina Ciptadi-Perkins is a copywriter and communications consultant. She is an Indonesian Mennonite who lives in Singapore with her family.

    To see more stories, pictures and videos like this, visit pa2015.mwc-cmm.org. The site also contains resources for your congregation from workshops at PA 2015, such as downloadable worksheets, PowerPoint slides and information sheets.

  • Harrisburg, PA, USA – A dedicated team of staff and volunteers captured images, videos and stories during Mennonite World Conference’s 16th Assembly in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, 21–25 July 2015. Visit pa2015.mwc-cmm.org to re-live your PA 2015 participation or to experience it for the first time.

    Meet people like Sushant Nand, a man who tried his hand at sewing a comforter for Mennonite Central Committee – an organization he works for back home in India.

    Find highlight videos of each day and the whole assembly, plus videos of the worship services to help perfect your rendition of Eres Todopoderoso.

    Download resource pages from workshop presenters, such as Juerg Braeker’s PowerPoint slides on Liturgy, a transforming act. 

    Click here for highlight videos

     

  • Bogotá, Colombia – In meetings prior to the 21-26 July Assembly, Mennonite World Conference announced changes in the leadership of three of its commissions.

    “Transitions are a very important part of living organisms,” commented MWC general secretary César García. “Our human body, for example, needs to renew its cells in order to keep healthy. In the same way our MWC constitution provides specific terms for some leadership positions in order to help our global body stay healthy and renewed by new leadership and new vision. It is a blessing when leaders fulfill a stage in their service and are ready to move to new positions of service.

    Joji Pantoja was appointed as chair of the Peace Commission. Joji and her husband Dann, originally from Canada, are peace building missionaries in the Philippines. She succeeds Paulus Widjaja of Indonesia as chair.

    Newly appointed as secretary of the Peace Commission is Andrew Suderman. Andrew and his wife Karen, originally from Canada, are providing leadership to an Anabaptist Network and Resource Centre in South Africa. He succeeds Robert J. Suderman as secretary of the commission.

    Stanley Green of the United States was appointed as chair of the Mission Commission. Green is executive director of Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA. He succeeds Richard Showalter of the United States as chair. Rafael Zaracho of Paraguay continues as secretary of the commission.

    Siaka Traoré of Burkina Faso was appointed as chair of the Deacons Commission. Traoré is president of Église Évangélique Mennonite du Burkina Faso. He succeeds Cynthia Peacock of India as chair. Henk Stenvers of the Netherlands continues as secretary of the commission.

    Alfred Neufeld of Paraguay continues as chair of the Faith and Life Commission, and John Roth of the United States as secretary.

    “I want to express my gratitude for the years of service that Paulus, Richard, and Cynthia did in a voluntary way as commission chairs and for the excellent work that Robert developed as Peace Commission secretary,” noted César García. “These leaders contributed to the good health of our MWC body. They did so during their years of service and during this time of transition. It is my prayer that the new leaders of our commissions will be encouraged and inspired by their predecessors in their global ministries.”

    Mennonite World Conference release

    Photos: Stanley Green, Joji Pantoja, Andrew Suderman, Siaka Traoré

  • MDS house build at Mennonite World Conference Assembly erects homes in 5 days

    Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – Pounding nails may be the last activity one might expect at an international church convention, but for many at the Mennonite World Conference’s PA 2015, it was a perfect fit.

    Every afternoon, just outside the air-conditioned halls of the Harrisburg Farm Show Complex, two prefabricated houses were built by participants looking for a way to use their muscles that would connect meaningfully to their faith.

    MWC-MDS“You always talk about church but you don’t do anything,” Alex Noord remembers his seventeen-year-old son Neils telling him in their home in the Netherlands. Now, attending the Assembly with Neils and 14-year-old Tymen, he and his sons got a chance to “do” something.

    In the hot Pennsylvania sun, Neils and Tymen nailed studs into the wall frames of one of the houses, which were destined for two families who lost their homes in natural disasters: one in Nebraska and the other in Maryland.

    “I like to work with technical things,” Neils said. “Building a home feels great.”

    The construction of prefabricated houses by volunteers under the Partnership Home Program is one part of the work of Mennonite Disaster Service, headquartered in Pennsylvania. Each year, MDS also sends dozens of volunteer teams to scenes of flooding and disaster throughout North America to help victims clean up, repair and rebuild their homes.

    At PA 2015, MDS staff and volunteers were on hand to guide some 30 volunteers each day to help construct the houses’ floors and walls, which would eventually be dissembled and packaged for transport.

    Participants included people of all ages, many of them inexperienced in construction. Darwin Villacis, part of a mission church in Ecuador, contributed two afternoons to the project in order to observe how North Americans built their houses.

    “I have talent in my hands; I don’t have talent with my words and my tongue,” said the 47-year-old mechanic.

    Marcela Dow had never handled a hammer before. The 15-year-old and her youth group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, volunteered “because it’s always fun to help people; you can see the change you’re bringing.”

    Byron Rempel-Burkholder is a writer and editor from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

    *To see more stories, pictures and videos like this, visit pa2015.mwc-cmm.org. The site also contains resources for your congregation from workshops at PA 2015, such as downloadable worksheets, PowerPoint slides and information sheets.

     

  • Global church village is a marketplace of stories and sharing

    Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – “I don’t know of any other place where I have encountered so many parts of the world all in one place,” says Donella M. Clemens of Perkasie Mennonite Church, Pennsylvania, as she watches people streaming in and out of the “marketplaces” of Global Church Village.

    Here, PA 2015’s theme of walking with God is expressed through storytelling, cultural displays and songs from all parts of the world.

    Mennonites migration stories testify to God’s leading into new areas of learning as God’s people walk with God.

    Stories of ministry and mission to other lands show Anabaptist willingness to walk into the unknown in confidence and trust.

    There are also stories of pain and healing. The picture and shoes of a young man who lost his life in the Middle East are just as poignant as the stories quilted on pieces of fabric.

    “It is really a wonderful idea to have this nice place where people can come and relax as they visit with friends,” says Siaka Traore of Burkina Faso. “It is like a village [in Africa]. It’s inspiring to see old people telling stories. Even though we can’t trade here, the village also has the feel of a marketplace.”

    “The activities are turning out even better than I planned,” says Andrea Geiser, stage activities coordinator. “The variety of people’s gifts and talents are truly a gift from God.”

    Up to 36 people registered to spend up to 25 minutes share their experiences with a small crowd in the storytelling tent.

    “We have had many amazing stories of conversion and transformation from every continent,” Storytelling organizer Lynn A. Miller says.

    Vikal Rao, overall coordinator of all the GCV activities and displays, gives thanks and praise to God who brought all together.

    Doris Dube is from Zimbabwe.

    *To see more stories, pictures and videos like this, visit pa2015.mwc-cmm.org. The site also contains resources for your congregation from workshops at PA 2015, such as downloadable worksheets, PowerPoint slides and information sheets.

     

  • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – In four days of meetings just prior to the July 21-26 Mennonite World Conference Assembly, the General Council took additional steps in the journey toward interdependence in the global communion.

    “During my ministry when planting a new church in Bogotá,” commented César García, MWC general secretary, “I dreamt of the day my local congregation would mature enough to become self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating…. Some time later I heard that, in addition to reflecting the three ‘selves,’ a church reaches maturity when it is also ‘self-theologizing’, i.e. able to make its own theology.”

    “However,” he added, “it took me many years to discover what is obvious in the process of development of every living organism. True maturity is not reached when one is independent in all areas of life, but when one is capable of giving and receiving, of sharing with others what one has, as well as appreciating what others can bring to the table… in other words, when a person is interdependent.”

    The General Council meeting included around 120 representatives from MWC member churches around the world. About half of their time together involved sharing stories and reflecting together on themes of unity and diversity.

    Alfred Neufeld of Paraguay examined lessons from four historical areas of conflict: the ethnic versus the missionary church; militarism; the emerging versus the “departing” generation; and revival pietism versus enlightenment liberalism.

    Fernando Enns of Germany reflected on the difference between “cheap” and “costly” unity. “It is not we who create unity,” he insisted, “but unity is created by participating in God’s relation of love.” The challenge, he added, is to determine the limits of diversity. The only basis for divisions, he suggested, is whenever the lordship of Christ is questioned. On most other matters, he urged forbearance of differences.

    Martin Junge, the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, emphasized that the church is always both local and global. A focus on only the local (contextuality) without the global (catholicity) leads to provincialism, he declared. And a focus on the global without the local leads to imperialism.

    General Council members shared stories from Ukraine, Zimbabwe, Panama, Angola, Venezuela, India, South Korea and other countries. A common theme was an expression of appreciation for prayers and expressions of solidarity from other MWC member churches.

    In their business sessions, the General Council sought to strengthen the organizational structure that make global relationships possible.

    According to García, MWC wants “to develop a global structure that, like the skeleton of a living organism, facilities the growth and development of this interdependent being we call MWC without drowning it with excessive institutionalization…. The structure that MWC has been developing seeks to avoid the temptation of being rigid and exactly the same in every local context. We seek to be sensitive to the reality of our congregations in each region, molding ourselves according to the different realities our community faces.”

    Each of the four MWC commissions – Faith and Life, Mission, Peace, Deacons – which have been in place for only the past six years, reported on their vision and work which included a wide range of involvements with only limited funds available to them.

    The General Council also heard that relations with and among member churches have been enhanced through the work of regional representatives on each continent. As finances permit, plans call for the appointment of additional regional representatives in Africa and Latin America.

    To fund the work of MWC, each member church is asked for a “fair share” contribution based on the “purchasing power parity” of each country. All contributions from individuals and congregations of MWC member churches count toward their fair share.

    In an evening gathering, the General Council expressed appreciation for Danisa Ndlovu of Zimbabwe, who is completing his six year term as the MWC president at this Assembly. The incoming president, Nelson Kraybill of the United States, began his term as president immediately following the Assembly. In its deliberations, the General Council also elected Rebecca Osiro of Kenya as MWC vice-president, to succeed Janet Plenert of Canada.

    MWC release by Ron Rempel

     

  • Bogotá, Colombia – The Mennonite World Conference communication team is changing with new appointments and transitions in three staff positions.

    In mid-July 2015, Karla Braun of Canada began a half-time position as editor and writer. She serves as editor of Courier/Correo/Courrier and also as a writer and editor of other MWC material.

    Braun has been associate editor of the Mennonite Brethren Herald based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for the past seven years. Her educational background includes an undergraduate degree in English with a concentration in linguistics as well as selected graduate courses in theological studies.

    Braun succeeds Devin Manzullo-Thomas of the USA, who has served as MWC editor and writer since January 2013. He has been appointed to a full-time role at Messiah College, a Brethren in Christ–affiliated school in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and will begin PhD studies in September.

    On 1 September 2015, Kristina Toews of Colombia will assume the responsibilities of chief communications officer, a role that includes overseeing MWC’s communication strategy and coordinating all print and electronic communications. She will succeed Ron Rempel of Canada, who is retiring after serving in this position since January 2012.

    Toews, originally from Abbotsford, British Columbia, has lived in Bogotá, Colombia and has served as MWC’s web communications worker since February 2013. In this position, she has initiated and led MWC’s growing social media strategy through platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Toews also holds an undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies.

    Replacing Toews in managing MWC’s web and social media presence is Aarón González of Costa Rica. He served most recently on the MWC Assembly staff in Akron, Pennsylvania, USA. In his new position, González will work from the MWC office in Bogotá.

    González has served in his home congregation of Buenas Nuevas Mennonite Church in Costa Rica, and with Mennonite Central Committee and MWC in the YAMEN! Program in Cambodia.

     “Communication and community are related words not only in their common root but in the impact that they have in the human being,” commented MWC general secretary César García.” Without communication there is no possibility of sharing our joys and sorrows, finding hope in the midst of suffering, or building a global community. This is a reason why communication is more than just a career or a department in an institution. It is a ministry. It is a very important service for our Anabaptist global family of faith.”

    García added, “I want to express my gratitude to Devin and Ron for the ministry that they developed in MWC. Communications have been crucial during the last years in our global family. Under Ron’s leadership, MWC communications advanced into new stages and reached the maturity that we need in order to keep growing and facilitating good means of communication among our members. We pray for God’s guidance and blessings for these leaders and the new stages that they have started in their lives.”

    Mennonite World Conference release

    Photos: Kristina Toews, Karla Braun, Aarón González

     

  • Harrisburg, PA, USA – Already hundreds of brothers and sisters from around the world are gathering in Harrisburg for the 16th Assembly of Mennonite World Conference. PA 2015 has already begun with the Global Youth Summit, which took place from 17-19 July at Messiah College in Harrisburg. To see all the coverage of this event, click here.

    Assembly Gathered begins today, 21 July and takes place through Sunday 26 July. To see live streaming of the worship services, photo and video galleries, articles and blogs visit the Assembly website.

    MWC Release

     

  • Basel, Switzerland – In addition to supporting the appeal for prayer issued by Mennonite World Conference (MWC), the Konferenz der Mennoniten der Schweiz (KMS – Conference of Swiss Mennonites), has reached out in solidarity with the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria – EYN).

    In north-eastern Nigeria, Christians and moderate Muslims are currently suffering severely from the consequences of attacks by terrorists known under the name Boko Haram. EYN has been heavily affected by these violent attacks, with more than 700,000 members displaced and some 1,670 churches destroyed.

    The Täuferisches Forum für Friede und Gerechtigkeit (Anabaptist Forum for Peace and Justice), of the KMS, was invited to participate in the Nigeria Advocacy group of Mission 21, an ecumenical Protestant Mission from Basel.

    “We thought that having links both through MWC and a local-ecumenical link might be meaningful,” explained Hanspeter Jecker.

    EYN is part of the historic peace church tradition, and in light of this, Mission 21 wanted another peace church to participate in their Nigeria Advocacy group. They invited Jecker and Heike Geist, both professors at Bienenberg Theological Seminary, to participate as representatives for the Swiss Mennonite Mission, MWC and KMS, a MWC member church.

    On 12 June 2015, a resolution proposed by the Nigeria Advocacy group was discussed and adopted by Mission 21.

    At this meeting Hanspeter Jecker shared from the Mennonite perspective, “The presence of the historic peace churches is characterized by a commitment to renounce violence, through biblical-theological reason, following in the footsteps of Jesus, to not respond to evil with evil, but that evil shall be answered with and ultimately overcome by good.

    “This belief alone does not guarantee a peaceful and quiet life. But it is based on the hope that Good Friday is not the last word, but that there is Easter, followed Pentecost. This faith is not condemned to having to accept all injustice and suffering in silence.

    “That is why the present resolution is so important. It is an expression of fraternal solidarity with those who suffer in Nigeria. It is an expression that peace without justice is not to be had. And it is being ready to support the Easter-Pentecostal signs of hope in the midst of great need.”

    Click here to read the full resolution.

    -Kristina Toews