Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA – Attendees of PA 2015, the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly, will spend 26 July, the final day of the event, with Mennonite and Brethren in Christ congregations within a two-hour radius of the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.

    “Since there are so many Anabaptist-related congregations close by, we asked if they would host our Sunday morning worship,” said Liesa Unger of Germany, Chief International Events Officer for MWC. “It’s an extraordinary opportunity for all of us to fellowship together in local churches – both for those who live here and those who are visiting. We want to experience North American congregational life.”

    Worship resources available globally

    MWC has created worship materials to be used by congregations on 26 July, wherever they are in the world. “We’re especially mindful of belonging to a global family of faith as we anticipate PA 2015,” commented Unger. “So we’re inviting Anabaptist-related congregations everywhere to use the Sunday morning worship materials.” They are available at www.mwc-cmm.org/26julyworship in English, Spanish, and French.

    During PA 2015, more than 6,500 registrants from more than 70 countries will gather in community, fellowship and worship around the theme, “Walking with God.” Sunday morning’s worship extends that subject to “Walking with God – Stepping Forward,” based on Acts 18:22-28.

    Included in the materials are a proposed order of service, several prayers, a responsive reading based on Psalm 145, three songs with words and music (one each from Argentina, southern Africa and the Philippines), and a suggested Sermon outline, prepared by Nelson Kraybill, incoming MWC President. In addition, a video of PA 2015 highlights will be posted just before July 26 at www.mwc-cmm.org/26julyworship for showing in the service.

    Local congregations step up with hospitality

    More than 45 congregations have asked for the opportunity to host their sisters and brothers for worship and fellowship on July 26. Rebecca Pereverzoff, who’s assigning guests to hosting churches, has heard many stories.

    Conestoga Mennonite Church, near Morgantown, PA, has some 120 attendees on most Sunday mornings. Their response to the invitation to welcome PA 2015 guests: “We are prepared to feed 100+ guests that day. But if there are only 50 available, that’s okay, too. Our Sunday School begins at 9:30 a.m. If our guests come then, please let us know ahead of time. We all care deeply about worshipping with Anabaptists around the world. Can’t wait for July to arrive!”

    Weaverland Mennonite Church, near East Earl, PA, offers two services on most Sundays to accommodate the hundreds of people who attend. Even though their kitchen is being remodeled this summer, they volunteered to host 70-75 guests. The woman who coordinates food for their congregational events will host the visitors, along with her family, at their home for lunch that day.

    “What better way to enlarge our experience of worship and faith community than to share prayers, singing and Scripture together, and then to top it off with lunch and visiting,” remarked Unger.

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

    [Sidebar]

    Homestay hospitality stories

    Lyndell Thiessen who’s working with a team to assign guests to individual homes, tells these stories and remarks, “I continue to be humbled by the hosts and their enthusiasm for hosting”:
    • One hosting household is renting four roll-away beds so they can have more people.
    • Several hosts will make more than one trip to deliver their guests to the shuttle stops because they have more space in their houses to offer, but not enough room in their cars.
    • Two hosts, both dealing with the sudden deaths of their husbands, want to keep their commitment to host. They say it’s important to them to do that.
    • One host is so excited about her guests from Zimbabwe that she’s making them small comforter quilts as a gift. She is getting her Amish neighbor to help her with the design.
    • Leon Stauffer, Coordinator of Homestay Shuttle Transportation, and his wife, Nancy, have chosen to stay close by the homestay departure area during PA 2015, rather than staying with MWC staff in Harrisburg. More than 1,000 guests are lodging in about 350 homes. The Stauffers want to be available to assist in the smooth, timely morning departure of the 21 buses taking guests to the Assembly.
    • When one host was told that six persons would be placed in her home, she replied, “Only six? We asked for 16!”

  • Mwanza, Tanzania – Bishops in the Kanisa la Mennonite Tanzania (Tanzanian Mennonite Church) and Kenya Mennonite Church are working to meet the need for local, affordable training for village pastors.

    To do so, they have partnered with Eastern Mennonite Missions workers Joe and Gloria Bontrager, originally from the United States, who are developing and implementing a basic-level curriculum and sustainable model for training church leaders.

    The Bontragers travel to various districts to begin the program with a “Training of Trainers” seminar. By teaching the basic material and modeling how to teach, they equip local leadership with all they need to facilitate the 12-course, two-year training on their own.

    To date, they have done 15 “Training of Trainers” seminars in seven of the ten dioceses of Kanisa la Mennonite Tanzania and in five of the seven dioceses of Kenya Mennonite Church. In many instances, bishops also lead the seminars; such was the case in the Mwanza Diocese of Tanzania, where Bishop Albert Randa taught a course on church polity to candidates for ordination.

    The program is having a strong impact on the churches because the curriculum is designed to directly address pastors’ gaps in biblical and denominational understanding. For example, leaders asked to have a class specifically on Mennonite distinctives. They were finding that many parishioners did not know what made Mennonites distinct from other denominations.

    Another reason for the curriculum’s impact is the Bontragers’ mode of instruction. African teaching is often based on lectures and rote learning, but the Bontragers want to emphasize personal processing, reflection, and open discussion. The study material is not focused on simply transferring information, but rather on creating dialogue about how to apply the material.

    Church leaders believe these trainings will make leadership training for pastors accessible and affordable, allowing emerging leaders to maintain home and family responsibilities. They are also beginning to see the trainings bear fruit as students share what they have learned with others.

    —Adapted from an article by Chris Fretz and Amanda Miller, Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM)

     

  • “Walking with God” is the theme of our next global Assembly, to be held 21-26 July 2015. But how can we walk together if we do not believe exactly the same? That was the question that a leader raised some months ago while I was visiting his community. He believed that it is not possible to walk with those who think differently than you.

    That seems to be the message that we hear replicated around the world, especially when we think about religious differences. Even in our Anabaptist history we have a long record of fragmentation and divisions emerging because of strong disagreements in our doctrines and ethics. Is it possible – even desirable – to have communion in a global way when there is such diversity of cultures, ethical decisions and theological understandings?

    I would say that in MWC we have discovered that diversity is not just possible but even healthy. Such diversity is manifest when we share the same foundation that has been laid: Jesus Christ.

    Moreover, when I look at Scripture, I find at least three reasons why we need a global, multicultural and very diverse community.

    First, Jesus. There are four gospels that speak about Jesus. Each of them reflects the experience of its author with Jesus Christ. These theological writings do not show Jesus in exactly the same way. There is a lot of diversity among them. Why do we not have just one gospel? Why do we need four different points of view that give different understandings? From its very beginning, the church saw this diversity as something crucial, something that could help us to understand who Jesus is. The primitive church did not try to harmonize the four gospels in order to give us a unique and uniform account about Jesus. We need diversity in order to know Jesus better.

    Second, ethics. The text about love that we find in 1 Corinthians 13 is in the context of diversity and deep disagreements. Believers in that context, for example, differed as to what they could eat or not eat. These same believers make different decisions regard this ethical problem, decisions made possible because the Scripture itself does not give a definitive answer. In this context, the Apostle Paul urges love. From this example, it seems that diversity and even disagreements are required in the body of Christ if we want to know the meaning of unity, love, forgiveness, patience and self-denial. It is easy to love others that think the same that you think, but are we able to do so with those that think differently?

    Third, vision. On the road to Emmaus, the disciples found out the truth about Jesus’ resurrection only when they sat down and had dinner together – with Jesus at the center – in spite of their differences. During the long walk from Jerusalem, they resisted the tendency of walking away from each other due to their divergent theological understandings of the Messiah. They did not find Jesus through the long hours of theological arguing. Their eyes were open only when they shared a meal. We gain a new vision of other followers of Christ – and about Christ himself – when we see people not as our opposites but as members of our family. With family, it is possible to sit and eat together in spite of our differences.

    Why do we need a global community? This question is one of the topics that we address in this issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier. We need a global community and the diversity that it brings in order to know Jesus better; to grow in our experience of unity, forgiveness, love, patience and self-denial; and open our eyes to new realities that can keep us close to each other.

    May God help us to walk together and love our very diverse, global church. I am looking forward to living this idea in part during Pennsylvania 2015. Come join us, and let’s walk with God!

    César García, MWC general secretary, works out of the head office in Bogotá, Colombia.

     

  • Bogotá, Colombia – Arli Klassen has been named coordinator of regional representatives for Mennonite World Conference, effective 1 July 2015.

    In this new half-time role, Klassen will work closely with the MWC regional representatives in various continental regions, including North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. She will also continue to serve MWC as chief development officer, a role she has held since October 2012.

    “Arli is the best person to fulfill this role for MWC,” said General Secretary César García. “She has considerable leadership and international experience in multiple roles with Mennonite Central Committee, and as a social worker in other organizations. I am very pleased to have Arli joining us in this adventure of building a global community.”

    Devin Manzullo-Thomas

     

  • Winnipeg, Manitoba – Opportunities to fill leadership responsibilities in a local church enrich Yoweri Murungi’s one-year cross cultural service assignment in Lusaka, Zambia.

    His many new experiences include leading praise and worship services, Bible study classes and youth ministries at the Chilenje Brethren in Christ church in Lusaka.

    “These experiences help me gain leadership skills and grow in my faith in Christ,” says Murungi, 28, from Kagadi, a town in the Kibaale district in Uganda.

    Murungi and 20 other participants in the Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN!) program are completing their one year service assignment in July.

    YAMEN, a joint program between Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Mennonite World Conference, is a program for young adults, ages 18-30, who are not Canadian or U.S. citizens. Participants must either attend an Anabaptist church in their home country or serve in an Anabaptist organization.

    Murungi is serving as the assistant coordinator of MCC supported Peace Clubs that teach young people skills in non-violent peacebuilding, conflict transformation and reconciliation. Peace Clubs, started in 2006, have expanded to 32 schools in Lusaka. 

    Since the countries of Zambia and Uganda share many cultural similarities, it didn’t take long for Murungi to become an effective member of Peace Clubs leadership team.

    He says Peace Clubs bring the ideas of different people together to solve a problem. He cited the example of a peace club member sharing with the group that she gets punished in school for arriving late. She had told the group she is late because she takes her younger brother to another school before she comes to school.

    Through group discussions she was empowered to resolve this problem by asking her parents to make other arrangements for her younger brother.

    In Uganda, Murungi also works with peacebuilding programs. He anticipates the leadership skills he is learning through his participation in the local church and Peace Clubs will help him in Uganda.

    “I am gaining new experiences and new skills,” he says. “I am developing and improving office, management and administration skills.”

    In addition to serving alongside other leaders in Peace Clubs and the church, he enjoys being part of the MCC Zambia team.

    “We are delighted to have YAMEN participants on our team – it adds diversity to the MCC team,” says MCC Zambia representative, Miriam Mitchell. “We learn from each other. There are cultural differences but what everyone has in common is they come to Zambia to serve.”

    YAMEN participants gain new skills and experiences through serving with MCC partner organizations in many countries.

    Since the first participant in 2004, over 100 YAMEN participants have been learning and sharing with the global church, says YAMEN coordinator, Andrea Geiser.

    “This experience of living in another culture is a huge time of growth for participants, both personally and spiritually,” says Geiser. “Each year participants mention how they have grown closer in their faith with God, relying on God during the stresses and challenges of a new country and culture.”

    A recent report from Elisa Domínguez (Mexico to Honduras) states: “The world, my view, my vision changed, the concept of serving taught me that we must leave our own cross, to carry the crosses of many others who cannot do it themselves. “

    Reflecting on her new world wide perspective Jennifer Moreno (Colombia to Bolivia) says: “Leaving my country has given me a new view of things, to understand that there are lots of options and opportunities elsewhere and that it is great and exciting to serve without expecting anything in return. It is interesting to know that you have people who support you and who share your same faith in other countries.”

    The following participants are completing their YAMEN service assignments in July: Serving in Bolivia: Jennifer Moreno (Colombia), Oscar Galo (Honduras); serving in Cambodia: Keila Medina (Honduras); serving in Colombia: Phealy Hut (Cambodia), Sam Joshua (India), Sanjib Sahu (India), Elizabeth Hartono (Indonesia), Victoria Muchanga (Mozambique); serving in Ecuador: Jirenny García (Dominican Republic); serving in Honduras: Gina Albornoz (Colombia), Elisa Domínguez (Mexico); serving in India: Ditrich Rumboirusi (Indonesia); serving in Indonesia: Suzy Filly (Egypt), Hemanta Pradhan (India), Subhechchha Koirala (Subu) (Nepal), Freddy Satalaya (Peru); serving in Laos: Gloria Kristianti (Indonesia); serving in Mexico: Alexander Gutiérrez (Colombia); serving in Nicaragua: Chia-Ming Chen (Taiwan); serving in Uganda: Reviana Gamaputra (Indonesia); and serving in Zambia: Yoweri Murungi (Uganda).

    A joint release by Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee. Article by Gladys Terichow, a freelance writer from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

     

  • “Colombian people do not fight for money. You fight for power.” These were the words of a North American missionary after several decades of ministry in Colombia. She was speaking about the ongoing reality of broken relationships among church leaders because of conflicts.

    After 22 years of ministry in Colombia I must recognize that this is a sad reality in our churches. During this time I have witnessed too many unhealthy conflicts erupt in our congregations; I have also witnessed too many broken relationships, and seen too many hurt people leave as a result .

    However, during the short time that I have served in Mennonite World Conference, I have found that issues of abuse of power and unhealthy conflicts among leaders are not only a Colombian reality. As a matter of fact, I have been discovering that these seem to be transcultural issues that are present in all peoples and nations, and a trans-Anabaptist gene that has affected all our churches. In spite of cultural and theological differences, issues of abuse of power and conflict among leaders have been with us since the time of Cain and Abel.

    What are some of the characteristics that I have observed in church leaders around the world that are involved in unhealthy conflicts and abuse of power? I can mention the following so far:

    Personal needs that have been notresolved. There are emotional weaknesses that are very evident when leaders face conflicts. For example, some leaders seem to be thirsty for recognition. They expect to receive a special treatment or an expression of gratitude for their service. When this does not happen, they may react aggressively toward others, or spiral downward into passivity and self-pity. How different would our churches be if we learn to pray as Mother Theresa did: “Lord, grant that I may seek rather to love than to be loved.”

    Another example has to do with leaders that have learned to fulfill their sense of emptiness with the privileges that some ecclesial positions bring. To lose those privileges is something that these leaders do not want to do. It does not matter if people get hurt. For them to satisfy their emotional needs is more important that the people that they were called to give their lives for.

    Extreme perfectionism. It is evident when leaders are not ready to recognize their mistakes or to ask for forgiveness when they have hurt others. To be vulnerable is something that is not easy for some people in positions of leadership. For some reason these leaders think that if they open there hearts and recognize their mistakes they will lose authority. This may be the influence of secular ideas about leadership. The idea of a strong, lonely leader that does not express his/her feelings is supported by cultural understandings that do not accept the idea of leadership as service, which in Christian terms is done from our wounds and vulnerability and not from a position of power.

    Enforcing uniformity. A natural outcome for leaders that abuse their power is the attempt of suppress diversity. These kind of leaders do not tolerate those who think differently than they do. Theological differences or diversity in leadership style are criticized and labeled as sinfulness by people that exercise their leadership in an authoritarian way. Because diversity is perceived as a threat, these leaders demand the use of creeds as a tool to measure orthodoxy without recognizing that diversity has been part of the Christian faith right since its beginning.

    These characteristics are found in many leaders who know no other way of exercising their responsibility. The need for a new pattern of leadership in our world is immense.
    How can our churches respond to such a need? God calls us to offer a new pattern of leadership – one derived from Jesus’ life and highlighted by our Anabaptist values: a leadership style that does not look for our own interests but for the wellbeing of others; a leadership style that recognizes our mistakes and is exercised from a position of vulnerability; a leadership style that celebrates diversity instead of suppressing it or persecuting it. I pray that the October 2014 issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier may help us, as a global family of faith, to move in that direction.

    César García, MWC general secretary, works out of the head office in Bogotá, Colombia.

     

  • When someone asks you to use a few words to describe yourself, what words do you use? Would you change those words to describe yourself when you are with your family? At work? Travelling to some distant place? 

    I discovered that the words I use to describe myself change, depending on my cultural context. When we lived in Toronto, the two most basic words I used to describe myself were “Christian” and “woman.” Those were the two parts of my life that made the most difference in how I lived. Imagine my surprise, then, when we moved to southern Africa and those words didn’t really matter as key parts of my identity! Everyone we interacted with defined themselves as Christian, so that was taken for granted; and it was far more important that I was a mother than that I was a woman. By contrast, in southern Africa, the most important thing was that I was white – an aspect of identity I had taken for granted in Canada.

    A Christian woman – those were the important parts of my identity in Canada. A white mother – those different parts of my identity became the most important in Lesotho. My self-understanding of my identity changed, even though I had not changed.

    This change illustrates the first point I want to make: Culture matters, because culture defines who we are.

    The second point I want to make is that language matters. I have learned a little bit of several languages, and I am fascinated by words that exist in one language and have no direct translation into another language. In Sesotho I learned that there is actually a word for a body part that heals badly after a break or a wound – we have no such word in English. And in Spanish and French there is the lovely word animateur or animador, someone who plays a facilitating and encouraging leadership role in a group of people, a concept that just does not make it into English. And in German we have the lovely word gemeinschaft, a word that English speakers have translated into “brotherhood” and “community,” though these translations fail to capture the depth of meaning that word has in German. Each of these examples underscores the fact that language matters, because language gives us the concepts that are important in our culture.

    There are some deep differences among all our various languages and cultures around the world, differences that go far deeper than we sometimes realize. Culture, shaped by language, impacts our worldview, our self-understanding and our sense of identity. And this is particular challenge for Christians, whose beliefs and practices are shaped by culture and language even though our faith transcends those categories.

    Biblical examples of difference

    The Bible gives us some images and stories to explain and understand our differences in language in culture – and to show us how these differences can in fact be part of God’s plan for building the Church.

    The first book of the Bible, Genesis, tells the story of the Tower of Babel. This story gives two reasons for all the different language groups. One reason is that unity based on sameness leads to pride, and the other reason is that unity based on sameness is a response to fear. In Genesis 11:4-6, we read that the people wanted to be famous and that they were afraid of being scattered. Both impulses are rooted in dependence in oneself instead of depending on God: “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do.” 

    The theologian Walter Brueggeman says this is a story of people who wanted to be great because of their cookie-cutter sameness – same language, same food, same clothes, same culture. There is a lot that can be accomplished in a homogeneous culture. Brueggemann suggests that God scatters the people to show them a better way. The unity God wants for the human race is diverse people drawn together by common faith and values, not drawn together by sameness in language and culture. Brueggemann says that the many languages and the scattering in this story are not a punishment, but are actually an opportunity to live up to the much greater potential God wills for the earth. God gave the people of the Tower of Babel the opportunity to experience difference in order to learn to depend on God and to be drawn together through faith rather than through culture. It takes a global village to be who God wants us to be.

    Another biblical image of difference occurs at the other end of the Bible – in the last book, Revelation. In Revelation 7:9-14, we read about an uncountable number of people, from every nation, every tribe and every language, all singing and worshipping God together. This is the opposite image to the Tower of Babel. This is a little glimpse of heaven!

    This image comes to us as part of the story in Revelation of the opening of the seven seals – seven events with terrible consequences for the people. This image is actually in between the opening of the sixth seal and the seventh seal, like a little break in the story. Here we have this image of the people of God, from every culture and language, together worshipping God, regardless of the ordeals, persecutions and tribulations that they are experiencing.

    In the previous chapter (Revelation 6:17), a question is asked: “Who is able to stand in the midst of all these ordeals?” The answer is given in this image: it is the multicultural people of God who together worship and praise God from every country and every language, and who are able to stand throughout persecution and tribulation. It takes a global village to be the people God wants us to be, and to be able to stay strong through persecution.

    Becoming God’s multicultural people

    For the Jewish people in Israel who  thought they alone were God’s chosen people, this image of a multicultural people of God is a drastic shift in thinking. In Ephesians 3, Paul very directly states that once the Gentiles were not only foreigners and aliens but uncircumcised, and therefore not part of Israel, not part of God’s people. But now, he concludes, through Christ they belong – fully belong. Paul’s commentary was an immense shift in thinking for Jewish Christians. Only then could they begin to understand that there could be different ways of worshipping God than their own Jewish traditions, particularly the practices that gave them identity, such as circumcision and food laws.

    For those of us who think our ways of worshipping and understanding God are the right ways or the best ways or even the only ways, the image of God’s multicultural people in Revelation 7 is also an immense shift in our own thinking. It takes a global village to be the people God wants us to be.

    We are cultural people, and our own cultural traditions and languages are the means through which we understand and worship God. There is much to celebrate in many of our ways of worshipping and understanding God, wherever it is that we live and worship. But our own ways are not the only ways! Our ways are comfortable and familiar, and our leaders can even usually give extensive biblical explanations for why we think our practices are the right way.

    Like the people at the Tower of Babel, we are too often afraid that differences will create disunity and will scatter us. We are too often ready to depend on language and culture and tradition to hold us together, instead of depending on God’s ways to hold us together across our differences. We need to become like the people in Revelation, a multicultural group praising God together, who are able to withstand all persecution. It takes a global village to be the people God wants us to be.

    A glimpse of heaven on earth

    Having studied sociology, I know that every group works hard to create its own identity and its own way of doing things, and that those ways of belonging are important. We all want to belong to a group with whom we share identity; that is normal human nature. Belonging is a good thing! However, these stories in Genesis, Revelation and Ephesians help us to see that God intends for us to share our primary identity with other Jesus-followers, rather than with those who share our language, culture or nationality.  We belong to a people whose worldview is shaped by God, the Bible and our faith community. Our primary identity is as Christians. We belong to a local church and a global church. This identity and belonging should be the primary influence on who we are.

    Our congregations are places where we belong, where we know each other and where we enjoy similar styles of worship and following Jesus. Belonging to a local congregation where we like to sing the same songs or pray in the same way is a good thing. Many of us also belong to regional or national conferences – another setting in which we share customs and traditions that bind us together in common identity. And yet I know that even within congregations and conferences there is always just enough difference to bring conflict and tension. Those differences are magnified when we put a large number of congregations and conferences together within one country, and then across cultures, languages and countries. 

    Mennonite World Conference is different from belonging to a local congregation or conference. MWC is our global Anabaptist church community, where we come together because we share convictions about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the church. It is our place to catch just a little glimpse of heaven on earth – a glimpse of what it is like to worship God together with a multitude of others from different nations, different cultures and different languages. It is a glimpse of being the people God wants us to be – a people bound together by more than language, culture or local customs and traditions. 

    MWC is a place for us to learn from our cultural diversity about what it means to follow Jesus. I believe that we can best answer the question, “What does it mean to be an Anabaptist Christian in my cultural context today?” by finding out how people in other cultural contexts answer that question. MWC is the place where we walk this journey of faith with others who are different from us – different cultures, different countries, even different types of Anabaptists in different conferences. MWC is the place where we are bound together by our shared convictions as Anabaptist Christians. Together, we are a bit of heaven here on earth. Together, we are strong enough to resist persecution and temptation.

    Together with all the saints

    Let us look back again at the passage written by Paul to the Christians in  Ephesus – not to the Jewish Christians, but to Gentile Christians. He reminds them in chapters 2 and 3 that they are fellow citizens of God’s people, full members of God’s household and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus. That was an amazing, new, yet controversial idea way back then, and it continues to transform our understanding of God’s actions in our world today. We are all full members of God’s household, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus, across all the differences that so easily divide us.

    Paul offers a prayer for this Gentile church in Ephesians 3:14-21. He prays that they might comprehend the immensity of the love of God – the breadth, length, depth and height of the love of God. And he prays that they might know it “with all the saints.” I love that little phrase in there. I read it to say that we cannot really know the immensity of God’s love without all the saints. It is only in the messiness of difference – cultural and linguistic and political and theological and economic – with all the saints, that we can begin to grasp the love of God. It takes a global village to begin to understand the immensity of God’s love, and to be the people God wants us to be.

    Arli Klassen is chief development officer for Mennonite World Conference.

    Anabaptists from around the world share in a communion service during the 2012 MWC General Council meeting, held in Basel, Switzerland. Photo by Merle Good

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Two Mennonite women, one from North America and one from Indonesia, converse. For Anabaptists, MWC is the place where such intercultural contact is possible. Photo by Merle Good

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Le 23 juillet, plus de 50 francophones de 12 pays différents se sont retrouvés sous la présidence de Max Wiedmer dans une salle perdue au fond d’un dédale de couloirs du Farm Show Complex de Harrisburg, en Pennsylvanie. Si perdue qu’une trentaine de personnes ne l’ont jamais trouvée… Échos de cette réunion du Réseau mennonite francophone. Elisabeth Baecher, rédactrice de Perspective, mensuel des Eglises mennonites de Suisse.

    Habituellement, le Réseau francophone se réunit deux fois par an au niveau européen. Ce n’est que tous les trois ans, lors des rassemblements des délégués de la Conférence mennonite mondiale que les membres de plusieurs continents se retrouvent. Cette rencontre prend des airs de fête, tant les participants sont heureux de se revoir. Aux habitués se sont ajoutés cinq Québécois, deux représentants du Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) au Burundi, un implanteur d’Églises congolaises en Afrique du Sud, une personne du Bénin, d’anciens missionnaires et d’autres francophones de passage qui participaient au rassemblement mondial. Certains d’entre eux ont cependant eu du mal à comprendre les enjeux d’une telle rencontre.

    Modeste francophonie 

    Pourquoi est-il si important que les francophones se rencontrent ? Les francophones se sentent souvent un peu seuls dans la grande communauté mondiale, dominée par l’anglais et l’espagnol. Mis à part les Églises mennonites du Congo très nombreuses, les francophones sont souvent dans de petites unions d’Églises du Canada (Québec), de Haïti, du Burkina Faso, de Côte d’Ivoire, en plus de la France, de la Suisse et de la Belgique. Les Congolais sont très nombreux, mais en réalité beaucoup d’entre eux ne parlent pas le français.

    Il est important de se rencontrer pour parler des projets en cours, des ressources disponibles en français et pour cultiver des relations fraternelles sans barrière de langue. En anglais, il existe une pléthore de livres, de cours et de sites Internet… En français, les ressources sont bien plus modestes et gagnent à être mises en commun.

    Lors du rassemblement de Harrisburg, la Conférence mennonite mondiale a fait un réel effort pour traduire les documents en français et a déployé de grands moyens pour proposer une traduction simultanée en français lors du rassemblement.

    Simple réseau ou projets communs

    Les trois heures de rencontre prévues n’ont suffi qu’à faire un tour de table où chacun s’est présenté. Après les échanges par e-mail, par Skype, c’est un plaisir de se rencontrer en personne.

    Quelques participants ont parlé de leur union d’Églises de manière plus détaillée. Certains pensaient qu’il était nécessaire que le groupe se structure de manière claire, qu’il formule des projets communs… Mais l’ensemble des personnes présentes n’est pas vraiment représentatif et n’a pas le mandat de prendre des décisions. Par ailleurs, le Réseau ne dispose pas non plus de moyens financiers.

    Le plus important, c’est d’apprendre à se connaître et à découvrir ce qui se vit dans les autres pays. Lors des rencontres, nous avons appris par exemple qu’il existe dix Églises francophones au sein de Mennonite Church USA (congolaises et haïtiennes), qu’il y a un grand groupe de francophones en Angola, que les articles publiés dans le cadre du Réseau sont bien appréciés…

    Le Réseau mennonite francophone existe maintenant depuis 15 ans. Des échanges se font occasionnellement entre la France, la Suisse, le Congo, le Burkina Faso et le Québec. Des liens se constituent et se régularisent. Des projets d’échange un peu plus importants ont vu le jour (des camps de jeunes Suisses à Haïti, de Français au Congo et cet été au Burkina Faso, une délégation québécoise en France et en Suisse cet automne…). Les agences missionnaires, le MCC et les Églises de chaque pays tissent des liens et créent des échanges.

    La page Internet dédiée au Réseau francophone se trouve sur le site de la Conférence mennonite mondiale (www.mwc-cmm.org). Elle gagnerait à être étoffée en présentant davantage les ressources utiles et les échanges qui ont lieu entre membres du Réseau.

    Une rencontre a eu lieu entre enseignants francophones de théologie avant le début du rassemblement de Harrisburg. Comme seuls quelques délégués africains ont eu le visa pour venir en Pennsylvanie, une nouvelle rencontre devrait avoir lieu en 2017 à Kinshasa. C’est dans ce pays qu’il y a le plus de lieux de formations mennonites francophones.

    Particularité de la R.D. du Congo 

    Fruit d’un réseautage : une nouvelle traduction

    La communication avec les mennonites du Congo s’avère souvent compliquée, compte tenu de leur nombre et des distances. Neal Blough l’a exprimé ainsi : « Vous êtes des géants, nous sommes des moustiques ! » Récemment, les trois grandes unions d’Églises mennonites (la Communauté mennonite au Congo, la Communauté des Frères mennonites au Congo et la Communauté évangélique mennonite) se sont regroupées pour relancer le Comité national inter mennonite (Conim). Ce comité devra répondre à des objectifs définis pour améliorer les relations entre les mennonites du Congo et les autres pays.

    jectifs définis pour améliorer les relations entre les mennonites du Congo et les autres pays. Un grand sujet de frustration pour les quelques Congolais présents était leur difficulté d’obtenir des visas pour l’Amérique du Nord. Selon leurs informations, une personne devait gérer l’ensemble des 300 demandes de visa et a fini par disparaître avec l’argent… L’enquête est en cours.

    Pour aller plus loin…

    Le Réseau mennonite francophone a publié un livre international qui présente les églises qui composent ce Réseau, des articles provenant de divers pays, sur la non-conformité, le courage de s’opposer à l’injustice, la vision de jeunes pour l’église, une réflexion sur l’avenir du Réseau…

    Vivre l’Eglise au-delà des frontières (14 auteurs) Dossier de Christ Seul 1/2012, Editions Mennonites, Montbéliard, 73 pages, 8 ‚Ǩ, Commande : editions.mennonites@wanadoo.fr – tél. 03 81 94 59 14

  • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – “We’re offering a global feast for the soul,” says Don McNiven, a member of the Program Committee for Mennonite World Conference’s Assembly, as he announced evening speakers for PA 2015, to be held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in July.

    “Each day we will consider a tension that all of us face as Christians. We’ll begin each morning with conversation about the topic, and then end the day with comments about the same subject, each night from a faithful soul from a different continent.”

    On opening night, Tuesday, 21 July, César García of Bogotá, Colombia, MWC General Secretary, will introduce the theme for the Assembly, “Walking with God.” In his presentation, he will focus especially on Luke 24 and speak about “Walking the Road to Emmaus.” 

    Yukari Kaga of Japan will talk about “Walking in Doubt and Conviction” (I Peter 1: 3-9) on Wednesday evening, 22 July. Yukari pastors several small Mennonite congregations in Hokkaido. She is chief director of the Peace Mission Center and serves at the Mennonite Education and Research Center in Japan.

    Nzuzi Mukawa of the Democratic Republic of Congo will address “Walking in Conflict and Reconciliation” (I Samuel 25: 1-44; II Corinthians 5: 17-20) on Thursday evening, 23 July. Nzuzi is the team leader for Mennonite Brethren missions in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is both a professor of missions and an associate pastor of an MB congregation in Congo.

    Wieteke van der Molen of the Netherlands will explore “Walking in Autonomy and Community” (Genesis 32) Friday evening, 24 July. Wieteke, who pastors a small rural Mennonite congregation north of Amsterdam, loves to read and tell stories.

    Bruxy Cavey of Canada will talk about “Walking in Receiving and Giving” (Galatians 5:22-23) on Saturday evening, 25 July. Bruxy is the teaching pastor of The Meeting House, one of Canada’s largest and most innovative churches. A member of the Brethren in Christ, Bruxy is an author and speaks extensively around the world.

    We will be blessed by hearing from sisters and brothers who live their faith in settings that are especially difficult,” says McNiven. “They will speak honestly to us about the rigours of following Christ, whatever our circumstances. What extraordinary richness for all of us!”

    For more information about PA 2015, and to register, go to www.mwc-cmm.org/pa2015.

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

    Click here to download a printable pdf file to create a bulletin insert with Assembly speakers and themes, as depicted in the graphic above.

     

  • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – A 19-member international ensemble of singers and instrumentalists has just been selected to lead the morning and evening worship each day at PA 2015, the Mennonite World Conference Assembly to be held in Harrisburg at the Farm Show complex July 21-26.

    “During the next few weeks, we’ll be learning each other’s stories,” explained Marcy Hostetler, leader of the group. “It’s so important to love and respect the people you work with.”

    The 11 vocalists and eight instrumentalists come from India, Congo, Ethiopia, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Indonesia, Colombia, and the U.S. Seven of the instrumentalists live in south-central Pennsylvania, the region where PA 2015 will be held. “We wanted the instrumental ensemble to be able to rehearse well before the rest of the group arrives so we have a strong foundation,” explains Hostetler.

    “Musicians who were interested in being considered for the group sent us their resumés, musical sound clips or youtube links, plus references,” explains Hostetler about how members of the group were chosen.

    “We had many talented applicants, but we looked at more than their musical ability. We wanted to represent all the continents. We wanted gender balance. International experience and diverse musical involvement were pluses, as well as the ability to play multiple instruments and sing.

    “After we made the initial selection of the group, our second step was to ask the remaining applicants to respond to in-depth questions about faith and their understanding of Anabaptism and how it is lived.”

    Ensemble members bring musical ability, as well as rich human experience. Some examples:
    • Dodó Miranda grew up in Congo, a refugee from Angola. At age five, he begged to attend adult choir practice with his parents and officially joined the choir at age eight because of his dedication and aptitude. As an adult, he has participated in music festivals in South Africa, France, Norway, and the U.S. He is in high demand in Angola where he is featured regularly on national TV and radio as a Gospel musician.
    • Nohemy Ruth García of Spain has a three-octave vocal range. She has sung for three years with the Philharmonic Choirs of the Sydney [Australia] Opera House. Also a songwriter, she was commissioned to write a song of peace to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the bombing in Madrid (which killed 191 and injured 1800). As part of the anniversary celebration, “Choirs from all over the country joined the project,” says García. “Thousands of people gathered in hundreds of cities that week, singing together ‘Despertar’ (‘Awakening’),” García’s original song.
    • Clyde Ferguson, Jr., from North Carolina, builds diddly bows. His band, Pop Ferguson Blues, has been recognized by the AT&T African American National Heritage group and has been included in North Carolina classroom curricula because of its contribution to North Carolina history. Ferguson has taught for 26 years in North Carolina public schools, directing the schools’ bands for many of those years. A member of the Mennonite Brethren leadership board, he’s also developed a dropout prevention program called “Reach em to Teach em.”
    • Marisol Arriaga Aranda of Mexico is a graduate of Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Mexico City. She has pastored two Mennonite churches, one with a large community center. Currently she sings soprano in Abba Padre Musical Integration and leads music in workshops offered by Women in Action for Peace in Mexico.

    “We are bringing together music leaders and recognized performers,” says Hostetler. “First, we’ll have to learn to share ideas and cooperate together to create a wonderful sound, since many of us are used to being directors!”

    Each day at PA 2015 will feature a different continent – including  the music. Latin American music, with its particular rhythms and styles, will be highlighted on Tuesday, July 21; Asian music on Wednesday, July 22; African music on Thursday, July 23; European music on Friday, July 24; and North American music on Saturday, July 25.

    “Don McNiven, coordinator of the group, and I are sending music clips to each ensemble member now so they can become familiar with some of the songs we’ll be singing from the platform. We’ll get together about four days ahead of the Conference to rehearse together, to become acquainted – and to become a group who can lead all who attend in wonderful worship,” explains Hostetler.

    “The more prepared we are, the more open and flexible we can be. When we selected the musicians, we looked for those with multiple skills – who  can both play and sing – and who respect and understand the value of true worship.

    “Of course, we’ll be singing in a variety of languages, which requires special effort, too. One of the criteria for being in the group is being able to communicate in English. We need at least one common language!” says Hostetler.

    “Remember – at PA 2015 we’re all going to be singing, with the Ensemble leading and supporting us!” comments Don McNiven. “Unified voices, lifted in multi-cultural worship in response to our Creator, Saviour, and Lord, will be just a taste of the worship we read about in Revelation.”

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

    Singers and Instrumentalists

    Members of the Vocal Ensemble: Debora Agustinus (Indonesia), Marisol Aranda (Mexico), Nohemy Ruth García (Spain), Dawit Getachew (Ethiopia), Emily Grimes (U.S.), Nina Marie Horsch (Germany), Patience Lola (Congo), Dodó Miranda (Congo), Anugraha Mochary (India), Anna Showalter (U.S.), Mark Wenger (U.S.)

    Members of the Instrumental Ensemble: Clyde Ferguson (U.S.), Christy Kauffman (U.S.), Ryan Kauffman (U.S.), Abby Madden (U.S.), Frances Miller (U.S.), Wilar Mora (Colombia), Jeff Raught (U.S.), Daryl Snider (U.S.)

     

     

  • Panama – A request for prayer for land struggle was the main request that a Mennonite World Conference delegation heard in a February 2015 visit with church and indigenous community leaders in Panama.

    Leaders of the MWC member church, Iglesia Evangélica Unida Hermanos Menonitas de Panamá (United Evangelical Church: Mennonite Brethren in Panama), invited the MWC delegation to inform them about the long struggle to have legally established titles to ancestral land recognized and enforced.

    Despite existing constitutional guarantees of land ownership, the government is doing little to prevent illegal settlers from taking land, logging and selling trees – especially the cocobolo tree – and using the land for herding.

    The delegation included four persons jointly sponsored by the MWC Peace and Deacons Commissions – Joji Pantoja of the Philippines, Jack Suderman of Canada, Gladys Siemens of Brazil and Henk Stenvers of the Netherlands.

    They met for a day in Panama City with church leaders who are also providing leadership to the National Congress of the Wounaan people. And then they visited three villages by boat, timing their departures and arrivals according to the rising tide in the inland rivers.

    In each village there was an evening worship service and an overnight stay. In the morning the delegation heard stories of how encroachments on indigenous land are causing many to lose hope and patience because it seems to them that their pleas for help are going unnoticed.

    The delegation heard repeatedly a resolute belief in the power of prayer and advocacy by the global faith community. The attached prayer reflects the specific prayer requests that were named in the many conversations in which the delegation engaged.

    “They understand – at least in part – the limits of our capabilities,” noted Suderman in his draft of the delegation’s report. “They also understand the power of God in God’s praying people. The idea of allowing the story to become known is, in itself, the highest hope of the leadership. There is a profound sense that truth will eventually win out, but that it needs to be exposed and become known.”

    Church leaders also asked for help in training of leaders in areas such as conflict resolution, identity formation, restorative justice and nonviolent strategies. Further, they asked for advocacy  in international forums such as the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the government of Panama.

    MWC release

    Prayer

    The Commission of Diaconia and Peace of the Iglesia Evangélica Unida Hermanos Menonitas de Panamá (United Evangelical Church: Mennonite Brethren in Panama) has requested that God’s people, around the world, pray this prayer on their behalf.                                                                            

    Creator God of Justice, Peace, Love and Mercy:
     
    You know the struggles of your people.
    You know the struggles of the Wounaan People of Panama: a struggle for justice related to their Ancestral Domain amid the continuing invasions of those lands.  
     
    We pray to you.
    We lament the ongoing loss of valuable resources of the Wounaan people.
    We pray that the Government of Panama might act to secure the collective title to the land.
     
    We pray to you for justice in the case of the three men who have been falsely accused and condemned to 20 years of prison due to their leadership in this struggle for land.
     
    We pray for your justice in the legal processes led by their lawyer Leonidas Quiróz; processes that still seem to be without the sympathetic ears and hearts needed to resolve these struggles.
     
    We pray for wisdom and patience for the local pastors and conference leaders of the United Evangelical Church: Mennonite Brethren of Panama.
     
    We give thanks for their firm commitment to keeping this struggle free of violence.
    We give thanks for their concerns for the life-giving flora and fauna created to secure life for generations to come.
    We give thanks for their wisdom and patience.
    We give thanks that they are your people and you are their God.
     
    Thank you God for listening to our lament. Thank you for knowing the integrity of our hearts. Thank you that your will is the welfare of all your creation.
     
    May your will be done.
     
    Amen.
     

     

  • Bogotá, Colombia – Mennonite World Conference is calling for urgent prayer for the people of Nepal. On Saturday, 25 April 2015 they experienced an earthquake of 7.8 on the Richter scale followed by many powerful aftershocks.

    MWC has been in contact with its member church, Nepal BIC Church/Brethren in Community Welfare Society. On 27 April Shemlal Hembrom, the General Secretary of the church, shared, “Most of our BIC Churches are in eastern Nepal and all our church members are safe, but two people were injured in Kathmandu while running out of the church. Our church buildings and the homes of our believers have been affected. Please continue to pray for the grieving families and daily life.” To read the full email, click here.

    Hembrom wrote another update on 29 April. In it he writes, “Thank God that, as of today, the earthquake tremors have calmed down and our telephone and internet system has begun to work. Yet, it is very sad to report that the tragedy of Nepal continues to increase. Currently 5,400 people have died, but the Prime Minister Shushil Koirala says, ‘The death toll could go up to 10,000 because information from remote villages hit by the earthquake is yet to come in.’ More than 8,000 are hospitalized; hundreds are getting medical treatment on the road and in open places; more than 2,000 people have been rescued alive who were trapped under fallen and collapsed buildings; and due to rain, the rescue teams are also encountering difficulties. According to the reports, ten million people across the country have been affected by this earthquake.

    “Next to Kathmandu, the Sindhupalchok district northeast of Kathmandu has had the most casualties. Bimal Lama, our BIC pastor in Kathmandu under Tibbet Mission, comes from that same district where his mother and other relatives live. Saturday afternoon he was informed that most houses in his village have been destroyed, many have died, and that his mother was also injured. However, since then he has not received any news about her as there is no telephone connection in the area. Therefore he is very worried.

    “We thank God that our BIC Church believers in Kathmandu are safe, except for some injuries. We are grateful to God and thankful to all of you for your prayer and concern. We believe the Lord has special purpose to keep us safe and therefore we, the BIC Executive Board, met together to thank God, pray for grieving families and to seek God’s will, as God’s people to do what we can to share His love. Though the needs are very great; if we can do small things for some people it would be great help to them.”

    Hembrom further reported that the Nepal BIC Church are planning to send a team of 15 to 20 volunteers to the Shindhupalchok district, to provide 1,000 temporary tents, and to assist 4,000 victims with food and medicine for at least a month.  They are also planning several reconstruction projects. Their total budget plan is $225,000 to $250,000.

    “Please pray that God may open the door to provide these funds,” added Hembrom.

    Mennonite Central Committee has also begun its earthquake response by working with a local organization in a remote area of eastern Nepal, providing food and other essential items to affected families. To read more about their response, click here.

    MWC News Release