Anabaptist Christians in a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of 137 000 residents in Nairobi practice “The Courage to Love” on a daily basis. “Our modest Anabaptist congregation faces acceptance, evangelism and cultural fusion difficulties,” says George Ochieng, director of Eastleigh Fellowship Centre (EFC) Mennonite Church Choir. “Even so, we have been summoned to exhibit courage through loving in this environment.”
The EFC choir from a Mennonite church in Nairobi is one of five musical ensembles selected to represent music in Anabaptist churches around the world at the 500th anniversary event in Zurich 2025. “Our choir eagerly anticipates leveraging our musical gifts to share the love of Christ through a blend of diverse cultural elements,” he says.
At the one-day event 29 May 2025, each choir will perform two times: one indoor concert at the Predigerkirche or Friedenskirche and an outdoor concert at the Zwingli Platz in front of the Grossmünster without any amplification. The choirs will also participate in the final worship service at the Grossmünster cathedral which will be livestreamed.
The EFC choir calls its style afrofusion “because it invokes various musical cultures drawn from different countries in Africa,” says George Ochieng. The choir members themselves represent different cultures from around Kenya. They travel throughout Kenya to perform in churches and at music festivals.
“Heartfelt prayers ascend that our ensemble obtains the required visas for 2025,” says George Ochieng. Only 7 of their 36 members received visa to travel to the USA to perform at the MWC Assembly in Pennsylvania in 2015. “The privilege [of attending an MWC event] provides us with the opportunity to learn much more about the community of Anabaptist believers,” says George Ochieng.
The five ensembles will perform in a local congregation on Sunday, 1 June 2025.
“Music transcends barriers, serving as a testament to God’s Kingdom and fostering unity across racial, linguistic and national lines,” says George Ochieng. “We pray for peace in the world at a time when the world needs this the most since World War II.”
Other ensembles:
Latin America:
Ágape Band from Asunción, Paraguay. Varied musical styles mixing pop, rock, Latin, funk and folk. Seven musicians and a sound technician. Several are members of Iglesia Hermanos Menonitas Concordia and graduates of CEMTA (Centro Evangélico Menonita de Teología Asunción).
“Our band name is the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13. Many of our songs talk about this self-giving love of God. We know that real love is for the ones with courage. We can only feel fulfilled when our relationship with our God defines our values and identity,” says Carlos Arce Penner, band leader.
At age 22, he directed a band that led worship at the 2009 Global Youth Summit in Paraguay and played with different delegations during the Assembly.
North America
Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) Chamber Singers from Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA. A mixed voice, mainly acapella choir that mostly sings sacred music from a variety of styles, time periods and cultures. The auditioned 20 members are students from different majors.
“Much of our music also centres on themes that are important to Anabaptism, including peace, justice, discipleship and care for creation and all people,” says director Benjamin Bergey. “One of the most foundational ways to be agents of peace in this world is by loving. We are very excited to connect with this wonderful and timely theme – and with the other music groups from around the world.”
Benjamin Bergey was the music coordinator for the 2022 MWC Assembly in Indonesia. The EMU choir sang at the 1967 MWC Assembly in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Europe
Songs of Peace began as new music project at the Bildungszentrum Bienenberg in Liestal, Switzerland. Today, it is an independent association led by married couple Dennis Thielmann and Karin Franz along with musicians from local Mennonite congregations.
“We value natural and reduced sounds combined with electronic elements in our music (mostly sung in German),” says Dennis Thielmann. Musical influences include world music, monastic traditions and sound therapy “We also try to use the musical form and staging to shape kingdom-of-God values such as simplicity, gratitude, authenticity, inclusion, patience, sustainability and global awareness.”
Dennis Thielmann participated in the music team at the MWC Assembly in Paraguay in 2009. “As we share our music with MWC guests in Zurich, we will call our listeners to slow down and look for the resonance of God’s presence in everything that surrounds us,” he says.
Asia
TIARA (The Indonesian Anabaptist peRforming Art) is an 8-member band from the GKMI Anugerah church in Jakarta, Indonesia. The members who sing, play traditional instruments (angklung) and dance, come from several locations in Central Java are regularly involved in worship music at their local congregations.
“We want to share God’s love for and mighty works in our country through performances that contain beauty, diversity, and wisdom,” says band coordinator Eliezer Pranawa (Prana) Setiawan. “We hope that every single piece we present in Zurich 2025 could be a gift of love for the global Anabaptist churches and community.”
“It was a privilege to be involved in the MWC Assembly in Indonesia in 2022,” he says. “At that fascinating event, we realized that we have global family and community through Anabaptist church.”
