MWC Info July 2020 | | COVID-19 global response fund helps churches"It will reflect our love of Christ to them; [that] we care and are concerned for them and it will also bring smile in their faces," says Bishop Dr. Bijoy Kumar Roul, Chairman, Brethren In Christ Church, Cuttack, Odisha, India. Mennonite World Conference's COVID-19 inter-agency task force has...
| | Will there be another Assembly miracle?Did you know that a pandemic has preceded three consecutive Mennonite World Conference Assemblies in the Global South? For Zimbabwe in 2003, it was SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). For Paraguay in 2009, in was H1N1 (also known as Swine Flu). And now, planners for Assembly next year in Indonesia are facing an even more severe pandemic, COVID-19. In all three events, an epidemic loomed in the background.
| | 23 July 1955–24 June 2020 Mennonite World Conference (MWC) lost Alfred Neufeld Friesen, a prolific author, theologian, historian and teacher who shaped Anabaptist theology globally. He died 24 June 2020 in Muenster, Germany, after treatment for liver cancer and kidney problems. "Alfred Neufeld had...
| | God's paintbrush of diversityIt does not happen often, but I am at a loss for words as cities across the United States burn, and as I have endured several weeks of seeing black bodies sacrificed in the name of order and discipline. I am torn between being an enraged black man and being a leader in a predominantly white...
| | "The Gospel of John says that our purpose is to know God and experience eternal life with God," says young Anabaptist Lilia Aranguren from Bogota, Colombia. "As we walk with Jesus in relationship, his peace flows out of us into our relationships with others. It must be based in love." Young people...
| | Fellowship from 18 365 km apartSince March 2020, all Mennonite Brethren communities around the world have been affected to some extent by the pandemic. This affected our ICOMB work and especially our annual Summit. With all the frustration of not being able to meet in person, we were looking for alternatives to pursue our vision. So, for the first time as a global community, we celebrated our Summit even with some being 18 365 km apart.
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| | Praise God for the evangelistic fervour and faithfulness of our brothers and sisters in Africa. With economic challenges, severe climate events and diseases like malaria compounding the threat of COVID-19, they continue to worship God and serve their neighbours with what means they have, sharing the gospel in word and deed. We pray for everyone who has been affected by Covid-19. For those who have died; for those who have been ill; for the family members that this has affected; for those whose jobs and livelihoods have been affected by the economic downturn that this pandemic has caused; for all of us as our lives and our "normals" have changed. Ukraine (Association of Mennonite Brethren Churches in Ukraine – AMBCU): Pray for this emerging Mennonite Brethren conference. Pray for the churches meeting in groups of 10 due to quarantine restrictions, and for the small groups doing Bible studies and worship. The churches are also meeting on Zoom. Pray for those that are suffering from the virus. Though there are few cases in that area of Ukraine, people suffer economically and the churches are distributing food.
These Peace Sunday worship resources are provided by the Peace Commission of Mennonite World Conference. We encourage their use by all MWC-related congregations on the designated Peace Sunday (20 September 2020), or another Sunday that fits the schedule of the congregation. We trust that we can all be nurtured by the faithfulness of these brothers and sisters. Solidarity and our interconnectedness
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