It was the power of your prayers from the church around the world that enabled Sang-Min to endure the hardship of his prison life. Sang-Min Lee was sentenced to an 18-month prison term for refusing to fulfill his mandatory military service in South Korea, as a matter of faith and conscience. He was freed three months early, on July 30 2015, because of his service work while in prison. Similarly, Oscar Suarez in Colombia chose to be a conscientious objector rather than fulfill his required military service. Both young men are the first in their Mennonite churches to choose Conscientious Objector status, which will impact their future careers – Sang-Min now has a criminal record, and Oscar does not have his military completion certificate.
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Both young men are deeply grateful for the strong support provided to them, their families and their churches from around the world, giving them the courage to take this faith stance on conscientious objection to military service. There have been many letters of support, and at the Global Youth Summit this last July, young adults filled a book with notes for Sang-Min, who was still in prison at that time. Oscar says "Their support has strengthened my resolve…. There is an element of sacrifice in following Christ. In whatever we do, we do it for Christ, not for our own benefit."
That is the power of a global faith community! We walk together with those who suffer. We are encouraged by those who walk with us. Together we can go far in our walk with God – the theme of the Assembly in July in Pennsylvania.
I am writing to ask you to continue to support this global Anabaptist church community in between Assemblies. Please consider a year-end gift to Mennonite World Conference. You can make a donation on our website at https://www.mwc-cmm.org/article/ways-give, or by mailing a check/cheque to one of the addresses below.
Between assemblies is when MWC nurtures the spaces for church relationships across the barriers of language, conference, and culture that too often divide us. It is in these ongoing relationships that our commitment to Christ's peace is strengthened and sustained. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, may we share the peace of the Kingdom of God.
