News from Mennonite World Conference

Misrak Meserete Kristos Church in Addis Ababa.

Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is "a community of Anabaptist-related churches rooted in the 16th-century Radical Reformation in Europe.... Today, more than 1,600,000 believers belong to this faith family; more than 60 percent are African, Asian, or Latin American."

MWC links together this Anabaptist community of faith for fellowship, worship, service, and witness.  One way MWC connects the church is organizing an assembly that brings this global fellowship together for about 1 week every 6 years.

I can remember travelling to Manitoba with my family when I was 8 years old to gather with other Anabaptists when Canada last hosted the event, Winnipeg 1990.  I have fond memories of that week.  Though I couldn’t speak a word of Spanish nor he more than 3 words in English, I spent the week with a Puerto Rican kid named Luis.  Our friendship brought our parents together, which led to my family living in Aibonito, Puerto Rico less than two years later (my mom taught English at a school called Betania Mennonita for a semester).

That experience – or perhaps that friendship – planted in me a seed of curiosity in connecting with people that are “different” than me; a seed which can only be fed by learning with people who can show me different ways of living, and different ways of living out the gospel.  This journey (which I recognize I have just begun) has really enriched my understanding of what it means to part of the body of Christ, with all our diversity in worldview, ideas, challenges, gifts, and abilities.

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.  If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.  Romans 12:6-8 (The Message)

I have appreciated the ways in which MWC connects the body of Christ.  To learn a bit more about MWC and increasing connections among worldwide Anabaptist service agencies (including MCC) read this article from the Mennonite World Conference News Service.