How to disagree with the beloved of God
Ian Funk remembers the last time he arrived on campus at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS)—how he walked into the guest house late at night and was welcomed by a fellow student sitting at the dining room table. People heard them exchanging greetings and popped out of their rooms. Within minutes, a group of students…
Tokyo Anabaptist Centre a hub of activity
The Tokyo Anabaptist Centre has been a busy—and sometimes dusty—place this year, reports Gerald Neufeld, Canadian church worker in Japan. Neufeld and his wife, Rie, who serve as relationship catalysts with Mennonite Church Canada, hosted workdays with volunteers at the end of December as part of a renovation of the Centre. While only partially moved in,…
Threads of unity – Diversity in faith and tradition
The tilet is a quintessential feature of Ethiopian traditional attire, deeply rooted in our religious, ethnic and identity symbolism. Crafting the tilet involves intricate weaving techniques, utilizing continuous extra weft threads of varying colours to achieve specific desired designs. This intricate process requires a diverse range of colours, thread types and patterns, demanding significant time and effort to create…
Encountering the gifts of a global church
The world is getting smaller. Peoples, places and cultures that in the past existed in distant lands may today be just around the corner. Here in North America, because of migration, many neighbourhoods have become mosaics of people of a variety of skin colours, languages and cultures. Some of the newcomers are Christians and they…
A global conversation through books
“Although each congregation has its own history and social and cultural background, it is common to experience the same sorts of conflicts, troubles and situations,” says Ellul Yongha Bae, a Mennonite church leader and publisher in South Korea. “[Mennonite World Conference] communications is very helpful to show that, as Mennonite churches, we have raised similar questions…
When will we say we need you?
Immediately after finishing with undergraduate school in 2008, I went down to Mexico to help translate for a mission trip that my mom and younger brother were taking with my church’s youth group. One day, the Mexican pastor we were working with—a smiling, mustachioed man who led a tiny Pentecostal church called Jehovah’s Hand—informed me…
MWC responds in solidarity to disasters
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and Mennonite organizations collaborated to live out their faith with unified action in response to disasters that struck members of the global Anabaptist family in 2017. Peru Torrential flooding caused by El Nino devastated homes and livelihoods of more than a million Peruvians. Together, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), the International Community…
Anabaptist Christians celebrate Christmas around the world
Christian communities around the world celebrate Christmas, yet each culture has its own traditions. Here, Anabaptist brothers and sisters from different regions share how they celebrate Christmas. Light: The Netherlands Christmas is my favourite time in the year. I associate it with Christmas music, candlelight and good times with family and friends. Most importantly, Christmas…
