Update from war-stricken Myanmar
Greetings from Myanmar. We are facing a significant challenge for our youth. As the number of soldiers in the junta [military] has dwindled, [youth] are being forcibly recruited to serve in the army, with men and women collected in different ways. The airport is strict regarding young people leaving the country, and young people rarely…
Call for prayer amid violence in Burkina Faso
The following update and prayer request was sent by Siaka Traoré to Tany Warkentin of Mennonite Church Canada on August 30. Traoré is the Mennonite World Conference regional representative for Central and West Africa as well as a long-time church leader in Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso is going through a dark period in this second…
Let’s agree to disagree
In my Zimbabwean African culture, elders are so revered that they are never seen as doing anything wrong. It is considered very rude to argue with one’s elders, even when we are certain that they are incorrect. Young people must bow their heads and make peace by being acquiescent. I vividly remember a time when…
Flooding displaces 200,000 in Kenya
“Unprecedented and devastating” flooding in Eastern Africa has caused the displacement of 235,000 people in just five days, according to a UN report. Countries most affected include Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia and Tanzania. In total, the UN estimates 637,000 people are affected, including tens of thousands of refugees. Over 200 people have died. In…
One more on unity and diversity
I’ve been writing this column for four-and-a-half years, and I’m sure I’ve used the same ideas more than once. In this, my last column, I return to the two core ideas that I get passionate about the most often. There is plenty of danger in a single story, and yet my story is not dissimilar…
Watch: Highlights from Indonesia
Last month, people from around the world gathered in Indonesia for the Mennonite World Conference’s 17th assembly. In an outdoor venue at a Mennonite seminary on a mountaintop in the city of Salatiga, on the island of Java, Anabaptists from 44 countries gathered for the global church reunion that’s held every six years—or seven, in…
Ukraine war shakes peace convictions, MWC assembly told
Saying the war in Ukraine has shaken western European Mennonites’ commitment to nonviolence, a French pastor urged Mennonites from around the world to get off the sidelines and work for peace. Hundreds of worshippers heard her message on July 6, the second day of the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) assembly in Salatiga, Indonesia. “We affirmed…
Thousands vaccinated at Indonesian Anabaptists’ Holy Stadium
In multireligious Indonesia, many people have never been inside a church. The pandemic is changing that for residents of Semarang (population 1.8 million) and the surrounding area. In coordination with the local government, police and military forces, the 2022 Mennonite World Conference Assembly host venue JKI Injil Kerajaan (Holy Stadium) is holding a vaccine clinic,…
MWC and AMBS partnership opens access to Anabaptist education
Mennonites around the globe yearn for Anabaptist theological education, identity formation and leadership development, but attending an Anabaptist-related college, university or seminary has not been possible for Mennonites in many countries. A new partnership has been designed to respond to this need. Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, Ind., have…
COVID-19 global response fund helps more Global South churches
“I have seen entire families in the garbage dumps looking to quench their hunger. I have also watched with sadness as they return the elderly from the hospitals because there are no possibilities to attend them, nor medicines to supply them,” said Erwin Francisco Mirabal González, a Mennonite pastor in Venezuela. “We pray to the…
