The 14th Mennonite World Conference, 2003

Tattered Bible in hand, Christopher Moyo sat in the front row of the worship hall Aug. 15 and summed up the Mennonite World Conference assembly from a Zimbabwean’s point of view.

“The spiritual food and the physical food both are very good,” he said.

When a man barely manages to feed his family, a full plate at a church conference is no small gift.

Gifts large and small were exchanged at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair site on Aug. 11–17 when about 7,000 Mennonites and Brethren in Christ – more than 5,000 of them Africans – gathered for their church’s 14th worldwide assembly.

It didn’t take long for them to make the conference theme, “Sharing Gifts in Suffering and in Joy,” much more than words.

They shared the gift of encouragement. They learned about responses to suffering. They felt joy in music.

Among many good things was the way the assembly placed people from 58 nations into a new Anabaptist family portrait. This portrait had black and brown faces in the majority, reflecting the fact that more Anabaptist church members now live in Africa than in any other continent, according to MWC statistics.

The assembly also placed a spotlight on the Brethren in Christ Church, an 18th-century offshoot of Mennonites. Zimbabwe’s entire Anabaptist membership of 29,000 is BIC.

At conference worship services, the Zimbabwean BIC women’s “church uniform” – white hats and white blouses – was the dominant clothing style in the crowd.

And the assembly gave visitors from around the world a glimpse into the lives of Zimbabweans, who are enduring drought, political unrest and runaway inflation calculated at 364 percent this year.

“It’s quite an honour that you are willing to come and share our sorrows,” said Treziah Ndlovu of Zimbabwe while waiting in line for lunch. “You will witness what we experience and tell others. Life is getting tougher and tougher each day.”

The assembly’s official registration total was more than 6,200. Larger numbers came on opening night and for the concluding Sunday morning service.

About 4,500 Zimbabweans registered. Among the 1,800 international guests, the largest number came from the United States, which had 737 participants. Canada had 254.

Each day featured morning and evening worship services planned by people from a different continent. On a stage in the middle of the Global Church Village display area, groups from around the world shared their music. Workshops and tours were among other daily activities.

Preceding the assembly were meetings of the Global Mission Fellowship and Global Youth Summit. MWC’s leadership group, the General Council, met before and after the assembly. During the week, two General Council subgroups, the Peace Council and Faith and Life Council, convened.

Before and after the Bulawayo conference, officially called Assembly Gathered, many international visitors took part in trips known as Assembly Scattered, visiting Anabaptist churches and natural attractions such as wildlife parks in several African nations.

Not the least of the assembly’s many blessings was the fact that it was held at all, and successfully.

“The hand of God was really mighty, because everything we prayed for was answered,” said Ethel Sibanda, a member of the national coordinating committee in Zimbabwe, speaking to the Sunday morning worship crowd.

Conference organizers relied on prayer, she said. They prayed as they walked the streets of the conference site in advance, even praying over the stacks of firewood for cooking.

“We declared before the Lord that this was holy ground,” Sibanda said.

Thousands of her sisters and brothers around the world would agree.

—Paul Schrag

We declared before the Lord that this was holy ground.