Rejoicing, mourning, nurturing

Encouragement for those who endure persecution. The first official summary of beliefs shared by Anabaptists around the world. An African woman’s plea for equality with men. Setting a goal to do peace work with Catholics.

These were among the highlights when about 220 Mennonites and Brethren in Christ (representing more than a million people) from 50 countries gathered in Pasadena, Cal. Mar. 9–15 to nurture the global Anabaptist movement.

They came for the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) General Council, a meeting held once every three years.

“When the global church gathers, we rejoice and we mourn,” said MWC executive secretary Larry Miller of France at a Mar. 12 worship service.

Reasons to rejoice included the testimony of Vietnamese leader Hien Tri Truong, who told of Mennonites’ perseverance amid religious repression and the release of six imprisoned church members.

Mourning followed word of the death of Christian Peacemaker Teams worker Tom Fox, the first to lose his life to violence in CPT’s 20-year history.

Encouragement for persecuted believers included prayer for churches in Vietnam and in Haiti, where the network of churches represented by Bishop Lesly Bertrand was recently attacked.

Photo: Everett Thomas for Meetinghouse A worldwide deaconate: a special “service consultation” before the beginning of MWC’s mini-assembly, sponsored by MWC and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), discussed deaconal ministry within the global Anabaptist network of churches. Participants agreed the large economic disparity within member constituencies must be addressed. Larry Miller (l), MWC executive secretary, and Robb Davis (r), MCC executive director, accepted responsibility for the next steps – MCC to help with socioeconomic analysis and MWC to provide biblical context. Citing a Congolese saying that partners must exchange shoes, the two men also did that for about an hour during the consultation.

Shared convictions

The council approved a statement of shared convictions to give members around the world a clearer picture of beliefs they hold in common.

The document’s seven points describe basic beliefs shared with most Christians, such as salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as beliefs that Anabaptists emphasize, such as nonviolence.

It is the first statement of beliefs adopted by leaders of the worldwide Anabaptist community.

It does not replace conferences’ official confessions of faith, but could be especially useful for those that do not have a formal confession. It can also help define Anabaptism to others.

The statement will be posted online at Mennonite World Conference.

Working with Catholics

After a five-year series of dialogue meetings between MWC representatives and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the General Council endorsed several new initiatives with the Catholic Church.

One goal is to start joint peacemaking efforts, preferably in a place where violence affects both Anabaptists and Catholics, such as Congo or Colombia.

In 2007, MWC will organize a delegation to visit Rome. In 2008 and 2009, two consultations will be held in regions “where Mennonites and Catholics encounter each other in significant and perhaps problematic ways.”

Peace and acceptance

During Peace Council sessions, members approved three commitments proposed by Peter Stucky of Colombia: to make our churches “sanctuaries of peace,” to follow “the way of nonviolence as a non-negotiable value,” and to “stand against the taking of all human life.”

Among those who told of experiences in their home countries, Rebecca Osiro of Kenya gave a calmly stated but passionately worded call for the acceptance of women as equals with men in African churches. Representing the African Mennonite Women Theologians group, Osiro called for removing barriers that reserve pastoral roles for men and prevent women from using all their gifts in ministry. She praised the Mennonite Brethren in Congo for ordaining a woman, Kadi Halumaye, in 2004.

Pentecostalism

The council identified the relationship between Anabaptism and Pentecostalism as an issue for continuing work by MWC leaders.

Responses to an evening symposium on “Anabaptism and Pentecostalism: Creating Understanding” included both affirmation of the Pentecostal influence on MWC churches and criticism of its divisive impact.

“I would guess that at least half of the grassroots members of Mennonite World Conference would consider themselves to be Pentecostals,” said Richard Showalter, president of Eastern Mennonite Missions.

A findings committee said Anabaptists and Pentecostals need to learn from each other; both are restorationist movements based on Acts 2 and radical alternatives to mainstream culture.

2009, other business

Paraguayan representatives encouraged council members to promote attendance at the next MWC assembly in Paraguay in July 2009.

The council also:

• Approved a program plan for 2006–09, including opening a regional office in Africa or Asia. MWC currently has offices in Strasbourg, France; Kitchener, Ont.; and Fresno, Cal.
• Heard that the second volume of the Global Mennonite History Project, on Europe, will be published in June.
• Accepted the 565-member Nepal Brethren in Christ Church Society as a full member of MWC.
• Elected vice-president Danisa Ndlovu of Zimbabwe as MWC president-elect, to succeed Nancy Heisey of the U.S. in 2009.
• Appointed Larry Miller to another three-year term as executive secretary, from 2009 to 2012.

—Paul Schrag for Meetinghouse

15 denied visas

Fifteen members of the Mennonite World Conference’s General Council were denied visas to attend the “mini-MWC” gathering in Pasadena Mar. 9–15. The group (10 from Africa, 5 from South and Central America) represented more than 10 percent of the council. No reasons were given for the refusals, though they seemed based on fears the delegates would attempt to settle in the U.S.

MWC leaders were angry about the denials. President Nancy Heisey said that the treatment these delegates received is of broad Christian concern, for similar problems have been encountered with other G8 countries like Canada and Britain. It’s “basically rich nations versus poor nations,” she said.

—from reports by Everett J. Thomas and Tim Miller Dyck for Meetinghouse