Dutch Mennonites plan international centre

Dutch Mennonites know Ecclesiastes’ cycles of “a time to be born and a time to die” well.

Dying Dutch Anabaptists birthed a new, living church in the 16th century. Today a struggling Dutch church seeks new life by inviting global Anabaptists to join them in remembering the past and anticipating the future.

The marker in Witmarsum noting a Mennonite meeting place for 300 years. Photo by Karen Sensenig

A committee developing an International Menno Simons Center (IMSC) in the Netherlands aims to tell the world the 500-year-old story begun when the execution of Anabaptist Sicke Freerks caught the attention of a Catholic priest named Menno Simons, who then joined the reformers in 1536.

But living faith within the Dutch Mennonite church today confronts new challenges. Dutch culture emphasizes personal liberty and individual choice. Seeking to influence another’s faith is perceived as invasive and rude. “The prevailing culture is allergic to it,” notes an IMSC spokesperson.

As a result, declining Dutch Mennonite congregations ponder their roles in the global Anabaptist network and remain unsure of their future and their relevance to their children and grandchildren.

A desire has emerged among them, however, to be more intentional about the past and the future. Although the precise nature of the IMSC presence remains in formation, initial plans call for a destination for global Anabaptists and other interested individuals featuring fellowship, food, inspiration, and education.

The IMSC is negotiating for land near Witmarsum, where Menno Simons was born and where an 1878 stone monument marks the location of a Mennonite meeting place.

Although some observers are skeptical, Dutch Mennonites, encouraged by international Anabaptist opinion, anticipate that a fresh look at the past and a lively hope for the future can revitalize Menno Simons’ teaching that “no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).

—Kenneth Sensenig, MCC consultant for IMSC