The Mennonite churches I have been part of, and the theology and ethics they espouse, have been among the most formative theological influences in my life. But lately, I’ve realized most of the theological...
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I’m in the middle of a sojourn in Bolivia and a long way from the current action percolating around Mennonite Church USA. Our family is scattered over three continents so we’ve been blessed to travel afar....
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ELKHART, Ind. — Pastors Week participants at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary pondered metaphors of rhizomes, a flame, a midwife and mestizos as they heard challenges to trust God more fully and to...
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Debates in the Western church about same-sex marriage and gender identity may appear irrelevant to some parts of the global church. Yes, our issues are frequently different. But an outsider’s view is often...
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Next year’s assembly in Harrisburg, Pa., will mark an important 40th anniversary for Mennonite World Conference. It was four decades ago in July 1975 that the Presidium of MWC met in Puerto Rico to discuss...
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Of all the factors that led to the Protestant Reformation and the Radical Reformation, nothing was as revolutionary as the translation of the Bible into the language of the people and the development of new...
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CARLISLE, Pa. — A few hundred Anabaptists were told to raise their hands as they sang from Psalms, “lift up your hands and praise the Lord.” Most did not. To one of the worshipers, the disconnect between...
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The worldwide Anabaptist family reunion will come to the eastern U.S. next summer for the first time in Mennonite World Conference’s 90-year history. U.S. Mennonites and Brethren in Christ are inviting...
[read more]Anabaptists cherish religious freedom and the rights of conscience. The movement was born in opposition to baptizing infants as required by church and state. We value the right to refuse military service when...
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My daughters periodically beg to become members of our church. This would warm my heart more if their requests didn’t always fall on Sundays when we celebrate communion. I sympathize. How well I remember...
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For years there was an easy alliance in America between God and country. The Christian church held a privileged place in our culture. As this is breaking down, people who take Jesus and the Bible seriously are...
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I’ve stepped into a new area of responsibility in my role working alongside pastors in Franconia Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. This role change, which began in November, has to do with...
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In December, megachurch pastor Bill Hybels preached a sermon introducing the peace framework from John Paul Lederach’s book The Journey Toward Reconciliation to his congregation of more than 24,000...
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GOSHEN, Ind. — Across 13 countries and many cultural barriers, three Goshen College graduates found hospitality among different South and Central American Anabaptist groups during their 11-month, 10,000-mile...
[read more]Americans prize personal liberty and individual choice. We prefer cars and trucks over buses and trains. Contemporary worship songs hew to personal, not group, language. Believing that anyone who works hard...
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I still remember the words of my tour guide in St. John Lateran in Rome. She referred to our group’s Protestants with loving disdain. She announced, “For the Protestants here, I want you to remember that...
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CHICAGO — Cesar García wonders what would happen if multicultural mission teams took vows of poverty like monastic orders do. He posed the question Jan. 22 at the annual consultation of the Council of...
[read more]My husband and I served in December as live-in hosts for Menno-Hof in Shipshewana, Ind., and it was wonderful to reflect on the basic precepts of Anabaptism: 1) Baptism only of those who decide to follow...
[read more]Ron Sider’s newest publication, The Early Church on Killing, is, as the subtitle suggests, a fairly comprehensive source book for anyone who is investigating what early Christians had to say about war,...
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A conference of Japanese Mennonites recently adopted a formal document defining what they believe collectively. Japan Mennonite Christian Church Conference (Hokkaido) adopted a Confession of Faith during its...
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