1. According to Larry Miller, the last two decades have been a time of fundamental change for Anabaptists around the world. What changes have you seen in Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and in how Mennonites interact globally? Do you agree that the centre of gravity of the global church has shifted to the Global South?
Ecumenical dialogue was a passion of Larry Miller’s. Monsignor John A. Radano of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity leads a meeting of the Mennonite-Catholic Dialogue (1998-2003), of which he was co-chair. To his left are Bishop Joseph Martino and Miller.
“You were a new kind of ‘migrant missionary’ described in John Howard Yoder’s As You Go,” said Bert Lobe, in an evening of memories of Larry Miller at Rockway Mennonite Church, Kitchener, on Oct. 23, 2011.
Larry Miller’s tenure as MWC general secretary was marked by his gift of encouragement among other global leaders. In this 1991 photo, he stands behind his ‘big brothers’: Mesach Krisetya, left, of Indonesia, who was to become MWC president in 1997, and Reg Toews of Canada, then serving as treasurer.
The Millers and their children (now married) in Kolkata, India, in 1997, with the parents-in-law of Indian church leader Menno Joel, right. Pictured from left to right: Anne-Marie Miller Blaise; Elisabeth Miller Sommers, Menno’s parents-in-law, Larry Miller, Alexandre Miller, Eleanor Miller and Menno Joel.
At the 2011 Executive Committee meetings in Taiwan, Cisca Mawangu Ibanda of Congo, centre, presents carved animals to Larry Miller, left, now former MWC general secretary, and César García, who assumed the general secretary’s role on Jan. 1. More than curios, said Ibanda, the animals represent qualities important for their service to MWC: Miller ho
Larry Miller remembers one moment clearly when, as a 38-year-old, he was weighing whether or not to accept the nomination to lead Mennonite World Conference (MWC). The year was 1988 and he was sitting in a university library in Strasbourg, France, where he lived.
1. What experience have you had with the King James Version? Historically, how was it used in your congregation? How familiar do the words of the KJV sound to you? How do you respond to them emotionally?
The King James Version was not the first attempt at an English translation of the Bible. John Wycliffe, together with others, had already published a complete English Bible by 1382, prompting the Roman Catholic Church to decree that the translation of Scripture was heresy and punishable by death.
Superlatives for the KJV, as it’s known, abound: ‘The greatest work of prose ever written in English,’ ‘The most beautiful book in the world,’ ‘The most important book in English religion and culture,’ one of the ‘books of the millennium.’
Given a choice between the absolute accuracy of the translation or the elegance and beauty of the language, the translators unfailingly chose elegance and beauty.
Have you heard the Bible recently? Not read it, but listened to it—heard the words of Scripture, not just seen them on the page.
Christmas came early at our house in Winnipeg this year. Most likely because now that we’re retired, my husband and I again have the opportunity of looking at the world through a child’s eyes while babysitting our two-year-old granddaughter, Rielle Goulet, twice weekly.
My great-grandparents emigrated from Ukraine to central Kansas in 1874 and eventually purchased a farm. Towards the end of October 1894, the harvest was done and the year’s crop of wheat and other grains, along with hay for animals, was stored upstairs.
Joani Neufeldt is currently a member of First Mennonite Church, Edmonton, Alta., where she chairs the Christian Education and Worship Branch.
Sometimes a Christmas experience stands out in memory simply because it is so different from any other.
When Joani Neufeldt, nee Goerzen, thinks of a memorable Christmas, it is one of these unique experiences: “The one that came to mind was when, I think I was late teens, we did a kind of live nativity at Bergthal.”
When recalling a significant Christmas memory, Claire Ewert Fisher goes back some 30 years.
Hinke Loewen-Rudgers, second from left, poses with the Arab Christian family that took her in as their daughter. From left to right: Rajaa, Andera and Eman.
“I felt a very intense homesickness and wanted to go home [to Manitoba] for Christmas. Christmas is a very important holiday to me.”
It was Christmas 2010 and Hinke Loewen-Rudgers had been in Nazareth since October 2008, working through the Witness program of Mennonite Church Canada.
'We began reading it out loud to each other in 1981, and have done so every year since, finding more gems to think about each time.' (Photo by Aaron Epp)
Annemarie Rogalsky prepares to read Dickens’ A Christmas Carol again from the now ragged paperback bought in 1981. (Photo courtesy of Dave Rogalsky)
Thirty years ago this Christmas, my wife Annemarie and I began a Christmas tradition we’ve continued year after year, with variations.
1. Why might the idea of learning from other faiths make us uncomfortable or fearful? What are the risks and benefits of honest dialogue with other faiths? What are the faith groups in your community with whom you could build relationships?
A group of Muslim men gather for prayer at a mosque in Israel/Palestine. Palmer Becker wonders if Mennonites, through their example and witness, might eventually help both male and female Muslim believers to pray and worship side by side.
An instructor at the Kitchener, Ont., LDS church explains the consequences of trying to follow both the way of the world and the way of the Lord to a group of high school students who meet each weekday morning for 45 minutes of ‘seminary’ instruction over the course of four years. Do Mennonites have church communities where we might convene our you
Palmer Becker
In our increasingly multicultural and multi-faith society, can we learn from belief systems other than our own? I believe so, and offer what I have learned from two faiths—Mormonism and Islam—that have very diverse beliefs from each other and also from my own Mennonite faith. This has called for risk-taking, relationship-building and honest self-reflection.
Naomi Unger, standing, leads a small group discussion on the BFC 3 process at this summer’s MC Canada assembly in Waterloo, Ont.
Delegates to the 2011 Mennonite Church Canada assembly responded to the Being a Faithful Church (BFC) 3 process with more than 750 recorded comments being turned in from the 800 adults and youths who attended the event.
After more than two decades of being married, birthing and adopting children, and annually teaching two college sexuality courses, I have come to the not-terribly-startling conclusion that I’m rather fond of sex.
Andrew Suderman, right, preaches at Harvest Time Ministries, a church located in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa, with Pastor Ntapo handling translation duties. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Suderman)
Throughout the Bible, God embodies--and challenges us to embody--a method that challenges the assumption that success, power and influence are gained by focusing on us. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Suderman)
Andrew Suderman
One thing that I find so inspiring in South Africa is the countless people who participate in miraculous activities as they strive to make their communities better.
1. Professional hockey is known for fighting and violence. Should this deter Mennonites from being avid hockey fans? Is hard hitting and fighting an essential part of the game? Is violence okay if it’s allowed in the rules of the game? Is this what David Driedger means by structured violence?
It is nothing new to say that Winnipeg and southern Manitoba boasts an abnormally high concentration of Mennonites, although I suppose the Mennonites don’t boast. And given our historical and ongoing tension with how to respond to issues of peace and violence, it was also no surprise that more than a few eyebrows were raised at the unveiling of the Winnipeg Jets’ new logo.
Canadian hockey fans have a reason to celebrate. Fifteen years after the last NHL game was played in Winnipeg, Man., the league is coming back to the city. With other teams having financial difficulties and unstable ownership, fans across the country are seeing realistic chances that in the coming years even more teams will be coming north.
1. Ralph Lebold says that “the congregation is the central reality for gathered Christians.” Do you agree? What are some ways that people from your congregation engage meaningfully with each other? Why do we often resist being open about our questions, finances, mental and emotional struggles?
Ralph Lebold, left, and Jim Lapp at the Purdue ’87 Mennonite Church assembly.
Ralph Lebold and Florence Driedger moderate the joint Mennonite Church/General Conference assembly at Normal ’89.
After 50 years in ministry I have discovered that there is a significant interplay between the divine and human when it comes to physical and emotional healing. All healing is a work of God’s grace, including medical, psychological and social interventions, whether the caregivers acknowledge it or not.
1. How are the songs and music chosen in your congregation? How much thought is given to the words when songs are chosen? Do you agree that we focus on the style of music more than the words we sing? What might help us focus on the words?
With words on the big screens, thousands of Canadian and American youths join in spirited singing at the 2005 youth convention in Charlotte, N.C.
Christine Longhurst
"Let me write the songs of a nation. I don’t care who writes its laws.”
This statement attributed to 17th-century Scottish politician Andrew Fletcher about countries also applies to the church. Christians have long recognized the power of music to shape what we believe about God and the life of faith.
César García, at the podium, greets the Sung-Chiang Mennonite congregation in Taipei, Taiwan, in May. To his right are outgoing MWC general secretary Larry Miller, and Joshua Chang, Sung-Chiang pastor and former MWC general council delegate. (Photo by Byron Rempel-Burkholder)
Pictured from left to right are MWC general secretary-elect César García, his daughters María and Paula, and wife Sandra Báez. (Photo by Tangie Sheets)
Members of the Mennonite World Conference executive committee, MWC general council commissions, and Young Anabaptists Committee pray for César García, kneeling, following his appointment as general secretary-elect at their 2011 meetings in Taipei, Taiwan, in May. (Photo by Byron Rempel-Burkholder)
As one amateur Mennonite historian likes to point out, the only real Mennonite name is Menno Simons.
