This article was originally published on July 20, 2023, on the Mennonite World Conference website.
Mission Network Director of Global Partnerships
Andrew Suderman, an Eastern Mennonite University professor and secretary of Mennonite World Conference
Peace Commission, organized the third
Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival held in Virginia, USA, in June. “Coming Together: The Journey of Faith and Peace” was the theme event organized by EMU and endorsed by MWC.
“There’s something in the water among Mennonite theologians and peace building scholars and practitioners…around the decolonial project that people are drinking from now that is interesting and quite good,” said Suderman.
The four plenary speakers included Tigist Tesfaye, MWC Deacons Commission secretary, and César García, MWC general secretary. Some 160 participants from 20 countries participated in 10 presentations of papers, 15 workshops, a panel discussion, an art installation and four theatre and music performances. Difficulties obtaining travel permission prevented some international guests from attending.
García urged participants to bring together church and peace work despite the former’s past mistakes:
“Creating structures that are completely independent and separated from the church is an unnecessary detour that affects the impact of our peace witness…. The need of peace work that is theologically and biblically grounded is an ongoing reality in many of our churches and institutions."
Suderman said scholarship and worship came together at the conference. Each plenary session opened and closed with a time of prayer and singing.
“The idea for this GMP was to bring together academics, practitioners, pastors and artists to share with one another what they’re working on, how they are working toward embodying peace,” said Suderman. “Musicians and a theatre group help give expression to these values, to this journey…to connect head, hands and heart.”
Music and peace also come together says Juan Moya, member of La Repvblica, a band from Colombia that performed at the event. “[Music] depends on vibrations, rhythms and poetry to convey a message. It is a universal language.” The barrier-crossing, peacebuilding capacity of music was demonstrated as MWC president Henk Stenvers from the Netherlands joined the Colombia band on the drums.
As a global conference, the event also brought together voices from around the world.
“I appreciated the emphasis on listening to and involving people from the Global South, who shared how peace is not only taught as a concept but also suffered, demanded and – for some – becomes a call to action in order to survive,” says Moya.
