Omnibus Edition
The image on the cover of this issue of Anabaptist Witness is a painting by our designer, Matt Veith, of a medieval church in Italy from a travel advertisement. The architecture—with the colonial-era buildings that bear resemblance to styles elsewhere in the world, particularly in the Americas—reminds me of a form of Christianity, and of Christian mission, […]
The newborn of God renews older congregation
Shortly after Christmas last year, Naun Cerrato, a participant in Mennonite Mission Network’s Sent Network church-planting training, was primed to launch Iglesia Menonita Piedra Viva (Life Stone Mennonite Church), a new Hispanic peace congregation in Elkhart, Indiana. But without rental finances, his fledging community feared there would be "no room at the inn" in which to be born. At about […]
El recién nacido de Dios renueva una congregación más antigua
Poco después de Navidad del año pasado, Naun Cerrato, un participante de la capacitación sobre plantación de iglesias de la Red Sent (Enviados) de la Red Menonita de Misión, estaba listo para el lanzamiento de la Iglesia Menonita Piedra Viva, una congregación de paz hispana nueva en Elkhart, Indiana. Pero sin seguridad financiera para alquilar […]
Hurt but not broken
Hurt but not broken takes you through a journey of learning to let go and let God be in control of your situation. Not many of us are prepared to forgive when hurt in that moment we forget that we have hurt other people before and we will continue to do so and seek forgiveness. About […]
Migration, empathy and welcome
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning epic, Grapes of Wrath (1939), John Steinbeck recounts the harshness of the Great Depression and gives us a glimpse into the struggles of migrant farmworkers. In it, he tells the heart-rending stories of people who loaded up their vehicles with all they could fit and moved from a devastated and ravaged […]
Full Circle
This is the story of Anna Melinda (Hallman) Byler, daughter of Eli S. and Melinda Hallman. She married B. Frank Byler, and together they joined the great missionary expansion of Mennonites in the 20th Century, which took them to Argentina and Uruguay. There they raised their family of five children: Stanley, Marjory, Dennis, Carol, and […]
Hopi Community hub reaching next generations
Four-year-old Kamryn sang with his preschool classmates at Peace Academic Center during a concert last November on the Hopi Reservation in Kykotsmovi, Arizona. When he saw his mother, Yvonne Kaye, blowing him kisses, he stopped singing, wildly waved his joy, and blew kisses back to her. The strong tug of love between them pulled audience […]
El Centro de la comunidad Hopi llega a las generaciones siguientes
El pequeño Kamryn de cuatro años cantaba con sus compañeros de prejardín en el Peace Academic Center (Centro Académico de la Paz) durante un concierto realizado el pasado mes de noviembre en la Reserva Hopi en Kykotsmovi, Arizona. Cuando vio que su madre, Yvonne Kaye, le tiraba besos, dejó de cantar y lleno de alegría […]
Walking in peace through perplexing times
The real deal By Laurie Oswald Robinson In 2008, I left six and a half years of communication work with Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Women USA for a life of freelancing. This past May, I returned to the offices on Main Street in Newton, Kansas, to serve as editor for Mennonite Mission Network. […]
Mennonite peace witness
Objection to militarism has long been a central part of the Mennonite peace witness. From the persecution endured by Mennonites for refusing to participate in World War I, to development of conscientious objector (CO) status service during World War II, to actively speaking out against war in the Middle East, our history of opposing militarism […]
Mission and Migration
To talk about migration is to talk about identity, both individual identity and the collective identities of communities of faith. Forced migration characterized and shaped the early Anabaptist movement—a movement created, in part, to ensure religious freedom and the ability to practice faith as separate communities. This pattern of movement, originally meant to support a […]
Jesus models mission
In a post-Resurrection appearance, John reports that Jesus offered God’s peace to the group of terrified and fearful disciples locked behind closed doors (John 20:21). Jesus adds to his benediction an important elaboration: "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." Jesus makes it clear that God’s mission of restoration and reclaiming the […]