Just like a hand has four fingers and a thumb, so the recent Mennonite World Conference gathering in

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Mennonite World Conference General Council Meets

• Just like a hand has four fingers and a thumb, so
  the recent Mennonite World Conference gathering
  in Pasadena, California, was a meeting of many
  connected parts.

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From March 7-16, Mennonite World Conference (MWC)
brought its governing body together (the General
Council) for some business, but especially for
worship, fellowship, and serious discussion about
pressing matters. Each national church belonging
to MWC sends representatives to the General
Council, a group totaling more than 100 people,
who meet every three years, each time at a
different place in the world.
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Service Consultation
First, General Council members participated in a
consultation, Service as a Mandate for the
Global Anabaptist Family. The focus of the
one-and-a-half days was caring for each other
within the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ
worldwide family of faith. The reason? The
majority of us are African, Asian, and Latin
American. Sadly, deepening economic disparity
accompanies this global transformation. Most of
the numerical growth in the Anabaptist world is
taking place among people who are poor, says MWC
General Secretary Larry Miller.
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General Council members considered what the Bible
says about diakonia, with teacher Ron Sider
presenting. Case studies followedfrom the Aceh
province of Indonesia, from the Chaco in
Paraguay, and from settings of domestic and
racial violence in Canada and the U.S.
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Peace Council

• A Culture of Peace Gods Vision for the Church,
  the newly-released book, provided the material
  for the MWC Peace Council. Authors Alan Kreider,
  Eleanor Kreider, and Paulus Widjaja brought the
  biblical figure of Cornelius as an irrefutable
  example of Gods grace and peace. A highly placed
  Roman soldier, Cornelius became a redeemed
  follower of Christ.

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Faith and Life Council
The Faith and Life Council of MWC brought two
matters for discussion 1.) a symposium, Global
Anabaptism and Global Pentecostalism Creating
Understandings 2.) a one-page summary of
Shared Convictions held by Mennonites and
Brethren in Christ.
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The first issue elicited honest conversation by
member churches, ranging from fear and
frustration in regard to Pentecostalism, on the
one hand, and to respect and an attitude of
learning, on the other.
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The Shared Convictions were received with
appreciation by the General Council, who could
hardly stop exploring the Convictions practical
expression and outworkings.
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General Council
In its business sessions, the General Council
heard reports about its many projectsfrom the
Amigos to the Global Anabaptist/Mennonite Shelf
of Literature. The Council took increasing
ownership in the life and work of Mennonite World
Conference as the nine-day event unfolded. The
Council opened its sessions by grieving the
absence of 16 of its members who were denied
visas to the U.S. it concluded by finding
heartbeat language for its Shared Convictions
statement.
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Local L.A. Mennonite and Brethren in Christ
churches, with multiple language groups, led in
daily worship, and also entertained the General
Council with a Friday evening Fiesta.
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A representative group of four Amigos also met to
continue their work of connecting the global
community of young Anabaptists.