A Foretaste of Heaven Through Intercultural Worship at Anabaptism@500

by Rashard Allen

A little over two years ago, I was asked to serve as the Music Coordinator for the Anabaptism@500 Celebration in Zürich, which occurred on May 29, 2025. The role included choosing five musical ensembles, one representing each continent where there are Mennonite World Conference member churches.  

The role also included serving as co-worship leader for the 100^th Anniversary of Mennonite World Conference (MWC) in Schwabish Gmünd, Germany on May 25, as well as being part of the worship team for the closing worship service on May 29. While I knew it was a great honor to be asked, I could not have known what a life-changing experience serving in this role would be. 

The groups chosen for the event were the Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) Chamber Singers from Virginia (North America); The Indonesian Anabaptist Pe(R)forming Arts (TIARA) from lndonesia (Asia), Agape from Paraguay (South America), The Eastleigh Fellowship Center Choir (EFC) from Kenya (Africa), and Songs of Peace from Switzerland (Europe). Each group performed two concerts, one indoors (at the Predigerkirche or Friedenskirche) and one outdoors (in front of the Grossmünster cathedral), on May 29^th.  

Additionally, all the groups participated in the closing worship service at the Grossmünster, with each group helping to lead at least one congregational song, as well as singing the anthem “We Want Peace”, which was written by Dennis Thielmann from Songs of Peace.  

The indoor concerts were filled to capacity, with each group reflecting their unique expression of Anabaptism culturally and in musical style, while the outdoor concerts were a beautiful addition to the overall festive atmosphere of the historic day in Zürich.  

TIARA creatively mixed traditional Javanese music with more modern Indonesian and Western musical styles. EMU’s concert seamlessly weaved American, European, Latin American, and African music into a beautiful tapestry of choral music, all while staying true to the overall theme of the event: “The Courage to Love”. EFC masterfully sang an exciting program of traditional four-part East African choral music, complete with dancing and African drumming. Songs of Peace presented a lovely three-part liturgy based on the themes of “Faith, Hope, and Love”, with an acoustic, percussion-heavy style that is sweet and whimsical. Agape finished the day of indoor presentations with an exciting, high-energy pop-rock concert with Latin flair. All of the concerts, regardless of the music style or language, faithfully represented the wide breadth of what Anabaptist music is now.  

The closing worship service is available on MWC’s YouTube channel in English, French, Spanish, and German. The concerts will be available to watch online in the coming weeks. All these groups are featured as part of the Global Anabaptist Music Ensembles Playlist on YouTube.  

The five ensembles were housed together at the Bienenberg Hotel, which is also an Anabaptist theological seminary in Liestal, Switzerland, about an hour from Zürich. There, we ate together, worshipped, and rehearsed together, and were bussed to and from Zürich together. In the process, the Holy Spirit united and bonded us together in ways none of us could have anticipated.  

Not only was beautiful music made, but lasting relationships were formed across cultures and languages. We learned each other’s songs, along with each other’s stories, and each other’s hearts. We even wrote songs together with brothers and sisters from multiple continents at our songwriting workshop the day after the Zürich event. Instagram Reels featuring mashups of each other’s songs were being made at the hotel, on the bus, and in Zürich.  

Rich conversations were had between people who had never previously met but now are inextricably linked together. I have often said that when we get to heaven, we will worship together with every person in Christ who has ever lived, complete with all their varied traditions, songs, and expressions. The days we spent together felt like a foretaste of what we can expect when that day comes for us, a beautiful snapshot of the mosaic that is the Kingdom of God. 

It would not be hyperbolic to say that this may have been the most significant intercultural worship experience of my life. It was remarkable to witness all these musicians, about 80 in total, embrace being together and sharing with one another., I am still in awe of the fact that God gave me the opportunity and honor of coordinating such an event.  

It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and one for which I will be forever grateful. After all, the next time we celebrate another 500 years of Anabaptism, we will all be in heaven celebrating for eternity.