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Global Membership Almost 1.5 Million

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mwc1.jpgMennonite World Conference has released the Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Related Churches World Directory 2006. New numbers show membership in the 217 churches now listed in 75 countries around the world is just under 1.5 million (1,478,540). Africa, with 529,703 members, continues to have the largest and fastest growing membership among the five continental regions. The Meserete Kristos Church (MKC) in Ethiopia is the largest national conference globally, with 130,727 members. All continental regions except Europe have shown increased membership.

The 2003 World Directory listed 200 bodies in 65 countries with a total membership of 1,297,716.

According to 2006 numbers, Africa has stretched its membership lead over North America by some 30,000, a 17.2 percent increase since 2003. Africa surged ahead of North America for the first time in 2003 with 451,959 baptized members compared to 451,180 in North America.

Membership in North America in 2006 has grown to just under half a million (499,664), an apparent increase of 10.7 percent. However, the increase is partly due to changes in reporting since the new number includes more independent groups. Another factor in the larger number is the rapid growth among Old Order groups due to large families and a 90 percent retention rate among their youth.

Until 2005, Mennonite Church USA was the largest national conference. It now numbers 110,696 members, more than 20,000 fewer members than the MKC in Ethiopia.

Other national churches with 100,000 members or more include the Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches in India (103,488) and the Comunauté Mennonite au Congo (100,000).

The six countries with the most baptized members are the same as in 2003, but India and Canada have switched places in the list. The six countries in order of rank are: USA (368,280); Congo (216,268); India (146,095); Canada (131,384); Ethiopia (130,731); and Indonesia (72,624).

mwc2.jpgSecond to Africa in the rate of growth among continental regions is the Caribbean, Central and South America (16.8 percent), with 155,531 members in 2006 compared to 133,150 in 2003. Close behind is Asia and the Pacific (15.9 percent) with 241,420 members in 2006, up from 208,155 in 2003. Numbers for North America, in fourth place in terms of growth, are noted above. Europe showed a slight decline of 1.9 percent with 52,222 members in 2006 compared to 53,272 in 2003.

The shifts, up in Asia and down in Europe, are due in part to a change in recording the 500 members in the independent countries of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, now listed in Asia but formerly counted with Europe as part of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Inclusion in the World Directory does not mean membership in Mennonite World Conference. Churches and conferences are included in the directory if they are rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite stream of church history or have direct fellowship with churches that are so rooted.

New listings in the 2006 directory, some of which are independent groups, include churches in Botswana, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), The Gambia, Thailand, Bahamas, Romania, Ukraine and a new conference in Haiti.

National churches and conferences submit membership numbers to MWC. Methods of counting and reporting vary widely, but MWC attempts to treat reports as consistently as possible and to get reliable figures. Totals may indicate greater accuracy in reporting as well as changes in church membership.

Copies of the new directory will be mailed to all member conference offices for the presiding officers and to General Council delegates. Others may request copies from Kitchener, Ontario (Canada), Fresno, California (USA) or Strasbourg, France, MWC offices. MWC welcomes donations ($5 US is suggested) to cover the costs of producing and distributing the directory.

Ferne Burkhardt, Mennonite World Conference news editor

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photos by Alex Miler

Intersections, December 2006

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Read all the articles from Intersections, Franconia Mennonite Conference, December 2006

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Anabaptist leaders visit Louisiana to support communities recovering from hurricanes

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Forest and Ann Billiot receive a book about the work of Mennonite Disaster ServiceBy Tim Shenk

NEW ORLEANS – The leaders of five Anabaptist denominations visited Louisiana from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2 to learn about the ongoing struggles of communities affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and encourage the work of churches and aid organizations in the Gulf Coast region.

The nine-member Council of Moderators and Secretaries visited devastated New Orleans neighborhoods, worshipped with an Anabaptist congregation in nearby Metairie and attended the dedication of a house built by Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in the southern Louisiana community of Pointe-aux-Chenes.

They also met with pastors and aid workers and learned about the enormous challenges still facing Gulf Coast communities as a result of the 2005 hurricanes.

Hundreds of thousands of people who evacuated from New Orleans and other areas have not returned. In many cases, they continue to live in trailers or other temporary housing arrangements in unfamiliar communities far from their family members, churches and jobs.

Delays in restoring city services have slowed the return of evacuees, according to Tim Barr, Gulf Coast disaster response coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Additionally, many evacuees lack the basic resources they need to make the transition home.

“The hope is that a lot of people are going to come back to New Orleans, but the reality is that many people can’t,” Barr said.

Since the hurricanes, MDS has brought more than 5,000 volunteers from the U.S. and Canada to clean up and repair homes. MDS is now working toward long-term recovery by constructing houses for families whose homes were destroyed.

According to MDS, the house dedicated in Pointe-aux-Chenes may serve as a prototype for future houses in coastal southern Louisiana, where storm surges from Hurricane Rita caused great damage last year. The house was built on top of 11½-foot wooden supports to protect it from storm surges from nearby bayous.

The house was graciously accepted by the predominantly Native American community of Pointe-aux-Chenes and given to a family of four whose trailer was inundated by Rita.

Steve Swartz, general secretary of Conservative Mennonite Conference, said the house dedication was a highlight of the Council of Moderators and Secretaries’ visit.

“This was a priceless experience for me,” he said.

Swartz said his denomination has sent many volunteers to work on the Gulf Coast through MDS and he hopes these efforts will continue because of the great need.

MCC is helping Gulf Coast communities recover by supporting nine workers who are serving in churches and organizations that provide services to evacuees and returnees.

Lydia Weikel, an MCC caseworker in Meridian, Miss., described helping to connect evacuees with organizations and government programs that provide housing, employment and other needs. Weikel said that sometimes she is able to help evacuees find assistance that allows them to return to their home communities.

However, progress often seems slow because of the scale of the disaster, Weikel said.

“We see many, many sad situations and we’re not always able to help,” she said.

One of the ways the Church of the Brethren responded to Katrina was by providing child care at shelters and service centers for evacuees. Trained volunteers cared for more than 3,000 evacuee children in eight states in the weeks following Katrina, according to Roy Winter, executive director of the Church of the Brethren’s emergency response program.

The child care freed parents to take care of family needs and gave children a place to deal with traumatic experiences.

“Children need to be able to communicate and process what they’ve seen and experienced,” Winter said. “They actually communicate through their play.”

Bob Zehr, a retired pastor in Gulf States Mennonite Conference, thanked MCC and MDS for their assistance to churches and communities in the Gulf Coast region but added that many needs remain.

Zehr said that many members of the congregations he attends, Lighthouse Fellowship in Plaquemines Parish, southern Louisiana, have not yet qualified for housing assistance for various reasons.

“MDS always does wonderful work and you can identify the buildings they have built,” Zehr said.

However, Zehr added that he fears that some people, such as those in his congregation, are “falling through the cracks.”

Members of the council said Zehr’s comments prompted a helpful discussion of the channels for mutual aid within the church community and that they would continue to follow up on these concerns.

At Amor Viviente, a Gulf Coast Mennonite congregation in Metairie, La., members expressed gratitude for assistance provided in the wake of Katrina. Everyone in the congregation was forced to flee as Katrina approached and spent weeks or months in Texas, Florida or other parts of the country.

When they returned, many members found that their homes had been flooded and their household belongings were destroyed. MCC provided financial assistance to members of the congregation and pays the salary of a worker who helps church members find other assistance.

“You have been the arms of God for us,” said Josefina Gomez, a member of Amor Viviente, thanking all those who have helped the congregation. “You made us feel that God was with us. We were never alone.”

The Council of Moderators and Secretaries is a gathering of the leaders of Mennonite Church USA, Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Brethren, Brethren in Christ and Conservative Mennonite Conference. The group meets annually to discuss common concerns among Anabaptist denominations.

The members of the Council of Moderators and Secretaries are Roy W. Williams, moderator of Mennonite Church USA; Steve Swartz, general secretary of Conservative Mennonite Conference; Ben W. Shirk, moderator of Conservative Mennonite Conference, Belita D. Mitchell, moderator of Church of the Brethren; Don McNiven, general secretary of Brethren in Christ; Warren Hoffman, moderator of Brethren in Christ, Joe E. Johns, chair of the leadership board of the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, Stanley J. Noffsinger, general secretary of Church of the Brethren; and Jim Schrag, executive director of Mennonite Church USA.

Tim Shenk is a writer for Mennonite Central Committee.

Nepalese Christian leader sees hopeful signs in war-weary country

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There are growing signs of peace and religious freedom in Nepal, according to Dr. Tirtha Thapa, a Nepalese Christian leader.

Nepal’s civil war appears to be ending peacefully after a decade of violence between Maoist rebels and Nepal’s royal government, Dr. Thapa reports. Additionally, Nepal’s Christian minority, which makes up about 2 percent of the population, is gaining greater acceptance after facing persecution in the 1980s, Dr. Thapa says.

Dr. Thapa directs Human Development and Community Services, a Nepalese Christian organization supported by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

Human Development and Community Services operates five community hospitals that served people from all sides in the civil war. Sometimes, one of the hospitals was threatened by the conflict, such as when Maoist rebels demanded money from it to finance their operations.

“Quite often, I used to be threatened for my life,” Dr. Thapa says.

However, Dr. Thapa repeatedly persuaded the rebels to let the hospital operate without any interference — sometimes by going to their jungle hideouts to plead his case. Dr. Thapa argued that the hospital served the entire community and would need to close if any funds were taken.

“They said, ‘OK, you should continue,'” he recalls. “They said, ‘As you are not making any discrimination in the hospital, just continue the service without discrimination.'”

MCC supports Human Development and Community Services by providing one worker who serves as a consultant to the organization.

Over the past 10 years, the Nepalese Civil War has caused more than 13,000 deaths. On Nov. 21, Nepal’s government and its Maoist rebels signed a peace agreement, promising to end the conflict and paving the way for national elections.

Nepal has long been known as the world’s only Hindu kingdom, Dr. Thapa says, but this may be changing. Not only is the future of Nepal’s monarchy uncertain, but there is a growing acceptance of faiths other than Hinduism, Nepal’s official religion.

During the 1980s, Nepalese Christians were routinely imprisoned for evangelizing in their country. Dr. Thapa recalls that the penalties were six years’ imprisonment for converting someone to Christianity, three years for attempting to convert someone and one year for becoming a Christian oneself.

However, this is no longer the case, Dr. Thapa says. Nepalese Christians are now able to practice their faith more openly and are gaining respect for their work in health care and other social services.

“From such bad persecution, we are coming to be recognized as a community that is making a difference for the poor and needy and sick persons,” he says.

Philadelphia Youth Pack the Peace of Christ

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By Shannon Burgess

On November 17 and 18, over 100 youth gathered at Philadelphia Mennonite High School (PMHS) for “Packing the Peace of Christ,” organized by Anabaptist pastors and youth leaders to “sound the call to Jesus’ disciples to work for peace in Philadelphia.”

Friday evening began with music led by the Philadelphia Praise Center. Christian rap artist Cruz Cordero and Yvonne Platts of Philadelphia Ministry Partnership then emceed a youth competition for creative alternatives to violence through the arts—essays, visual arts, and rap or spoken word. Conrad Moore, a Philly son and Damascus Road Anti-Racism trainer, led a participative teaching activity called “Forum Theatre” to practice peacemaking skills.

Saturday was like boot camp for peace soldiers of Christ. Participants chose two of five peace-making workshops: Akido—self-defense without doing harm; “The Big Bang”—the two sides of the heated debate on hand gun laws in PA, led by Sarah Thompson, Mennonite Central Committee, in Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania State Representative John Myers; Conflict Resolution in a Christian Perspective—Dr. Barbara Moses, PMHS Principal, helped participants identify their personal “anger triggers;” the Hip-Hop Generation, “What’s beef?” (i.e., “What’s the conflict?”)—Cruz Cordero analyzed secular rap messages dealing with conflict; Violence: an American Problem—Conrad Moore analyzed violent history of this country and concluded “Violence is not a problem limited to urban youth—it is a national problem.”

Arbutus Sider prepared a letter for participants to sign which was addressed to rural and suburban Anabaptist congregations in Southeast Pennsylvania asking for support in pressing for more effective hand gun legislation.

Anabaptist pastors and youth leaders organized this workshop with a grant from Mennonite Central Committee, Philadelphia, in response to the city’s increase in gun violence. As of this workshop, 359 homicides have occurred, mostly committed with hand guns. The workshop posed the question, “In this context how can we bear witness to Christ, the Prince of Peace?”

For the grand finale four local Christian rap artists treated participants to a showcase of their amazing gift of language to call people to walk in the light of Christ. The call to Jesus’ disciples to work for peace in Philadelphia has been sounded. Pray that the call may bear fruit in the lives of those who heard it.

a conversation over pizza at Providence

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dave-blog-1.jpgI was the fifth passenger in Earl Anders’ car, crammed into the back seat with two older Mennonite women with coverings, glad that I was offered a ride instead of biking through the dreary day. Most of the drive’s conversation was in the back seat, observing how greatly the landscape has changed since they have last been taken this trip to the area where they grew up. They talked about the tragedy of increased housing prices and decreased number of farms, and how years ago the boys used to shake the bridge across the creek when the girls would walk across. They kept apologizing for the conversation.

I was asked to share about Bikemovement at Providence Mennonite Church in Collegeville (PA) for the Maturing Pilgrims monthly luncheon. The afternoon’s adventure began as we pulled into the parking lot of the church, which can only be reached by driving through a housing development. I’m guessing the church was once in the middle of Pennsylvania farmland, but has since been surrounded, almost engulfed by buildings, highways and change.

We shared a pizza and soda luncheon, supplemented with enough home-made desserts to fulfill an entire potluck meal. One woman took a bite of her slice covered with onions, peppers and mushrooms and exclaimed, “I’ve never tasted anything like this before.” I smiled and said it was a great meal. I guessed that I was the only person under 60 in the room.

Following lunch, there was a series of jokes like: Q: What is a Gorilla’s favorite fruit? A: An ape-ricot. Or Q: Why can’t pigs drive cars? Because they don’t have horns? was a proposed answer, but no, it was because they were road hogs. They wondered if I enjoyed the pizza party. Multiple comments were made about how the pizza was an unusual experience at the monthly event.

During the introduction to my presentation, a smoke alarm with a low battery kept chirping on the ceiling in the middle of the room. Ralph, the tall pastor who was introducing my presentation, noted that the battery was on its last leg. Others around the room kept acknowledging the steady chirp,whispering to each other about the noise. Finally Ralph reached up and yanked the thing off the ceiling, hoping to be done with the annoyance and setting it on the table. He proceeded to report on a person from the group who is in the hospital due to a heart attack as the group entered a time of prayer. The smoke detector chirped again. A man at one of the tables started pulling it apart to get the battery out, hoping to be done with the distraction. Chirp. The prayer continued, “Dear God, be with these people during this time of trial…” Chirp… As the prayer ended, the device was disassembled and silent.

pb260494.jpgI was on. I shared about Bikemovement and our purpose, struggles and dreams. I shared mostly with photos and personal stories. We talked about how many churches are struggling to connect with their young adults, how many are leaving and not returning. They mentioned how the Baptist church next door is always full to the brim on Sunday. We acknowledged that we all have struggles and broken relationships and that the church can be a relevant community to gather and grow together. They shared with me how they used to bike around the area on single speeds to get to school or visit friends. Some said they used to go to church events for the social space, perhaps to meet the girls from the far edge of the conference—Blooming Glen, about 10 miles up the road.

One woman stated, “Well, we can’t bike with you, but at least we can contribute financially.” They suggested that an offering be taken to give to the MWC AMIGOS fund to bring youth from the global south to Paraguay 2009. They loved being able to joyfully give.

After we formally finished, the conversation and questions continued. One gentleman expressed concern about the future of the church. He said, “when we all are gone, this thing will be done. We try to go into the surrounding development and invite them in, but they don’t seem to care. They just don’t seem to want to come to church.”

We discussed whether we really know what our neighbors want and are passionate about. He said, “I don’t know, but I don’t think they want to come to church.” His friendlycuriosity seemed somewhat frustrated as he searched his mind for answers.

On the way home the women continued to chat and point out the changes. “That house over there, with the boxy room on top, was my aunt’s. We all used to call her Auntie Castle, because of the house. The trolley car used to re-charge in this building there. My brother would take it down to the city when he was in medical school.”

I had never known that a trolley came this far north along the Perkiomen Creek from Philadelphia. Now the suburbs are overrun by an army of SUV drivers, and public transportation has died out. I spend much of my time commuting by bicycle in a land that is always changing.

The Perkiomen trail that I occasionally use to bike to Philadelphia for meetings was once these old trolley tracks. The old trolley car also came into Harleysville, within a half mile of my house. I can only imagine how wonderfully relevant it would be to have that trolley now.

Reactions of novelty, misfortune and hope arose from the many cultural changes that were evidenced in the afternoon’s conversations. It seems that the most significant thought for all of us was to know that there are still some of us who care enough about their struggles with the church, as one older woman put it, to “go on an adventure in faith…and risk something new.”

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photo by Richard Moyer, FMC staff

Being Anabaptist Leaven in a Post-Christendom Society

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dscn3851.jpgI feel profoundly blessed. God is stirring the waters around the world, and I have had the privilege to witness some of this stirring. Here I share a brief glimpse of my recent God-sighting in the U.K.

As many of you were celebrating Halloween, Blaine Detwiler (FMC Assistant Moderator and pastor of Lakeview Mennonite Church) and I boarded a British Airways jet to across the pond.

Our purpose? To experience ministry in a *Post-Christendom society. Some believe that the U.K. and other places in Europe are pretty far along the path of becoming Post-Christendom societies. Some of us believe that the U.S. appears to be on a similar trajectory, perhaps a decade or two behind. What can we learn from those who are ahead of us on the curve? (Disclaimer: A seminary course and one week in the U.K. does not make me an expert!)

What I saw: I looked and behold, I saw a country with only one Mennonite church that did not worry about how many Mennonite Churches or Mennonite members there were. But I saw Christians who cared deeply that people experience the Good News that Jesus came to bring and were trying creative forms of church and finding ways to share that Good News with their neighbors and people on the margins of society. They were developing ways to equip leaders for ministry. And I saw people from many backgrounds who were genuinely trying to follow Jesus and who said things like, I am an Anabaptist Methodist or I am an Anabaptist Pentecostal. I heard people from many walks say things like, “When I learned about the Anabaptists, I realized that that’s what I am!” Their goal is for Anabaptism to be a leaven within society rather than an end in itself.

dscn3880.jpgWhat I heard: In brief, I heard people embracing Anabaptism because they understand that to be an Anabaptist means that you are someone who sees Jesus as your example, teacher, friend, redeemer, and Lord; that Jesus is the focal point of God’s revelation; that western culture is slowly emerging from the Christendom era; that the frequent association of the church with status, wealth and force is inappropriate; that churches are called to be committed communities of discipleship and mission; that spirituality and economics are inter-connected; and that peace is at the very heart of the gospel (www.anabaptistnetwork.com/coreconvictions). I saw them building networks of like-minded people with the goal of complementing rather than competing with one another’s ministries.

In 1999, Jim Lapp (then FMC Conference Pastor) suggested that “making the Great Commission central to our life as a conference will cost us the following: our sense of family; our polity of control over congregations; our Mennonite heritage that has been precious to our forebears; our image as a conference which symbolizes roots and identity for North American Mennonites. Anabaptists in the U.K. don’t have to give these things up– they have never been central to their identity; and because of that, I have a hunch that they may be able to help us find the more pure core of our own faith.

dscn3780.jpgI think there’s much we can learn from our sisters and brothers in the U.K. as we enter a new era in the U.S., and I’m delighted to learn that they would like to keep the conversation going too.
*For further context on Post Christendom, see my attached sermon text. For more information about Mennonites and Anabaptists in the U.K. go to: http://www.menno.org.uk, http://www.anabaptistnetwork.com, and http://www.rootandbranch.org.uk.

Click more to read Gay’s Sermon on Post-Christendom: [Read more…] about Being Anabaptist Leaven in a Post-Christendom Society

Offering another way: Countering military recruiters

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AKRON, Pa.  Organizers and participants in a November counter-recruitment conference sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) U.S. say they hope that the event will inspire churches to work together to further develop strategies for countering the lure of military recruiters.

About 75 people attended the Nov. 3-5 conference in San Antonio, Texas.

There were military veterans, pastors, church youth and student activists who are organizing campaigns countering the promises of military recruiters.

Each year, about 180,000 young people enlist in the U.S. military.

Titus Peachey, director of peace education for MCC U.S., said the conference intended to provide a forum where churches could learn more about the realities of military recruiting, become familiar with some models for countering the lure of the military and, perhaps most importantly, begin to share with other churches some of their own grassroots strategies.

We now have a lot of information to take home to our church members, people in our community, and the other youth who did not come to the conference, reported Verel Montauban, of a Haitian Church of the Brethren congregation in Brooklyn, N.Y. The commitment I found here is to help other people how to stay away from the military and teach them that their body belongs to God, not to the military. I believe we have to live for the glory of God not live to kill each other.

Another participant from the congregation, Sandra Beauvior, reported that she walks away from the conference believing that war is not an option. She, like others in the group, said they want to talk with other teenagers to help them commit not to join the military.

On many high school campuses, military recruiters have a strong presence. Students talked of how they circle during lunches and at the career center. One Army veteran said that the military recruitment was so heavy at her school that she didnt realize until later that colleges too recruited students. At the high schools I went to … I never saw colleges ever, Mari Villaluna said.

The military is passionate about enticing young people in and spends an enormous amount of money on recruiting  including paying scores of recruiters who are dedicated only to figuring out how to best entice more young people to join, said former Marine recruiter and Mennonite pastor Ertell Whigham.

Anabaptist church leaders and members may talk passionately about helping people avoid the military, Whigham said. But rarely does that translate into a paid position.

Just as the military has people who are dedicated to recruitment, we ought to be putting into place people who are counters to that, Whigham said.

Norristown (Pa.) New Life, where Whigham serves as an associate pastor, has appointed a full-time minister of youth and community outreach who works to identify opportunities for education and training that youth in the church can tap into. He dreams that more congregations will put money into such positions or that churches would join together to hire a person who could pinpoint resources for their youth.

In the urban setting, he said, the decision to go into the military is often spontaneous  and driven by immediate needs of the family or by a strong desire for education. When youth begin to ask, How can I make things better for me? How can I make things better for my family? the military has a ready answer. The church, too, needs to have an answer ready for them, Whigham said.

That includes setting the stage for alternatives years before students start to ask.

I think we need to be working with young people long before they get to high school, Whigham said. And the focus needs to be not so much on avoiding the military as on building a strong foundation of beliefs in peace and justice. Ideally, he said, when they get to high school, the military will be the last option on their list.

Whigham said he and Norristown plan to work at creating a manual of ideas and resources that can undergird area churches efforts to counter military recruiters. In addition, he hopes to contact people interested in replicating Norristowns model of providing a staff person to research and talk with youth about alternatives to the military.

Peachey said MCC U.S. will continue to develop resources related to countering the lures of military recruiters and that he hopes local groups will begin to build networks to carry out this work at a grassroots level.

Counter-recruitment provides a great opportunity for congregations to make the way of peace practical inlocal communities, Peachey said. It was exciting to see the conference bring together both the people and resources needed to help this work growamong the Anabaptist family of churches.

To learn more about counter-recruitment, go to www.mcc.org/us/co/counter.