Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Anabaptism at 500

The Courage to Love

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By César García, Mennonite World Conference General Secretary 

An excerpt of this interview with García has been reprinted with permission. Read the full interview. En español. En français. 

Some of us have a tendency of thinking that we should define right doctrine and from there go to practice. Scripture first; experience next. But in many ways – in our history and in our current reality – experience pushes us to think theologically to make sense of what is happening.  

Consider the Council of Jerusalem. They were asking: Can we include Gentiles or not?  

That was not clear in the Bible of their time.  

The fact that Gentiles were receiving the Holy Spirit pushed the church to think in a new way – without contradicting the foundation that they had.  

Their experience led them to raise the question to Scripture and develop new understandings.  

As Anabaptists, we have historically emphasized the local congregation and the centrality of the local congregation as the foretaste of God’s kingdom.  

But that doesn’t help us to answer why there is a need of a regional or global church.  
 
At the beginning of MWC, it was experience that pushed Mennonite churches to think about a global body.  

Can you speak about the similarity between today and some of the trends from 100 years ago when MWC started?  

There was a global pandemic at that time. And many countries had just gone through the First World War. There is of course a financial impact which drives governments to try to find a scapegoat. So that was an important component of increasing nationalism in Europe.  

And then our churches were also affected by the Russian Revolution and subsequent violent persecution in Ukraine where we had a large concentration of our churches at that time.  

So, with the mix of nationalism, cultural differences, languages and both the recent and more distant past of violence between their countries, it was complicated for Mennonite church leaders in 1925 to think about being one.  

Some people spiritualize the idea of unity and say: We are going to be one in heaven.  

Or say: yes, we are fighting violently with each other, but we are one in spirit.  

Both then and now, some churches think about other Christians with suspicion – even inside a denominational family.  

But the Bible doesn’t speak in that way.  

The Bible speaks of unity in a very practical way –visible even for the world. There is a level of unity that is a kind of miracle.  

MWC founder Christian Neff and others were speaking and writing about the need for a global body for some time before 1925, but it was not easy to overcome lack of trust.  

Finally, Christian Neff found a good excuse to bring people together: let’s celebrate the 400 years of the Anabaptist movement.  

And it was in that context that the church from Ukraine sent a letter to the people in this first global Anabaptist gathering asking for the formation of a global body that would coordinate the work of education, mission and support churches that are under persecution and suffering, among other things.  

When the church leaders gathered, the experience of being together opened up their eyes to the need of a communion to emphasize that the centre is not political nor a national state nor even a culture. The source of our identity is Jesus.  

The context then was very similar to the context today after a pandemic, amid rising nationalism and experiences of suffering from violence and persecution.  

It is interesting and sad at the same time to see how history repeats itself.  

What has changed is that that experience has invited us to think theologically. Do we want to be one only because of pragmatic issues? Or because of our understanding of the gospel demands it?  

What were some key moments where we leaned into becoming truly global?  

To be a global family, we need some levels of reconciliation and forgiveness for our history of divisions.  

We were not ready to think that way 80 years ago.  

At first, leaders said let’s have an Assembly only. And that was the way during the first 40 or 50 years.  

But more and more churches from the Global South were becoming members. And churches that are suffering see with more clarity the need for a global church. You cannot face violent persecution or natural disasters if you are alone.  

By the 1970s, presidents were beginning to be appointed from the Global South. The executive, C. J. Dyck said: if we want MWC to continue, it should be more than a global gathering. It should be part of the mission Mennonites are being called to in this world, a place where they clarify the meaning of faith in their diverse cultural contexts.  

That vision was the result, among other things, of input from Global South churches who were asking for more interdependence.  

Pushed by those experiences, we have made theological developments of understanding the church as something that goes beyond the doors of my local congregation.  

Are we where we should be?  

I think we are going in a good direction, but we have theological challenges when we speak about the global church.  

For many of the leaders and pastors in our global church, we are just starting to build a clear understanding of unity.  

Too many times, our understanding of purity in our Anabaptist tradition has pushed us to fragment because we think to be holy or to be pure, we need to separate from those we deem are not.  

Our history of divisions requires real reconciliation. There are some historic wounds that have not been healed, and we continue to observe some divisions happening in real time.  

The challenges of racism and colonialism are there. There’s a tendency to have some sectors of the church make decisions without consulting others and imposing their points of view.  

There are challenges of privileging our own interests over the interests of others. To say we need to protect our budget first before thinking about other churches.  

In addition, we have ambition and the desire to control, dominate, and conquer others.  

The kingdoms of the world are very appealing to us. We love the sense of being superior to other groups.  

But God invites us to live in contrast to the kingdoms of the world. God’s kingdom is a real alternative. We must recognize that we need the power of the Holy Spirit.  

Read more here.

Keeping the Movement Alive Another 500 Years  

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By Stephen Kriss 

Anabaptism begins with a protest action—deeply spiritual, yes —rooted in faithful reading of Scripture. But it is a protest, whether intentional or not, against the commingling of the state and the church. It’s both a deeply personal and a communal response. While we often highlight the movement’s Swiss genesis, it emerges across Europe in different but similar ways as the Scriptures become available to the masses through the newly invented printing press. 

We take on the name “Mennonites” from a former Dutch priest, Menno Simons. This naming comes only after the movement had begun to take shape and Simons had time to write and attempt to organize the chaos, amidst martyrdom and the fallout of the Münster Rebellion, where Anabaptists attempted a violent takeover of a Dutch city. We were not always a peaceable people. But through that lesson, the movement embraced a decisive turn toward nonviolence. 

The first Anabaptist baptisms in Zurich, Switzerland took place in this spot. Narration by John L. Ruth (Salford [PA] Mennonite).

Mosaic Mennonite Conference has existed for only about one percent of this movement’s history, though our predecessor conferences span 350 of those 500 years. The future of the movement is increasingly global and challenges us to balance history and trajectory. While our story begins in Europe, more of our future is emerging in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. 

As Mosaic Conference finds its way, too, we are shaped by the emergence of global connectivity and community. Our story begins with European migrations to Pennsylvania, and our trajectory includes movement in the Americas and global connections that defy political boundaries—just as Anabaptism always has done.  

Movements of the Spirit and of the people continue to bustle and at times bristle with institutional boundaries. This requires us to reimagine both ourselves and our relationships with each other. For some, it’s an invitation to examine our own power and our need to be right, while allowing the Spirit to lead, direct, and disrupt. 

At its best, Anabaptism is contextual and responsive—traits that keep movements alive. When Mosaic was formed five years ago, those involved envisioned a flexible and sturdy structure that would allow us to keep moving together. My former colleague, Noah Kolb, talks about the balance of ballast and sail to keep ships afloat and responsive. Philosopher Simone Weil calls this the work of gravity and grace. 

Our Mosaic Mennonite Conference commitments to the Anabaptist vision (in our bylaws, we draw from Palmer Becker’s Anabaptist Essentials: Jesus is the center of our faith, community is the center of our life, and reconciliation is the center of our work) and our deep history of practiced Mennonite belief and values give us both root and vine.  

The “Anabaptist essentials” painted on the wall at Lakeview Mennonite (Susquehanna, PA). Photo by Stephen Kriss.

We remain deeply rooted in this 500-year-old movement, in the vision of early leaders to engage the Scriptures and to respond faithfully to Jesus’ calls and the Spirit’s movement, and in our own story of ongoing migration and mission. The Anabaptist identity shapes us, and we in turn also shape that identity through our particular mosaic conference of congregations, ministries and partners. 

To live this identity out together requires one of the most difficult disciplines of our time: to yield to God and to each other. In that yieldedness there is both opportunity and responsibility: to acknowledge the pains of the past, while proclaiming the possibilities of the future. Holding onto the foundation that is Christ (Menno Simon’s hallmark verse from 1 Corinthians), we embrace our contexts with faith, hope and love.  

We seek to respond with faithfulness, not fear, believing that God, who began this good work 500 years ago—though it’s both beautiful and broken—will sustain it, and us, through faithful struggle and ongoing holy inbreaking and surprise. 

Stephen Kriss

Stephen Kriss is the Executive Minister of Mosaic Conference.

Anabaptism at 500: What Anabaptism Means to Me – May 2025

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As Mosaic Mennonite Conference commemorates the 500th Anniversary of Anabaptism in 2025, each month we will share a variety of Mosaic voices reflecting on the question, “What does Anabaptism mean to me?”  

Submission from

Franco Salvatori, Souderton (PA) Mennonite

As an interim pastor for a Mennonite church, I found a theological home in the pages of the 1995 Confession of Faith from a Mennonite perspective.     

Anabaptism – Where following Jesus matters. Where Jesus’ words define our actions. Where we interpret the Bible by starting with Jesus and letting that inform our understanding of the rest of the scriptures.

Anabaptism – Where peace, justice, truth, stewardship, and participating in the mission of God NOW defines the purpose of the church. A community becoming like Christ, to be an incarnate sign of the beautiful vision God had for his creation and his children.     

Somehow, my faith had always been more interested in the idea of becoming like Jesus on the inside (forgiven and purified) than in acting like Jesus (pursuing the reconciliation of the world). But the Anabaptist theology did not allow for that distinction, and I loved it for that.  

I pastored that church for 10 years and would often joke that they might be more Mennonite than me, but that I was more Anabaptist, because I wasn’t born into this tradition of faith. I chose it. 

And I continue to choose it today.   

Submission from

Joe Landis (Salford Mennonite [Harleysville, PA])

Joe Landis (Salford Mennonite [Harleysville, PA]), Founder/former CEO of Conference-Related Ministry Peaceful Living and former CEO of Conference-Related Ministry Indian Creek Foundation and his son Zach Landis reflect on what Anabaptism means to them. They recently traveled, with their families, to Zurich and other key Anabaptist historical sites. Zach’s son Johan filmed the conversation, which took place in front of a cave in which early Anabaptists used for worship and refuge.  

Submission from

Sandra Güete, Sarasota, FL

El anabautismo, para mí, es más que una simple doctrina o una corriente teológica dentro del cristianismo. Es una forma de vivir la fe con autenticidad, compromiso y valentía. Nació en el siglo XVI como una respuesta radical a la iglesia establecida, afirmando que el bautismo es un acto de fe personal y no algo impuesto por tradición o por el Estado. Pero va más allá del bautismo: es una manera de entender la iglesia como una comunidad de discípulos comprometidos con el evangelio, con la paz y con la justicia. No se trata solo de una idea histórica, sino de un llamado actual a seguir a Cristo de manera decidida y contracultural.  

Translation in English:

For me, Anabaptism is more than just a doctrine or a theological movement within Christianity. It is a way of living out faith with authenticity, commitment, and courage. It emerged in the 16th century as a radical response to the established church, affirming that baptism is a personal act of faith rather than something imposed by tradition or the state. But it goes beyond baptism—it is a way of understanding the church as a community of disciples committed to the gospel, peace, and justice. It is not just a historical idea but a present-day call to follow Christ in a determined and countercultural way. 

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To share your thoughts or send a message to the author(s), contact us at communication@mosaicmennonites.org.   

Anabaptism at 500: What Anabaptism Means to Me – April 2025

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As Mosaic Mennonite Conference commemorates the 500th Anniversary of Anabaptism in 2025, each month we will share a variety of Mosaic voices reflecting on the question, “What does Anabaptism mean to me?”  

Submission from

Angela Moyer Walter, Mosaic Conference Moderator

On Commemorating Anabaptism at 500 this year:

I value the opportunity to celebrate the witness to a separation of church and state in order to bear witness to God’s upside down kingdom; the testimony to the power of nonviolent love; the commitment to service and simplicity; an emphasis on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus; and building shalom in our relationships with God, others, self, and all of creation.

It is also an opportunity to acknowledge and lament the ways in which we have created conflict and violence through misuses of power via colonialism, racism, classism, and sexism and commit to the work of transparency, reconciliation, and restoration that the Spirit of Christ empowers us for.

Lastly, this year’s celebration creates an opportunity for us to pause and listen to and observe the Spirit’s leading. What unexpected places might she lead us? What surprises may be in store for us? I commit to following wherever the Spirit leads.  

Submission from

Letty Cortes Castro, Centro de Alabanza de Filadelfia (PA)

(English Translation Below)

El anabuatismo para mí significa fortalecer la fe a través del testimonio de los reformadores del siglo xvi, quienes dieron su propia vida por defender su fe. El anabautismo es compartir con otros la importancia de ser puentes de paz y reconciliación en medio de la violencia; es vivir un estilo de vida basado en el ejemplo de Jesús, ayudando a los más vulnerables compartiéndoles el evangelio, llevándolos a reconocer que necesitan un Salvador, pero también enseñándoles a salir adelante en su vida personal (hay un proverbio chino que dice enséñale a pescar y comerá el resto de su vida).  

El anabautismo es compartir en comunidad las escrituras, los valores y la ética moral donde hombres y mujeres deciden voluntariamente ser seguidores y discípulos de Jesús, mostrando su compromiso y obediencia, haciendo público su deseo de ser bautizados como adultos por decisión propia. Pertenecer a una comunidad cristiana anabautista es hacer una misión integral donde son atendidos todos los miembros desde el anciano hasta el más pequeño, cubriendo sus necesidades espirituales, físicas y emocionales, basados en las escrituras  donde el enfoque es Cristo céntrico, el discipulado, el servicio, la alabanza  y la preparación teológica.  

English Translation:

Anabautismo (Anabaptism), for me, means strengthening faith through the testimony of the 16th-century reformers who gave their lives to defend their faith. Anabautismo is about sharing with others the importance of being bridges of peace and reconciliation in the midst of violence; it is about living a lifestyle based on Jesus’ example, helping the most vulnerable by sharing the gospel with them, leading them to recognize that they need a Savior, but also teaching them how to overcome challenges in their personal lives (there is a Chinese proverb that says, “Teach them to fish, and they will eat for the rest of their lives”).  

Anabautismo is about sharing scriptures, values, and moral ethics in community, where men and women voluntarily choose to be followers and disciples of Jesus, demonstrating their commitment and obedience, publicly expressing their desire to be baptized as adults by their own decision. Belonging to an Anabaptist Christian community is engaging in integral mission, where all members, from the elderly to the youngest, are attended to, covering their spiritual, physical, and emotional needs, based on scriptures with a Christ-centered focus on discipleship, service, praise, and theological preparation. 

Submission from

Jenny Fujita, Blooming Glen (PA) Mennonite 

I’m finishing seminary and the last student left in my Anabaptist studies program. That sounds like bad news but it’s not. My classes are now so thoroughly Anabaptist that we no longer need a program named after what we’re learning. Students and professors consistently share examples of faith communities that revolve around Jesus and strive for reconciling peace. Today, Anabaptism is transdenominational. It is not ours alone.  

For 500 years Anabaptists have been living out the risky love of God together with discipline, perseverance, joy, and sometimes pain. The rooster did not crow even once for the early Anabaptists.  

Today, I am being formed by Anabaptists around me — extraordinary people who don’t even know how special they are. They humbly give kidneys to strangers, tell Pennsylvania Dutch tales about a simpler time, plant trees, raise money for deworming medicine for the world’s children, minister to veterans with moral injuries, host hymn sings as an act of worship, store hundreds of copy paper boxes in their garage for annual school kit assemblies, buy shoes in bulk to send to Honduras, visit lonely elders, deliver roasted chickens to the doorsteps of the sick and grieving, knit prayer shawls, bring farm surpluses to hungry families, and more. 

I witness these acts of radical love every day, and the world is noticing, too. Onlookers are magnetized by the authentic ways Anabaptists follow Jesus’ example. What could be more attractive (and necessary) in today’s world? 

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To share your thoughts or send a message to the author(s), contact us at communication@mosaicmennonites.org.

Anabaptism at 500: What Anabaptism Means to Me – March 2025

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As Mosaic Mennonite Conference commemorates the 500th Anniversary of Anabaptism in 2025, each month we will share a variety of Mosaic voices reflecting on the question, “What does Anabaptism mean to me?”  

Submission from

Joel Horst Nofziger, Methacton (PA) congregation and Executive Director of Conference-Related Ministry Mennonite Historians of Eastern PA 

There are many markers that people have used to describe and define Anabaptism. None of them is unique, but together they form a distinctive constellation of values, beliefs, and practices. Anabaptism describes an understanding of what it means to faithfully follow Jesus, individually and as a community of faith. It is the milieu in which I have lived, it is the tradition I study, and it is the order by which I live my life. Two intertwined ideals are central to this order, with the understanding that we cannot faithfully follow Christ alone.  

First, we are to live lives conformed to Christ. We are not bound to the patterns of the world but transformed by the Holy Spirit’s renewal of our minds so that our lives are pure and acceptable before God. If Christ cannot be seen visibly lived in our everyday life, then we are failing in our discipleship. 

Second is the understanding that all violence is outside of Christ’s perfection. The world in fear says that we need to protect ourselves, our property, our resources, our nation. Christ reminds us that death is not our end and that our call is radical hospitality, even unto those who would do us harm.  

Submission from

Carolyn Albright, Ripple (Allentown, PA) congregation and Refuge 

My journey to embracing Anabaptism has been a circuitous one, and some of the most meaningful parts of my journey have been:  

  • Belonging, love, and acceptance 
  • Lived out faith with a Jesus lens 
  • Ministry 
  • Meals 
  • Music 

My first encounter with Anabaptists was during the year after I graduated from college. I was a member of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, and our household hung out with the Mennonite Voluntary Service household in Washington, DC. Someone gifted me The More-with-Less cookbook, and I became endlessly curious about Mennonites.  

Later, Whitehall (PA) Mennonite congregation accepted and loved my family, modeled practical faith in Jesus, and taught us to view Scripture through the lens of Jesus. Urbane and Janet Byler were important mentors in our faith journey (I have wonderful memories of trips to Honduras and time helping on their farm) and they helped me discern my call to licensing and ordination.  

Leaving Whitehall to begin Ripple Church, moving to inner-city Allentown, starting the Conference-Related Ministry Ripple Community, Inc. were all infused with community discernment and dedicated ministry. 

While living in Allentown, monthly meals with our community there (Zume House, which included Rose Bender, Angela Moyer, and Ben Walter) were relaxed places where we could ponder and puzzle together, as we served Jesus.  

Music was always interwoven in our gatherings, and Mennonites singing in four-part a capella harmony helps me envision what heaven will be like! 

Submission from

Rev. Dr. Calenthia Dowdy, Ambler (PA)

Rev. Dr. Calenthia Dowdy, Ambler (PA) congregation shares her earliest encounters with Anabaptism and the Anabaptist values that draw her.

Anabaptism at 500: What Anabaptism Means to Me – February 2025

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As Mosaic Mennonite Conference commemorates the 500th Anniversary of Anabaptism in 2025, each month we will share a variety of Mosaic voices reflecting on the question, “What does Anabaptism mean to me?”  

Submission from

John L. Ruth, Salford (PA) congregation

I understand baptism to be a sacramental act of accepting God’s forgiveness, God’s renewal of my heart, and entrance into God’s covenant of reconciliation.

The ancient term “Anabaptist” (rebaptizer) is a kind of misnomer. The people in my 16th Century-formed fellowship considered themselves to be baptized only once, since they concluded that a ritual on behalf of uncomprehending infants was not what the New Testament teaches. Thus, though most had received the rite common throughout medieval Christendom, they did not view their conscious baptism of repentance as a second one.

As the oversimplified term “Anabaptist” became common parlance, it is historically useful. But it fails to convey ideas that are just as definitive as baptism to the spiritual / social breakthrough that focused my Mennonite people’s understanding: (1) following “the Word” to (2) covenant or “form a church” in which (3) the use of force is replaced by the loving way Jesus described in the “Sermon on the Mount.” Since many Anabaptists of the 16th Century did not “give up the sword,” it is to the testimony and suffering of the minority who did that I look for my inspiration and model of church. 

Submission from

Maati Yvonne Platts, Mosaic Conference Board Member, Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life 

What it Means to be Black and Anabaptist 

Anabaptism to me means being baptized by my Black preacher Hubert Brown on Easter Sunday, April 14, 1968 when I was ten. It meant what was important in the church was important in the community and what was important in the community was important in the church.  

It meant Brother Markley knocking at ya door when you done missed church a few Sundays in a row. Baking chocolate, fresh mint tea, and hot blueberry pies at summer camp. 

It means fellowship meals and cherry cheese pies from my sister Betty (no shoe-fly pie for me). 

It means loving our brothers and sisters as ourselves: red, brown, yellow, white, or black we are all precious in God’s sight. 

It means a love that was real, serving a God that was real, who cares about community, there was real love and unity, ministry over business, taking care of the poor as well as those in prison. 

It means a heart of gratitude for other Anabaptists that see your ugly and your beauty and love you still. 

It means a heart of forgiveness for those who have hurt you and walking closer with the spirit of humility as you grow old, and patience grows thin. 

Anabaptism means departing from evil to do good; to seek peace and pursue it. 

What Anabaptism means to me is to live free in what Jesus has called me to be, to show love even when others aren’t loving, to stand up and speak out against injustice, yet have compassion for those that hearts and minds just ain’t right. 

It ain’t about being Anabaptist, it’s about the love of Jesus in me. 

Submission from

Bishop Juan Marerro, Executive Director of Conference-Related Crossroads Community Center (Philadelphia, PA)  

What does Anabaptism mean to me?  

These early believers, whose theology and philosophy of ministry that we current Anabaptists descend from, had the heart and conviction to follow what they were convinced was the leading and moving of the Holy Spirit.  

These early believers were radical enough to follow what they saw on the pages of sacred scripture and quickly developed a Christ-centered theology and philosophy of ministry. These Anabaptists, as they were called, held on to the practice of believer’s baptism despite opposition and persecution. Despite drownings and burnings, they pushed on, following the example of Jesus Christ and his apostles. This gives me encouragement to continue in this radical faith and push on despite the opposition we may face as believers in Christ.