Mission and Protest
In 1967 Vincent Harding challenged a Mennonite World Conference audience to follow Jesus by joining the protest movements that were then spreading around the world. As we experience another period of massive global protest, how might the church take up Harding’s invitation today? What does it mean to consider protest as part of the church’s […]
Who Will Be A Witness
Churches have begun awakening to social and political injustices, often carried out in the name of Christianity. But once awakened, how will we respond? Who Will Be a Witness offers a vision for communities of faith to organize for deliverance and justice in their neighborhoods, states, and nation as an essential part of living out the […]
God bless you, friends
It’s been a privilege to serve with the Peace and Justice Support Network (PJSN) for nearly 10 years. In that time, I believe PJSN contributed positively to Mennonite peacemaking. From continuing our historic opposition to militarism to addressing newer issues, like the spiritual wounds of war and bystander intervention, we never remained static. With […]
Thank you
Gratitude is the overwhelming feeling I experience as I write this. Gratitude for God’s love for us, through Jesus. Gratitude to you all for allowing me to serve the church through my role with PJSN. Gratitude for the glimmers of hope that refuse to be dimmed, even as the horizon seems to darken. This is […]
Awakening to God’s love
Julian of Norwich, a 14th-century anchorite mystic, is well known for her book Revelations of Divine Love. It’s the oldest surviving book in the English language known to have been written by a woman. Still readily available in print and e-book forms, Julian reminds us that in brokenness and strain, "all shall be well, and […]
Displacement
The legacy of boundary-crossing colonial mission includes massive displacement—of native peoples from their homelands in Africa and the Americas, and of the produce of many lands, such as sugar, tobacco, and opium, for imperial purposes. The coerced movement and violent destruction of bodies and goods entails further displacements of psyches and families, cultures and languages. […]
Repentance that leads to life
November is mission month. Racism harms the body of Christ and God’s reconciling mission. But God has made a way to receive forgiveness — the repentance that leads to life! Mission Network November mission month materials invite MC USA to witness across the church to God’s plan for reconciliation. Introduction Two plagues have erupted in 2020 — […]
Mennonite peace witness
Peace with God, peace with neighbor, peace with the world. If we are pursuing peace in those areas, we are on the right track, because that is the track Jesus modeled for us. The time spent in prayer and communion with God gave Jesus strength and wisdom to do his work in the world. […]
Responding to a renewed peace commitment
When they launched the Brooklyn Peace Church and Center in New York City this past January, Jason and Vonetta Storbakken and Ruth Yoder Wenger did not know that two months later a pandemic and protests would threaten to stop them in their tracks. Rather than stopping them, however, the COVID-19 lockdown and protests over the […]
En respuesta a un compromiso renovado con la paz
Cuando en enero inauguraron la Iglesia y el Centro de Paz de Brooklyn en la ciudad de Nueva York, Jason y Vonetta Storbakken y Ruth Yoder Wenger no sabían que dos meses después una pandemia y múltiples protestas repentinamente amenazarían con inmovilizarlos. Sin embargo, en lugar de paralizarlos, la cuarentena por el COVID-19 y las […]