The celebration of 500 years of Anabaptism has begun! It’s a big year for our faith tradition. Perhaps some of you will join the Mennonite World Conference celebration in Zurich, Switzerland, in May (our editor will be there) or one of the other gatherings you have learned of through our pages.
This issue is our first contribution to marking the milestone. We begin with two historical articles — John Longhurst focusing on events of the 16th century and Valerie Rempel on theology. Next are five articles on core tenets of Anabaptism — believers baptism, community, discipleship, peace and religious liberty — from a 21st-century perspective.
Then we offer the story of a “Methodist Mennonite” (because Anabaptism isn’t just for Mennonites, Amish, Brethren and Hutterites) and an overview of one Mennonite congregation’s witness.
On a special center fold-out page, we present an Anabaptist family tree (we think we broke some new ground here) and a map of current Anabaptism around the world.
This issue has been a labor of great joy and tireless effort by our team. If you would like extra copies for your church, friends or personal use, please email our business manager, Jennie Wintermote, at JennieW@AnabaptistWorld.org for information.
Making this issue has been a lovely way to wrap up 2024 and look toward 2025. I hope it can bring a bit of hope and inspiration for your new year as well.
Now I wonder what the next 500 years will look like, and I’m thinking about how I can honor my spiritual foremothers and fathers — two questions we all can work on together.
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