How does this issue feel in your hands? A bit heavier? You are right! With 60 pages, this is our largest issue to date. I want to call your attention to a couple of things.

On page 22, Andrea Sawyer Kirksey writes about a new initiative she leads called We Collectively. You’ll be especially interested if you ever volunteered through the DOOR program in Chicago or supported anyone who did. As I read this piece, I was struck by how God’s Spirit cannot be stopped or put in a box and how Andrea courageously has built something new.

Our cover features Hope for the Future, an annual conference for Black, Indigenous and people of color leaders in Mennonite Church USA. You’ll find more about it on page 26. We were fortunate to have Anabaptist World digital strategist Juan Moya participate and offer his gifts as photographer.

Now, you might be thinking, “That looks like a great event to be part of! I want to join. Why can’t it be for everyone?” While this is a common response for those of us who are White, it is important to have spaces just for BIPOC sisters and brothers. Most church spaces are created for White comfort and centered on White people’s experiences. Hope for the Future creates a space away from the White gaze and expectations.

IT IS WITH SADNESS that we share the obituary of Anthonia Onye (page 36), a pastor, leader and encourager in Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference. Her generous sharing of wisdom and gifts included writing a column for Anabaptist World and previously for The Mennonite.

In her Feb. 2, 2022, column, she wrote about the death of her father in Nigeria. Some of his last words were “live in peace, be at peace.” Anthonia wrote: “These are words of wisdom for any culture and any faith. My dad spoke them as a Christian and as an Igbo [ethnic group] man. I share them as a woman who also embraces both of these identities — as one who loves Jesus and my African heritage.”