Anabaptists around the world celebrated 500 years of Anabaptism around the week of Jan. 19, some marking it during Sunday worship services and others in special gatherings and conferences. These reports are not fully representative of the scope of activities across several continents.
History and hymns at Hesston College
To introduce each selection, Hesston music professor Ken Rodgers (behind the lectern) shared histories behind the hymns, which included texts from early Anabaptist leaders and hymns and songs from contemporary worship around the world. Selections centered on themes of setting the scene, faith of the martyrs, borrowed traditions and making all things new.
Music was led by Russell Adrian, director of choral activities, and accompanied by Karen Unruh, organ and piano.
The event included a greeting from César García, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference, and a dedication of the Anabaptist Community Bible.
Plain Mennonites gather with Europeans
The 500th anniversary of Anabaptism brought together conservative North American Mennonites, European Anabaptists and other Christians Jan. 21-22 in Wyssachen, Switzerland.
The conference was a project of Grace Press, a U.S.-based conservative Mennonite ministry that distributes Christian literature in Europe and Central Asia.
Grace Press is affiliated with Nationwide Fellowship Churches, which formed after conservatives withdrew from mainstream Mennonite conferences in the 1950s and ’60s.
Nationwide Fellowship has congregations in numerous countries, including England, Denmark and the Republic of Georgia.
Nearly 300 people attended each day. Many were European, including Evangelical Baptists, along with Americans and Canadians. Many of the Europeans had probably never heard conservative Mennonite preaching or perspectives on the issues discussed.
The history of dissenting, nonconformist Christian groups, including the early Reformation, was described in two talks, followed by a talk on Anabaptist origins in Zurich and one on the spread of the Anabaptist movement in Canton Bern.
Doctrinal topics, presented by ordained men from Nationwide churches and Conservative Mennonite Churches of Ontario, included talks on the authority of the Bible and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Speakers emphasized the joy of Christian living. Paul Martin said if parents show their joy in living for Christ, their children will see that joy and want to follow that path.
It’s a path that could lead to conflict with the state. Kenneth Witmer of Shropshire, England, said the Nationwide church was trying to find a way to educate its children outside the state-approved schools and that this was difficult.
“We’re trying to evaluate when we should disobey the law for the sake of our school and our church,” he said.
One attendee asked whether Christians should support political movements that represent their beliefs.
“We don’t belong in either one,” replied Bishop Virgil Schrock of Wisconsin, referring to both sides of the political spectrum and emphasizing traditional Mennonite teaching on separation from the world, including its politics.
Positive responses to the conference included requests to hold another one.
“Europe needs more living-faith examples,” said Kenneth Witmer, one of the speakers. The continuation of a living faith in Switzerland that honors the authority of the Bible and the Lordship of Jesus Christ would be the ultimate mark of success, organizers say. — Andrew V. Ste. Marie for AW
Scandinavians gather in Sweden to consider Anabaptism’s impact
Organized by the academy and Anabaptist Mennonite Network Scandinavia, the event included prsentations such as “Lutheranism and Anabaptism” by Adrian Jarvis, “Anabaptist Contributions to Contemporary Political Pentecostalism” by Samuel Asberg, “Tongues and Refusal to Bear Arms” by Micael Grenholm, “True Church or ‘Peculiar Beards’ ” by Anton Johnsson, a description of Anabaptism at Swedish universities by Pascal Andréasson and “The Anabaptist Vision for the 21st Century” by Stuart Murray.
Anabaptist Mennonite Network Scandinavia held its first physical gathering in 2009 with support of Mennonite Mission Network partners Tom and Disa Rutschman in Sweden and Margot and Stephen Longley in Finland
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