Mennonite World Conference churches celebrated Peace Sunday Sept. 17 with diverse activities around the world.

Communauté Mennonite au Congo leaders planted a mango tree on the church grounds.

“It’s a symbol of peace and unity, because we’re all part of God’s family,” said Simon Kashal Tshiey. “This tree will soon unite everyone through its fruit and shade.”

The MWC Peace Commission prepares worship resources for Peace Sunday, and congregations select portions to adapt for their worship.

Some 500 people celebrated Peace Sunday in eight conference regions of Bihar Mennonite Mandli in India. They collected a One Lunch offering, in which each person gives the cost of eating a lunch in their region, “so that needy people could be helped by MWC,” said Asim Ariyal Khakha, secretary of the conference’s Central Executive Committee.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Communauté Évangélique Mennonite congregations from Mbujimayi district gathered for a joint service of reconciliation.

“Our joy was all the greater because CEM members have been happily living in the peace of the Lord after a long period of leadership conflicts,” said CEM President Jean Felix Cimbalanga.

Brethren in Christ congregations in Nepal took a special offering and prayed for peace locally and in the global Anabaptist community, especially for Ukraine and Myanmar.

Wincy Wan of Hong Kong Mennonite Church shared stories from the Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference hosted in June by Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., of “how our righteous father is using MWC to transform injustices.” A member of the MWC Peace Commission, she challenged the congregation: “How do we share peace and love to our neighbors? Can we be alert to trauma around us? Can we walk in companionship with suffering people?”