The Center for Peace Church Theology at the University of Hamburg in Germany has awarded the 2026 Menno Simons Sermon Prize to Kate André, pastor of the Mennonite Congregation of Boston.
André’s sermon, “Gathering in the Gap,” delivered on Palm Sunday 2025 at the Mennonite Congregation of Boston, links a pro-democracy demonstration with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in Luke 19.
“Is the struggle worth it even if we lose, even if we die, even if the whole system collapses and the life we know — the parts we value and take for granted — is stripped away from us?” she asks. “Why didn’t Jesus save himself?”
The sermon touches on traditional theological explanations for Jesus’ death, suggesting we should not try to find meaning in senseless deaths but mourn them honestly. The sermon points out tactics that can be used in the face of frightening uncertainties. It conveys hope rooted in faith, peace, justice and simplicity.
André is an ordained minister in Mennonite Church USA and has served Mennonite Congregation of Boston since 2022. She also serves as a Mennonite chaplain at Harvard University. She has taught world religions, philosophy and ethics, and coordinated a program for young adults focused on Ignatian spirituality in New York City, where she pursued an acting career before earning her Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School. Her master’s thesis explored sketch comedy and improvisational theater as tools for authentic community-building in worship design.
The Menno Simons Sermon Prize aims to encourage and recognize sermons that bring the biblical witness to light through the lens of the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. Sermons should promote Peace Church orientation and convince through credibility, providing spiritual strengthening, and encourage engagement with current issues of public life beyond denominational boundaries.
The prize includes a $2,300 award, half of which goes to the recipient and half to their congregation. André, who also serves as a chaplain at Harvard University, will preach the sermon Oct. 11 at Mennonite Church Hamburg-Altona, in conjunction with 20th anniversary celebrations of the Center for Peace Church Theology.
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