I am grateful for Josh Meyer’s “Anabaptism at 501” (January), which names with clarity both the tensions we face and the hopes we are called to embody. His reflections resist nostalgia while honoring the courage and imagination that marked our beginnings — a posture the church needs so deeply in this moment.

As Mennonite Disaster Service marked its 75th anniversary in 2025, I read this piece with particular gratitude. For dec­ades, MDS volunteers and partners have lived out many of the hopes Meyer names: an economy of enough expressed through generosity, a faith rooted in helping our neighbors in need (what I call the “theology of the hammer”) and a resilient hope carried not by hero leaders but by shared community. Disaster response has continually required improvisation, interdependence, humility and trust in the Spirit — precisely the qualities this article lifts up as essential for the future of Anabaptism.

Meyer reminds us that Anabaptism is not preserved by careful guarding of the past but by faithful, embodied discipleship in the present. When communities show up with compassion after disaster, share resources freely and work across cultural and denominational lines, the tradition remains alive and credible. I hope MDS is known more for the “walls” torn down than the walls we build.

Kevin King, Harrisonburg, Va.

The writer is executive director of Mennonite Disaster Service.