World Fellowship Sunday 2002>
by Larry Kehler
The focus of MWC’s World Fellowship Sunday rotates from continent to continent each year. North America will be featured in the materials which will be circulated to the global family of Anabaptist churches for this special day of prayer and worship on January 27, 2002.
Justina Heese, who represents Mennonite Church Canada on the MWC General Council and who serves on the MWC Executive Committee, has coordinated the preparation of the material for 2002. The theme will be, “Walking in unity in the light of God.”
The packets of materials will include suggestions for worship which were submitted by representatives of various MWC member churches in North America (scriptural texts, songs, stories, a call to worship, prayers of intercession, litanies, sermon ideas, and benediction). A drawing of a candle which can be used on a bulletin cover will also be enclosed.
In 2001 the World Fellowship Sunday featured the Anabaptist churches in Asia. Pastor Joao Gomes de Miranda, leader of the Igreja de Comunidade Menonita em Angola (ICMA), which was accepted into MWC membership in 2000 at the MWC General Council meeting in Guatemala City, sent a letter of thanks to MWC for the material.
Pastor Miranda wrote, “We, your brothers in Christ from the Mennonite Church of Angola, have the joy of thanking you and sending you a report on World Fellowship Sunday. We are sure this will bring you as much joy as it brought us. This is what we did. On receiving your correspondence, the idea interested us so much that we wanted to start with the text of Ephesians 4:16, as you did in the introduction.
“The theme of the text, “Unity in diversity,” served as a subject for a seminar held in all of our churches from January 23-28. On the 28th all the members of the local churches met together in the central church of the ICMA to celebrate World Fellowship Sunday prepared by sisters and brothers in Asia. That day we were truly united as one in Christ. The results of this were very positive. On the 27th after the seminar, 26 people were baptized and Sunday, the day of World Fellowship, we all celebrated communion. So everything went well. We would ask you to remember us for future celebrations of this sort and to continue to pray for us because Angola is still without peace.
“In conclusion -- there were 682 members and 81 new converts present for the celebration.”
Larry Kehler, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is former News Editor for MWC.
