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An American Mennonite Brethren Congregation Prepares for Mennonite World Conference

STRASBOURG, France — How can a congregation prepare for Africa 2003, next August's Mennonite World Conference assembly? The College Community Church Mennonite Brethren in Fresno, California (U.S.) is answering that question in deliberate ways.

Children of the congregation learned about the global Mennonite family at Vacation Bible School last summer. One activity center revolved around Mennonite World Conference. Children sat on the floor around a table cloth from overseas to learn about Mennonites from around the world who will sit together as one large family at the gathering. Lively games of co-operation and communication emphasized how we all need each other.

We chose to collect money to encourage Mennonites from Africa who are geographically near Zimbabwe but economically far away to attend the conference. We displayed a colorful African hand bag for every $43 collected — the amount needed to sponsor registration, meals and accommodations for one participant from the global South for the seven-day assembly. The collection, enhanced by an extra offering in church the following Sunday, totaled $792.84, enough to bring 18 more people to the table.

Adults in the congregation decided to learn some of the history of Zimbabwe and to discover more about the current situation in the country and church of our brothers and sisters whom some will soon visit. The adult education class plans four weeks of study after Easter.

Woza! Zimbabweans are inviting us to come. We believe that God longs for Christians around the world to impact each other's worship, mission, and lifestyle. We pray that God's Spirit will guide our preparation and participation as the global community gathers around Jesus Christ next August.