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Diverse Group Begins Plans for July 2009 Assembly;
An Interview with Paraguayan Alfred Neufeld

PASADENA, California — Mennonite World Conference (MWC) accepted an invitation from its Paraguayan member churches to hold Assembly 15 in Asuncion, Paraguay July 13–19, 2009. Why did Paraguayan Mennonites offer to host a large international gathering? According to Alfred Neufeld, they extended their invitation out of gratitude for the global Mennonite family.

Neufeld is the chair of the national co-ordinating committee for Assembly 15 in Paraguay and a faculty member at the Universidad Evangelica del Paraguay. Marcus Shantz worked for MWC as special projects coordinator from 1995–1997 leading up to and including Assembly 13 in Calcutta, India. Shantz talked with Neufeld in Pasadena, California during MWC General Council meetings in March. In the following interview, Neufeld reflects on plans for Assembly 15 and offers a sense of what visitors can expect.

Marcus: Hosting a Mennonite World Conference assembly is a big undertaking. Why did the Paraguayan Mennonites offer to do this?

Alfred: Well, they sure did it with mixed feelings, because as a matter of fact this is a very big project! But I guess it is out of gratitude. The international Mennonite community has always been very supportive of Paraguay from the time that Mennonite refugees settled there. And since then, there has been a strong network of support from Mennonites around the world, through Voluntary Service, through Mennonite Central Committee, through co-operation with the First Nation settlements. So we do it out of gratitude, and we do it because we think it may have a positive impact on our churches and our public presence and witness.

In Paraguay as in other places, Mennonite churches are trying to redefine their vision and mission. They are asking what God’s vision is for their churches.

How many different MWC member churches from Paraguay will be involved in hosting Assembly 15?

The Mennonite picture in Paraguay is very diverse. There are at least three major cultural groups that will be hosting the Assembly. Three of the MWC member churches belong to the First Nation peoples that started to join the Mennonite faith at the end of the 1940s. There are also three conferences of immigrant background that still speak German in their churches: the Mennonite Church, the Mennonite Brethren Church, and the Evangelical Mennonite Brotherhood. They all immigrated to Paraguay at the same time 75 years ago, and they have had a very fraternal working relationship. There are also two member conferences from the majority Spanish-speaking culture. They are the Paraguayan Mennonite Church and the Paraguayan Mennonite Brethren Church.

On the other hand, there are several groups that are not MWC members, but with whom we have a fraternal relationship. There are also two new emerging First Nations groups and Old Colony Mennonites who immigrated from Mexico. They have not been eager to establish a closer relationship with the other Anabaptist churches, but we will look for comfortable ways for them to be involved in the assembly.

Finally, there are some other emerging groups that have been doing missionary and outreach group. They are not yet officially part of MWC. They will all be very supportive of the assembly.

Have Paraguayan Mennonites had the opportunity to co-operate to this extent in the past?

It’s new and exciting for us to work as eight different conferences to host a major Mennonite event. But there has been a high level of inter-Mennonite co-operation in the history of Paraguay. And I would also say there has been a low amount of conflict or division in our history.

Nearly all of these groups emerged out of missionary work in specific ethnic communities or from immigration. As far as I know, none of our Mennonite groups have emerged from a split or a conflict in Paraguay. So we have to understand that Paraguay is a country of refuge for a very wide mosaic of different Mennonite groups. Service has helped to unite us and has provided a platform of encounter for us.

The German-speaking immigrant groups have co-operated with each other on several levels -- with MCC, Mennonite Voluntary Service, the leprosy mission, and in several theological education efforts.

The First Nations conferences are culturally very distinct from each other. They communicate with each other in Spanish because they have different indigenous languages and cultural traditions. In the past, they sometimes communicated with each other in Low German! They have co-operated with each other in social work and Bible school, but they have not worked with the Spanish or German-speaking Mennonites in an effort like this.

The Spanish and German-speaking groups have some links with each other, primarily within their own denominations. For example, the Spanish-speaking Mennonite Brethren and the German-speaking Mennonite Brethren run a lot of institutions together. The same holds true for the Spanish and German-speaking Mennonite conferences.

What are your biggest concerns in hosting the assembly?

My first concern is the essence of the assembly itself: Of course it can be a wonderful family reunion and folk festival. But it needs to be more. I think that, to be meaningful, there must be content that brings us together, and that provides us with a shared vision.

So my main concern is that the program, the content, the themes really will provide renewal and shared vision.

Of course, preparing for the assembly will require much cross-cultural fellowship. The national co-ordinating committee is as culturally diverse as you can imagine, and that will require a lot of grace and wisdom. The nice thing is that there are strong fraternal feelings and a history of co-operation. But the social, educational, economic, and cultural differences among us are remarkable. And we will need prayer and wisdom to make this a joyful experience.

How much planning have you done so far?

We are just at the beginning of our planning. We have a national co-ordinating committee which has met only twice. We are looking at two possible sites for hosting the assembly and will make a decision on that later this year. There has been an advertisement to hire a national co-ordinator, but [as of March] we have not held interviews.

What time of year will the assembly be held?

July 13-19. It will be winter in Paraguay. The weather will be unpredictable. If the wind blows from the South, it can be cold — very cold actually. If the wind comes from the North it will be as hot as summer. So visitors will have to prepare for all kinds of weather.

Will there be Assembly Scattered visits?

We expect so, but we haven’t planned them yet. We really would love visitors to learn to know Paraguay, to visit tourist sites and to learn to know our local churches. If possible we would like visitors to stay with families in local congregations to get into their day-by-day reality.

Do you expect the government of Paraguay to be supportive of the assembly?

Several Mennonite church members in Paraguay hold high governmental office, especially in health and economics. The first lady is a member of one of our churches. However, we have to be clear that this is an independent invitation from Paraguayan churches — it is not intended to be a political gathering.

The public and the government will be very supportive. Paraguay is very hospitable, very visitor-friendly. The Paraguayan people are warm and there will be large positive support from the public. I am sure about that.

SIDEBAR:
MWC Assembly 15 Dates Announced

STRASBOURG, France — Mennonite World Conference Assembly 15 will be held July 13 - 19, 2009 in Asuncion, Paraguay. The National Coordinating Committee in consultation with MWC officials made the decision at a recent meeting in Paraguay.

"The July 13-19 dates were selected because those dates are the choice of the hosts," said Ray Brubacher, associate secretary for events and administration. “The two options were the long school vacation in January and February or the shorter July vacation time. July is Paraguay's winter and could mean cold, but not freezing, weather, but January and February are unbearably hot and not a good time for many international participants.

"Leaders of the eight host conferences have met several times," said Brubacher. "A 25-member National Coordinating Council is in place and we expect to name a national coordinator shortly. The committee has representatives from indigenous peoples (three conferences), German-speaking people of immigrant background (three conferences) and Spanish-speaking nationals (two conferences)."

The three groups have never before worked together on such a major event.

MWC holds a global gathering about every six years. Assembly 14 was held in August 2003 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

“There is a striking difference between Zimbabwe, where one Brethren in Christ conference with 30,000 members hosted the assembly, and Paraguay, where the eight host conferences together have 22,500 members of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. This diversity is exciting and challenging. All participants are eager to make this collaboration successful and inspiring for themselves and the broader Paraguayan society,” said Brubacher.

— Ferne Burkhardt, MWC news editor

***
Mennonite World Conference is a communion (Koinonia) of Anabaptist-related churches linked to one another in a worldwide community of faith for fellowship, worship, service, and witness.

Jack Suderman (Mennonite Church Canada) and Alfred Neufeld in conversation

Paraguayan group present at Pasadena meetings, representing 6 of the 8 MWC member churches: Front (l to r): Oscar Luis Peralta Agüero (Convención Evangélica de Iglesias Paraguayas de los Hermanos Menonitas), Alvin & Renate Neufeld (Convención Evangélica Menonita Paraguaya), Eligio Ferreira (Convención Evangélica Menonita Lengua), Amandus Reimer (AMIGOS)