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German Mennonite Brethren host Pentecost Conference

DRESDEN, Germany — Over Pentecost weekend, May 25th to 28th, the Mennonite church in Dresden hosted the Pentecost conference for Mennonite-Brethren churches from Germany and Austria. This was the 33rd such gathering since 1960.

About 650 people, including 110 children and more than 200 young people, from more than 30 different churches in Germany and Austria, as well as guests from Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Canada, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay sang, prayed, and played in Bodenbacher Hall. Additionally numerous day-guests were there each day.

The conference, which was titled “He renews us: Giving God a chance,” offered a multitude of challenging worship services and leisure activities. Music, theatre, dance and mime, workshops, seminars and group discussions added to the diversity of the services centred around the theme.

Berhard Ott, director of the Bienenberg Theological Seminary in Switzerland, spoke on the renewing power of God. Dr.Ott impressed his listeners with brilliant examples and illustrations of what Christianity put into practice could look like. Between the morning and evening services, leisure activities, such as soccer and volleyball matches, guided tours to the historical center of Dresden, the 800 year old capital of Saxony, and hiking trips to “Saxony’s Switzerland” contributed to the participants’ enjoyment. Local youth designed a youth program and there was a special childrens’ conference.

Selma and Lorenz Warkentin, a Canadian with German roots who planted the Dresden Mennonite Church in 1993, gave a testimony regarding the beginning of their work in the Saxon capital. In the early ’90s, pastors of the evangelical alliance specifically asked that a church be planted here. Now it has 70 members and about 140 people, mostly young visitors, attend regularly. Alexander Neufeld is pastor at this church since 2001.

Every evening of the conference, the youth program took the stage. On Sunday night, youth gave out roses to passers-by in the city while saying, "We would like to pass on the love of God to you" or spoke to party-goers about their spiritual life. A third group prayed for the city of Dresden, the Christians there and the persecuted followers of Jesus in other countries.

The Mennonite-Brethren Pentecost Conference, which takes place every three years, was the first one that Dresden Mennonite Church hosted. The majority of church members and regular attenders volunteered to take care of program areas, tours and at the information table. For most of them this was the first time they had helped organize and run this type of event.

The church members and friends of the local Mennonite church hosted more than 120 guests. Other adults stayed in a youth hostel in the Freiberger Street.

“Withhout God’s blessing and the help of everybody we couldn’t have done it,” a young member states. “I’ve loved this church before, but now, after the conference, I’m even more enthusiastic about being a part of it.”

— from files by Daniela Gaebel and Carsten Gaebel

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Photos available from the Dresden Mennonite Church web site:
http://www.mennoniten-dresden.de/material_pfiko2007.htm

1. Bernhard Ott
2. Mass meeting
3. Youth on stage