wfn.org | Mennonites gather to focus on the city

[BethAH <BethAH@mbm.org>]

August 22, 2001
Beth Hawn
Mennonite Board of Missions
(219) 294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

August 22, 2001

European mission workers, Mennonites gather to focus on the city

BARCELONA, Spain (MBM)  Focusing together on the theme, The
Mission of the Church in the City, 60 adults and 30 youth from
10 European countries gathered here July 28-Aug. 3 to worship,
fellowship and study the Bible together during the Mennonite
Colloquium 2001.

The reality of much of Europe is that the countryside is
emptying, said Tom Rutschman, one of the conference organizers
and a Mennonite Board of Missions associate in Sweden.  So we
need to be theologically versed in how to do mission in the
city.  Youre definitely very anonymous in the city.  How can you
let your light shine?

Speaking during the opening worship and communion service, pastor
Iqaki Alonso of Barcelona Mennonite Church challenged
participants to see their mission as living differently than the
values of the urban society around them.

Drawing on the dual imagery of the city of Babylon and the city
of God described by John of Patmos in Revelation 18 and 21,
Alonso urged listeners to join the mission of pilgrimage from
the great city of Satan to the new city of God.

Pointing out that throughout history the commercial center has
been the center of the city, Alonso told those gathered that the
trend continues into the present when communications link
everyone into a global village.

We are all part of one same city, he said.  Material profit is
our supreme modern value.

Babylon seeks as its ultimate goal profit that is only obtained
by exploitation of the poor, said Alonso, pointing out that
today, the riches of Europe are based on the exploitation of the
Third World.

We are invited [by Christ], Alonso said, to not take part in
the sins of Babylon, the greed, idolatry and associated
violence.

The people of God are called to a simple life, Alonso said, of
solidarity with the poor.  They are called to share the word of
God through a lived-out witness, to present the values of the
New Jerusalem, love and peace.

Drawing from Revelation as well during a morning input session,
John Powell, Mennonite Board of Missions director for Evangelism
and Church Development, told participants, The city seems a far
cry from the kingdom of God.  And yet, among the many signs of
the anti-kingdom, some of us are able to find glimpses of the
kingdom of God right here among us.  We live in the tension
between the signs of the anti-kingdom and these precious glimpses
of Gods kingdom.

Powell outlined two tasks for the church in the city:
7 Help others imagine Gods vision for the city, and discover how
Christ has already initiated that vision in our midst.
7 Recognize that Gods transformation of the city to an
egalitarian community filled with Gods presence is not yet
complete.

Other participants, like conference organizer Jose Luis Suarez,
pointed out that churches are challenged in the city by an
overwhelming secularization of society.  How do we share the
gospel in a secular world? he asked.  What significance does
the message have when people have no reference points?

Another obstacle to mission in the city, said Suarez, is the
distance many members live from the church facility.  Drawing a
circle to represent the city, he placed a cross on one side to
represent the church, then many small circles scattered about the
city circle to represent the congregations members.

When the congregation reaches out to the surrounding neighborhood
where no members live, Suarez said, people say, Who is this
person talking?  I dont know this person.

Mary Thiessen Nation, an MBM worker in London, England, where she
ministers to people engaged in urban ministry, also provided
input during one morning session.

Drawing on her three decades of service in Los Angeles, Calif.,
and London, Thiessen Nation said that if church members are
going to be agents of healing and hope in the city, we need to
be equipped to do healing and hope within the church.  In order
to bring healing and hope to others, we need to experience it
[first].

While the colloquium raised many of the challenges for churches
in the city, it also encouraged participants.

One of the important elements of the colloquium is the
opportunity to experience community, said Suarez.  We are the
only [Mennonite] church in Barcelona.  We feel very alone.  To
know what others are doing, to share different perspectives is
very encouraging.

Alonso also concluded his sermon on Sunday with an encouragement
to those gathered.  There is no room for doubt, he said,
looking out at those gathered.  The City of God will outlast
Babylon.

The European Colloquium is a biannual gathering of MBM Europe
workers and members of European Mennonite congregations.  It was
begun in 1976 to strengthen connections between European
congregations and MBM workers in Europe.  Tentative plans are to
hold the 2003 event in Finland.

* * *

Grant E. Rissler