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Robert J. Suderman, Executive Secretary, Mennonite Church Canada Witness |
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Ridiculous Prayer! This is how Kathy Giesbrecht, a Mennonite Church Canada
staff person, recently described a biblical insight that had come to her. How
absurd some of the prayers and events of the Bible seem to be. For example, "I
want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers.
It is the same power he used when he raised Christ from the dead…."
(Eph. 1:19-20). Kathy invited others to identify biblical events and prayers that
seem ridiculous at first sight. "Thy Kingdom come on earth," was one
reply. Another talked about the strange demand of the Syro-Phoenecian woman that
dogs also have a right to eat crumbs. Another suggested "The Spirit will
make you wise and let you understand what it means to know God" (Eph. 1:17).
What may be more surprising than the "absurd" prayers, is that persons
actually commit their lives to these prayers, and then there are signs that these
become reality. This is the world of Witness! We can tell hundreds of stories
where the seemingly ridiculous begins to bear fruit because of prayer and commitment.
Let me share some of these stories with you:
- Imagine getting 15 different language groups together to plan for joint
resource and leadership needs in Mennonite Church Canada. That's what Samson Lo,
our Director of Multi-Cultural Ministries is doing. And that gathering is becoming
a reality in Saskatoon on July 7, at the Mount Royal Mennonite Church. You are
invited to share in this dynamic vision.
- Imagine 120 persons volunteering their time to live in small communities,
to help congregations minister in their communities. Stories about these experiences
gushed forth as the Mennonite Voluntary Service workers met in Missouri recently
for a 5 day retreat. One volunteer shared the beauty of three culturally different
groups who have lived in the same community all their lives, becoming reconciled
in a home for seniors, where these folks, often for the first time, share their
lives with each other.
- Imagine planning for urban ministry in Canada with key leaders, so
that we can begin to understand our urban realities and the relevance of our Anabaptist
faith within these realities. Jean Jacques Goulet is planning such a consultation
for early October, in Hamilton. You are invited to participate.
- Imagine making God's word come alive through a dairy farm in Mongolia,
where the Yoders are supported by Witness. In demonstrating how dairy farms can
be set up in cost-effective ways, this experiment has opened many opportunities
to share a compelling motivation for their actions.
- Imagine a core group of leaders committing time to deepen their understandings
of the missional church. Such a leadership course is being planned for 2003, and
24 educators, leadership persons, pastors, and area conference persons spent two
days recently planning to make this a reality.
- Imagine a Directory for Prayer that details the work of 187 workers
that are in some way connected to the ministries of Mennonite Church Canada Witness.
This directory has been produced and will be available to you in July/02. The
prayers of the faithful are needed to under gird all of these efforts.
- Imagine the church speaking out against a possible escalation of war
and invasion in Iraq. Imagine helping to nourish a church dedicated to peace teaching
amid the violence of Colombia. Imagine congregational members being trained to
look after the needs of the elderly in the Ukraine. Imagine the support and pastoral
work for the Aussiedler in Germany.
- Imagine a cluster of congregations deciding to formalize their support
for an Anabaptist presence in South Korea. Imagine staff dedicated to make these
partnerships possible and making the connections to make them happen.
- Imagine small seeds of Christian community growing amid the concrete
and urban realities of Hong Kong and Macau. Imagine a family centre dedicated
to helping children find the love of Christ, and parents receiving significant
attention and care.
- Imagine one contributor from a congregation making a special effort
to tell us that "I have been contributing to your ministry, but I can do
more. Let's have a conversation about where that would make the most sense."
- Imagine a plan to get Anabaptist churches together into a Global Mission
Fellowship. This is the dream of Mennonite World Conference and our mission agencies.
The first of these fellowship meetings is being planned for Zimbabwe, 2003.
- Imagine over one million Anabaptist witnesses in the world, each one
knowing that he/she has been sent to promote the reconciling purposes of God in
every nook and cranny of the world. Imagine these million helping each other,
learning from each other, nourishing each other. The lights of God's authority
and reign are shining brightly.
- Imagine over 7,000 people in Mennonite Church Canada already signed
up in to participate in the Witness PrayerNet, actively praying for the work of
Mennonite Church Canada Witness. Imagine if that list could double within this
year.
When we imagine these "ridiculous" things, and begin to pray these
"absurd" prayers, these things begin to happen. In fact, all of them
have already begun.
We ask God for the courage to pray "ridiculous" prayers, and we ask
you to continue to pray about possibilities that appear impossible to our minds.
Of such child-like faith is the Kingdom of heaven.
-Robert J. Suderman, MC Canada Witness
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