Looking into the Future

From the moment of its inception, the ISGA has been committed to the principle of collaboration—all of our projects have been in partnership with other church-related agencies or groups.  Our gift has been providing expertise, administrative oversight—and, if possible, funding—to support collaborations that enhance our understanding of the global church and encourage its mission in the world.  In addition to our more visible programs, here are a few additional projects that we are actively supporting:

Mennonite World Conference Renewal 2027

Renewal 2027 is a 10-year series of events commemorating the 500th anniversary of the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement, with an annual celebration in a different region of the global church, always in association with a MWC event.  This spring, the 2019 Renewal program will take place in Costa Rica on April 6, 2019 as part of the MWC Executive Committee meeting. The theme of the event is “Justice on the Journey: Migration and the Anabaptist-Mennonite Story.”  We recently received a grant from Oak Grove Mennonite Church to support this gathering; but I am still committed to raise an additional $12,000 to cover the cost.

Promoting Scholarship

In late January, 2019 the ISGA will host Agustina Aleman and Alejandro Martin López, of Argentina, who will spend five weeks working in the Mennonite Historical Library and the Archives of the Mennonite Church on a project related to Mennonite mission movement, gender, and the indigenization of the church.  Support for this project also comes from the Schafer-Friesen Fellowship.

Encouraging Publication

Watch for an upcoming announcement of a publication by Lisa Weaver and Elizabeth Miller Richer titled, Let the Children Come. The book is a beautifully illustrated, 12-unit curriculum on basic Anabaptist principles intended for children or new believers. An extension of the “Bearing Witness Stories Project,” Let the Children Come has a strong focus on the global church. We hope to make it available in translation as well.

Hosting Guests

Recently, I was pleased to host presidents of seven national churches associated with the Conservative Mennonite Conference who were in the US to participate in the CMC church wide assembly.