Pray for Brazil where the political situation is not good; radicalism, churches getting involved in politics that bring lots of conflicts, environment problems and inflation. 
—Hans Gerhard Peters, Aliança Evangélica Menonita, Brazil 

“When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.” (Isaiah 64:3-5)

Lord, we confess that we have sinned. Thank you for drawing near to us by sending the Messiah to save us and reveal your power. As we celebrate the hope of Christmas, teach us your self-emptying ways. 

Many congregations in Uganda meet under the trees or sit on dusty floors, says Simon Onyango Okoth, bishop of Uganda Mennonite Church. Praise God for the grateful, pioneering spirit of these church members. Pray for leadership development to lead to sustainability. 

Pray for Anabaptist-Mennonites in British Columbia, Canada. After a summer of record high temperatures and wild fires, the province has been deluged with tremendous rainfall, causing flooding that has washed out major highways that link the Port of Vancouver to the rest of Canada, and flooding a region populated by many Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren church members. Thousands of homes and farms have been destroyed.

“As Canadians, we are used to a stable environment, but these floods are reminding us to look to the Lord and not take things for granted. It’s an opportunity to show the love of Christ in action, helping out our neighbours.

“Pray that we will learn the lessons the Lord is wanting to teach us in this moment: That we will look to God in humility and trust and remember that although creation is “groaning” it remains under His control and still declares His glory and goodness.” —Rob Thiessen, British Columbia Mennonite Brethren conference minister

“I pray that the waters will hold back, that the rivers will flow without more destruction to homes and farms and barns and life. But, even so, if it does cause more destruction. We will stand together and serve one another. Community leaders, churches, businesses and everyone in between.”—Darnell Barkman, pastor at Yarrow United Mennonite Church, B.C., Canada, and vice moderator of Mennonite Church BC.

Thousands of people have fled Thantlang, Myanmar, and are hiding in the jungle. A Mennonite pastor writes:

My hometown, my dear Thantlang, which was so much fun is now as quiet as a graveyard. You have been burnt to the ground and your temples and houses have been destroyed. The sound of children playing was silenced and the church bells stopped ringing. You are the only town in the world where no human is.

I pray that God will take care of you and rebuild you a new life.

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Lord God, your compassion is manifest in the Anabaptist-Mennonite community in Colombia!

Thank you for the prayers of our brothers and sisters around the globe in response to Nelson Kraybill’s May 2021 prayer for God’s mercy (written on occasion of demonstrations throughout the country addressing economic policies, a proposed tax reform, high-level corruption, a lack of opportunity for the youth, and slow implementation of the peace accords, among other items, that were perceived as further harming the country).*

Conditions have not changed significantly since then: almost half of the population lives in poverty and violence continues to take its daily toll.

Yet, God’s Spirit is working in the actions of Anabaptist churches in Colombia participating in Pan y Paz (the “Bread and Peace” campaign); in Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren organizations Justapaz. Mencoldes and Edupaz that work for reconciliation and peace and care for victims and human rights advocates; and in congregations in Cali, Bogotá, Riohacha, Chocó and elsewhere who – with support from MCC – care for Venezuelan migrants and displaced persons in need of food and emergency aid.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our ongoing prayer.

—Pablo Stucky, MWC regional representative, Latin America – Andean Region

Photo: Anna Vogt I A gathering of Mennonite church leaders in Colombia in 2017.

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God of justice, we pray for vaccine equity around the world. We cry with those who are suffering without opportunity to be vaccinated. Soften the hearts of political and pharmaceutical leaders to release vaccines and patents to low income countries. We pray especially for our brothers and sisters in Tanzania where less than one percent of the population has been vaccinated. We thank you for the generosity of our members who care for the sick through physical aid and donations to UNICEF’s vaccination campaign.

Loving God, soften the hearts of political leaders in India and all who seek to destroy minority religious communities. Pour out your Spirit on Mennonites and all Christians of India who know and follow Jesus, that they may be steadfast in the face of persecution. Let your work of healing the nations restore peace between religious groups in all of India.

We worship a God who hears cries of the suffering, attends to their welfare, and moves to save. In the Gospels, Jesus – the living example for the church – embodies God’s solidarity with those who are oppressed, ignored, rejected or treated as alien.   

We mourn for hundreds of Indigenous children in Canada who in decades past died and were buried – separated from their communities – at residential schools where they had been demeaned and abused instead of cared for and educated.  

We affirm Canadian Anabaptist leaders who declared*:  

“We regret that, at times, the Christian faith was used, wrongly, as an instrument of power, not as an invitation to see how God was already at work before we came. We repent of our denominational encounters with Indigenous Peoples that at times may have been motivated more by cultural biases than by the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. We repent of our failure to advocate for marginalized Indigenous Peoples as our faith would instruct us to.” 

As Mennonite World Conference, we commit to seek justice through challenging beliefs and systems of domination. We are grateful for and humbled by the witness of Anabaptist churches and agencies in Canada and elsewhere who are working with Indigenous groups toward restoration and reconciliation.  

—See also MWC Statement of solidarity with Indigenous Peoples. 

*Statement of Anabaptist church leaders, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Hearings, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, March 2014