India 1997--Assembly gathered

The official agenda of the assembly, defined by the theme, "Hear What the Spirit is Saying to the Churches", was neck-deep in words--three Bible messages a day, plus afternoon seminars and various other meetings. What lifted delegates, though, were the unofficial moments, those in-between times when the Spirit seemed to speak most poignantly:

* in the participation of some 3,000 Indian believers, the vast majority of whom were able to experience the global nature of their church family for the first time;

* in the minority status of the 1,500 foreigners who for the first time experienced the reality of a global family that has more brown faces than white;

* when the energy of Esengo, the Mennonite Brethren choir from Zaire, sparked a spontaneous frolic of unity and joy for some 100 participants during a post-service concert;

* during a game of "Bat Moth", a form of blindfolded tag, when shared laughter and perspiration melted barriers of language and culture;

* on "centre stage" at the Global Church Village, where performing groups from around the world expressed their commitment to Christ through music, drama and dance;

* during a concert of prayer in which small huddles of believers offered praise and petitions for the church in their respective homelands;

* while sipping sweet, milky tea with fellow Mennonites and Brethren in Christ from 66 countries.

At this assembly, only the second MWC gathering held outside North America or Europe, the setting itself spoke as powerfully as any sermon. Calcutta lived up to its billing as a city where suffering and joy intermingle. During daily bus trips to and from St. Thomas School, the site of the convention, delegates struggled to absorb the chaotic and sometimes desperate existence of even a narrow slice of the city's 12 million people.

The St. Thomas campus, which was renovated and spruced up for the event by a corps of local Mennonite volunteers in lieu of rent money, became an oasis of relative normalcy. But even perimeter walls surrounding the grounds could not keep out Calcutta's influence altogether. Choking smoke rolled in each evening from the cooking fires of the surrounding neighbourhoods. By week's end, a continuous chorus of coughing accompanied the services.

Certainly, no one could complain about Calcutta's warm weather, ideal for a conference held mostly outdoors. Plenary gatherings--two every morning and one each evening--were held under a huge canvas-and-bamboo tent known as a shamiana, which covered an area roughly the size of two football fields. Each day, the planning and focus of the services shifted to a different geographic region. Meals were served under another shamiana.

Also on the school grounds, a Global Church Village featured the five continental regions of Mennonite World Conference. In the middle of the layout was a central "stage" where music and drama groups performed each afternoon. Designed to promote cross-cultural sharing, the Global Church Village offered displays, exhibits, activities, performances and games representative of each continent.

The only indoor activities were seminars, held in a classroom building, and meetings of the General Council, Peace Council and Faith and Life Council, held in a church on the campus.

Many participants spent part of their afternoons touring the city. Sixteen tours were offered each day. The ones featuring the work of Mennonite Central Committee and Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity sold out almost immediately.

As a result of the planning and hard work of local organizing committees, the week-long event was amazingly free of serious logistical crises. But a few ripples did arise:

* Miscommunication led to misunderstanding when a group of several hundred Indian delegates arrived Monday evening with mistaken assumptions about their registration fees.

* In the middle of the week, two MWC staff members were injured, one seriously, when the car they were riding in was struck by a bus in the frenetic Calcutta traffic.

* The distraction of participants coming forward during services to snap photographs led to a photo ban during Sunday's concluding service--even for members of the Mennonite press. Several participants ignored the prohibition anyway.

* Some North Americans felt spanked rather than inspired during Sunday's service when speaker Charles Christano of Indonesia criticized worship trends in the Western church.

* Theological differences within the Mennonite family raised their heads from time to time. For instance, some listeners cringed when a North American speaker, determined to preserve inclusive language, proclaimed, "God calls people to Godself." Meanwhile, another North American speaker was criticized by some for overusing the pronoun "He" in reference to God.

But, as the conference ended, MWC leaders expressed satisfaction with how well the assembly went. "It's gone far better than my fondest dream," said Vern Preheim, an executive committee member from Newton, Kan.

One goal not fully achieved was helping people from different parts of the world give and receive counsel, said Larry Miller, MWC executive secretary. "We needed something in the structure to help people talk with each other cross-culturally," he said.

For visitors from North America and Europe, India 1997 was particularly compelling because of its setting in the Two-Thirds World. For the 85,000-member Indian Mennonite church, the location of Assembly 13 was cause for excitement and satisfaction. It was also a learning experience, especially for those who came from small villages, said P.B. Arnold, a member of the executive committee and president of the the India MB Conference. "When they come here and find that Mennonites come from all over the world, that is surprising for them," Arnold said. "We are greatly honoured by the presence of the world body here."

Werner Kroeker, a North American who has been on a goodwill assignment among the Mennonite Brethren churches in India since last fall, agreed. "For the Indian Mennonite Brethren Church, this has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience," he said. "People borrowed money to come here, so that their children who are not old enough to understand will be able to say someday, `I was at Mennonite World Conference.' It's that important to them."

Interaction between foreign and native participants continued in settings beyond Assembly Gathered in Calcutta. Most foreign attenders also participated in Assembly Scattered, a series of tours to major Mennonite centres throughout India which were held before or after Calcutta. The tours not only introduced MWC guests to the life of the local church, but also gave Indians who were unable to attend the Calcutta meeting an opportunity to experience global fellowship.

Don Ratzlaff, with Paul Schrag

Return to the M.B.Herald Vol. 36, No. 5 Home Page