Tag: partnership and companionship
On 04 July 2025, during the Mennonite Church Canada Gathering held in Kitchener, Ontario, I had the privilege of presenting a reflection entitled Creating Spaces as Companions: Redeeming Koinonia in the Life of Mennonite Church Canada. This presentation was part of MCCanada Priority in the Gathering 2025 theme—deepening our commitment to relationships across congregations, cultures, and communities. I shared how koinonia, as envisioned in Scripture and global theological discourse, calls us beyond transactional partnerships and institutional habits inherited from colonial and industrial legacies. Instead, I invited our church to reimagine partnership as covenantal, relational, and Spirit-led companionship—a sacred journey of walking together in justice, mutuality, and love.
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Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2025/07/07/creating-spaces-as-companions-redeeming-koinonia-in-the-life-of-mennonite-church-canada/
In the realm of peacebuilding, the relationship between international and local peace organizations often fluctuates between two distinct modes of interaction: companionship and partnership. These modes represent different approaches, values, and outcomes, each significantly influencing the effectiveness and sustainability of peace efforts. Grasping the subtleties of these interactions is key to fostering genuine, lasting peace in conflict-affected regions. This dialogue began during the July 2024 gathering of Mennonite missionaries working in Asia, and subsequently became a topic of informal reflection among the staff and volunteers at PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. (PBCI) and Coffee for Peace (CFP) throughout the month of August. These concepts of partnership and companionship are illustrated through the relationship between our spiritual siblings at Mennonite Church Canada and us at PBCI-CFP.
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Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2024/08/15/partnership-and-companionship-reflections-on-the-relationship-between-international-and-local-peace-organizations/
