“Anniversaries are a time to stop and reflect: we remember where we have come from, consider who we are today and anticipate where God is calling us to be,” says César García, Mennonite World Conference general secretary.
2025 marks two anniversaries for MWC. It is 500 years since Conrad Grebel, George Blaurock and Felix Manz took the courageous act of “re-baptizing” each other in Zurich, Switzerland, as an expression of their understanding of faith. This act is taken as the symbolic beginning of the Anabaptist movement, which has grown to around 2.13 million believers in more than 80 countries around the world.
It is also 100 years since Mennonite World Conference began. Its first event was a conference: a gathering of Mennonite church leaders from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA.
“The courage to love” is the theme for Mennonite World Conference’s anniversary year. Throughout the year, events will be held around the world to celebrate and reflect on the Anabaptist movement and what it has become today. Details about the anniversary year are available on the anniversary website: https://www.anabaptism500.ch/
The symbolic beginnings of the Anabaptist movement date to January 1525, when a group of young people gathered in Felix Manz’s home to commit a subversive act: adult baptism. Conrad Grebel baptized George Blaurock, who baptized several others on confession of their faith. Their radical act put them at odds with the established church, which had been baptizing infants for a millennium.
“We are inspired how ‘The Courage to Love’ moves us to Christ-like actions today just as much as 500 years ago,” says Liesa Unger, MWC chief international events officer. “National churches or local congregations may wish to use this theme for their own events in 2025.”
Guests from around the world will gather May 29, 2025, for The Courage to Love: Anabaptism@500. The day-long celebration commemorates the birth of the Anabaptist movement in Zurich, Switzerland. Following workshops, concerts, a panel discussion and self-guided historical walking tours, participants will gather for an ecumenical worship service at the Grossmünster cathedral.
As an act of peacebuilding and a testimony to recent reconciliation, MWC is inviting leaders of world communions (e.g., Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed) that were once sharply at odds with the Anabaptist movement.
“On this day, Anabaptists will become visible in the streets of Zurich,” says Liesa Unger, MWC chief international events officer. All events are within walking distance, and the worship service will be conducted in English and translated into French, Spanish and German.
“The event will have a strong historical component that makes it clear why we are gathering in Zurich,” says historian and MWC Renewal 2025 coordinator John D. Roth. “But an even stronger emphasis will focus on the future. The Anabaptist movement continues to be dynamic, diverse, and creative in sharing the gospel in many different cultural settings.”
Today, about 2.13 million believers in more than 80 countries identify as Anabaptists. MWC is preparing to receive hundreds of guests on May 29, including from the five regions it serves: Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. Musical ensembles from each region will perform, as well as an international ensemble – just like at MWC’s Assembly Gathered events.
Those attending MWC’s celebration can make the most of their trip to Switzerland with an Anabaptist heritage tour. TourMagination, North America’s premier provider of Anabaptist Heritage Tours, has planned three group tours with expert leaders visiting significant sites in The Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria.
Before the May event, Mennonite World Conference’s General Council (made up of leaders from each national member church around the world) will gather for decision making and learning. After the event, young people will gather for a Global Youth Summit – the first time the event occurs outside of an Assembly year.
Learn more about Anabaptism@500 by listening to this USMB LEAD Pod episode 111 with guests César García, MWC general secretary, and Tim Geddert, the USMB delegate to MWC. This episode includes offers some behind-the-scenes planning for the anniversary event coming up next year and important reminders of what it means to be Mennonite, why adult baptism is such a big deal, and what we can learn from our larger Mennonite family around the world. Listen here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/972541/episodes/15697022
Mennonite World Conference is a communion of Anabaptist-related churches linked to one another in a worldwide community of faith for fellowship, worship, service, and witness. USMB is a member conference of this global ministry.
